July 20: LO, AE jobs; verification, servicing, Next-Gen, flood cert products; AI & overall tech adoption

Dang. I don’t know why I put my entire retirement plan into SpaceX stock… it has lost $1 trillion in book value since its post-IPO high. In 2026 Fannie’s stock price is down 44 percent, and Freddie’s stock price is down 46 percent. Did you sink your 401(k) into either, when doing a “re-IPO” was the talk of the Trump Administration? (Speaking of Fannie, rumors are flying that Fannie Lender Letter LL-2026-04 on AI will be followed by a more prescriptive framework.) One would hope that the industry has input into Freddie and Fannie’s activities. Mortgage leaders have limited influence over many of the forces dominating today’s housing debate: They cannot directly control interest rates, housing inventory, inflation, or the pace of legislative reform. But they can direct how effectively their organizations prepare for technological disruption. The lenders that spend the coming years waiting for external solutions to affordability challenges may find themselves reacting to change rather than shaping it. By contrast, those that invest now in AI-ready operating models, governance structures, and workforce capabilities will be positioned to create lasting competitive advantages regardless of the broader economic environment. Housing policy will remain important, but the defining strategic decisions of the next decade are increasingly likely to occur not in Washington, but within the institutions responsible for financing homeownership itself. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to underwriting, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an interview with the Institutional Risk Analyst’s Chris Whalen on the fallout from the Two Harbors servicing deal, further consolidation in the mortgage industry, and dominos to fall as companies race to grab market share.)

Employment

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What if your production today could keep paying you tomorrow? That’s the idea behind Atlantic Bay’s Progressive Earnings Plan (PEP). Designed for eligible producers, PEP creates a path to a stable long-term income through serviced loans, with monthly residual income payments on the loans you close. This allows you to not have to start at zero each month but to have a base of income month after month. Combined with our One Team approach, strong leadership, and a commitment to helping producers grow, it’s one more way Atlantic Bay invests in the people behind the business. If you’re looking for a company that values your production and supports your long-term success, Atlantic Bay is worth a closer look. Schedule time with Travis Jones to see what that could look like for your business.

If you’re a top-producing Non-QM AE, ACC Mortgage represents a clear next step. As the longest-standing non-QM lender in the market, ACC brings credibility that resonates with brokers and supports consistent deal flow. You’ll be backed by a marketing engine and CRM that keep your pipeline active and your relationships engaged. Compensation is performance-based with no cap. This is a fully remote, relationship-focused role with the support in place to help you continue building and closing at a high level. If you’re ready for what’s next, this is it.

The Chrisman Job Board is the go-to platform for employment opportunities across the mortgage industry. For employers, adding a job listing is easy. Simply create an account and drop in your existing application link, or forward the details to our team and we’ll take care of it for you. For job seekers, joining our Talent Community is completely free. Upload your resume to be visible to hiring companies across the industry and stay connected to new opportunities as they go live.

Lender and broker software, products, and services

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What’s happening with this loan right now? It sounds like a simple question. But in many default servicing organizations, the answer isn’t found in one place. It’s buried across servicing systems, email threads, spreadsheets, and vendor portals. By the time someone pieces everything together, the answer has already changed. In an environment of rising foreclosure activity, investor deadlines, and regulatory scrutiny, those small delays can multiply across hundreds or thousands of loans, creating an operational nuisance. The problem isn’t a lack of technology. It’s a lack of visibility. In “One View Changes Everything,” Clarifire, drawing on nearly 20 years in default servicing, makes the case that the next competitive advantage isn’t another point solution. It’s a single, real-time operational view that unifies workflow, orchestration, and data across your entire operation. Read the blog and see what changes when you stop chasing updates and start seeing the bigger picture.

RETR has updated its borrower retention analysis using full-year 2025 loan data, and the results suggest the industry’s retention divide is widening. Across more than 1,100 mortgage companies with at least $100 million in annual volume and 10+ loan officers, average borrower retention declined from 40.6 in 2024 to 38.6 percent in 2025. The most notable finding was the divergence among lender types. Banks and credit unions remained relatively stable, retaining 48.5 percent of borrowers on average in 2025 versus 49.4 in 2024. Meanwhile, Independent Mortgage Banks saw retention decline from 29.6 to 26.9 percent, and mortgage brokers fell from 30.6 to 28.4 percent. As competition for refinance, home equity, and repeat purchase opportunities intensifies, borrower retention is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage rather than simply a customer service metric. Company and individual-level retention rankings and analysis are available through RETR’s Loan Loss Report.

