The cavalcade of M&A news continues, like two from yesterday. Stockton Mortgage, founded in 2001 and headquartered in Kentucky, inked a deal to take over the wholesale division of Connecticut-based lender Norwich Commercial Group d/b/a TPO GO. Effective August 10, 2026, TPO GO’s wholesale division will join Cursive Lending, Stockton Mortgage’s third-party origination channel. Thomas Michel, Chief TPO Officer at Stockton Mortgage, commented, “The opportunity with TPO GO was a natural fit for our long-term strategy. The team’s expertise complements our comprehensive product suite and portfolio of renovation lending solutions, allowing us to provide even greater value and flexibility to our broker partners.” And Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC has completed its acquisition of Valon Mortgage, Inc from Valon Technologies, Inc. “The transaction marks the closing of a strategic partnership built around ValonOS, the AI-native operating system Valon has built for mortgage servicing. Carrington expands its servicing portfolio by approximately 810,000 loans and using ValonOS as its core servicing platform.” (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Figure. Figure is shaking up the lending world with their five-day HELOC, offering borrower approvals in as little as five minutes and funding in five days. Figure has hundreds of partners in the Banking, Credit Union, Home Improvement, and of course, IMB space embedding their technology. Today’s has an interview with HomeLight’s Nick Friedman on how affordability challenges are evolving as the housing market adjusts to higher borrowing costs.)
Jobs; transitions running amok
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“As we continue to grow our Non-Delegated Correspondent channel at Onity Mortgage, I’m looking for an exceptional Non-QM Underwriter to join my team. If you’re an experienced non-QM underwriter with either Non-Delegated Correspondent or Wholesale experience and you’re looking for a place where quality underwriting, collaboration, and customer service matter, I’d love to speak with you confidentially. Please email me at Kim Kaplan.”
Rocktop Technologies, a mortgage operations intelligence company, announced the appointment of Jason Vinar as Chief Investment Officer who will lead Rocktop Capital Advisors, the firm’s capital markets business, with responsibility for MSR valuation, hedge advisory, and trading, and for setting the strategic direction of the business as it scales.
Argyle announced that it has promoted two longtime executives into expanded roles: John Hardesty is now chief revenue officer, and Daniel Esquibel has been named vice president of mortgage. John will lead Argyle’s go-to-market strategy and team, including sales, marketing, partnerships and customer success and Daniel will oversee Argyle’s mortgage business, covering sales, strategy, and partnerships.
Brokers First Funding (BFF) announced the appointment of Pam Scheidt as its new VP, Director of Operations, and will oversee all aspects of BFF’s operations including processing and closing functions, and play a critical role in enhancing operational efficiency, scaling infrastructure, and ensuring a seamless experience for BFF’s broker partners and their borrowers. 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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Affordability pressure doesn’t disappear when the loan closes. It comes back later as repurchase risk. Your borrowers are stretched, leaving less room for errors in the file. Truework, a Checkr Company, verifies income, employment, and assets before you close, replacing error-prone processes with fast, automated reports pulled directly from sources. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times and higher accuracy. Learn more.
PlainsCapital Bank National Warehouse Lending, a subsidiary of Hilltop Holdings (NYSE: HTH), is committed to providing mortgage lenders with a sustainable funding source in an uncertain market. With over 30 years’ experience and a well-capitalized, diversified financial holding company. PlainsCapital Bank National Warehouse Lending provides confidence to meet our mortgage lending partners’ funding needs. With exceptional operational performance, and a focus on relationship-driven business geared towards long-term success, we do not dwell on unnecessary fees. With PlainsCapital Bank National Warehouse Lending there are NO non-usage fees, NO application or renewal fees, NO third-party due diligence fees or Third-Party Doc Custodians and NO interest charged on the day of loan settlement. If you are attending the Western Secondary Conference in Palos Verdes, CA and interested in learning more about PlainsCapital Bank National Warehouse Lending please contact John Weerts, (925) 212-1413.
