I am no numerologist, but Freddie Mac’s announcement yesterday, that 30-year mortgage rates are averaging 6.66, caught my attention. Unlike rumors, like the one going around about a Texas IMB buying California IMB, hard, provable numbers are hard to argue with… Like the hundreds of thousands of people every month turning 62. Setting up a reverse division at your company isn’t as difficult, say, parachuting beavers into Idaho. Why should lenders have a reverse mortgage division? Housing wealth among homeowners aged 62 and older rose in Q1 2026 to a record $14.92 trillion, according to the latest quarterly NRMLA/Riskspan Reverse Mortgage Market Index, driven by an estimated $314.8 billion (1.8 percent) increase in senior home values, partially offset by a $10.5 billion (0.4 percent) increase in senior-held mortgage debt. On today’s Last Word at 10AM PT, the gang will probably talk about demographics and business that works, the head-scratching Chair Warsh press conference and its impact on rates, and the latest MISMO news. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian Verify, providing mortgage lenders with automated income, employment, identity, and asset verification solutions that help accelerate underwriting while reducing fraud risk and manual documentation. Today’s has an interview CATO Institute’s Jai Kedia on if the Fed’s policy stance is getting closer to its target, and the future of the central bank under Chair Warsh.)
Jobs, and a retirement
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“What if the most powerful AI had full integration with your data? At Movement, they do.
The Top 10 lender recently launched AI for All, giving every employee the most powerful AI with full enterprise integration to data across all systems where the work actually happens like email and your CRM. The goal is simple: use the power of integrated data and automation to spend less time searching, chasing answers, and managing tasks. More time spent building relationships, serving borrowers, and closing loans. While others are still talking about AI, Movement is putting it to work. Employees have built 70+ agents across underwriting, marketing, the CRM and more, helping Movement’s loan officers move faster and stay focused on what matters most: production. Want to see our AI in action? Email Movement Chief Operating Officer Lyra Waggoner to learn how the company is helping loan officers win in a changing market.”
“The closing function is where operational leverage hides, and most lenders never go looking for it. A growing IMB originating in 30 states is taking the opposite approach, building AI and automation directly into its closing operations and hiring a remote Closing Manager to lead and shape that work. You’ll run an accurate, timely, and compliant pipeline and develop a strong team, but the larger opportunity is ownership of how the function evolves: seeing where process and handoffs can be tightened, then designing the workflow and tooling to do it. We want a builder energized by making a good operation exceptional, not someone content to keep the status quo running. Ideal candidates bring 3+ years in mortgage closing or mortgage banking with team leadership, real Encompass proficiency, and a track record of making a process measurably better. For confidential consideration, contact Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt.”
Nearly every week I receive retirement emails asking to change emails for the Commentary to their home address; no one is growing any younger. It is FirstFunding® Inc.’s Founder and Vice Chairman Jim Dunkerley’s time on 8/3. (23-year-old FirstFunding is a wholly owned subsidiary of First American Financial Corporation that provides warehouse funding to correspondent lenders, wholesale lenders, and secondary market investors.) “Jim has always been a champion of innovation, who recognized opportunities to solve complex industry challenges,” said Todd McGowan, president of First American Title Insurance Company’s Lender Division. Congratulations!
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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Community development teams spend too much of the year chasing volunteer hours. Emails, spreadsheets, and manual follow-up pile up, and the reconciliation work peaks right before an exam. On Wednesday, August 5, at 2PM ET, RiskExec will walk through a different approach. Join former OCC bank examiner, Sarah Brons, for a look at the Volunteer Service Reporting Portal. You will see how to create reporting links that let employees submit service activity directly into your files, set campaign start and end dates to align reporting with your CRA calendar, filter reporting to specific groups or qualifying organizations, use email verification to confirm who is submitting, and route submitted hours into the Community Development module for centralized, exam-ready recordkeeping. Built for CRA Specialists, Community Development Officers, Compliance Program Leads, and Chief Compliance Officers. Register here.
