HELOC, TPO, API, Non-Agency Products; Webcasts; Why Rates Are Where They Are: We're Not Alone
I’ve been in capital markets for over 40 years, and this rate and affordability environment is tough. Any lender who finds these higher rates boring, well, don’t hold your breath waiting for them to come down.) Principal, interest, taxes, and insurance (PITA) is only part of the affordability equation, but market forces determine long term rates, not the government or the Fed. Some estimates have property taxes and insurance up 20-30 percent over the last year. Condo special assessments? Here’s a story about some condo owners hit with a $5 million “emergency” roof bill. What does that do to owner’s financial situations? (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Zillow Home Loans, Zillow’s in-house mortgage lender. With tools built for modern lending, Zillow Home Loan’s loan officers can focus on guiding buyers with care and confidence. Today’s has an interview with Lender Toolkit’s Brett Brumley on the proper due diligence necessary with counterparties in the artificial intelligence era.)
Broker and Lender Products, Software, and Services
Summer may be cooling down, but Symmetry’s HELOCs are still HOT. According to Q1 2026 data from Federal Reserve Bank, homeowners continued tapping into their equity at the highest first-quarter level since 2021, with 54% of all equity withdrawals coming through second liens. The upshot is that there’s an estimated $11 trillion in home equity available to borrowers. Accessing available equity for extra cash can be tempting. That's where a HELOC can make sense. Whether it's home improvements, debt consolidation, investment opportunities, major expenses, or simply creating financial flexibility. Don't let the summer slowdown slow down your HELOC business. If you have a deal you're working on, or just want to see where HELOCs could fit into your business, contact your Symmetry AE today!
What if you could modernize execution without rebuilding your technology stack? JazzX AI was built for exactly that purpose. Rather than replacing your LOS, CRM, document systems, pricing engines, verification providers, or third-party services, JazzX sits above them as a System of Intelligence, an AI-native execution layer that orchestrates work across the mortgage lifecycle while preserving the systems you've already invested in. The result is a modern mortgage operation that becomes more adaptive, intelligent, and efficient without the cost, risk, and disruption of rip-and-replace initiatives. Want to see it in action? Book a demo with our team.
Affordability pressure doesn't disappear when the loan closes. It comes back later as repurchase risk. Your borrowers are stretched, leaving less room for errors in the file. Truework, a Checkr company, verifies income, employment, and assets before you close, replacing error-prone processes with fast, automated reports pulled directly from sources. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times and higher accuracy. Learn more.
Planet’s correspondent non-Agency program is built around the way you do business, offering operational flexibility and support from underwriting through servicing. Delegated or non-delegated delivery options based on each loan and your business needs. Before loan submission, leverage our scenario desk for bank statement income calculations, non-warrantable condo approvals, and quick evaluations of complex lending scenarios. Forward commitments, flexible reliance letter options, and rated residential and commercial servicing platforms give you the operational flexibility and specialized expertise to support your non-Agency business at every stage of the loan lifecycle. Heading to Chicago next month for MBA Annual? Connect with SVP Correspondent Sales Jason Mac Gloan (843-625-6869) or visit here to schedule your meeting today.
If your POS still runs on the ICE Encompass SDK, the clock is ticking. ICE's SDK sunset is a signal to evaluate whether your point of sale is built for what's next. Maxwell made the move to the modern Encompass API early, giving lenders native integration, Maxwell hosted disclosures, and deep integrations across the workflow. With results like a 93.9 percent hosted disclosure completion rate versus the 74% on Encompass Consumer Connect, the API functionality removes real friction. No workarounds, additional logins, I-framing or other confusing alternatives. Just a POS built for the Encompass ecosystem. Get in touch with Maxwell to know more.
Paramount Residential Mortgage Group (PRMG®) launched its inaugural Relationship Advisory Board, an exclusive event created for the company's top TPO partners. Held Aug. 19-21, 2026, at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach, California, the three-day event brought partners together to connect beyond the usual business setting. The event is built on a simple philosophy: We Listen. We Implement. We Improve. It's where perspectives are shared, challenges are discussed, and the future of PRMG is shaped by the voices that know the business best: insights that directly inform the tools, technology and support PRMG delivers, including its Loan Originator Express (LEO®) TPO portal, building on 25 years of stability and innovation for its partners. The advisory board reinforces what has defined PRMG since day one: Built by Originators for Originators®. Want a seat at the table? Become a TPO partner. Apply now.
