Optimal Blue Ppe Eliminates Manual Steps For Loan Locks

Optimal Blue announced on Wednesday a new capability in its product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine that fully automates the process for a lock desk user to execute locks directly with participating investors through an application programming interface (API).

The PPE already automates pricing, lock requests, post-lock changes and mandatory execution. This week’s move eliminates the last remaining manual step in the lock life cycle, making Optimal Blue‘s PPE the first pricing engine to fully automate a critical stage of the secondary market workflow for investors. It supports all loan types, including 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.”

Best-effort lock requests can now be sent to investors via API, cutting processing times from about 15 minutes to mere seconds. Loan data transfers securely, updates in the loan origination system (LOS), and generates a PDF confirmation for audit and proof of execution.

The feature is free and requires minimal setup. Investors can participate by completing a one-time API setup with their Optimal Blue representative.

“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-effort lock feature will add support for profile updates, extensions and other post-lock changes. It will also involve integration into the CompassEdge platform, according to a company press release.