Products, Services, and Software for Brokers and Lenders

LEVEL UP YOUR SERVICING PLAYBOOK WITH SAGENT AT MBA SERVICING ‘26. Join Sagent in Dallas at MBA Servicing ‘26 to discover how Dara by Sagent is transforming mortgage servicing with unified data, streamlined workflows, real-time decisioning, and built-in compliance – the winning playbook for servicers looking to drive efficiency and elevate homeowner experiences. Simplifying complexity and automating repetitive tasks to reduce operational costs across the full servicing lifecycle, Dara delivers a modern, cloud-native platform built for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities. If you’re at the event in Dallas, stop by Sagent’s booth (606) to connect with our experts, see Dara in action, and explore how your organization can unlock new levels of performance. Don’t miss this chance to reimagine your servicing strategy and bring next-gen solutions back to your team. Learn more and schedule a meeting here.

In case you missed it, the First American Data & Analytics 2026 Housing Market Outlook webinar is now available to watch on demand. Hear directly from First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi as she breaks down the key forces shaping the housing market, including mortgage rate trends, housing supply and demand, affordability challenges, and home price expectations. Odeta also shares insights into broader economic conditions and what they could mean for housing and mortgage activity in the year ahead. Whether you’re planning for the months ahead or looking to better understand today’s market dynamics, this timely analysis offers data-driven perspective to help you stay informed and prepared. Watch the webinar.

Secure Insight, the mortgage industry’s leader in wire and closing fraud prevention tools, became aware of two wire fraud incidents that occurred due to title companies’ failure to follow proper electronic payment fraud prevention protocols. “Fraud is at an all-time high, making it more important than ever to ensure that settlement professionals are properly vetted and adhering to established protocols in order to continue conducting business with their lender partners,” said Amanda Padd, CRO. To learn more about Secure Insight’s live monitoring database of vetted settlement agents, visit www.secureinsight.com.

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.

STRATMOR Tech Survey

STRATMOR Technology Insight® Study – Digital Innovations Survey Now Open! Technology and automation shaped nearly every strategic conversation for mortgage lenders in 2025, but where does your organization really stand? STRATMOR’s Technology Insight® Study – Digital Innovations module gives lenders a clear view of how their digital mortgage capabilities compare to peers. The lender-only survey explores progress across key digital initiatives, expected benefits of digital mortgage, and, new this year, how lenders are using automation and AI to drive efficiency and scale. Participating lenders help establish industry benchmarks and, in return, receive a summary report in 1Q 2026 with practical insights and peer comparisons to inform technology and investment decisions. If you’re evaluating your digital roadmap, this is a chance to step back, assess progress, and see how your strategy aligns with the broader market. Take the survey.

Non-QM, Crypto Acceptance, DSCR News

No one can argue that non-Agency loans have eaten into the market share of Freddie and Fannie. In addition, the underwriting guidelines, pricing, and processes of those in the correspondent and wholesale channels have not gone unnoticed by F&F, including construction and DSCR programs. Who’s doing what out there?

Radian Mortgage Capital LLC is expanding its product offering beyond jumbo and conforming conventional loans, with a recently announced new suite of non-QM loan products. Their non-QM programs help mortgage lenders to serve a broader range of borrowers, including self-employed professionals, investors looking to purchase or refinance investment properties, those seeking flexibility with interest-only payments or unique properties like non-warrantable condos. Learn more and connect with the Radian Mortgage Capital LLC team at https://www.radian.com/correspondent-lending

Newrez announced its intention to recognize crypto assets in mortgage origination beginning in February making them the first major lender to take this step. View the Press Release for Details.

Newrez has made in HomeVision to create an AI-driven mortgage underwriting platform. This partnership will enable an industry-first solution designed to deliver real-time mortgage decisions across loan types. View the Press Release for details.

Newrez Correspondent issued a reminder to announcement 2025-088 released on December 18, 2025.

Bank statements just got easier with Newfi Correspondent. Check out their guides to qualify your self-employed borrowers.

American Pride Bank (APB) announced the expansion of its specialized One-Time Close Construction Loan programs through its wholesale mortgage division, APB Wholesale. The new product suite reinforces its commitment to providing flexible, innovative financial solutions for ambitious entrepreneurs and self-employed borrowers nationwide.

Pennymac updated Jumbo LLPAs effective for all Best-Efforts Commitments taken on or after Tuesday, January 6, 2025. View Pennymac Announcement 26-01. But wait! Pennymac updated Jumbo LLPAs effective for all Best-Efforts Commitments taken on or after Monday, January 12, 2025. View Pennymac Announcement 26-02 for details.

