The ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu said, “Sometimes the best victory is the battle that was not fought.” In a shrinking residential market there are a lot of potential battles, for example: “Rob, are you hearing that some IMBs are not charging an origination fee or putting caps on LO comp for jumbo loans?” Of course, especially if the independent mortgage bank, or broker, is in an area where’s you’re battling it out with credit unions and banks. If you have a $2 million loan, and an IMB’s LO is charging a point, that’s $20k, but if an originator at a CU or depository bank is charging $5,000 for the same loan because they’re capped at that, well, what’s borrower supposed to do? So, yes, many IMBs do cap comp or origination fees. Not only that, but with interest rates where they are, and jumbo adjustable rate mortgages a viable product, often banks and CUs have a solid offering. There are some good deals to be had because of the poor affordability, but buyers not in the business of buying homes have a hard time wrapping their head around all of it versus five years ago. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are presented by FICO. As the industry’s most predictive credit score, FICO Score 10T combines proven performance with deeper insight into borrower behavior to help support a stronger and more resilient housing finance system. Today’s has an interview with Areal’s Argun Kilic on automating closing disclosures, funding reviews, and post-closing tasks.)
Employment
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“Canopy Mortgage knows you are tired of cutting your own commission just to save deals from your lender’s heavy pricing. When borrowers shop harder, bloated corporate margins become your biggest liability. We fix this through the strict Corporate Discipline of our proprietary NANO technology, keeping our cost-to-fund 34 percent lower than the industry average. You win the deal with aggressive pricing and actually protect your paycheck instead of subsidizing a top-heavy org chart. Take back control of your pipeline. Call 385-273-0404 or Click Here to discover a more profitable way to originate with Canopy Mortgage.”
A broker offered mLOOP $400K to be matched with every originator on the platform. The answer was no. Matches can’t be bought. They’re earned by fit. See who fits you.
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 brokers products, services, and software
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Flagstar Bank’s Mortgage Banking Finance Group delivers growth-focused capital solutions for MSR and Warehouse lending. With facility sizes ranging from $50 to $250 million, Flagstar provides substantial balance sheet capacity for established operational providers and strong risk managers. The bank’s MSR Financing group delivers specialized expertise across the full spectrum of mortgage servicing rights, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. With decades of experience spanning servicing operations, regulatory compliance, and escrow deposit optimization, the team helps clients unlock the liquidity in their servicing portfolios. Flagstar’s partnership-driven Warehouse Lending model lets partners retain full operational control and client relationships, with the only material change being a once-daily settlement process. Heading to the IMN MSR Forum in New York City? Reach out to schedule a private meeting or confidential conversation with Ashwin Mago.
Paramount Residential Mortgage Group (PRMG®) has expanded its closed end second mortgage lineup, giving borrowers with locked-in, low-rate first mortgages new ways to tap cash without refinancing. The Closed End Second Expanded Access program now includes Premier Standard, Premier Select and Premier DSCR products, with loan amounts up to $1 million, credit scores down to 660 and unlimited cash-out proceeds. Borrowers can qualify with tax returns, W-2s, 1099s, bank statements, profit-and-loss statements, or asset utilization. The products also allow non-warrantable condos, properties up to 10 acres, interest-only options, and Texas home equity loans, with no seasoning required for primary residences. Exceptions remain available for scenarios outside standard guidelines. “The pricing on this is more competitive than ever, and it’s the widest credit box I’ve seen for seconds,” said Justin Margolis, PRMG vice president, non-QM business development. Contact: Paul Lucido, chief culture and brand communication officer.
The very best loan officers have built a brand that retains customers and drives referrals through expert advice, knowledge, and delivery. As many hours as it takes to build that brand, don’t take a chance on wrecking it by selling your customer an out-of-market HELOC, or by relying on third-party service levels by brokering it. Now that the nation’s largest IMBs have access to a True HELOC, powered by Rhyze in a fully delegated correspondent channel, loan officers can be confident that they are providing their customers a market-leading product with rates, terms, and service that protects the brand they’ve built. To confirm your access, discuss a scenario, or learn how to protect your brand with a True HELOC, email us directly for fast response.
In 2008, Britain’s Royal Mint paired an old heads design with a new tails design, sending as many as 250,000 coins into circulation without a date. The mistake went unnoticed until the coins were rattling around in pockets, turning an embarrassing oversight into a collector’s item. Mortgage defects rarely enjoy such happy endings. Friday Harbor’s Safe Harbor QC reviews loan eligibility, salability, and regulatory compliance before closing, giving lenders time to correct costly mistakes. Unlike slow, expensive outsourced QC services, Safe Harbor QC delivers faster, more consistent reviews at a fraction of the cost while keeping sensitive loan data onshore. Qualifying loans are also eligible for an insurance-backed warranty from a global insurer rated A+ by AM Best. Collectors pay extra for mistakes, but investors send defective loans back. Request a demo.
