ICE Experience, AI Webinar, LOS, Inside Sales, BBYS, DSCR Products; Is a Cap on Credit Cards Possible?
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the median age of first-time homebuyers has increased significantly, reaching 40 years old, compared to 29 years old in 1981. Not only that, but first-time home buyer share has fallen to a historic low of 21 percent. If you’re a lender, do you have the products in your arsenal to take advantage of these demographic shifts? In addition, do you have the technology that your clients prefer? In today’s Now Next Later, at 10AM PT, Jodi Hall and Jeremy Potter will focus on technology and innovation. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by Figure. Take advantage of Figure’s technology and products like its fixed HELOC, DSCR loan, piggyback loan, and direct debt paydown, helping you serve more of your existing network and expand into new markets. Hear an interview with Texas MBA’s Erin Dee on the benefits of advocacy at the state association level.)
Products, Services, and Software for Brokers and Lenders
Kick off the New Year with momentum by taking advantage of January 2026 Specials from LendingPros, designed to help you grow your pipeline fast. Enjoy up to 75 BPS in PRICE IMPROVEMENT on Non-QM with the Select product, or 25 BPS without Select, includes DSCR 5–8 unit and Jumbo loans. (Excludes Seconds, Closed End or Stand-Alone) Learn more. Plus, unlock new growth by expanding into global markets with LendingPros’ NEW Foreign National DSCR program. Register now for their informative webinar on January 14th to gain the confidence and insight you need to serve international investors and reach more clients. Sign up yourself or your team today and start the year strong. Contact your LendingPros AE to learn more about our Non-QM loan programs.
Calque and The Loan Store Announce Partnership to Expand Buy Before You Sell+ Program! Today, Calque and The Loan Store announced a new partnership to expand the availability of the Buy Before You Sell+ program in more markets, with greater flexibility. This enhanced reach helps The Loan Store deliver easier funding options for its wholesale partners and provide more certainty for homebuyers. Buy Before You Sell+ allows consumers to purchase a new home before selling their current one by leveraging their existing equity to support the new loan, while excluding the existing mortgage from the debt-to-income calculation. This structure helps more borrowers qualify and supports smoother, faster transactions. Partners can learn more about program details and how to get started by visiting here. “Our teams share a commitment to practical solutions that help brokers win more business and serve clients better,” said a spokesperson for The Loan Store. Calque and The Loan Store are excited to bring this program to more partners, helping them close purchase deals with confidence, speed, and fewer hurdles.
“Unlock the Secret to Inside Sales Success in Wholesale Lending! Are your inside sales teams struggling with inconsistent results and ad-hoc activity? You're not alone. Building an effective inside sales team is a major hurdle for TPO lenders seeking a high-efficiency, scalable sales process. For over a decade, OptifiNow has mastered the proven inside sales playbook that top wholesale lenders are using. We replace guesswork with structured workflows, clear accountability, and measurable outcomes. Join us for this exclusive, FREE live class where wholesale lending professionals will discover the exact tools and methods our clients use to dramatically increase submissions, tighten follow-up for faster conversions, and protect pipeline integrity to reduce fallout. This isn't just theory. It's a practical, field-tested approach built from real lender results. Register now to learn the inside sales playbook that top wholesale lenders are using heading into 2026.”
2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for innovation. From renewed lunar missions and deep-space exploration to private companies pushing the boundaries of what is possible beyond Earth’s orbit, progress is accelerating across industries. Mortgage lending is at a similar inflection point, as technology, efficiency and integration move from nice-to-have to mission-critical. That’s the thinking behind “Empower Evolved,” a theme that reflects how Dark Matter Technologies’ Empower LOS platform has changed to meet the demands of a fast-paced industry. Empower anchors core origination, automation, and compliance in a modern LOS. The result is a connected experience that reduces manual work, shortens cycle times, and supports consistent execution across channels. For lenders facing tight margins and rising expectations, launching intelligent origination is the next frontier. Read its blog for more and expand your horizons with a demo.