Pennymac Announcement 26-04 describes an enhancement to its AUS Jumbo program, reducing the minimum loan amount for Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM) transactions. This change is effective for new loan applications dated on and after January 12, 2026.

As of Tuesday, January 20th, First Home Mortgage commitment grids for new 30-Year Fixed Rate, $375K max loan amount, and 30-Year Fixed Rate, $400K max loan amount, will be available in Pricing & Execution Whole Loan® (PE – Whole Loan®). For more information, view the Browse Prices Export File Specification document.

Non-QM just got more exciting, LoanStream Wholesale announced Foreign National DSCR program. Offering flexible options and competitive guidelines. Program Highlights include loan amounts up to $2 million, credit scores starting at 680 (No FICO Option Available), LTVs up to 75 percent for purchase, 70 percent for rate/term, and 65 percent for cash-out, minimum DSCR of 1.0, 1–4-unit properties allowed, cash-out proceeds may be used as reserves, FTHB allowed with verifiable history.

JMAC Lending has a hot new program, Newport Non-QM, so many ways to qualify. Designed specifically for modern borrowers who do not fit inside agency boxes.

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced a special pricing incentive to celebrate its 40th year in business: UWM mortgage broker partners can receive 40 basis points (bps) on all new locks until February 27. This incentive is available on all eligible conventional and government loans. Brokers can also combine this offering with up to 40 “Control Your Price (CYP)” bps to provide borrowers with even more savings. Additional details on this limited-time pricing incentive can be found here.

Newfi Lending announced several expansions to its DSCR loan program including larger loan amounts, rural properties, and the ability for borrowers to use qualifying cryptocurrency assets to satisfy reserve requirements… without requiring liquidation. Expanded Cryptocurrency DSCR reserve guidelines include using up to 25 percent of the current value of Bitcoin and Ethereum held in a Coinbase account and using up to 50 percent of the current value of cryptocurrency mutual funds or ETFs, assets must be held with a traditional, currency-based financial provider (e.g., Fidelity or Schwab). Crypto-based funds are limited to a combined maximum of 50 percent of the total reserve requirement and account statements must be dated within 60 days.

“Newfi has recognized cryptocurrency in its underwriting guidelines for some time including options to convert cryptocurrency to USD and use those funds in the transaction with proper documentation, and the use of Crypto based mutual funds or ETFs offered by traditional currency based financial products providers as eligible assets on their asset utilization and asset depletion programs. The new updates apply to Newfi’s Sequoia DSCR program available for mortgage brokers to unlock additional qualifying pathways through Newfi’s Wholesale channel and for investor clients who may be asset-strong but prefer not to liquidate long-term holdings through its Direct channel.”

Capital Markets

A softer tone from President Trump on Greenland and tariffs than was expected in Davos eased immediate trade-war fears, but skepticism remains about that pivot as U.S.-European tensions persist and geopolitical risks remain elevated. Markets faced a heavy data slate yesterday, including jobless claims (which remained at 200k), GDP revisions (revised up to 4.4 percent from 4.3 percent), and October–November PCE (2.8 percent in November, up slightly from October, but unchanged from September), which reinforced a picture of labor market stability and gradual disinflation without reviving near-term rate-cut expectations. Meanwhile, Supreme Court comments in the Trump v. Cook case suggested Fed Governor Lisa Cook is likely to remain in place for now, helping preserve confidence in Federal Reserve independence, even as longer-term uncertainty around future leadership turnover lingers.

There’s little evidence that the administration’s plan to buy up to $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities will meaningfully lower housing costs, with economists and Fed officials arguing the core problem is housing supply, not financing. While the purchases may have marginally narrowed mortgage spreads and briefly nudged rates lower, experts say the effort is largely aimed at offsetting the Fed’s gradual MBS runoff and is unlikely to deliver broad affordability relief.

Uncertainty tied to economic policies are pushing Treasury yields higher, creating a headwind for mortgage rates and reinforcing the view that boosting housing supply would do far more to improve affordability than bond-buying programs. Mortgage rates rose in this week’s Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: for the week ending January 22, the 30- and 15-year mortgage rates increased 3-basis points and 6-basis points, respectively to 6.09 percent and 5.44 percent. From a year ago, rates are 87-basis points and 72-basis points lower.

Today’s calendar kicks off later this morning with S&P Global flash PMIs for January which will be followed by final January Michigan sentiment; Class D 48-hours is also today. Overnight, the Bank of Japan was out with its latest monetary policy decision, when it kept rates steady at 0.75 percent as expected, and upped growth and inflation forecasts. We begin Friday with Agency MBS prices little changed from Thursday’s close, the 2-year yielding 3.60, and the 10-year yielding 4.23 after closing yesterday at 4.25 percent.