Most mortgage AI tools automate part of the process and leave your team to catch what gets missed. That doesn’t reduce risk, it just shifts it. JazzX AI takes a different approach, reasoning across the full loan lifecycle and validating data across documents to produce findings that are complete, explainable, and audit-ready. Every output is tied to a specific guideline, document, and data field, so your team can independently verify every decision. That’s the difference between automation that looks good upfront and automation that stands up under scrutiny. Request a demo to see how JazzX automates audit-ready decisions.
Loan Buyers Are Rethinking Scale. As loan volumes fluctuate and margins remain under pressure, loan buyers are increasingly focused on one question: how to scale acquisitions without proportionally increasing operational costs. Many buyers still manage seller onboarding, loan review, due diligence, condition management, and funding through a combination of emails, spreadsheets, and disconnected systems. While these processes may work at lower volumes, they can become a bottleneck as pipelines grow and execution timelines tighten. To address these challenges, more organizations are investing in workflow automation, centralized data, and process standardization to improve efficiency and visibility across the acquisition lifecycle. LauraMac Mortgage Technologies helps loan buyers streamline acquisition workflows while maintaining the flexibility required in today’s market. Attending the Western Secondary Market Conference? Reach out to the LauraMac team to discuss how leading buyers are modernizing their acquisition operations.
The sea otters off Terranea still won’t quote non-QM spreads, but at these volumes, give them a quarter. Black Lake Digital Markets is headed to the CMBA Western Secondary (August 10th–12th) to showcase institutional-grade infrastructure built to fix the hard stuff. Think rate sheets, guidelines & execution. Guideline Studio™ turns 400-page guideline PDFs into rules machines can actually follow. Rate Sheet Studio™ makes rate sheets something other than a nightly ritual sacrifice. Non-QM pipeline management that works, plus, real liquidity for non-QM & whole loans with bulk and forward flow executions that beat best efforts: slicker pricing, fewer drawdowns & easy execution. For the traditionalists: whole loan and MSR auctions, MSR valuation, servicing trading, scratch-and-dent, and CRA execution. Grab time at the Western Secondary by reaching out to Chris Kennedy or book time with GATHER’s Wayne Brown to discuss all things CRA. See you at the conference!
Total Expert Declares the End of the CRM Era: Traditional CRM was built to manage transactions and tasks, not maximize customer lifetime value. Financial institutions face a critical reality: customer-for-life strategies built on individual effort fail at both scale and speed. This week Total Expert announced the Customer Operating System, combining a system of context (Customer IQ) with a system of action (AI Assistants, Journey Orchestration, and Lead Management) to elevate people and unlock their full potential. The platform absorbs the work people don’t like and won’t do consistently (like following up, nurturing, watching for signals) while bringing humans into the loop in the precise moments customers need expert advice. One top-10 lender drove over 1,000 new HELOC originations in just six weeks using the platform. Read the full announcement to discover how the Customer Operating System approach transforms financial services.
“Preparation creates the conditions for success. Interest rates are rising and the future is uncertain. Is your team prepared for possible operational bottlenecks or unnecessary overhead costs? Agility 360 Loan Fulfillment Services provide flexibility to deal with market uncertainty and align resources to meet any scenario or situation. With over a decade supporting mortgage and financial clients, Agility 360 brings proven industry expertise to every client interaction and relationship. Our Loan Fulfillment Services are designed to improve efficiency, accelerate turn times, and support business growth. Whether you need full or partial fulfillment, document preparation, and/or wire/funding support, our experienced team seamlessly integrates into your operation. Find out how we can help deliver an outstanding, bespoke client experience, all while reducing costs by contacting Rajeev Sharma, MBA (rsharma@agility360.net) or Annabeth Kline (akline@agility360.net)!”
