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Month: January 2026

Why AI Adoption Is a Human Opportunity in Addition to a Technical One

Posted on by Tela Mathias

Generative artificial intelligence (genAI) did not arrive quietly in the mortgage industry. It burst onto the scene with accelerated timelines and forced uncomfortable questions about relevance, speed, and survival. For many leaders, AI remains a buzzword or a vague mandate handed down from the boardroom. For others, it has become an existential inflection point. The difference between those two perspectives is not technology. It is mindset and this gut-based belief that radical change is…

When Mortgage Headlines Get Loud, Local Advice Matters More

Posted on by Brian Vieaux

For consumers paying attention to housing news lately, it probably feels like the industry and policymakers are throwing everything they have at the affordability problem. 50-year amortization mortgages. Penalty-free access to 401(k) funds for down payments. Prepayment penalties reintroduced as a way to lower interest rates. And now, proposals from the White House to ban large investors from purchasing homes. Each of these ideas has made headlines over the last several months. Each of them…

Jan. 20: AE jobs; CD lender wanted; custom software, u/w tools; FHA, USDA news; webinars today & tomorrow; Mitch Kider interview

Posted on by Rob Chrisman

“Rob, last year the press seemed convinced that President Trump’s tariffs would lead to inflation which would hurt mortgage rates. That proved not to be the case. Now comes word that President Trump’s quest for Greenland is a personal retaliation of him not winning the Nobel Peace Prize, and that the tariffs will, once again, drive inflation and mortgage rates higher. Is this true?” Geopolitical events can impact interest rates, but let’s hope the uncertainty and impact is minimal as it was…

Jan. 19: Retail mgt., LO jobs; non-QM, DSCR, processing tools; Fannie & Freddie’s stock drop… re-IPO nebulous

Posted on by Rob Chrisman

While underwriters are abuzz about the Trump administration delaying its plan to withhold wages for student loan borrowers in default, in other news mixing politics and the lending business, forget about President Trump complaining about Joe Biden using autopen, which has been used by presidents since WWII. What about voices? Plenty of people (humans) can imitate Donald Trump. So can AI, and Fannie Mae admitted his voice was AI generated in Fannie’s new commercial . Yes, Fannie is putting…

Jan. 17: What is driving mortgage rates; California & AI legislation; Robert Rubin business leader silence; Saturday Spotlight: FlyHomes BBYS

Posted on by Rob Chrisman

Yeah, I know that this is a daily commentary on the world of mortgages, often about how companies are evolving, leveraging technology, and constantly changing their product in their pursuit of customers. How about the opposite business model? Unlike just about every other online business today, Craigslist is a completely honest, straightforward business. There is no hidden toll or price (your data) for “free” (the company makes revenue elsewhere) and the transaction is straightforward for…

Jan. 16: U/W, LO jobs; Compliance, servicing, mortgage reset tools; LOs and credit card caps; February & March in-person events

Posted on by Rob Chrisman

How are we halfway done with January already? Wasn’t it just New Year’s? Some lenders slow down in the winter, but I am hearing reports of great Decembers and Januarys. Wanna fire up your sales team? Here’s an article: “The golden handcuffs are slipping in the U.S. housing market.” As industry vets knew they would eventually, borrowers with “once-in-a-lifetime” rates are refinancing, or selling houses with those mortgages on them. There is a lot of news and change, both locally and…

The Credit Card Rate Cap Debate — And What Mortgage Professionals Should ActuallyWatch

Posted on by Ethan Vieaux

Last week, Donald Trump floated a proposal that immediately grabbed headlines: a one-year federal cap on credit card interest rates at 10%. Markets reacted quickly. Bank stocks sold off. Trade groups pushed back. And the debate over consumer affordability versus credit availability reignited almost overnight.(Source: CNBC – https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/10/trump-calls-for-one-year-cap-on-credit-card-interest-rates-at-10percent.html ) At first glance, this looks like a story squarely in the…

Capital Markets Recap: January 16, 2026

Posted on by Robbie Chrisman

A combination of policy noise, economic data continuing to beat expectations, a meaningful drop in mortgage rates, and elevated uncertainty dominated the narrative this week. Markets continued to digest geopolitical tensions, legal risks around tariffs, and renewed political pressure on the Federal Reserve, but Treasury yields ultimately remained range-bound as investors waited for clearer signals from data and the Fed. Even potential shocks, such as a Supreme Court ruling on tariffs or…

Jan. 15: CFO job; Hedging, corresp. & broker, servicing, quality management, fraud prevention products; CrossCountry’s CEO Ron L. interview

Posted on by Rob Chrisman

“Last weekend I was invited by a female janitor to smoke some weed in her apartment, but I politely declined. I can’t deal with high maintenance women.” While rumors swirl that Jerome Powell is paying his own legal bills while dealing with the DOJ, and the Administration is ruminating on using 401(k) or 529 funds to buy a home (no one needs cash when they retire, or money for higher education, right?), in the land of “concrete news” the office-to-apartment and condo conversion trend is…