Borrower Intelligence, Margin Mgt Tools; MBA and Affordability; FASB Servicing Proposal; DSCR Interview
“My coworker asked me how I’m doing this morning. Yet another third party trying to steal my data!” Data travels at the speed of light. Mickey D’s is reportedly using artificial intelligence to “dynamically” price its burgers. Imagine a lender trying that! AI filled the exhibition hall at the MBA’s conference this week. I don’t use AI to write this Commentary, but perhaps I should tack “AI” onto the end of it in case I want to raise money or attract more readers. On second thought, nah, we’re good as it is. But along those lines, AI is the focal point in today’s Chrisman LLC Demo Day, the second such free showcase of third-party provider’s products for lenders at 1PM ET. (Advances in document intelligence and large language models can now address various problems, enabling AI to identify issues upfront, generate explanations in real time, validate documents and flag fraud, and even match borrowers with alternative loan products without changing existing credit standards. This may create an incremental shift toward AI-assisted decisioning.) Featuring demos from Cotality, Wilqo, MOZAIQ Agentic AI, One Diligence, Indecomm, NightOwl, and OptifiNow. Seven companies, 10 minutes each, one connected pipeline. Chrisman Marketplace members receive free demo access. Join the Marketplace to participate as a vendor. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are presented by nCino, the platform for agentic AI in mortgage lending. nCino is helping mortgage lenders deliver a faster, simpler path to homeownership. Today’s has an interview with Polunsky Beitel Green’s Andy Duane and Tye McWhorter on DSCR lending: the growing questions around underwriting, state-by-state licensing and disclosure requirements, and regulatory and legal risk.)
Lender and Brokers Products, Services, and Software
Cut yourself a slice of a growing market. More than 4 million Americans will turn 55 this year (over 11,200 per day) creating a steady flow of homeowners aging into reverse mortgage eligibility. This demographic shift is creating a steady pipeline of potential borrowers with evolving financial needs in retirement. Finance of America partnered with HousingWire on a white paper that explores how adapting your lending strategy can help you stay relevant as more borrowers age. Download Finance of America’s white paper today to see how serving this growing segment could create durable production opportunities. Finance of America, NMLS 2285.
Lawyers, compliance officers, risk executives, and consumer finance leaders: this one is for you. Join Saul Ewing’s “Consumer Financial Services Annual Update: Courts, Regulators & the In-House Perspective” free CLE webinar on Thursday, November 12 from 1:00 – 4:00 PM ET. The program will provide a timely, practical look at the forces reshaping consumer finance litigation, regulation, and compliance, with the discussion covering key developments under the FCRA and FDCPA, significant court decisions, emerging litigation trends, and notable settlements and enforcement outcomes. Speakers will also review and examine the role states have taken to fill the void left by the Federal Government’s changed priorities in areas of fair lending, fair loan servicing, interest, and other consumer/borrower fees, and general UDAAP concerns. With insights from in-house counsel, the program will offer practical strategies for managing compliance risk, responding to litigation and enforcement activity, and navigating the responsible use of emerging technologies, including AI, in a rapidly changing environment. Click here to learn more and register.
The AmeriHome team just returned from the MBA Annual Conference in Chicago where they met with clients and prospects to reinforce the strength and security of a partnership with AmeriHome. If you missed AmeriHome at the Conference or at their last webinar, make sure you register for its next Non-Agency Webinar on 11/18. Non-Agency has been surging, and AmeriHome is here to help! The team has focused on its non-agency offerings and have been consistently enhancing their non-Agency product line, including DSCR and Expanded products, and even extending their new Live Non-Agency Scenario Desk hours! Take a look at AmeriHome’s most recent Non-Agency Product Webinar to see a detailed breakdown of their offerings. AmeriHome has also added a Bank Statement Analyzer for Non-Delegated Clients, so there’s no better time than now to become a client! Follow them on LinkedIn to stay in-the-know about any product updates.