AI is becoming infrastructure, affordability isn’t easing, and regulators aren’t handing out AI carve-outs. If your tech stack is still a patchwork of point solutions stitched together with workarounds, the gap is only going to widen from here. Blue Sage Solutions’ four-part Mortgage Modernization Playbook walks through what’s actually changing in lending right now: why this moment looks different from past cycles, why consolidated platforms are winning out over “best of breed” stacks, what’s genuinely regulated versus hype when it comes to AI and decisioning, and why cycle time (not headcount) will decide who captures volume. Read the full series and see where your organization stands. Read the Mortgage Modernization Playbook here.
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.
Correspondent & wholesale product news
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“At Onslow Bay, we’ve built one of the industry’s leading non-agency correspondent channels, partnering with more than 350 originators and issuing over $60 billion in securitizations through our platform since inception. We are excited to build on that momentum with the recent launch of our non-delegated correspondent channel, offering originators another efficient way to access Onslow Bay’s platform, backed by our strong execution, disciplined credit approach, and experienced underwriting team. With a comprehensive suite of Non-QM, CES and HELOC products, Onslow Bay provides exceptional product flexibility, hands-on underwriting support, and highly responsive customer service. New technology enhancements, including our Laminr bank statement calculator, are designed to streamline the purchase process and create a more efficient experience for our partners. Early traction has been strong, and we are energized to keep growing this channel. If you are an originator seeking a reliable, experienced partner to help navigate the non-QM origination process, we would welcome the opportunity to connect. Please reach out to nondelsales@onslowbayfinancial.com to learn more.”
“Do you have Realtors that have listings with assumable low-rate first mortgages? Let Symmetry help bridge the gap! We allow up to 89.99 percent CLTV for a primary residence HELOC loan amount up to 500K with our Interest Only* HELOC! Help unlock New Possibilities with assumption loan options for your pre-approved database and increase buying power with lower rate assumable first mortgages & our Interest Only* HELOC. Free up cash to improve their purchase by using our HELOC to make up the difference while providing strategic solutions to both your clients and realtor partners. Reach out to your AE for more details! *Interest only payments during draw period (plus annual fee). (This post is for Mortgage Professional Use Only/Not for Distribution to the Public)”
If you’re still trying to fit investment borrowers into Agency guidelines, you’re losing them to lenders who get it. eRESI’s latest Seller Guideline enhancements make it even easier to grow your business with expanded qualification flexibility across DSCR and business purpose loans. These updates help you create more opportunities for investors, self-employed borrowers, and borrowers with non-traditional income profiles. Find the updated Seller Guidelines on the eRESI Seller Portal and in eRESI’s Guideline Guru. And if non-QM growth is on your mind, let’s talk in person. Join eRESI at the Western Secondary Conference, August 10-12. Our Head of Secondary, Rich Zimmerman, will take the stage as part of the non-QM 3.0 panel to discuss evolving opportunities in non-QM lending. Want to dive deeper? Schedule time with our team during the conference and discover how eRESI can help you gain a non-QM EDGE, today and tomorrow.
Today’s webcasts of note
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Today, Morgan Draper, Head of Customer Success at ActiveComply, will be addressing what clients want in order to be compliant in a constantly changing industry… or is it always the same? Sponsored by Lenders One, Mortgage Matters is at 11AM PT.
And at noon PT today The AI Show, presented by JazzX AI, features Rebecca Seward, Brooke Anderson Tompkins, Jagjit Singh, Mike Hogan, and Tela Gallagher Mathias explore the forces reshaping the mortgage industry as origination costs remain elevated and market conditions continue to evolve. The discussion examines changing borrower behavior, the growing threat of AI powered fraud and synthetic identities, and how technology is influencing underwriting, operations, and customer experience.
UAD 3.6: Don’t get left at the station
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On November 2, 1947, Howard Hughes piloted the Spruce Goose on its first and only flight. It never flew again. This year, UAD 2.6 reports will likewise be grounded for good after November 2. Experts from Class Valuation recently joined Freddie Mac Chief Appraiser Scott Reuter for a webinar to help lenders prepare by comparing UAD 2.6 to UAD 3.6 reports side-by-side. Watch the webinar on-demand to learn what’s changing, what you can expect to encounter operationally, and tips for getting your team ready (including dual-order training). Then visit the UAD 3.6 Resource Hub for even more tools and resources, including sample reports and tools you can use to reduce manual review volume during the transition.