A fast answer feels like a shortcut. Without a verifiable source, it’s a liability. As AI moves into compliance research speed only helps when your team can trust what’s behind the answer, and the risk grows when they can’t. In the new blog by ICE, What to look for when AI enters your compliance research workflow, discover the three checks before you commit: make sure every answer shows its source, keep a person making the final call and ask how fast the tool’s content updates when a rule changes. Ask Regi, the AI-assisted search in AllRegs, is built to that standard, with answers grounded in one source of truth for mortgage guidelines and regulatory content, and the source always visible so your team can verify before acting. Read the blog.
Home equity demand is surging, and the lenders who verify fastest are the ones winning that volume. Truework, a Checkr company, automates income, employment, and asset verification across every source in one platform, so you can verify 97 percent of U.S. workers faster and more accurately, at up to 50 percent lower cost. Don’t let manual verification processes cost your borrowers while they wait. Learn more.
Many lenders still have underwriters review every appraisal by hand and carry the repurchase risk if something slips through. Reggora Appraisal Review auto-approves 70 percent of traditional appraisals in seconds against your custom rule sets and routes the rest to the right reviewer with context pre-loaded. It’s the industry’s first appraisal review backed by a repurchase warranty: when an eligible appraisal passes review, Reggora covers the financial loss from appraisal-related repurchase demands and LLPA adjustments at no additional cost. It works with appraisals from any source, including your appraiser panel, any AMC or the Reggora Marketplace, and saves lenders on average $258 per loan file. Download the Appraisal Review datasheet to see how it works.
The next Chrisman Demo Day is November 19 and is a free perk for all Chrisman Marketplace members. If you’re a technology or service provider and haven’t joined the Marketplace yet, reach out to Chloe Murray at info@chrismancommentary.com to 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.
Learn from your La-Z-Boy: fast approaching webinars
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There are many opportunities to hear about current events, for free, and without spending thousands on airfare and hotels.
Mortgages With Millennials is today at 10AM PT. David Upbin of the Mortgage Bankers Association joins Kristin Messerli and Robbie Chrisman for a casual conversation about MBA Homebase, the ideas behind the MBA HUB presentation, what MBA Homebase offers, how it fits into the broader mortgage industry, and what it could mean for collaboration and the future of mortgage lending.
Mortgage Matters is tomorrow, October 28, at 11AM PT. Presented by Lenders One, Chad Turner, the President of Society Mortgage, will be addressing the state of distributed retail in tomorrow’s world, what are the challenges we all face in the new AI world, and what is the current state of the mortgage market and how we power through.
Recapture Wars is also tomorrow but at noon PT. Presented by Mortgage Solutions Financial, the group focuses on how mortgage servicing is facing new pressures as COVID-era valuations cool and servicers navigate changing market conditions. The Recapture Wars panel examines whether mortgage servicing rights values have reached their peak, the FASB exposure draft proposing the inclusion of recapture in MSR valuation, and how rising delinquencies affect servicing advances and liquidity needs.
The Big Picture is Thursday, October 29 at noon PT. Presented by Stellar Innovations, James Silas of Chubb joins Mitch Kider, and Michael Tannenbaum, and Rob Chrisman for a conversation on risk management and the evolving mortgage landscape. The discussion explores how lenders are navigating emerging risks, the role of insurance in protecting mortgage operations, and the challenges the industry should be preparing for in a changing market.
Also on Thursday, the revised Section 1071 final rule settled the threshold and the compliance dates. This session looks at what it left open: what happens to the small business lending data institutions collect, and the data decisions worth making in 2027. October 29, noon PT, join RiskExec!
Topic: MBA Homebase
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Brian Vieaux, the President of MISMO, sent some thoughts on investing in the people who “bring homeownership home.” “We ask a lot of mortgage loan officers. Understand the products. Build relationships. Explain the process. Help families make financial decisions that will affect them for years. We also expect them to become trusted educators in their communities. That responsibility requires investment in the people doing the work.
