June 23: Ops jobs; HELOC, verification products; AI Gap is a thing; Housing bill advances; JPMorganChase on affordability

Today I fly to the Mastermind Summit in Las Vegas. (I am anxious to see the friar from a Las Vegas monastery who converts the gambling tokens from all the casinos into cash. He’s known as the chip monk.) Speaking of air travel, I received this note. “Rob, thanks for the explanation on how airlines create boarding groups. I’ll keep that in mind for the next conference.” For the most part, the mortgage conference scene quiets down somewhat with summer but hats off to Old Republic Title and Escrow: at last week’s event in Honolulu the team handed out readers (1.50 and 2.0) at their booth… so much more useful than squishy balls and hand sanitizer. They know their audience: the glasses were a hit. Hey, before I forget, yesterday I published a link to Pennymac Policy Pulse, a newsletter tracking key federal policy developments shaping the housing market and broader U.S. economy. The link went to an old version; above is the link to the most current. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Equifax, a global data, analytics, and technology company, helps mortgage lenders gain the borrower and market insights they need to improve efficiency and make accurate decisions. Access differentiated consumer credit data, powerful consumer and market insights, and income and employment data from The Work Number. Today’s has an interview with HELIX’s Carl Markman and Frank Perugini on improving borrower and loan officer experiences, accelerating loan processing, and growth in some of the fastest-expanding segments of the mortgage industry.)

Jobs and transitions

_________________________________________________

“EPM is experiencing record-breaking growth in 2026 and is actively hiring across all mortgage operations positions: underwriters (FHA, VA) and account managers. EPM is one of the fastest-growing wholesale lenders in the United States, built on a mission of helping homeowners realize the American Dream. Ideal candidates are driven, experienced mortgage professionals ready to plug into a platform with real momentum and the support to match. We are also entertaining teams looking for a new home. This is a rare opportunity to join an organization that is scaling rapidly and investing heavily in its people. If you are ready to align yourself with the fastest-moving name in wholesale lending, now is the time. For confidential consideration, please email Anjanette Valenta.”

Congratulations to Brena Nath who is now with Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative as the VP of Events Management! Brena will be leading the strategy and execution of L1’s growing events portfolio, including the L1 Summit.

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.

Broker & correspondent credit and verification products

_________________________________________________

For decades, credit scoring was treated as a fixed input. Today, lenders have an opportunity to think differently. With score choice advancing and modern models leveraging trended data, mortgage risk assessment is moving beyond static snapshots toward a more predictive view of borrower behavior. TransUnion® is focused on helping lenders prepare for this evolution responsibly, through trusted data, advanced analytics and scalable, API‑driven solutions that integrate into existing workflows. Learn more about what this shift means for cost, competition and decisioning.

Less back-and-forth. More first-time-right verifications. Truework, a Checkr Company, replaces manual verification waterfalls with a single automated platform, so underwriters, LOs, and ops can cut down the document chasing, conflicting numbers, and last-minute corrections. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times, higher accuracy, and stronger R&W relief. Trusted by 4 of the top 5 lenders in the U.S., Truework gives your team verification results they can rely on. Learn more.

Broker and lender software, products, and services

_________________________________________________

Fetch the validation. Keep the savings. Fetch & Close from Kind Lending automates employment and income validation for eligible conventional loans inside Kwikie. No verbal VOE. Streamlined pre-close validation. Waived VOI/E fees, saving borrowers $200+ per verification. Your LPA findings do the work. You get the win. Ask your Kind Account Executive how to get started. Not an approved partner? Let’s change that! Join the Kind movement here.

Utilizing Servbank as your subservicing partner can lead to lower costs while improving your portfolio’s performance. Servbank helps you reduce servicing expenses, limit compliance risk, and streamline operations, all while reducing internal workload and headcount. Our industry-leading technology platform delivers real-time portfolio visibility, seamless execution, and compliant servicing that supports stronger financial outcomes. By eliminating overhead, we help you protect margins and strengthen your bottom line while delivering a best-in-class customer experience. Learn how Servbank can help you save money and deliver measurable impact to your bottom line.

Why a 2026 Tech100 Winner Switched to CANDID for Enterprise Scale. When CMG Financial was named a 2026 Tech100 winner, they solidified their position as an industry innovator; by adopting CANDID, the nation’s #5 Top Overall Lender has secured the infrastructure required to turn operational efficiency into massive scale. This partnership addresses the mortgage industry’s biggest profit drain: the costly vendor patchwork that fragments data and stalls enterprise AI strategies. By unifying sales, marketing, and lifelong retention into a single-source-of-truth ecosystem, CMG is establishing a new standard where replicated operating procedures are built directly into the technology. The data proves the power of this consolidation, yielding a 61 percent daily LO usage rate, a 9x faster implementation velocity, and a staggering 83 percent cost savings over traditional tech stacks. Elite lenders are moving beyond disconnected legacy tools in favor of a single platform that owns the customer journey from lead to forever. The standard has been set. To see how your organization can replace operational friction with high-velocity momentum, schedule a Discovery call today.

