What PR firm turned the term “gambling” into “gaming” to make it sound more palatable and PC? There are many who will tell you that the amount of debt, both in the U.S. and around the world, is not a game, it’s a gamble. In 2025, the IMF reported that, across the globe, companies, households, and countries had amassed $251 trillion in debt. Looking toward the end of 2026, J.P. Morgan has warned that interest rates on such borrowings are set to spike, owing largely to dwindling populations and diminishing fiscal discipline. JPMorgan’s Joyce Chang and team unpacked the “six D’s” that will shape the global economy under the current and surrounding Administrations: Deficits, deregulation, de-carbonization, de-population, de-globalization, and de-dollarization. Of these factors, two in particular will put upward pressure on borrowing rates around the world: Deficits and de-population. How might that impact your borrowers, or will we continue to ignore things like deficits? (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 with Lower’s Paul Zinn on how successful retail mortgage teams are staying competitive by evolving their sales strategies, investing in recruiting, and developing top loan officers, and positioning their organizations to capitalize.)
Employment
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loanDepot continues to attract top mortgage talent as it welcomes industry veteran Fred Grisé to its Tinton Falls, New Jersey Retail branch. Grisé brings more than two decades of mortgage experience, including prior roles with Citizens, Wells Fargo Private Bank, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and JPMorgan Chase. Known for his strong referral relationships; client-first approach; and deep knowledge of purchase, refinance, VA, FHA, conventional, portfolio and new construction lending, Grisé has earned the trust of borrowers, real estate professionals, builders and financial advisors who rely on him to help clients navigate complex financing decisions. His move to loanDepot reflects the company’s continued momentum in bringing high-performing originators to a platform built for growth, service, and long-term success. Sales leaders interested in exploring opportunities with loanDepot are encouraged to contact Shane Stanton.
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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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.
“Rhyze has enhanced its market-leading True HELOC offering, now allowing for loan amounts up to $1.5M on 1st lien transactions. Built in partnership with the nation’s largest IMBs, this enhancement fills the need for many borrowers who want ultimate flexibility to optimize their finances. This True HELOC has a full 10-year draw window and IO period, and is underwritten to agency guidelines. If your customer is considering a Jumbo or High-Bal ARM, looking for interest-only payment flexibility, or for a better way to qualify, this True HELOC is a great alternative solution for Purchase, Rate/Term, or Cash Out Refinance needs. To confirm your access, discuss a scenario, or learn how to better serve your customers with a True HELOC, email us directly for fast response.”
Where do borrowers go when they don’t return to their previous lender? RETR’s updated 2025 Borrower Migration analysis reveals that billions in mortgage volume continue to transfer between lenders, with Rocket ($11.6B), CrossCountry Mortgage ($5.7B), Freedom Mortgage ($4.9B), PennyMac ($4.3B), and JPMorgan Chase ($3.9B) leading in captured volume. Perhaps most interesting is how much the leaderboard changed from 2024, with CrossCountry Mortgage, JPMorgan Chase, Guaranteed Rate, and Guild Mortgage replacing Wells Fargo, Discover Bank, Onity, and Select Portfolio Servicing among the top migration winners. The results suggest that borrower retention is more than a customer loyalty metric: it is a market share transfer mechanism. Thanks to LoanLossReport.com, lenders can now see not only their retention rate, but where their lost borrowers are going and who is capturing the opportunity. RETR’s latest analysis asks a simple question: Are you a migration leader, or a migration donor?
Lender Price pioneered the use of AI and natural language processing to automate pricing rule creation, and continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in mortgage pricing technology. Today, Lender Price combines advanced AI agents with expert pricing analysts who continuously validate and refine pricing logic to deliver the industry’s most accurate PPE, ensuring pricing stays current, consistent, and dependable. In today’s volatile market, accuracy matters more than ever, yet legacy, monolithic, and other newer PPEs still rely on manual processes. The result? Fewer pricing discrepancies, protected margins, and greater confidence for your lending teams… pricing you can trust. And accuracy doesn’t come at the expense of performance. Lender Price also delivers pricing up to 3x faster than competing engines. Discover the speed, stability, and confidence today’s lenders demand… See it in action. Request a demo.