Every basis point of margin counts, especially in the current market. Holding the right go-to-market price position while controlling price exceptions is one of the hardest balances in mortgage lending. In MCT’s blog post, Margin Management and Price Optimization in Mortgage Lending, Brandonn Dukes, CFA, and Director of Margin Management Advisory at MCT, shares how to design a proactive, data-driven margin management strategy using six key business intelligence inputs. The post shows why shifts in interest rates, loan volume, and borrower demand make price position an ongoing discipline. That discipline is what MCT’s new Margin Management Advisory puts into practice. Dukes and John Sayre give executives an independent assessment of pricing strategy and lending performance with no added headcount. One client avoided $1M in losses before the shift in spec pay-ups hit their pipeline. Talk with MCT's Margin Management Advisory if you're ready to pressure test your price position.
Registration is now open for ICE Experience 2027, taking place March 15-17 at the Wynn Las Vegas. Connect with peers, technology experts, and mortgage lenders and servicers at the industry’s premier mortgage event. Through dynamic sessions, immersive networking and expert-led training, you’ll have the opportunity to discover how innovative solutions and technology designed for the future can transform the borrower experience and your business. Register before Nov. 20, 2026, to receive the Super Early Bird discount.
“Curinos empowers financial institutions to understand their customers like never before and turn that understanding into bottom-line impact. Our AI-first decision intelligence platform combines proprietary data, advanced analytics, and deep financial services expertise to deliver timely, actionable recommendations that help institutions make confident decisions for every customer interaction. Rather than relying on broad segments, Curinos enables institutions to identify the right opportunity, action, or offer for individual customers, creating stronger relationships and better outcomes at scale. Delivered directly into the flow of work, our platform continuously learns from every interaction, helping teams move faster, act with greater precision, and drive profitable loan growth. Learn more at curinos.com, or connect with our team: sales@curinos.com.”
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.
Videos Today and Tomorrow
The Big Picture is today at 3PM ET, sponsored by Stellar Innovations. Michael Vandi of Addy AI joins Mitch Kider and Rob Chrisman for a conversation on artificial intelligence, automation, and the evolving role of technology in mortgage lending. The discussion explores how AI can reshape mortgage operations, where emerging technology is creating new opportunities, and what lenders should be considering as the industry continues to evolve.
Last Word is tomorrow, Friday, October 16 at 10AM PT. Brian Vieaux, Kevin Peranio, Christy Soukhamneut, and Tracey King off their thoughts on the MBA’s conference this week.
More News From “The National” in Chicago
If you’re tired of political machinations, and frankly don’t see Congressional action on anything until 2027, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) at its 2026 Annual Convention and Expo released “Affordability in Action: A Policy Roadmap to Lower the Cost of Financing a Home to Own or Rent,” a set of near-term administrative and regulatory recommendations designed to reduce the costs of buying or renting a home. The roadmap focuses on targeted changes that can be implemented without legislative overhauls and are designed to lower upfront closing costs, reduce monthly mortgage or rent payments, and decrease the cost of building and financing new housing supply. The recommendations are intended to preserve the safety and soundness of the housing finance system while reducing unnecessary regulatory and administrative costs.
For example, “The MBA calls for replacing Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s (the GSEs) current tri-merge credit report mandate for lower-risk borrowers; reducing and aligning the GSEs’ loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) for home purchases; responsibly reducing Federal Housing Administration (FHA) annual mortgage insurance premiums; safely expanding the use of automated valuation models and AI-assisted underwriting; and lowering the cost of title insurance. For example, MBA estimates that a 20-basis-point reduction in FHA annual MIP would save a borrower with a $400,000 loan nearly $800 per year.”
Industry analyst Chris Whalen had some observations about the conference. “An interesting topic of discussion at the MBA Annual was the proposal by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) which is considering an update to US accounting rules that would specify that an entity should include the value attributable to the potential recapture of a borrower through the extension of a new loan when measuring the value of the right to service a residential mortgage loan.
“The FASB proposal was reportedly pushed by PennyMac Financial (PFSI) and Rithm Capital (RITM), who want to see higher valuations for MSRs to help them maximize liquidity, especially in a declining loan market. But on the other side of this issue are the largest banks, who vehemently oppose the FASB proposal and say that any increase in the fair value of MSRs due to the inclusion of speculative estimates of recapture will be met with lower lending thresholds.