Every hopeful first-time buyer you meet has already been pre-rejected by Reddit, a well-meaning uncle, and last week’s rate headlines. Most of them are wrong about what they can afford, and the originators winning right now aren’t just closing loans; they’re rewriting that narrative and putting more borrowers in homes. NMP Ignite Session: Navigating the Rate Environment: Helping First-Time Buyers Break into the Market takes this on directly on Tuesday, August 4, at 1PM ET/10AM PT. Join NMP and three top originators in the Originator Hot Seat to learn what they’re saying, the products they’re using, and the content they’re creating to capture their attention. If you want to be the originator responsible for helping more Americans become homeowners, you’re going to want to register here.
Every lender has been there. The income was checked out. The employment was verified. The loan closed. And then the borrower’s employer said they never worked there. It happens. The question is who’s standing next to the lender when they have to answer for it. Service 1st’s Income+ and VOE/VOI reports come with an Insurance Wrapper, protection that provides a financial safety net when verified data doesn’t hold up after closing. If a discrepancy surfaces post-close that traces back to a reporting error, lenders aren’t left holding the exposure alone. A lot of verification providers will tell you what they found. Service 1st will back it up. Income and employment verification with a guarantee behind it. That’s the Insurance Wrapper and it’s available on every Income+ and VOE/VOI report Service 1st produces. Call 877-814-1178 or visit here to learn more.
Florida’s recent ruling in Department of Revenue v. Bank of America limits refinance taxes to new money rather than the full loan balance. Good news for borrowers, right? Yes, but for originators and operations teams, qualifying for those exemptions is creating immediate operational headaches. Miscalculating fees brings strict liability concerns and instant tolerance penalties that eat straight into loan margins. If you are trying to figure out how to adjust daily fee workflows without taking on massive compliance risk, you aren’t alone. Join an expert panel of legal and industry specialists for a practical discussion on navigating state-level tax shifts, board-level risk, and evolving compliance trends on August 6 at 2PM ET: Register here.
Mortgage professionals know that private MI can help borrowers buy sooner or afford a wider range of options (among other benefits). But it can be difficult to overcome the persistent myth that MI only helps the lender. On Thursday, August 13, join MGIC for a fast-paced webinar on how to show your value as a trusted advisor to borrowers and real estate agents by explaining how MI can help solve problems for them. Register now!
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.
Non-Agency, or just a little different, product news continues
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Most originators know that DSCR loans are not really residential loans, they’re commercial loans. There are plenty of other varieties of loans out there. Who’s doing what? Let’s play some catch up in these dog days of summer.
AnnieMac Home Mortgage announced the rollout of construction-to-permanent (CTP) loans in more than thirty states. The expansion strengthens AnnieMac’s ability to support homebuyers, builders, and communities in markets across the country. It builds on AnnieMac’s acquisition last year of certain assets from Florida-based Home Solution Lenders Inc.
Atlantic Home Mortgage announced the launch of Lendtrain, a refinance-focused mortgage platform designed to help homeowners quickly evaluate whether refinancing may make sense before completing a full application or speaking with a loan officer.
Pennymac updated Investment & 2nd Home LLPAs effective for all Best-Efforts Commitments taken on or after Monday, May 4, 2026. View Announcement 26-47 for details.
Newrez Correspondent updated their Medical Professional program, effective with pipeline and new applications as of July 15, 2026.
Onslow Bay is notifying sellers that they have updated their “Exposure List” and “Exclusion List” as of July 14th, 2026. This list can be accessed through their seller portal.
Onity Mortgage, f/k/a PHH Mortgage, has revised numerous topics within the Correspondent Seller Guide and Non-Agency Addendum. Log in to the Onity Mortgage library for more information.
Fifth Third Correspondent Lending Communiqué 2026-2-6.26.26 includes the following topics: UAD 3.6, Goodbye Letter Phone Number Update, and All Agency Products: Overlay Updates.
Newrez Correspondent updated Yosemite Jumbo AUS product guidelines, effective with existing pipelines.
Pennymac updated Jumbo LLPAs effective for all Best-Efforts Commitments taken on or after Thursday, July 23, 2026. View Announcement 26-83 for details.
Pennymac updated Jumbo and Non-QM LLPAs effective for all Best-Efforts Commitments taken on or after Wednesday, July 8, 2026. See Announcement 26-77 for details.
