Optimal Blue Fully Automates Best Efforts Locking Directly with Investors

Associated Press

2 days ago

- Launch of new capability in the Optimal Blue PPE allows lenders to eliminate all manual steps when executing best efforts locks -
PLANO, Texas, July 30, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Optimal Blue today announced a new capability in its industry-leading product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine that fully automates the process for a lock desk user to execute best efforts locks directly with participating investors via API. By eliminating the last remaining manual step in the locking life cycle, Optimal Blue is delivering innovations and enhancements that will help significantly increase a lender's efficiency and profitability. The Optimal Blue PPE is the first pricing engine to fully automate this critical stage of the secondary market workflow for investors with support for all loan types, including both agency and non-agency programs.
'This is a game-changer for capital markets teams that will save an average of 15 minutes per loan, which is hours saved per day,' said Tiffany McGarry, vice president of product management at Optimal Blue. 'Lock desk users can now complete the entire best efforts lock transaction from within the Optimal Blue PPE – no toggling between systems, no rekeying of data and no lost time. It's a meaningful step forward for day-to-day productivity that helps protect lenders against costly errors and compliance issues, while giving investors a more streamlined path to work with their originator partners.'
The Optimal Blue PPE already automates loan pricing, lock requests and post-lock changes, and the company's hedging platform already supports automation for mandatory execution. Until the release of this capability, completing a best efforts lock required the lender's secondary desk to log in to the investor's portal and re-enter loan details by hand. This enhancement eliminates this final step to execute the lock, fully automating the process.
Best efforts lock requests can now be sent directly to an investor via API, reducing the time required from an average of 15 minutes per loan to just seconds. Loan data flows securely to the investor and back, keeping the loan origination system record up to date and generating a PDF confirmation that provides a clear audit trail and proof of execution. The feature is available at no additional cost to lenders and requires little to no setup or configuration.
The new capability offers a compelling way for the more than 240 investors in Optimal Blue's network to stand out to over 1,000 originators by delivering a faster, more streamlined means to lock. To participate, investors should contact their Optimal Blue representative to complete a one-time API setup.
'This is the first time investors have been able to complete best efforts locks through real-time, system-to-system connectivity with their lender partners,' said Erin Wester, chief product officer at Optimal Blue. 'We've already set up this integration with select investor partners, and it's been exciting to see the positive momentum it is already building for their businesses. It's a strategic edge that improves execution, strengthens lender-investor relationships and streamlines the path to purchase – and one only Optimal Blue can deliver as the industry's most connected capital markets platform.'
Future phases of the best efforts lock feature will add support for profile updates, extensions and other post-lock changes as well as integration into the CompassEdge platform – enhancing consistency and reducing downstream data mismatches. For more information, lenders and investors using the Optimal Blue PPE should contact their account representative.
About Optimal Blue
Optimal Blue powers profitability across the mortgage capital markets ecosystem. As the industry's only end-to-end capital markets platform, our technology, data, and integrations bridge the primary and secondary markets to help lenders of all sizes maximize performance – from pricing accuracy to margin protection and every step in between. Backed by over 20 years of proven expertise, our modern, cloud-native technology delivers the real-time automation, actionable data and seamless connectivity lenders need to navigate market volatility and scale for growth. To learn more about how Optimal Blue delivers measurable ROI, visit https://OptimalBlue.com/.
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NEWS SOURCE: Optimal Blue
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MEDIA ONLY CONTACT:
(not for publication online or in print)
Leslie W. Colley
Depth for Optimal Blue
[email protected]
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Keywords: Mortgage, mortgage capital markets ecosystem, product, pricing and eligibility engine, execute best efforts locks, fintech, Optimal Blue, PLANO, Texas
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