Verification, MERS Review, AI, LOS, Compliance Tools; KBW's Bose George Interview
When in doubt, hold a conference. It is an aging group of attendees… exhibitors’ displays and giveaways tell the tale. Frisbees have been replaced with reading glasses. Golf balls by nail files and hangover remedy pouches. MBA cut its 2027 forecast to $2.101 trillion; $634 billion is what the Mortgage Bankers Association now expects Americans to refinance in all of 2027. What’s new out there? At the ACUMA event, I had a chance to spend some time with Kent Staudmyer with NFP Property & Casualty Services, Inc.. Home equity is a big growth area, and NFP provides a credit enhancement for Home Equity Loans and HELOC’s through its Equity Protection Program. (Kent said the Program creates more loan opportunities and measurable growth for your home equity portfolio by expanding your CLTV and guideline parameters.) Robbie Chrisman reported that in Schnectady, at the NYMBA, the conversation in the hallways includes Ginnie Mae’s focus on liquidity, continuing to have young people enter the business, bottlenecks for Fannie Mae (like affordability pressures due to the lock in effect, laws and regulations, zoning & permitting, land, lumber, and labor), the MBA seeing origination activity continuing to be constrained, and companies finding ways to provide more borrower eligibility in a responsible manner. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are presented by Spring EQ, the clear choice in home equity and non-QM solutions. Since 2016, Spring EQ has helped more than 160,000 homeowners access over $16 billion in equity. Today’s has an interview with KBW’s Bose George on his market research and view for the industry moving forward.)
Broker and Lender Products, Software, and Services
The next generation of mortgage lenders won’t compete based on who has the most AI tools. They’ll compete based on who has built the most intelligent enterprise. JazzX AI creates a general intelligence layer that orchestrates work across the full loan lifecycle without replacing the systems you’ve already invested in. With AI that reasons, learns, and adapts to your business - while keeping your team in control. JazzX helps lenders save $1,500+ per loan, improve loan quality, and close faster. Book a demo to see what proven AI and measurable outcomes can do for your operation.
Let's skip the "if you're attending" part. You're heading to MBA Annual. Now let's make sure Optimal Blue is part of your game plan. Start by scheduling time with an Optimal Blue expert before the conference rush begins. Then join us throughout the event, from our client happy hour to the conversations happening across the conference. Be sure to stop by Booth 325 for our interactive Share Your Take experience, where you can weigh in on mortgage trends, market opportunities, and conference takeaways. Record a quick video, and we'll turn your insights into an asset you can share with your network. While you're there, learn what's ahead for Summit 2027 and how to join us. Just steps away, catch Optimal Blue's demo during the Tech Showcase, Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. Book your meeting, stop by Booth 325, and make Optimal Blue part of your MBA Annual experience. CTA - MBA Annual | October 11-14, 2026 | Chicago | Optimal Blue.
For independent mortgage bankers, every basis point matters. Improving efficiency, maintaining reliable access to liquidity and achieving strong loan sales execution can make the right financial relationships even more valuable. Western Alliance Bank’s Specialized Mortgage Services Group and AmeriHome Correspondent will attend MBA’s Annual Convention and Expo 2026 in Chicago, October 11-14, to connect with mortgage professionals about building a more complete banking and correspondent relationship designed around IMBs’ needs. Western Alliance provides customized mortgage warehouse lending, MSR financing, note financing and treasury management solutions, plus a whole loan trading desk focused on purchasing scratch-and-dent loans (send bid requests to SnD@westernalliancebank.com). AmeriHome, the nation’s largest bank-owned correspondent investor,* offers a full suite of Agency, Government and Portfolio Non-Agency products through delegated and non-delegated channels. Contact Specialized Mortgage Services at Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC, or AmeriHome Correspondent to schedule time to meet at MBA Annual. *According to Inside Mortgage Finance, 6/5/2026.
Reducing call handle times while increasing customer satisfaction is possible when your representatives have the right information at their fingertips. With ICE Customer Service, representatives can resolve borrower issues in a single call, backed by a solution that helps predict why a customer is calling. Searchable tags, summarized conversation threads and sentiment notations help teams follow up consistently, designed to turn routine calls into stronger relationships over time. Learn More.
“VA lending isn't just another loan program. It requires attention to detail, responsiveness, and a title partner that understands the importance of getting every transaction right. Priority Title & Escrow (PTE) brings hands-on VA closing experience to every file, supported by a leadership team that includes military veterans and military families who understand the significance behind the transactions we serve. That perspective influences how we operate: with discipline, accountability, and respect for the borrowers who have served our country. PTE supports lenders across all 50 states and is built to scale with your VA production, whether you're closing a handful of loans each month or managing high-volume production across multiple markets. If you're looking for a national title partner that treats VA lending as a specialty, and is prepared to deliver when volume increases… let's talk.”