Brokers First Funding (BFF) announced the launch of its Non-QM Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) program, providing mortgage professionals with a flexible financing solution for borrowers seeking access to their home equity. Unlike many traditional HELOC offerings, the program supports both first-lien and second-lien HELOC transactions, creating additional opportunities for originators to serve a wider range of borrower needs.
Champions Funding is solving the most common DSCR challenges with flexible guidelines. Its Accelerator DSCR program is designed to help you overcome the challenges that commonly derail investor loans.
Citi Correspondent Lending Bulletin 2026-08 includes credit policy updates on 2026 Median Family Income (MFI) Limits – Citibank Assessment Areas, Project Standard Updates, Agency Loans IRS Tax Installment Agreements, DU Rural High Needs Appraisal Waiver, and more.
Capital markets: 30-year Treasury yield hits 19-year high
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Plenty of questions surround the Federal Reserve’s commitment to returning inflation to target, pushing long-term yields and inflation expectations higher. Fiscal concerns, elevated oil prices, and uncertainty over future policy are all weighing on long-duration bonds. Yesterday saw a fair bit of yield curve steepening, pushing the 30-year yield to its highest level in 19 years. Investors digested Chair Warsh’s message that markets, rather than Fed guidance, should drive financial conditions, suggesting the Fed is willing to wait for clearer evidence of persistent inflation before raising rates again.
When long-term rates rise relative to short-term interest rates, this can improve lenders’ net interest margins and make mortgage servicing rights more valuable due to slower prepayments. With long-end yields reaching fresh highs, we will shortly see whether selling pressure persists or begins to attract value-oriented buyers. The move in rates overshadowed softer-than-expected second-quarter GDP growth and a modest easing in core PCE inflation as markets remain more focused on the Fed’s evolving policy framework than on any single economic release.
Today’s economic calendar kicked off with the Q2 Employment Cost Index (+.9 percent versus 0.8 percent expectations and a prior reading of 0.9 percent). Later today brings July Chicago PMI and Final July University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment. At a high level, inflation is easing only gradually, consumer spending remains resilient but increasingly constrained by weak real income growth, and the economy is still expanding at a moderate pace thanks largely to business investment. We begin the last day of July with Agency MBS prices little changed from Thursday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.27, and the 10-year yielding 4.69 after closing yesterday at 4.66 percent.
THREE COHENS
It was a sweltering August day when the Cohen brothers entered the posh Dearborn, Michigan, offices of Henry Ford (an infamous anti-Semite), the car maker.
“Mr. Ford,” announced Norman Cohen, the eldest of the three, “we have a remarkable invention that will revolutionize the automobile industry.”
Ford looked skeptical, but their threat to offer it to the competition kept his interest piqued.
“We would like to demonstrate it to you in person.”
After a little cajoling, they brought Mr. Ford outside and asked him to enter a black automobile parked in front of the building. Hyman Cohen, the middle brother, opened the door of the car. “Please step inside, Mr. Ford.”
“What!” shouted the tycoon, “Are you crazy? It must be a hundred degrees in that car!”
“It is,” smiled the youngest brother Max, “but sit down, Mr. Ford, and push the white button.”
Intrigued, Ford pushed the button. All of a sudden, a whoosh of freezing air started blowing from vents all around the car, and within seconds the automobile was not only comfortable, but it was also quite cool.
“This is amazing!” exclaimed Ford. “How much do you want for the patent?”
One of the brothers spoke up, “The price is one million dollars.” Then he paused. “And there is something else. The name ‘Cohen Brothers Air-conditioning’ must be stamped right next to the Ford logo!”
“Money is no problem,” retorted Ford, “but there is no way will I have a Jewish name next to my logo on my cars!”
They haggled back and forth for a while and finally they settled. Five million dollars, but the Cohens’ name would be left off. The first names of the Cohen brothers, however, would be forever emblazoned upon the console of every Ford air conditioning system.
And that is why even today, whenever you enter a Ford vehicle, you will see those three names clearly printed on the air conditioning control panel: NORM, HI, and MAX.
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.)
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