The mortgage industry is abuzz about the appraisal changes and is entering the final stages of preparing for the rollout of UAD 3.6, with many lenders planning internal adoption in early September ahead of the broader November 1 implementation date, while maintaining the flexibility to toggle between UAD 2.6 and 3.6 since government and some non-agency loans will continue to require the legacy format.
Although lenders are using August for training, pilot testing, and operational preparation, appraiser readiness remains a significant concern, with many reporting that fewer than half of their appraisers are prepared and some estimating readiness as low as 13 percent. The transition is expected to temporarily increase appraisal fees and turn times (particularly in rural markets where capacity is already constrained) as appraisers adjust to the new reporting requirements and some experienced professionals may exit the industry rather than retrain. Operationally, lenders are focused on educating staff about when to order each appraisal format, managing valid change-in-circumstance scenarios, and setting expectations with borrowers and real estate agents about potential delays and expanded property observations under UAD 3.6. Most institutions are holding appraisal fee disclosures steady for now while monitoring how the market responds but are emphasizing the importance of ordering the correct appraisal products upfront to avoid costly reorders.
At the same time, technology providers are racing to complete integrations, with AI-powered review tools and machine-readable appraisal data expected to significantly reduce manual review costs, improve quality control, and streamline underwriting once the new standard is fully adopted, even as some loan origination system and vendor workflows continue to mature.
Capital markets: mortgage apps head lower
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Treasuries and Agency MBS extended their rally yesterday as renewed optimism over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement eased oil prices and supported bonds, while improving risk sentiment simultaneously propelled the S&P 500 to a new record high. Ahead of Friday’s July payrolls report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported hiring picked up slightly while job openings slowed: available positions decreased to 7.36 million from 7.54 million in May, and dismissals were little changed. Initial jobless claims fell by 22k week-over-week to 187k, the lowest level since 1969, underscoring a still-resilient labor market that, despite soft hiring, is likely to keep the Fed focused on inflation rather than labor market weakness.
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed 5.6 percent to $73.3 billion in June as imports posted their first monthly decline of the year, reflecting a broad-based pullback in trade activity. Even so, volatile trade flows driven by tariffs, Middle East tensions, and AI-related investment continued to weigh on second-quarter economic growth. Of note, in bond markets, investors are increasingly favoring European debt over U.S. Treasuries.
While higher mortgage rates have sharply reduced refinancing’s share of issuance since the first quarter, refinance volumes remain above year-ago levels, purchase lending has held relatively steady, and total loan production increased 5.6 percent from last July, driven primarily by strong growth in Ginnie Mae loans. Issuance continued to migrate toward higher-coupon pools as mortgage rates climbed, reinforcing expectations that purchase activity, rather than refinancing, will be the primary driver of Agency MBS supply if issuance is to remain above the $100 billion threshold in the months ahead.
Today’s economic calendar kicked off with mortgage applications declining 2.9 percent last week as higher borrowing costs continued to weigh on housing activity, with purchase applications falling 4 percent and refinancing activity slipping 2 percent. Compared with a year ago, refinance applications were down 9 percent, and purchase applications were 3 percent lower, highlighting the persistent impact of elevated mortgage rates on both homebuying and refinancing demand.
We’ve also received July ADP Employment Change (up only 44k). Later today brings Final July S&P Global U.S. Services PMI, July ISM Non-Manufacturing Index, Weekly crude oil inventories, and remarks from Fed Governor Cook. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices a tad better than Tuesday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.20, and the 10-year yielding 4.61 after closing yesterday at 4.63 percent.
With yesterday’s joke as a backdrop, Gary W. from RAMS Mortgage Capital writes, “Coffee backward is eeffoc. Just know I don’t give eeffoc until I’ve had my coffee.”
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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