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TH E M R EP O RT | 7 MTECH Through this API initiative, the company will enable an ecosys- tem of third-party developers serving Optimal Blue customers. Scott Happ, CEO of Optimal Blue, stated, "Our goal is to sup- port integration through con- temporary and best-in-class API technology, with any third-party or in-house system that our cus- tomers may choose to deploy." Several vendors have already agreed to utilize the APIs. Optimal Blue's API products leverage Microsoft Azure's API management platform. In ac - cordance with the company's newly adopted API-first strategy, the development team is already at work on the next set of APIs and expects to deliver locking and historical pricing functionality later this year. Sue Baker, VP of Product, explained, "While we are happy for customers to utilize the native Optimal Blue user interface, we are equally supportive of cus- tomers who would prefer to use third-party or proprietary systems whose UI/UX is supported by our API." Mother Lode Holding Company Announces Texas Expansion LED BY DAVID TANDY, MOTHER LODE PLANS TO OPEN SEVERAL TEXAS NATIONAL TITLE BRANCHES IN THE STATE. M other Lode Holding Company (MLHC) announced in April the expansion of its Texas operation. For the first time, MLHC will be opening Texas National Title branches and the Mother Lode Texas branch in several Texas mar - kets beginning in April 2017 under the direction of David Tandy. "I am excited to launch Texas National Title," said Tandy. "I have felt for a long time that there is a place for a large, well- capitalized independent agent in Texas. Due to consolidation and legal and regulatory pressures, so many agents have been acquired by publicly traded companies and underwriters. Looking at today's landscape, we are pretty much down to small, mom-and- pop agents or publicly held title companies." Tandy continued, "I was looking for something in the middle—a company with the capabilities and resources of a large national operation, but the flexibility, local control, and employee orientation of an independently owned and oper - ated company. MLHC is one of the largest agents in the country, with more than 800 employees. Yet it retains and fiercely defends its culture of placing its employ- ees first." MLHC hired David Tandy to be the President and CEO of Texas National Title (TNT) in July 2016. "We are proud to launch Texas National Title, our newest endeavor, and pleased to bring David Tandy into our MLHC family to continue to serve the great state of Texas," said Marsha A. Emmett, Chairman of the Board and CEO. "David is an excellent leader and embodies our intense focus on employees first and foremost." TNT's first branch opened in Austin in April 2017 with several other locations to open shortly after, along with locations in other soon-to-be-named cities. "I have felt for a long time that there is a place for a large, well-capitalized independent agent in Texas." —David Tandy, Mother Lode Holding Company