REMN Wholesale, a national leader in wholesale digital HELOC lending, has launched HELIX, its next-generation home equity platform. After helping brokers close thousands of HELOCs, REMN challenged itself to make a successful digital lending experience even better. A combination of technology and an exceptional support team continues to drive REMN’s success in the wholesale digital HELOC space. As volume grew, opportunities emerged to create greater efficiency, transparency, and automation while empowering the REMN team to help brokers and borrowers reach the finish line. HELIX was built to meet that challenge. Designed from real-world experience and feedback from broker partners and borrowers, HELIX embeds REMN’s support-first philosophy into the platform itself, combining intelligent automation, greater visibility, and hands-on assistance to create a more efficient path from submission to closing. JOIN REMN for their HELIX Overview webinar on Wednesday, June 24th, at 2:30 PM ET. Learn how HELIX helps brokers deliver a faster, more efficient HELOC experience powered by technology and supported by real people every step of the way. Click Here to register.

Every borrower who can’t get a HELOC from you is a potential relationship walking out the door. Lenders, banks, IMBs, and credit unions on NFTYDoor are closing that gap, protecting their book while adding a new revenue stream. Expanded buy box: 600+ FICO, 90 percent CLTV, $750K max. No warehouse line. Your loan officers and their borrowers submit the applications; NFTYDoor handles the rest in 0-6 days. Get started at nftydoor.com/partner-application.

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.

21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act moves along

_________________________________________________

The U.S. Senate passed a bill to “lower housing costs and restrict Wall Street from buying homes… The bipartisan legislation was crafted in both chambers and must now pass the House. It seeks to build more homes and prevent large investors from outbidding families.”

Yes, the U.S. Senate passed the latest revised version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644, as amended) by a large bipartisan vote, setting the stage for final House passage as soon as later this week. Read the full bill here and a summary here. Recall that differing versions of the housing package passed both chambers of Congress twice over the past year-and-a-half, but this looks more promising with many in Congress trying to keep their jobs at the midterm election in November.

The AI Gap is About to Become Real

_________________________________________________

I recently received this note from MISMO’s President Brian Vieaux. “I’ve been tracking AI adoption across the mortgage industry for the better part of two years. Most lenders are still experimenting, very few are operationalizing and this is an important distinction.

“During a conversation with Jagjit Singh, Head of Product at JazzX AI, we discussed where lenders actually sit on the AI maturity curve today. His perspective confirmed something I’ve been seeing firsthand across MISMO, lender boardrooms, conferences, and industry conversations. The mortgage industry is still largely in the pilot phase. We’re testing tools, running proofs of concept, and exploring use cases. But we’re not yet redesigning our businesses around AI. This is where the separation will begin.

“Companies who will win over the next three to five years won’t necessarily be the first ones to buy AI tools. They’ll be the organizations that rethink how the work actually gets done. There’s a difference between workflow acceleration and operational intelligence. Workflow acceleration helps someone complete a task faster. Operational intelligence helps the organization make better decisions at scale.” Thank you, Brian.

JPMorganChase addresses Housing Supply

_________________________________________________

A new JPMorganChase policy brief on practical steps states and cities can take to increase housing supply and bring down costs came out. Using examples from across the country, the brief shows how different places are testing new models to support innovations in homebuilding, such as zoning and land use reforms in Texas, identifying construction strategies to increase housing starts in California, manufactured homes zoning in Maryland, building codes in Colorado, a modular homes program in Cook County, and streamlining permitting in South Bend and Kalamazoo City.

“The United States faces a lack of affordable housing supply, and high labor, material, and development costs are deepening the problem. Construction accounts for a significant share of home prices, estimated at roughly 64 percent in recent analyses, with the greatest impact falling on low-to-moderate-income households and first-time homebuyers. The effects are far-reaching: high housing costs and constrained supply limit worker mobility, weaken employer competitiveness, and strain local economies. State and local reforms to zoning, building codes, and permitting remain essential but are not enough on their own to deliver homes at the price points families need.