Your fax machine called, and even it thinks your borrower experience might be due for an upgrade. This week on Thursday, July 30 at 1 PM ET, LenderLogix is hosting Originating in the Age of the Next-Gen Homebuyer, featuring Kristin Messerli, Executive Director & Co-Founder of FirstHomeIQ, and Patrick O’Brien, CEO of LenderLogix. In this webinar, they’ll discuss what Gen Z and Millennial buyers expect from the mortgage process, why trust is harder to earn, how misinformation and AI are shaping the borrower journey, and how lenders can use technology to create clarity without losing the human guidance buyers still need. Last chance to register here.
“The conventional clock may say wait. Arc Home’s Clean Slate program says take another look. Our new Access Clean Slate DSCR gives eligible real estate investors a path forward following a derogatory credit event, with up to 80 percent LTV, DSCR as low as 0.75 and loan amounts up to $2.5 million. Credit events over 36 months and recent mortgage lates may be eligible without additional restrictions, while events within 24–35 months may qualify up to 65 percent LTV. The program also provides expanded housing-payment-history eligibility and greater cash-out flexibility. See how these guidelines work through real investor scenarios in our recent webinar or contact your Arc Home AE 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.
FHA, VA, and USDA changes continue in a steady stream
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These programs are the true union of the government and lending. What’s happening out there?
June’s ICE first look at mortgage payment performance data shows that new default activity declined, and new FHA defaults posted their largest annual decline in more than four years (down 15 percent year over year). Early-stage delinquencies remained subdued and roll rates improved across both 30- and 60-day delinquency buckets.
The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) sent a letter to Acting FHA Commissioner Joseph Gormley, laying out CHLA’s findings regarding implementation of Section 105 of the recently enacted “21st Century Road to Housing Act.” Section 105 gives HUD authority to make payments to lenders and borrowers and to change loan terms for FHA small dollar loans [defined as loans less than $100,000].
Bayview Asset Management was the top Ginnie servicer at the end of the second quarter, handling a portfolio with an unpaid principal balance of $452.41 billion. The nonbank increased its Ginnie servicing portfolio by $15.70 billion during the quarter, including $14.35 billion in FHA servicing. Inside Mortgage Finance reports that much of Bayview’s growth came through acquisitions, including $13.48 billion from United Wholesale Mortgage and $4.85 billion from Equity Prime Mortgage.
Ginnie Mae has updated “Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities Portfolio Reached $2.97 Trillion in June“.
Ginnie Mae updated “2026-026: Website Modernization Implementation Complete — Corrected Production URL for Automating Disclosure Data File Downloads“.
Ginnie Mae has updated “July 16, 2026 Notes and News, View the post for details.
The FHA posted on its Single Family Housing Drafting Table for stakeholder review and feedback the draft Mortgage Letter (ML) Reinstatement Advance Payment. This ML, if finalized, would establish policy to help implement a Reinstatement Advance Payment (RAP) Demonstration for Partial Claims. The RAP Demonstration would provide an alternative method of securing the partial claim or payment supplement debt through a RAP Repayment Agreement secured under the FHA-insured first mortgage. This would eliminate the need for a partial claim note and subordinate mortgage, so is meant to reduce burdens for servicers and complexities for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Comments are due 9/3.
As spelled out in the link above, the FHA would launch the partial claim reinstatement advance payment demonstration as a voluntary program. The RAP program would eliminate the partial claim note, replacing it with the RAP repayment agreement between the servicer and borrower.
Servicers would make a reimbursable servicing advance to cover the borrower’s arrearages, and the advance would be secured by the mortgage, without interest. Servicers would service the RAP themselves.
Why is this proposed? The subordinated structure of partial claims has carried some of the blame for inconsistencies in HUD’s claims tracking and management. HUD’s oversight watchdog has supposedly identified gaps in its contractors’ servicing of the partial claims, which could lead to missed collections. It may also make the notes easier to lose track of amid the shuffle of bulk servicing acquisitions.