Many top loan officers are referring their HELOC customers to a local bank or credit union because they don’t have a competitive product of their own to offer. For the nation’s largest IMBs that have partnered with Rhyze for a delegated correspondent HELOC, that problem has been solved: The loan officers at these IMBs are now equipped with a True HELOC that comes with a 10-year draw window, an IO period to match, and a rate stack that you can be proud to offer to your clients. You no longer need to lose credibility by offering an inferior product, nor lose income by referring your clients to local banks and credit unions. Keep your customers. Protect your brand. Retain your fees. Earn SRP. 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.
Chrisman Demo Day is a free perk for all Chrisman Marketplace members. If you're a technology or service provider and haven't joined the Marketplace yet, reach out to Jake Perkins at info@chrismancommentary.com 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.
Webcasts Coming Soon
“If you’re doing non-QM loans, handling the calculations for deposit-based income is a time-consuming process that can be a breeding ground for errors. Join Cotality on September 16 at 11 a.m. PT for a 45-minute webinar around Using Cash Flow Analysis to support non-QM underwriting. During this session, we will highlight how new tools can help you automate many steps of the deposit-based income process, saving you hours of processing time and greatly reducing the chance of income calculation errors. Register today and see how you can take the hassle out of deposit-based income calculations.”
Today at 11AM PT, Mortgage Matters, presented by Lenders One, the crew is joined by Laura Hopkins, SVP of Membership, Meetings and mPower at the Mortgage Bankers Association, for a conversation on leadership, industry engagement, the evolving mortgage landscape, Laura's career journey, what motivates her work across the mortgage industry, and the trends and opportunities shaping the industry's future.
The AI Show is today at noon PT. Presented by JazzX AI, the panel goes behind the scenes of AI pilots, pivots, and hard stops. Not every implementation goes according to plan, and that's exactly where some of the most valuable lessons emerge. The conversation explores what happened when AI initiatives stalled, what led organizations to change course, and how teams are learning from the decisions that worked, the ones that didn't, and the unexpected outcomes along the way.
Tomorrow at noon PT, The Big Picture has Ryan Grant, President of NEO Home Loans, and a conversation on leadership, growth, the evolving mortgage market, how lenders are adapting to changing market conditions, building resilient organizations, and positioning themselves for the opportunities ahead.
Capital Markets
Price down, rate up. The United States is not alone: A global sell-off in government bonds is pushing borrowing costs in some of the world’s largest economies to the highest levels in decades. Mortgages and other debt are being impacted, which in turn hits consumers who borrow. A combination of factors is prompting investors to demand higher returns to hold government debt: a flood of borrowing by the world’s richest nations, expanding budget deficits, persistent inflation, and few signs that countries are able or willing to take steps to improve these conditions.
The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes, perhaps the world’s most influential interest rate, reached its highest since January 2025 (4.8 percent), and the yield on the 30-year bond continued to hover around a two-decade high. The increase in rates has set off a battle between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and investors, but the factors pushing up bond yields in the United States are also issues in other big markets. And in my experience the markets will always win.
In terms of supply and demand, investors have options. There are lots of companies that don’t have a deficit of $40 trillion, like the U.S. A borrowing binge by technology companies to build artificial intelligence systems is another factor pushing up the costs of all types of debt. Companies have issued billions of dollars in bonds, swamping markets and pulling investors away from government debt. These companies, known as “hyperscalers,” are also increasingly turning to euro-denominated bonds.
One of the most pressing and unpredictable drivers of bond market turmoil is the protracted war in Iran. As the United States and Iran renewed attacks recently, the price of oil and natural gas began to climb again. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose on Tuesday above $94 a barrel, about 30 percent higher than prewar levels. We are reminded of this every time we fill up our gas tanks. The prices of refined fuels like gasoline and diesel have risen even faster, increasing expectations of higher inflation that could prompt central banks to raise short-term interest rates.
The U.S.’s gross national debt topped $40 trillion for the first time last month, or more than 120 percent of the size of its economy. France’s public debt is 117 percent of the size of its economy. In Japan, it’s twice the size of its economy. And many politicians on both sides of the aisle don’t appear worried enough about these debt levels to do anything. Instead, investors see government plans that are not likely to shrink budget deficits. With expectations of more borrowing to come, investors are demanding higher returns to hold government bonds. And there is little reason for rates to go down.
Today’s economic calendar kicked off with mortgage applications from MBA, which rose 0.8 percent week over week for the week ending August 28, driven by a 2 percent increase in seasonally adjusted purchase applications, while refinancing activity fell 1 percent and remained 19 percent below year-ago levels. We’ve also received August ADP Employment Change: U.S. businesses created just 38,000 new jobs in August, a second straight small increase that pointed to a slowdown in hiring during the summer. Later today brings July Factory Orders, weekly crude oil inventories, and the September Fed Beige Book. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices little changed from Tuesday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.39, and the 10-year yielding 4.79 after closing yesterday at 4.80 percent.