“This paper examines how innovative construction (manufactured, modular, panelized, and other industrialized methods) can help address part of the affordability and supply gap. Innovative construction integrates manufacturing principles and standardized parts to housing production and delivery to reduce development costs and timelines. For certain projects, these efficiencies can lower construction costs by an estimated 20-30 percent and shorten timelines by an estimated 30-50 percent, translating to greater housing affordability.

“Two key challenges have contributed to limited broader adoption. First, regulatory requirements, including land use and zoning, building codes, and inspections, vary across jurisdictions. This adds unnecessary, cost-additive complexity and forces manufacturers to redesign products for different markets, reducing the efficiencies of standardized, factory-based production, particularly for manufacturers operating across state lines. In some jurisdictions, land use and zoning rules prohibit or limit the use of innovative construction altogether.

“Second, financial frictions also present challenges. Manufacturers need predictable order pipelines to finance factories and sustain operations, and developers face upfront deposit and payment timing that often do not match conventional construction loan draw schedules.

“To help address these barriers, this paper outlines three key policy recommendations for state and local leaders: #1, create a regulatory environment that enables innovative construction Align land use and zoning rules, land use rules, building codes, permitting, and inspection processes to place off-site and site-built housing on equal footing and with predictable approval pathways. Maryland’s Housing Expansion and Affordability Act, Idaho’s 2026 housing package, and Colorado’s statewide factory-built building code (SB25-002) offer promising examples to track.

“#2, increase public incentives that reduce financing frictions and support demand Deploy public incentives, demand aggregation strategies, and multi-year pipelines to create a more predictable market for manufacturers, improve access to capital, and support scale. Promising models include Colorado’s Innovative Housing Incentive Program and New York’s $50 million MOVE-IN NY.

“#3, build implementation capacity, workforce aptitude, and an evidence base for market adoption Invest in trained plan reviewers and inspectors, workforce development, and a credible evidence base cost, speed, and quality outcomes to support market confidence and replication. Examples include regional partnerships and research and coalition-based efforts like the Innovations in Manufactured and Modular Homes (I’m HOME) Network at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Capital Markets: Iranian confusion dampens interest rates

_________________________________________________

The U.S. Treasury temporarily waived sanctions to let Iran sell oil in dollars for the first time in decades, easing a core restriction on Tehran’s crude exports as negotiations continue. With negotiations between Iran and the U.S. in Switzerland getting off to a rocky start (depending on reports), bond yields pushed higher to open the week. Outside of geopolitics, this week will be dominated by the Personal Incomes and Outlays report, which will contain the PCE Price Index. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge (PCE) is expected to reach its highest level in three years due largely to a temporary energy-price surge, though falling energy costs in June are likely to ease inflation readings in the next report. The Fed may be perceived as increasingly hawkish, but despite tougher rhetoric and higher rate projections, it has still cut rates by 175-basis points since mid-2024; some would call that a “gap” between policy messaging and actual monetary policy.

Agency MBS posted modestly negative performance last week, with losses driven almost entirely by the market’s reaction to the Fed’s dot plot and perceived hawkish commentary from Chair Warsh, while spread movement remained largely unchanged, reflecting “wait-and-see” investor sentiment. Investors favored mid-stack coupons as higher-duration securities lagged, and despite MBS appearing attractive relative to investment-grade corporates, market participants remain wary of geopolitical and rate-related risks.

For scheduled economic news in the U.S., there is little that will move rates: Richmond Manufacturing, some kind of Purchasing Manager’s Indices… The only potentially market-moving news today are some short-term U.S. Treasury auctions. Recent Treasury auctions have shown softening demand, with the 5- and 7-year notes tailing in each of the last five auctions; higher yields, particularly on the 2-year note, may help attract buyers despite less overall enthusiasm. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices little changed from Monday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.20, and the 10-year yielding 4.49 after closing yesterday at 4.51 percent.

There’s a guy who lives in Ohio. One morning, he hears a voice in his head. The voice says, “Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money, and go to Las Vegas.” He ignores the voice.

Later in the day, he hears the voice again. “Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money, and go to Las Vegas.” Again, he ignores the voice.

Soon he hears the voice every minute of the day. “Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money, and go to Las Vegas.”

He can’t take it anymore. He believes the voice. He quits his job, sells his house, takes all his money, and flies to Las Vegas. As soon as he steps off the plane, the voice says, “Go to Caesar’s Palace.” He goes to Caesar’s Palace.

The voice says, “Make your way to the roulette table.” He goes to the roulette table.

The voice says, “Put all your money on red 23.” He puts all his money on red 23.

The dealer spins the wheel. It comes up black 17.

The voice says, “Damn.”

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.)