FHA has released FHA Info 2026-13/Mortgagee Letter 2026-06, updating the guidelines for both the Standard and Limited 203(k) programs. These changes may be applied immediately. View Pennymac Announcement 26-84 for details.
Newrez Correspondent updated overlay Matrices on Conforming Manufactured Housing as well as Government VA Manufactured Housing, USDA Intermediary Companies and Principal Curtailment Overlay Matrices.
Rural Development announced a modernization and restructuring effort aligns with USDA’s broader reorganization effort. This restructuring reflects multiple directives focused on government efficiency, workforce optimization, and improved federal service delivery, including initiatives on cost efficiency, hiring reform, and returning federal operations to in-person work.
Newrez Correspondent updated Underwriting Guideline regarding the Employment and Income Chapter of the VA Underwriting Guide to include Section 3I.6(q) Restricted Stock Units and Restricted Stock Employment Income information. The Government Overlay Matrix has been updated to state FHA and VA Mortgage Credit Certificates (MCC) permitted for Delegated Clients only.
The new USDA 2026 income limits are effective for new submissions or re-submissions to the Guaranteed Underwriting System (GUS) on or after July 13, 2026, and apply to existing pipeline and new applications for manually underwritten and non-GUS transactions. Pennymac is aligning with this change, view Announcement 26-82.
Capital markets: war escalation, now de-escalation
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Geopolitical tensions dominated mortgage and fixed-income markets last week as escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran pushed crude oil briefly above $100 per barrel, reigniting inflation concerns and driving a sharp selloff in both Treasuries and Agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS).
Treasury yields rose across the curve last week, with markets increasingly pricing in the possibility of a surprise Federal Reserve rate hike; most economists expect policymakers to leave rates unchanged at 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent this week, with investors instead focused on Chairman Warsh’s comments on inflation, economic growth, and the outlook. Despite stronger-than-expected domestic economic data (such as new home sales and improving business activity), markets remained overwhelmingly focused on oil prices and geopolitical developments, largely overlooking positive economic fundamentals.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to its highest level of President Trump’s second term, rising 14-basis points over the course of last week to close at 4.68 percent. Mortgages underperformed over the course of the week as rising rates triggered extension risk and modest convexity-related selling. Although this did not develop into a full-scale convexity event, widening spreads, longer durations, and weaker specified pool performance created challenging execution conditions for lenders, pushing mortgage rates to their highest levels in roughly a year and highlighting the sensitivity of MBS valuations to sustained moves higher in interest rates.
Attention now shifts to this week’s Federal Reserve meeting, where policymakers are expected to leave rates unchanged, but maintain a cautious stance as inflation risks remain elevated. For mortgage investors, the key variables will be whether energy prices stabilize, geopolitical tensions ease, and MBS spreads hold their recent widening without triggering a more pronounced round of convexity-driven selling.
Market focus will also be on a pivotal slate of economic data, including core PCE inflation, personal spending, and second-quarter GDP. Today’s economic calendar is already underway with June Durable Orders (+.3 percent versus 0.9 percent expectations and a prior reading of 1.3 percent). Later today brings $69 billion 2-year and $70 billion 5-year Treasury note auction results. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices better than Friday’s close by .125-.250, the 2-year yielding 4.31, and the 10-year yielding 4.64 after closing last week at 4.68 percent; traders attribute the move to a “technical bounce” as well as a break in the fighting leading to oil prices falling.
There once was a village whose mayors were all named Benny and had magnificent beards.
Legend held that if a mayor shaved his beard off, an ancient curse would transform him into a piece of pottery.
Centuries passed, and every Benny was a fair and wise mayor and never shaved their beards. But one summer, their land was struck by a terrible heat wave. All the men of the village shaved their beards, but Benny couldn’t.
After days and days of sweltering temperatures, Benny could no longer stand it. He summoned the village barber and had his beard shaved right down to the skin. The people of the village barely had time to gaze upon their newly shorn mayor’s face before he disappeared in a puff of smoke, transformed into a vase.
And so it was on that day, the villagers knew the curse was true: a Benny shaved is a Benny urned.
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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