With the 10-year Treasury yield crossing 5 percent for the first time since 2023, and 30-year fixed rates pushing past 7 percent in its wake, understanding exactly how the two are connected, and where they diverge, matters more than it has in years. MCT's blog post, How The 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note Impacts Mortgage Rates, breaks down why mortgage-backed securities compete with Treasuries for investor capital, what the historical spread between the two has looked like, and why the 10-year note, not the Fed funds rate, remains the benchmark that matters most for fixed-rate pricing. For lenders trying to read today's volatility and anticipate where rates go next, it offers a grounded framework to understanding factors that impact rate movement. Join MCT's newsletter for daily market commentary to understand how rate movements will impact your bottom line.
Find Issues Before They Become Losses. ACES Population Testing™ takes the guesswork out of quality control by allowing you to test 100 percent of your records against your own policies, automatically, during every refresh. The platform is built on data quality technology ACES obtained through its acquisition of BaseCap Analytics and already in production at financial institutions. "Compliance and quality programs are under constant pressure to extend their reach without expanding their teams, and ACES Population Testing gives those departments at lenders, servicers, banks, credit unions and other financial institutions the ability to evaluate loan portfolios at the population level, identifying risk that would otherwise go unreviewed," said Trevor Gauthier, chief executive officer of ACES Quality Management. Testing everything used to be a manpower problem. Now it is a choice. Read the Announcement.
“From Demo Day to Chicago! Last week, MortgageFlex had the opportunity to kick off the inaugural Chrisman Demo Days, demonstrating how LoanQuest brings origination, servicing, default management, workflow orchestration and governed AI together on one cloud-native foundation. But technology alone isn’t the story. What matters is what it does for your business. How can lenders lower operating costs? Automate more work? Make faster, more consistent decisions? Improve the borrower experience? And deploy AI while keeping governance and control firmly in their hands? That’s the conversation we started at Chrisman Demo Days, and we’re looking forward to continuing it at MBA Annual in Chicago, October 11–14. If you’re attending, let’s connect. Bring us a process you want to improve, automate or rethink, and let’s talk about what’s possible. To schedule a meeting, contact John McCrea, CRO. Missed our Demo Day? Watch it here.
AI is becoming a strategic priority for mortgage lenders, but selecting a tool is only one part of the decision. Leaders must also determine where AI can create meaningful value, whether their data and processes are ready, how vendors and deployment options should be evaluated, and what governance is needed to manage risk. Join Richey May’s webinar on October 8 from 12:00 to 1:00 PM MT, Beyond the Hype: A Practical Roadmap for AI in Mortgage Banking. Our experts will connect AI readiness and governance with the data quality, process discipline, and financial controls needed in mortgage environments. Designed for executives, attendees will leave with a practical framework for approaching AI safely, effectively, and strategically. Register today!
Stay Ahead of the MERS Annual Review Deadline with Clayton. If your organization serviced 1,000 or more MERS loans as of March 31st, you are required to complete an Annual Review with a qualified third-party vendor by December 31st. Missing this deadline can result in steep fines or even suspension from the MERS system. Clayton Servicing Oversight is your trusted partner to make this process painless. With deep expertise and proven experience, our team ensures your review is conducted efficiently, accurately and in full compliance with MERS requirements. We help you avoid risk while giving you confidence that your operations are protected. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Engage with Clayton now and get the help you need before the year-end deadline.
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.
Uplist, the homebuyer intelligence platform that puts live mortgage payment options on any listing, announced a partnership with Arcasa, an energy-smart down payment assistance platform that aims to bring affordability and sustainability to every home. The integration brings Arcasa's zero-down, solar-powered DPA program directly into the Uplist experience, letting a homebuyer see a $0-down path to homeownership, and the numbers behind it, the moment they scan a listing's QR code or open a loan officer's shopping link. When a buyer explores a property in Uplist, the platform now calls Arcasa's estimate engine in real time to surface an FHA-based option that folds down payment assistance and the cost of a solar energy system into a single loan, shown alongside the estimated monthly utility savings the solar system is designed to generate. Unlike most down payment assistance, the program carries no income limits and no first-time-buyer requirement. Additionally, the assistance carries no separate monthly payment or rate bump, and no 1099 is issued to the borrower.
