Yesterday at a job interview I filled my glass of water until it overflowed a little. "Nervous?" asked the interviewer. I replied, "No, I always give 110%." I wish that I was really that clever. Glassdoor, the jobs and careers marketplace, has announced its annual report of the Top 10 Toughest Interview Questions for 2016. 1. "Which magic power would you like to have?" 2. "If you were a fruit, what kind would you be and why?" 3. "If you could have dinner with three actors that are no longer living, who would you pick?" 4."How many hours would it take to clean every single window in Manhattan?" 5."How do you get an elephant in a fridge?" 6. "If the time is quarter past 3, what is the angle measurement on the clock?" 7. "If you had three minutes alone in an elevator with the CEO, what would you say?" 8. "How many people born in 2013 were named Gary?" 9. "What will you be famous for?" 10. "How many diapers are purchased per year in the United States?"

The MBA's Tech conference is today, and with it plenty of news, education, tech opportunities and news.

Under the "new products and education" banner, "In today's regulatory environment, technology can help you stay compliant and help lower your compliance related cost. New Technology Eases Compliance and Regulatory Concerns, written by Josh Friend, CEO of Insellerate, provides insights and ideas on how to manage and mitigate your risk of exposure.  Insellerate is a SaaS based automated lead management and marketing platform that gives you full control over your leads and your sales process through highly customizable workflows and activities.  If you are attending the MBA Tech Show Come visit us at Booth #117 to learn more. Or download the article here.

STRATMOR announced at the "MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference and Expo" that it has launched an expanded 2016 Technology Insight Survey. Previous Technology Insight Surveys --- 2015 participation included lenders representing 40 percent of industry volume --- showed thatroughly 3 out of 4 lenders are not satisfied with the value they are getting from their LOS systems, of the roughly 1 in 4 lenders that are, most are smaller lender wanting to "keep things simple," and roughly 20% of lenders reported abandoning an LOS implementation, with proprietary systems being least likely to be abandoned. It is easy to see how important it is for lenders to have information about the technology they are considering based upon the independently surveyed experience of real users, as provided by the Technology Insight Survey.

Originally designed to provide lenders with objective information about various commercially available and proprietary LOS solutions, the 2016 Technology Insight Survey has been expanded to include information about Point-of-Sale and Lead Management systems and vendor readiness for TRID. According to Garth Graham, STRATMOR senior partner in charge of Marketing and Sales Advisory Services, the intelligence gleaned from the Technology Insight survey is more important to lenders today than ever before. "In the industry's current slow-growth environment, capturing market share from competitors will be a key factor in achieving success," said Graham. "To do so will require superior capabilities in generating and managing leads and that means having access to the very best in technology. That's only possible when lenders can make informed decisions based on objective data. We've tailored the Technology Insight Survey so that lenders are able to draw upon the cumulative knowledge and experience of their peers with the technology and vendors they are considering." To register for or to find out more about STRATMOR's 2016 Technology Insight Survey, email techinsight@stratmorgroup. com.

Secure Insight and Strategic Compliance Partners formed a business alliance. This partnership presents an opportunity for each company to provide its clients with best-in-class complementary services. SSI will now be able to provide its clients with attorney-driven, fixed-price compliance programs which mitigate risk and deliver solutions for today's increasingly regulatory climate. Additionally, SCP will be able to offer its clients a proprietary data driven risk management solution when evaluating closing agents.

Earlier this year PHH caught some tech attention with the successful deployment of a new automation solution for its Single Point of Contact (SPOC) process. There you have it: a great example of a lender investing in technology to delivery regulatory compliance.

Old Republic Credit Services, a national leader in credit reporting and origination products and services for the mortgage industry, announced today that it is changing its name to Partners Credit & Verification Solutions.  The name change follows the acquisition of Old Republic's interest in the joint venture by its managing partner and software provider, Credit Interlink. The shift to a new name will cause no direct impact to customers as management, staff and product lines remain unchanged. Management anticipates the consolidation will also foster cultivation of new strategic relationships and in turn help expand offerings for customers.

loanDepot announced a partnership with Avant, an online marketplace lending platform. This partnership will expand credit options to responsible borrowers nationwide. Under the agreement, these two FinTech platforms have teamed up through an API integration that will expand access to credit through a borrower referral powered by a seamless digital experience. As a result, responsible borrowers will have expanded access to credit products that better align with their financial needs. LoanDepot delivers consumers access to credit through purchase, refinance, personal, and home equity loans online and through eight nationwide customer-care supported tech-enabled business centers.

NAMB+, the for-profit provider of discounted products and services to members of NAMB has partnered with Morf Media Inc., a provider of customized on-line training to mobile networks. Choose a link and click if you are interested in more information about NAMB+ or Morf Media.

vLoan, Union Home Mortgages consumer direct division, launched vQual, an innovative online mortgage pre-qualification tool vQual technology allows borrowers and their Realtors to receive a pre-qualification letter on their mobile phone, tablet, or computer instantly. Find out more about vLoan's vQual technology.

eLEND, a division of American Financial Resources, Inc., has announced the launch of the eLEND mobile loan estimate comparison tool to assist in evaluating Loan Estimates. The industry's first new, technology-driven platform designed to support the newly imposed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) disclosure regulations, the eLEND "Rate My Rate" mobile loan estimate comparison tool offers borrowers the ability to compare Loan Estimates from other lenders with eLEND offerings to see if they can save money on a mortgage best suited for their needs.

