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29 August 2024 I N D U S T R Y U P D A T E NEIGHBORHOOD CREDIT UNION PARTNERS WITH FIRSTCLOSE TO SUPPORT HOME EQUITY GROWTH F irstClose, Inc., a fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, has announced that Neighborhood Credit Union is using its FirstClose Equity solution's settlement services ordering platform to streamline its home equity lending operations. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Neighborhood Credit Union has 14 branches throughout Texas serving more than 50,000 members. Last year, the credit union launched its home equity lending department and in just 12 months has originated over $1.3 million in home equity transactions. For this relatively new product category, home equity is quickly gaining traction as a reliable contributor to their total mortgage business. By using FirstClose's settlement ser- vices ordering technology, Neighborhood Credit Union has been able to signifi- cantly reduce turn times and increase loan officer productivity while providing exceptional member experience. The in- tegration with MeridianLink Consumer has shifted processors' time from heavy administrative tasks to building member relationships by reviewing only items requiring attention. "Last year, we officially opened the doors to our home equity department in order to better serve our members who want to access the equity in their homes. FirstClose has been our home equity ordering platform since day one, and it's been a complete game-changer," said Jacqueline Montanez, Residential Lend- ing Manager at Neighborhood Credit Union. "It's become our one-stop-shop for everything home equity and has been able to help us expedite our origination process and provide a seamless, end-to- end experience for our members." FirstClose Equity is a home equity origination solution that reduces oper- ational touchpoints and improves the overall customer experience for borrow- ers, processors, and underwriters. Auto- mated workflows, including the ordering of settlement services, enable lenders to complete the application through closing process in five to 10 days, versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days. "We're excited to be powering Neighborhood Credit Union's new home equity business," said Tedd Smith, CEO at FirstClose. "Our Equity solution will help Neighborhood Credit Union reduce costs and increase efficiency by providing one-click access to order all the neces- sary property information and services needed to originate home equity loans and HELOCs." RITHM CAPITAL CORP. COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF COMPUTERSHARE MORTGAGE SERVICES INC. R ithm Capital Corp. has com- pleted its previously announced acquisition of Computershare Mortgage Services Inc. and certain affil- iated companies, including Specialized Loan Servicing LLC (SLS). Immediately following the closing of the acquisition, SLS merged into Newrez LLC (Newrez). Transaction highlights: » Adds approximately $149 billion in unpaid principal balance of servicing, adding $104 billion third-party and other servicing to Newrez portfolio » Adds new third-party clients and increases existing client wallet share, significantly expanding Newrez's subservicing and special servicing businesses » Adds co-issue MSR acquisition capabilities to Newrez originations platform » Provides Newrez added operating leverage through additional scale "This milestone marks another chap- "Last year, we officially opened the doors to our home equity department in order to better serve our members who want to access the equity in their homes." —Jacqueline Montanez, Residential Lending Manager, Neighborhood Credit Union