Empower is not your dad’s LOS. The Dark Matter and Empower you remember has evolved to a new level where they are embedding intelligence into everything they do. Dark Matter’s Aiva intelligence layer (embedded into Empower) has already processed more than 500 million documents, and that work has shown lenders closing loans up to 10 days faster and clearing thousands of dollars a month in fee cures. The bigger story is how the work itself is changing, with Dark Matter changing the mindset of origination from doing to reviewing, letting the platform handle the repetitive loop so people can spend their time on decisions. That thinking is about to take a new shape. Command centers are coming for loan officers and sales teams, one place to see everything and act on the go, with AI assistance built in and agentic capability extending into the POS in Empower. For Dark Matter, AI-forward isn’t a claim, it’s how the company operates.

Buy instant flood certificates by card. Discovery of a late-stage flood insurance requirement can stall an otherwise perfect mortgage closing. Cotality empowers mortgage brokers and correspondent lenders to identify these property-level red flags before underwriting even begins. Our Pre-Paid Flood Certificate portal provides on-demand, official flood determinations without forcing you to set up an account or sign a contract. Simply enter the address, pay by card, and immediately download an official determination and a detailed map exhibit. Guide your borrowers with clarity, coordinate with insurers early, and keep your pipeline flowing smoothly. Learn more!

If your borrower journey feels older than the house being financed, this webinar is for you. On July 30 at 1 PM ET, LenderLogix is hosting Originating in the Age of the Next-Gen Homebuyer, featuring Kristin Messerli, Executive Director & Co-Founder of FirstHomeIQ, and Patrick O’Brien, CEO & Co-Founder of LenderLogix. Today’s next-gen homebuyers expect a modern digital experience, but speed alone isn’t enough. They’re researching online, watching videos, reading reviews, asking AI, and looking for guidance they can actually trust. Join as they discuss how Gen Z and Millennial buyers are navigating the mortgage process, why misinformation and skepticism are reshaping the borrower journey, and how lenders can use technology to create clarity without losing the human guidance buyers still need. Register here.

LendingPros wants you to Close More deals this month with Powerful Specials offering 25 BPS Price Improvement for loans locked July 1^st – 31st, 2026. Includes: 25 BPS Pricing Improvement on Non-QM Select & Core, includes Closed-End Seconds and DSCR 5-8, plus 25 BPS on FHA, VA and USDA with FICO 600+ Non-Select Standard & High Balance (excludes DPA and CalHFA) and 12.5 BPS on FHA, VA and USDA Select, includes Select Standard & High Balance, FHA Streamlines and VA IRRRLs. Contact your Account Executive today. Check out details here.

“What if your subservicer anticipated problems before you did, answered the same day you called, and knew your borrowers by name? That is not a hypothetical. That is the standard at MSF Servicing, built on a foundation of integrity, transparency, and a genuine commitment to the success of every client we serve. No minimums. No barriers. No automation substituting for accountability. We service FHA, VA, USDA, conventional, and complex assets with dedicated managers, flexible onboarding, modern borrower technology, and a retention strategy built to protect your MSR. We are a people-first, solutions-driven servicing partner. Not just a vendor. Not just a platform. A partner who shows up, speaks plainly, and does what we say we will do. Your portfolio deserves that. So do your borrowers. MSF Servicing. Premier servicing. Personal accountability. Start the conversation with Rick Smith (860-989-9006).”

Truework, a Checkr Company, is the unified income, employment, and asset verification platform built for mortgage lenders, replacing slow, manual processes with fast and automated reports pulled directly from payroll providers and other authoritative data sources. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times and higher accuracy. Trusted by 4 of the top 5 lenders in the US, Truework delivers verification results your team can rely on. Learn more.

The Chrisman Marketplace is a centralized hub for vendors and service providers across the industry to be viewed by lenders in a very cost-effective manner. We’re adding new providers daily, so check back often to see what’s new. To reserve your place or learn more, contact us at info@chrismancommentary.com.

Artificial intelligence: a barometer for tech adoption?

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“An AI algorithm walks into a bar, and says ‘I’ll have what everyone else is having.’”

Questions surrounding whether AI can classify documents, automate workflows, extract data, or support underwriting decisions have largely been answered. Instead, the industry’s attention is shifting toward issues of explainability, accountability, and governance. Mortgage lending has always been a process-intensive business in which transparency matters as much as outcomes.