If AI is on your radar, this is one of those webinars you’ll want on your calendar. With more mortgage technology solutions claiming to be “AI powered,” lender executives are being asked to make faster decisions with less clarity around what actually matters. Join Brooke Anderson-Tompkins, Founder and CEO of Bridge Advisory, and Patrick O’Brien, CEO of LenderLogix, on Wednesday, January 21 at 1:00 PM ET for a practical, hype-free discussion on how leaders should evaluate AI in mortgage technology. They’ll break down where AI delivers real value, where risk often hides, and how executives can assess transparency, accountability, and long-term impact without needing to be AI experts. Register now to save your seat.
Last chance for discounted rates at ICE Experience 2026. Register by January 16 to avoid the price increase. Whether you want to streamline operations using the latest Encompass® and MSP® solutions, explore breakthroughs in AI and automation or stay ahead of regulatory changes, you’ll discover actionable content tailored to your needs. ICE Experience 2026 is your gateway to innovation, collaboration, and real-world takeaways, all happening March 16–18, 2026, at Wynn Las Vegas. Check out the full lineup and get ready to transform your business.
The Chrisman Marketplace is a centralized hub for vendors and service providers across the mortgage 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.
Credit Cards and Mortgage Rates: Parallel Universes?
Much of the world’s prices are determined by supply and demand, whether it is lake front property, Faberge eggs, or interest rates on loans. Supply and demand, in economics, is the relationship between the quantity of a commodity that producers wish to sell at various prices and the quantity that consumers wish to buy. The price of a commodity, or mortgage rates, is determined by the interaction of supply and demand in a market. The resulting price is referred to as the equilibrium price, and in equilibrium the quantity of goods supplied by producers equals the quantity demanded by consumers.
I mention this because there have been recent pronouncements from President Donald Trump that could impact interest rates. Although he did not state any details, the President announced that he will have Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae purchase (instead of their usual role in buying) $200 billion of mortgages in the form of mortgage-backed securities). (Regarding supply and demand, there’s also a proposal that large institutions will be barred from buying single family homes.) It is expected that these securities will be originally issued by Fannie and Freddie. Bond prices increased and mortgage rates dropped on the news, given that the demand increased, other things being equal.
Late last week, President Trump proposed a cap on credit card interest rates of 10 percent. Recall that Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont introduced a bill in February of 2025 that would have capped credit card interest rates at 10 percent also, but the bill went nowhere.
But before the champagne corks pop, the Bank Policy Institute, American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum, and Independent Community Bankers of America issued a joint statement Friday saying the President’s proposal would be devastating for millions of Americans. "We share the President’s goal of helping Americans access more affordable credit. At the same time, evidence shows that a 10 percent interest rate cap would reduce credit availability and be devastating for millions of American families and small business owners who rely on and value their credit cards, the very consumers this proposal intends to help," the groups stated.
"If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives. We look forward to working with the administration to ensure Americans have access to the credit they need."
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman reacted to Trump's announcement, calling the president's proposal a mistake: "Without being able to charge rates adequate enough to cover losses and to earn an adequate return on equity, credit card lenders will cancel cards for millions of consumers who will have to turn to loan sharks for credit at rates higher than and on terms inferior to what they previously paid.”
It reminds us that the best way to avoid those excessive high interest rates is to live within your means, not charging things you don't truly need, and pay off your balance each month. With a 10 percent cap, credit card companies are going to be a lot more selective as to who gets cards. One reason the rates are so high is the high rate of default. The lower rates will no doubt trigger a reduction in benefits and rewards. Others said that people need to earn the right to a low interest rate, not just be given one because the government forces it. “Don't like a 30 percent rate? Then don't apply for the card and/or don't use the card.”
No individual, not the president of the United States, nor the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, sets global or national interest rates when it comes to credit cards or mortgages. The credit card proposal, while interesting, reminds borrowers of the importance that supply and demand play in our daily lives… and prices.