Todd Bookspan and Matt Baker (the Bookspan Baker Team) are joining NEXA Lending to “see how much further they can take what they have already built. The longtime mortgage leaders will launch Keepsake Loans, a new umbrella brand designed to preserve the identity, culture and relationships they have built while leveraging the infrastructure and scale of NEXA Lending. Bookspan and Baker have worked together for more than 15 years, building a team that has served more than 5,000 families and originated more than $1 billion in mortgage volume. Their team is currently on pace for approximately $100 million in production in 2026.”
Capital Markets
Servicing, and its value, is always a topic. For almost four years, bank mortgage servicing rights (MSR) fair values have exceeded the 1.5 percent of unpaid principal balance threshold (an early warning signal), and some conventional and jumbo servicing portfolios have reached six to seven times earnings. Slow prepayments can support strong servicing cash flow while rates remain high, but the owner’s financing structure determines whether that cash flow can survive a liquidity shock. An owner with liabilities termed out in the debt markets has more staying power than one relying on bank financing that can be pulled when lenders become nervous.
Warehouse lenders are working hard to make money but are not eager to increase MSR financing, while investors remain more willing to own conventional servicing than FHA and VA servicing because of the different funding risks. When Oak Tree provided capital to UWM, that outside support prevented a potentially much larger market problem, raising the question of whether another investor will provide similar capital when the next issuer gets into trouble. A lender buying or retaining MSRs should therefore calculate not only the expected servicing cash flow but also how long its financing is locked, how much liquidity it can access, and what happens if its funding source stops being willing to finance the asset.
The mortgage industry's focus on capturing traditional refinances is increasingly becoming a strategic misallocation of capital because it ignores shifting demographic trends. Namely, declining household formation and the aging of the Baby Boomer cohort, which will provide massive housing wealth transfers via non-taxable inheritance rather than traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage originations. These structural shifts change the servicing asset's dynamics because inherited borrowers present entirely different risk profiles and product needs compared to first-time homebuyers.
Servicing infrastructure is already moving from being commoditized at high-scale toward hyper-flexible and capable of managing complex, high-touch assets like rehabilitation loans with structural draw management and bespoke HELOCs. With rising consumer liquidity strain (i.e., over 40 percent of borrowers lacking a $1,000 liquidity cushion and nearly a third demanding payment forbearance options) servicers will be forced to balance low-cost STP (Straight-Through Processing) automation for routine payment cycles with specialized, human-centric loss-mitigation frameworks to manage rising operational risk, minimize non-performing loan (NPL) delinquencies, and optimize per-loan servicing economics. For further discussion on the topic, check out this month's Recapture Wars.
Servicing is only a portion of the prices that borrowers see. The bond market is still the primary driver. Lenders had one or more rate changes yesterday as the bond market suffered a severe, broad-based selloff with sharp losses and a spike in yields across the curve. Why? Besides the war driving prices higher causing more inflation, and the mounting budget deficit, other factors entered into it. The preliminary September S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing and Services PMIs showed a sharp acceleration to a multi-year high in business activity (stoking concerns that the Fed will move to institute more policy tightening), Fed Governor Barr hawkishly said that his baseline is further policy adjustments will likely be needed, there was an exceptionally weak $70 billion 5-year Treasury note auction (clearing above 5.03 percent, generating a wide 3.1-basis point "tail," and revealing foreign demand from indirect bidders plummeted to 54 percent), and crude oil futures once again traded higher due to no geopolitical progress in the Middle East.
The result was that yields spiked significantly across the curve to the highest levels seen in two decades for most maturities. The 5-year Treasury climbed 17-basis points to more than 5 percent, 10-year yields jumped 14-basis points to around 5.125 percent (on pace for its seventh consecutive monthly increase), while the 30-year yield approached 5.4 percent, which threatens to ripple through mortgages and global corporate borrowing costs.
While the short end of the curve reacted logically to a Fed stuck in catch-up mode, fast-money traders amplified the long end's dramatic move. This rapid repricing heavily hurt the mortgage market, forcing the FNCL conventional coupon up 19-basis points to 6.22 percent as spreads widened materially on light volume, and pushing the par note rate up 15-basis points to a restrictive 7.125 percent. The probability of a 25-basis point rate hike at the October FOMC meeting has increased to nearly 70 percent, up from 55 percent at the beginning of the week.
Today’s economic calendar kicked off with initial jobless claims (197k, as expected), continuing claims (1.719 million), and the current Q2 Current Account Balance. Later today brings August New Home Sales, a $44 billion 7-year Treasury note auction, a buyback operation of up to $6 billion in 20-year to 30-year bonds today, some Fedspeak, and a meeting between President Trump and President Xi. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices pretty much unchanged from Wednesday’s close, taking a breather after yesterday, the 2-year yielding 4.86, and the 10-year yielding 5.11 after closing yesterday at 5.11 percent.