Regulators, investors, auditors, and consumers require not only confidence that a decision was made correctly, but also a clear understanding of how that decision was reached. As AI becomes more deeply embedded within lending workflows, the ability to document, reproduce, and explain machine-assisted decisions will increasingly separate sustainable innovation from operational risk. In this environment, governance becomes a strategic capability rather than a compliance exercise, transforming oversight from a defensive function into a source of competitive advantage.

Is all this making you rethink how you allocate resources and build long-term capabilities? Organizations that focus exclusively on automation risk overlooking the more durable value embedded in governance infrastructure, model oversight, data stewardship, and decision transparency. The best positioned institutions for the next decade are those capable of integrating technological innovation within robust frameworks of accountability and risk management.

This is particularly important given the central role of the government-sponsored enterprises in shaping standards across the mortgage ecosystem. Technological adoption in housing finance has historically been constrained not by what is possible, but by what can be operationalized at scale within accepted regulatory and secondary market frameworks. Successful lenders will need to balance innovation with institutional discipline, investing in systems that remain adaptable as both technology and market expectations continue to evolve.

Capital markets: volatility at a multi-year low

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Although rates were a little up and down last week, overall bond market volatility is the lowest it has been since 2021, and that makes capital markets teams pleased. Resumption of U.S.-Iran hostilities, the subsequent biggest weekly advance since April for crude, softer-than-expected CPI and PPI reports; Treasury yields and mortgage rates climbed to open the week as extension risk widened MBS spreads, but quickly reversed by effectively taking a July Fed rate hike off the table and allowing Treasuries and Agency MBS to recover most of their losses.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh and other policymakers reinforced a disciplined, data-dependent message while avoiding any new policy signals, leaving markets to conclude that the Fed is content to wait on any rate changes for now. Tariffs, Middle East energy risks, and AI-related inflation kept MBS investors cautious as elevated rates reduced refinancing incentives, weakened specified pool payups, and kept extension risk in-focus heading into this quieter week that will be more responsive to geopolitical developments than economic data.

Though, there still is a lot of economic data for the Fed and markets to digest. Consumer sentiment improved in July as lower gasoline prices lifted confidence across demographic groups, although renewed tensions in the Middle East could quickly reverse that trend if energy costs rise again. Industrial production remained sluggish, with manufacturing output flat for the first time since January. A sharp rebound in overall housing starts (up 19 percent in June) was driven almost entirely by multifamily construction, as single-family starts and permits remained weak amid ongoing affordability challenges. Import prices unexpectedly accelerated in June, pushing annual import inflation to its fastest pace since August 2022 and reinforcing that price pressures have not fully subsided, although underlying components continue to support expectations for a relatively benign Core PCE reading.

With inflation still viewed as the central risk to the economic outlook, this week brings a relatively light economic calendar, but one that will still deliver fresh evidence of the economy’s underlying momentum and the Fed’s next policy move. This week’s economic calendar kicks off today with the Leading Economic Index (which will reveal future growth prospects). The highlight of the week will be Friday’s flash PMI surveys and June new home sales. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices little changed from Friday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.17, and the 10-year yielding 4.55 after closing last week at 4.54 percent, down 3 basis points over the course of the week.

I wondered what my parents did to fight boredom before the internet.

So I asked my 18 brothers and sisters, and they don’t know either.

Visit www.ChrismanCommentary.com for more information on our industry partners, access archived commentaries, or subscribe to the Daily Mortgage News and Commentary. You can also explore the Chrisman Marketplace, a centralized hub connecting mortgage professionals with trusted vendors and solutions. If you’re interested, check out my periodic blog on the STRATMOR Group website. STRATMOR’s current blog is “Pricing That Can Help Borrowers.” The Commentary’s podcast is available on all major platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

qoɹ & ǝᴉqqoɹ

(Market data provided in partnership with MBS Live. For free job postings and to view candidate resumes, visit the Chrisman Job Board. This newsletter is intended for sophisticated mortgage professionals only. There are no paid endorsements by me. For the latest mortgage news, visit Mortgage News Daily. For archived commentaries, or to subscribe, go to www.ChrismanCommentary.com. Copyright 2026 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. Paid job & product listings do appear. This report or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold, or redistributed without the written consent of Rob Chrisman. The views and opinions in this newsletter are mine alone unless otherwise specifically stated herein.)