AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 24, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Tim Smith has been named a 2026 Industry Titan National Mortgage Professional (NMP). The Industry Titan Award recognizes mortgage professionals whose leadership, innovation and long-term contributions have shaped the industry.

Image caption: FirstClose co-founder Tim Smith.

Tim Smith was honored for his decades-long role in defining and modernizing home equity lending technology. Alongside his brother and fellow co-founder, Tedd Smith, he helped establish FirstClose as the first purpose-built point-of-sale and order management platform for home equity lending, integrating credit, valuation, flood, title, and closing services into a single automated workflow.

Over the years, Tim Smith’s leadership has enabled lenders to dramatically reduce home equity turnaround times, with some institutions cutting cycle times by more than half and funding loans in as few as four business days. His work has helped hundreds of banks and credit unions scale home equity programs while improving accuracy, compliance and borrower experience.

“Everything we’ve built came from listening to our clients. If we improve their process, the recognition will take care of itself,” Tim Smith said in NMP magazine’s Industry Titan feature.

Before co-founding FirstClose, Tim Smith also co-founded Flood Zones, Inc., which was later acquired by TransUnion following a strategic partnership. Many of today’s home equity technology solutions trace their roots to the innovations Tim Smith introduced early in the category’s development.

Under Tim Smith’s leadership, FirstClose continues to invest heavily in research and development, delivering automation and data intelligence tools that reduce manual processes, lower costs and help lenders deliver faster, more transparent access to credit.

Honorees are profiled in the February edition of NMP magazine, which can be viewed here.

About FirstClose

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, FirstClose, Inc. provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide. The company’s mission is to increase profitability and reduce costs for mortgage lenders. FirstClose makes this possible through offering systems and relationships that enable lenders to assist their borrowers more effectively, reduce closing costs, and ultimately shorten closing times. For more information, visit firstclose.com.

News Source: FirstClose

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