“I recently sat down with Dave Savage, Co-Founder of FirstHome IQ, and David Upbin, VP of Education at MBA, on MISMO MIC’D Up to discuss MBA Homebase. A knowledgeable, engaged loan officer can be an extraordinary resource for a prospective homebuyer, long before that person completes an application. But we cannot keep raising expectations without providing the coaching, knowledge, and support that help originators deliver.
“During our discussion, I shared my concern that our industry has lost a layer of production leadership. Difficult economics have left too many loan officers without someone consistently helping them improve their craft. A production report can identify who needs help. It cannot provide the coaching.
“Homebase brings continuing education, coaching, MBA research, and advocacy opportunities into an annual program built for loan officers. Its collaboration with FirstHome IQ emphasizes financial education and building trust through better conversations.
“Dave describes loan officers as financial literacy first responders. That resonates with me. Questions about homeownership often surface years before someone is ready to purchase. People need a knowledgeable resource who can explain the path and help them prepare. I have heard loan officers involved with FirstHome IQ describe speaking in local schools. Their enthusiasm comes from helping young people understand something that previously felt out of reach. Those students may not generate an application this quarter. That does not diminish the value of showing up.”
“For mortgage leaders, the practical questions are straightforward: Where do your originators get coaching? How are they learning to teach? Do they know how to contribute their voices to issues affecting their customers? For individual loan officers, consider one place where you could put these resources to work: a school, a community organization, or a conversation with someone who is not yet ready to apply. I explore this further in my full #VieauxPoint article.”
STRATMOR’s Technology Insight Lender Survey
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There’s still time to add your voice to STRATMOR’s 2026 Technology Insight® Study Lender Intelligence Survey. The annual study gives mortgage lenders a chance to share their firsthand experience with the technology that powers their businesses — and to help shape a clearer picture of what’s working, what isn’t, and where the industry is headed.
Why participate? The study reflects actual lender experience, providing an independent view of user satisfaction and Lender Loyalty Score® across a wide range of mortgage technology categories. Complete the survey and receive the results free of charge, giving you valuable intelligence you can use to understand how your technology experience compares across the industry. Add your voice to the industry’s technology intelligence: Take the survey.
Capital markets: second guessing our Federal Reserve
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There’s only a small chance the Fed hikes this week, but an 80 percent chance they hike in December… so many will say that this week’s meeting is really about the December meeting. But Warsh is going to try his hardest to avoid signaling a December move. Why should he? We will get two more Consumer Price Index and jobs reports ahead of that meeting. If we assume he successfully dodges those questions, the “market” will ask, “Does the statement suggest inflation is picking back up? Or simply not returning to 2 percent fast enough? How many dissent in favor of a hike? The market expects 3, so more or less could be a signal. How do concerns over AI and events in France factor into the Fed thinking?
The Fed will get a sneak peek at the Personal Consumption Expenditure and Gross Domestic Product (released Thursday), so how does that info show up in the statement and vote total? So, if the FOMC actually expect to hike in December, why not just do it now? If you expect to hike 75bps total, why not do it all at once and be done with it? Plus, if rate decisions have a year lag, does a pause this week mean the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for another year?
In terms of intra-day bond market activity and therefore interest rates, U.S. Treasuries and Agency MBS traded mixed but largely range-bound yesterday ahead of this week’s October FOMC decision, with shorter maturities underperforming amid a weak 2-year note auction and the long end posting modest gains, while easing oil prices and a rebound in French government bonds provided only temporary support. Investors must balance potentially attractive MBS valuations against spread volatility, refinancing uncertainty, continued housing weakness, and the possibility of renewed inflation-driven rate pressure. Agency MBS posted their strongest weekly excess-return performance since early August last week, supported by safe-haven flows and relatively contained volatility, with conventional and Ginnie Mae 30-year securities appearing attractive on a spread basis, particularly seasoned mid-coupon pools.
Today has the financial markets wondering about the implications of Microsoft offering to buy out one quarter of its worldwide work force. For lenders and servicers, does it mean that those 60,000 who elect to give up their jobs will pay off loans, or be in tight financial situations? Granted, this isn’t all in the United States, but it will be interesting in terms of “will other industries do the same?”
The economic calendar is already underway with September Durable Orders, always volatile typically due to airline orders. Later today brings the August FHFA Housing Price Index, August S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, October Consumer Confidence, September New Home Sales, and $70 billion 5-year Treasury note auction results. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices slightly better than Monday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.71, and the 10-year yielding 4.98 after closing yesterday at 4.99 percent.
Last year I dressed up as a screwdriver for Halloween.
It wasn’t the best costume, but I still turned a lot of heads.
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, “Those Monthly Payments Go Somewhere.” 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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