“We hear that during a conference call sponsored by the MBA, one of the four largest banks went completely irate over the FASB proposal and made it very clear that they will not tolerate any support for the proposal by the trade group. One bank that was on the same call said that it is “extremely unlikely” that the MBA or other mortgage trades will publicly support the FASB proposal and that the change will have no impact on investor valuations.
“At the end of the day, the valuation of an MSR is about duration, not some speculative estimate of possible recapture,” one veteran mortgage banker told The IRA. “All of this fuss about recapture will have no impact on what investors are actually willing to pay for an MSR.”
The same source notes that purchase mortgages are extremely difficult to retain, but customers who refinance mortgages tend to stay with their existing lender. Purchase mortgages are currently 75 percent of total volumes, thus recapture rates are likely to undershoot the inflated estimates used by auditors.” Thank you, Chris.
Capital Markets
Does it cost more to buy a head of lettuce or fill your car’s tank? You’re not alone. September consumer prices (CPI) accelerated to its fastest pace in five months. Headline inflation rose to 3.7 percent from 3.4 percent and core inflation increased to 2.6 percent from 2.4 percent. This briefly pushed 3-, 5-, and 7-year yields to new 2026 highs before the market rallied by the close.
The report complicates the Federal Reserve’s efforts to restore price stability, and strengthens market expectations for a potential rate hike, as rising energy costs threaten to spill over into broader prices. Gasoline prices surged 9.1 percent month-over-month, and medical care costs continued to rise. With inflation outpacing wage growth for a sixth consecutive month in real terms, household purchasing power is weakening and pressure is mounting ahead of the midterm elections. U.S. Treasuries are showing tentative stabilization through a bull flattening of the yield curve, as longer-duration bonds recover while the front end reflects expectations for an October Fed pause and potential December hike. Margins are thin and pricing is volatile. Mortgage-backed securities sold off after the hotter-than-expected inflation reading and then recovered, and the sharp reversal highlights fragile market positioning and uncertainty over the Fed’s response. Lenders had to distinguish a temporary market reaction from a meaningful change in execution value, which requires more than refreshing rate sheets. Capital markets teams must understand investor demand for higher coupons, validate premium pricing, explain discount points and temporary buydowns to loan officers, and review whether best efforts execution makes more sense than taking additional pipeline risk. Lenders chasing another 20 or 30-basis points in non-QM execution can find themselves exposed when a pool fails to trade and its value falls several points. Competitive advantage in this environment comes from making disciplined decisions with a clear understanding of both borrower outcomes and investor appetite. Absent clearer disinflation or economic deterioration, a durable bond rally remains unlikely.
The latest Beige Book from the Federal Reserve pointed to modest, uneven economic growth, with manufacturing providing the main support as consumer spending and real estate softened. Labor markets remain largely stable, but persistent oil, tariff, and transportation costs are fueling inflation and squeezing margins as price-sensitive consumers resist pass-throughs. With spending increasingly reliant on higher-income households and businesses anticipating only slight growth, sticky inflation and geopolitical uncertainty remain headwinds for the economy and the Fed’s path toward price stability.
Upcoming remarks from Fed Chair Warsh and the October 28 FOMC meeting are key catalysts, as are upcoming retail sales, PPI, and labor data. After CPI yesterday, today’s economic calendar kicked off with September PPI (+1.3 percent, +6.3 percent Y-o-Y, both much higher than expected), Core PPI (+.7 percent M-o-M, +5.0 percent Y-o-Y), September Retail Sales (+.8 percent, stronger than expected), jobless claims, October Empire State Manufacturing, and October Philadelphia Fed (). Later today brings August Business Inventories and weekly crude oil inventories. After the producer price numbers, Agency MBS prices are versus Wednesday’s close, the 2-year is yielding 4.76, and the 10-year is yielding 5.09 after closing yesterday at 5.19 percent… The rally was due to some sentiment related to stock market/AI fears.