March 2026 – Page 6 – Chrisman Commentary

Beyond Brokers and Branches: Building the Mortgage Model of Tomorrow

The mortgage industry has long been defined by a divide between retail and wholesale channels, but that line is blurring. At NEXA, our strategy from the beginning has been rooted in access: access to products, access to flexibility, and access to speed. Traditional retail lending comes with overlays and internal inconsistencies. One underwriter may approve a loan that another denies. That frustration led us to focus on wholesale, where we could operate more efficiently, reduce friction, and…

Data, AI, and the Compliance Crossroads

Posted on March 11June 2 by Wendy Lee

Artificial intelligence has captured much of the mortgage industry’s attention, but the deeper transformation underway is about data. As lenders rethink marketing, servicing, retention, and long-term borrower relationships, responsible consumer data management has become central to both strategy and risk. Every modern initiative, from AI-powered customer engagement to automated servicing workflows, depends on the quality, accessibility, and legality of the underlying data. The institutions…

Friction in Mortgage Lending Isn’t About Technology

Posted on March 10June 2 by Phil Ganz

For years, the mortgage industry has framed “friction” as a technology problem. If the application is faster, if the disclosures are digital, if the underwriting is automated, then the experience must be improving. But friction in mortgage lending is rarely about how quickly someone can e-sign a document. It is about uncertainty. It appears when borrowers do not know what happens next, when a pre-approval arrives without a clear understanding of true cash to close, and when momentum replaces…

Rethinking Mortgage Quality Control for Modern Risk

Posted on March 10June 2 by Sharon Reichhardt

Quality control (QC) has never been the most glamorous part of the mortgage business, but it has always been one of the most important. In a market defined by tightening margins, regulatory scrutiny, and heightened operational risk, QC is no longer just a back-office requirement. It is increasingly becoming a strategic function that protects profitability, safeguards reputations, and ultimately ensures that lenders are producing high-quality loans. At its core, quality control in mortgage…

Mar. 10: AE jobs; BBYS, trigger lead, document generation, AI rollout tools; Pennymac’s Spector on strategy; prediction markets & ratesI

Posted on March 10June 2 by Rob Chrisman

“I saw a man at Walmart with March Madness teeth… He was down to the final four.” Speaking of “4”, TransUnion turned some heads by announcing 99-cent mortgage pricing for VantageScore® 4.0 . While we’re talking about money, President Donald Trump called surging oil costs, which are now at their highest level since 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, a “very small price to pay” if the goals of the war are met. Politicians, regarding of party, are never good at cutting costs, and there are…

Mar. 10: AE jobs; BBYS, trigger lead, document generation, AI rollout tools; Pennymac’s Spector on strategy; prediction markets & rates

Posted on March 10 by Rob Chrisman

“I saw a man at Walmart with March Madness teeth… He was down to the final four.” Speaking of “4”, TransUnion turned some heads by […]

An Economy Running on Fewer Legs

Posted on March 10June 2 by Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D.

The U.S. economy right now feels a bit like a bar stool that has lost a few of its legs. As long as the remaining ones hold, everything looks stable enough. But the fewer supports you have, the more vulnerable the whole thing becomes. That is increasingly how the current economic expansion looks. The headlines still show growth, unemployment is relatively low, and consumer spending has not collapsed. Yet beneath those numbers, the economy appears to be relying on a surprisingly small number…

#VieauxPoint: Could Prediction Markets Predict Mortgage Rates?

Posted on March 9June 2 by Ethan Vieaux

Mortgage professionals tend to watch the same handful of indicators when thinking about rate movement. The 10-year Treasury. Mortgage-backed securities. Inflation data. Fed commentary. But another signal may be quietly emerging in the background: prediction markets. Platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket allow participants to trade contracts tied to real-world outcomes. Instead of buying a stock or bond, traders buy contracts tied to questions like: Will the Federal Reserve raise rates at the…

Discipline Builds Institutions: A Conversation on Strategy

Posted on March 9June 2 by David Spector

For most of Pennymac’s journey, we’ve been organic builders. In an industry where scale is often purchased rather than constructed, we have chosen to grow deliberately by building our platform, our team, and our technology from the ground up. That purposeful foundation is what has allowed us to thrive through every market cycle. Our founding philosophy was straightforward. When you buy a company, you inherit its legacy systems, embedded costs, and cultural assumptions. But when you build, you…

Mar. 9: Non-QM, default support, DSCR products; in-person events; Which lenders are refinancing; Rocket’s Austin Niemiec interview on Compass

Posted on March 9June 2 by Rob Chrisman

One of the conversation topics late last week in Deer Valley is the weather and climate, and more specifically that Salt Lake City had received virtually no snow this winter, which means that places like Atlanta and Charlotte have received more snow than a city at 4,300 feet elevation. Syracuse, New York has received nearly 5 feet of snow so far this year. Ever heard of Commonspace in Syracuse? As another affordable alternative, it’s a “cohousing” community in a restored 19 th century…