Curinos on Current Lender Business Trends
According to Curinos’ new proprietary application index, December 2025 funded mortgage volume increased 20% YoY and increased 17% MoM. In the Retail channel, funded volume increased 34% YoY and increased 13% MoM. The average 30-year conforming retail funded rate in December 2025 was 6.20, 1bps lower than November 2025 and 47bps lower than the same month last year. Purchase rates were 1bps lower MoM and 49bps lower YoY, while Refinance rates were bps higher MoM and 38bps lower YoY. Curinos sources a statistically significant data set directly from lenders to produce these benchmark figures. We drill into this data further here.
Capital Markets
Last week’s labor market data reaffirmed the recent narrative that conditions are soft, particularly when healthcare hiring is excluded. The economy added 50k jobs in December, roughly the monthly average for 2025, and continued a longer-term trend of declining average monthly job gains that began following the post-pandemic hiring surge in 2021. Despite this softness, the unemployment rate declined to 4.4 percent in December, which gives the Federal Reserve room to maintain its current, slightly restrictive monetary policy stance at least through its January meeting.
Investors head into the coming week focused on December Consumer Price Index, but the inflation report is unlikely to change expectations for a January Fed pause. With the odds of a near-term cut priced at just 5 percent following the payrolls report, markets broadly agree that labor conditions have stabilized enough for the Fed to wait until March or later before resuming normalization. A consensus +0.3 percent core CPI print would likely be a non-event, and even a softer reading is unlikely to overcome concerns about inflation-fighting credibility, committee divisions, and central bank independence. Fed communication ahead of the blackout period is expected to reinforce a unified message of patience, especially with unresolved uncertainties around a Supreme Court tariff ruling and the eventual selection of a new Fed chair. Longer-term futures still imply more than 50 basis points of easing in 2026.
Market-implied neutral rates have drifted higher and sit above the Fed’s long-run dot, signaling fewer cuts than policymakers formally project and skepticism that aggressive easing is forthcoming, even with leadership changes ahead. Although the December SEP points to just one cut in 2026, the unusually wide dispersion of dots underscores growing uncertainty and resistance within the Committee, reinforcing the view that additional rate cuts will require clearer evidence of labor market deterioration rather than incremental shifts in inflation data. Treasury markets have remained unusually stable despite these policy and political crosscurrents. The 10-year yield is still range bound between roughly 4.10 and 4.20 percent, a band that held after key employment data failed to force a breakout. The persistence of this range suggests that it may endure until a clearer catalyst emerges, such as a tariff decision or renewed geopolitical stress.
The Trump administration announced two housing initiatives to address affordability last week: a proposed ban on institutional investors buying single-family homes and a directive for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds. Long story short: their likely impact is limited and potentially misguided. Institutional investors account for only about 2.5 to 4 percent of single-family home purchases or rentals nationally, are concentrated in a few Sun Belt markets, and often support new construction rather than hoard supply, with early indications that any ban would apply only to future purchases. Meanwhile, expanded GSE mortgage-bond buying could modestly lower mortgage rates, adding downside risk to rate forecasts, though timing and implementation remain uncertain. Critics argue these policies scapegoat investors while ignoring the core driver of unaffordability: decades of underbuilding caused by restrictive zoning and NIMBY policies. Single-family construction has fallen far behind population growth, deepening an estimated 4 to 5 million-home shortfall, suggesting that only a sustained increase in homebuilding, not limits on investors, can meaningfully improve housing affordability.
This week’s data includes updates on inflation, retail sales, housing, Fed surveys, import prices and industrial production/capacity utilization. Treasury will auction refunding supply. Today is Class A 48-hours, Class B is on Thursday. Bank earnings also kick off from Wall Street. Markets are also awaiting a Supreme Court decision on the legality of the Trump administration’s tariffs, which could be issued as early as this week. However, even if the Court rules against the administration, other policy tools remain available that could keep tariffs near their current levels throughout the year. Treasury auction activity today will be headlined by $58 billion 3-year notes and $39 billion reopened 10-year notes. Today also brings remarks from Atlanta Fed President Bostic, Richmond Fed President Barkin, and New York Fed President Williams. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices are slightly worse than Friday’s close, the 2-year yielding 3.54, and the 10-year yielding 4.19 after closing last week at 4.17 percent.