I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but as a reminder MetaSource, LLC. has acquired Titan Lenders Corp. MetaSource provides an array of technology-driven services and solutions, including business process outsourcing (BPO), business process management (BPM), enterprise content management (ECM), workflow and customer service experience. The acquisition of Titan broadens the company's footprint in data-centric mortgage services.

Turning to lenders and the bond markets, we're off to a running start on a new quarter, with mortgage bankers reporting great March's and ample pipelines. And rates continue to be darned good although they went up slightly Friday and U.S. Treasuries declined after the employment data. The numbers came out pretty much as expected - maybe a shade stronger.

Last week mortgages were slightly "tighter" to Treasuries as Chair Yellen's dovish comments reassured investors on the pace of rate hikes. It seems that projections for MBS supply are roughly $150 billion in net issuance for 2016. That averages out to about $600 million every business day. And with the Fed buying $1-2 billion every day, one can see the impact it is having on the supply & demand balance.

Frankly there isn't much scheduled news this week - and when that happens our markets are often subject more to what happens overseas. That aside, today we'll have February Factory Orders at 7AM PDT. Tomorrow is some February Trade Balance number, a JOLTS jobs number, and March ISM Services. Wednesday is the MBA application numbers and the March FOMC Minutes. On the day before Friday we have Initial Jobless Claims, and nothing of consequence on Friday. The numbers for folks wondering where rate sheets are going to come out: we closed last week with the yield on the 10-year at 1.79% and this morning it seems content around 1.77% with agency MBS prices better by a few ticks (32nds).


Jobs and Announcements

Speaking of interviewing, "The TPO channel of Banc Home Loans is currently undergoing an exciting national expansion. An integral part of this has been the focus on developing an exceptional client experience. A major highlight of this experience is the newly designed Delegated Correspondent client portal that launched at the end of February, the Banc Origination Loan Tracker (BOLT). BOLT allows for seamless interactions between the Banc's Account Executives and their clients. This new portal eliminates the need for constant emails and phone calls, freeing all parties to focus more on their business. BOLT provides clients with a secure single sign-on experience and rapid registration. The dynamic "My Pipeline" feature allows them to view loan status, launch tasks, and view critical loan details while the "Quick Pricer" provides the flexibility of running scenarios without creating loans. If you are interested in an elevated Correspondent experience and learning more about all that Banc Home Loans has to offer, please contact David Blazek (Western Region Sales Manager), Wes Meyer (Eastern Region Sales Manager), or CLDClientservices@banchomeloans. com to become an approved Correspondent client."

"At CrossCountry Mortgage, Inc., we go to great lengths to create challenging and rewarding career paths for individuals with a wide variety of professional skills, interests, and experience. CrossCountry Mortgage, Inc. has a great opportunity and is searching for a Director of Credit Risk.  In this role, you will be responsible for planning and directing the work of a unit whose staff develops, recommends, and implements credit risk standards for products or assets the company finances or underwrites. The Director of Credit Risk will assess and approve credit limits and monitor credit exposure for routine and complex transactions, assess collateral requirements included in loan origination, and apply credit management models to current assets or underwritten products to recommend shifts in collateral or reserves to mitigate credit risks. Licensed in 49 states, CrossCountry Mortgage, Inc. is a FNMA, FHLMC & GNMA Seller/Servicer offering a wide portfolio of home purchase, refinance, and home equity products. We have been recognized on the Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies four years in a row (2012-2015), as well as the Weatherhead 100 list of Northeast Ohio's Fastest Growing Companies." Please send inquires & resumes to Carmen Scalise, Director of Talent Acquisition (440-262-3290).

And Ellie Mae is continuing to expand is and is looking for Compliance Support Team Lead in either Pleasanton, CA or Omaha, NE. The Compliance Support Team Lead supervises the performance of their respective team members balancing workload, communicating processes, scheduling and facilitating training for their teams to ensure customer service levels are met resulting in improved customer retention and profitability for Ellie Mae. Oversees daily scheduling of Product Support Analysts for optimal levels of coverage across all inbound support communications channels. Case load balancing where needed to provide prompt resolution to issues submitted. Identify trends in product quality and escalate through the standard process. Manage customer escalations as necessary. Act as a mentor and job coach to team members as necessary. Monitor metrics for case backlog, case aging, and total case volume per specialist. The ideal candidate will have 8 or more years of experience in a customer-facing support role & 5+ years in appropriate industry based on team focus. Exposure to all aspects of requirements based on team focus. Experience training enterprise software solutions, particularly in the mortgage industry. Strong project management skills; including status reporting, project documentation, issue resolution, time management, and communication with team members. Experience using Encompass 360 mortgage management software is strongly desired but not required:https://chm.tbe.taleo.net/chm02/ats/careers/requisition. jsp?org=ELLIEMAE&cws=1&rid=1210.