Products, Services, and Software for Brokers and Lenders

There’s a reason $5.99 feels different than $6.00. Behavioral economists call it the “left-digit effect.” When it comes to mortgage rates, borrowers just call it a reason to refinance. Optimal Blue’s January Market Advantage report shows falling rates crossing that psychological threshold – and refinance demand responded fast. Total mortgage lock volume rose 16 percent month over month and 36 percent year over year, driven by a 50 percent month-over-month jump in rate-and-term refinances, now running more than four times higher than last January. The report also points to improving credit quality and affordability, alongside renewed momentum in the secondary market, including rising MSR values, increased securitization activity, and expanding investor participation. Published monthly, Market Advantage delivers direct-source insight lenders can use to make smarter capacity, pricing, and capital markets decisions. Download the complimentary report here.

Manual “stare and compare” underwriting has been the industry norm for decades, but it comes with rising operational costs. As volume increases, manual verification drives up headcount, slows turn times and introduces greater risk of human error. Exception-based underwriting offers a more scalable approach by using automation to validate income, credit, assets and data consistency upfront, freeing up underwriters to only focus on true discrepancies. The result is fewer touches, faster decisions and a more resilient underwriting operation. Read the full blog to explore how exception-based workflows can help lenders break free from manual reviews and scale more efficiently.

With January already in the rear-view mirror, AmeriHome is at full speed with multiple major initiatives. AmeriHome continues to grow its non-Agency presence in the industry, with recent and forthcoming enhancements to their suite of products, pricing, and customer service experience. Make sure to connect with your sales executive to be the first to hear about exciting announcements expected later this month! AmeriHome also offers CRA support to banks that need to fulfill their annual requirements: click here for details. If you’d like to connect with the AmeriHome Sales team, AmeriHome will be attending the MCT Exchange this week on February 12 – 13 as well as the TMBA Southern Secondary Conference later this month - click here to schedule a meeting with one of their sales reps. Check out their events page to see where they’ll be throughout the rest of 2026, find your sales rep here, and follow AmeriHome Correspondent on LinkedIn to stay in the loop!

Everything’s bigger in Texas, and the biggest conversations in servicing are happening next week at MBA Servicing. LoanCare executives, Tim O'Bryant and Michelle Anderson will take the stage for two must-attend sessions: Recapture, Retention and Revenue: The Servicing Playbook and Servicing Models Unpacked: What Works, What Pays, What Scales. These panels will examine how top-performing organizations are rethinking servicing strategies to protect MSRs, improve retention and build models that scale in today’s market. As a top subservicer, LoanCare® acts as an extension of your team, delivering a servicing experience that feels like your own. Set up a meeting with Dave Vida to see how smarter servicing strategies translate into real performance.

PHH Mortgage invites you to attend Introduction to FlexIQ on Wednesday, February 18 at 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT, an educational webinar designed to help correspondents better understand and leverage the FlexIQ Non-Agency product suite. This session will provide a high-level overview of FlexIQ Full Doc, Alt Doc, and DSCR options, highlighting how each product is designed to address today’s diverse borrower and investor scenarios. Attendees will gain insight into qualification fundamentals, product positioning, and how FlexIQ supports more efficient execution through clear guidelines and intuitive tools. Whether you’re new to FlexIQ or looking to strengthen your non-Agency strategy, this webinar delivers practical knowledge you can apply immediately. Participants will also have the opportunity to engage with PHH’s experienced non-Agency team and ask questions in a live, interactive setting. Register to attend today!

“This Valentines Day, have you considered if Servbank is “The One”? Servbank is the bank subservicing partner that consistently prioritizes your needs, delivers exceptional customer service, and achieves performance levels surpassing industry standards. We bring operational excellence, iron-clad compliance, and leading technology that gives you real‑time account management, comprehensive reporting, and complete transparency. With Servbank you can expect the best-in-class experience for both you and your customers. To learn more about the nation’s premier bank subservicer, contact us today.”

As eLEND (formerly AFR) continues building on the momentum of a transformative year, new technology releases and enhancements are rolling out with one clear goal: improving efficiency and elevating every experience. From smarter tools to streamlined processes, these updates are designed to help partners move faster, work smarter, and stay focused on what matters most, serving borrowers. One of the newest enhancements now live is Ask Howie, available for approved clients, in the Resource Center. Ask Howie is an AI-powered chatbot designed to assist with general product, guideline, and process questions, acting as a fast, intuitive search engine for eLEND’s programs and resources. And this is just the beginning. More enhancements, tools, and improvements are on the way as eLEND continues investing in technology that supports growth, transparency, and execution. Stay tuned: more to come. Visit elendtpo.com, call 1-800-375-6071, or email sales@elend.com (NMLS 2826)

“Are you READY™ for it? Are your auditors tangled up on whether to include recapture? Struggling to compete with competitor SRP’s that are stratospheric? With our READY™ Engine platform, these conversations are now moot. Don’t be left behind on pricing. Instant strats & valuations. Curated. Tradable. Hedgeable. Real time or Daily MSR. No matter the size of your portfolio, or whether you are just looking to add a second Valuation provider, Black Lake Investments (“Black Lake”) can help with your MSR or Whole Loan 3rd-party Valuation, Retain/Release decisioning and/or Hedging needs. All of this is backed by a seasoned team with deep Mortgage Capital Markets expertise in hedging & valuation. Black Lake Services also offers Instant independent 3rd-party valuations via our Self-Service READY™ Engine. For more information on Correspondent-in-a-Box™ , HyperDrive™, or READY™ Engine Contact: info@blacklakeinvestments.com or book a demo to learn more.”

QC works as an early warning system, but it only creates value when findings are recognized, validated, and turned into action. As agency expectations continue to shift, lenders are being asked to show not just findings, but proof of a thoughtful response. Join Indecomm in March for a QC Fireside Chat with Alicia Gazotti, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Genway Mortgage, as she shares how QC supports proactive risk management across the organization. The conversation will cover how to turn QC data into actionable remediation plans, align pre-fund and post-close findings, maintain consistent taxonomies, and use calibration, reporting, and trusted QC partnerships to drive accountability. Designed for QC, risk, and compliance leaders, this session focuses on strengthening what QC already does best and ensuring the right signals lead to the right decisions. Register to Join Today!

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

There’s still time to participate in STRATMOR’s Technology Insight? Study – Digital Innovations module, a lender-only survey designed to capture where digital mortgage strategies are actually delivering results… and where gaps remain. The study examines adoption and maturity across key digital initiatives, expected business benefits, and how lenders are deploying automation and AI to improve efficiency, scalability, and consistency. Participating lenders contribute to meaningful industry benchmarks and receive a summary report in 1Q 2026, offering peer comparisons and actionable insights to support technology planning and investment decisions. If your team is refining its digital roadmap for 2026, this is an opportunity to validate assumptions, quantify progress, and see how your organization stacks up. Take the survey today.

While we’re on it, STRATMOR Group Announces 2025 MortgageCX Best-in-Class Award Winners! STRATMOR Group has announced the 2025 recipients of its MortgageCX Best-in-Class Awards, recognizing mortgage lenders and professionals who demonstrated exceptional commitment to borrower experience. The awards are based on verified borrower feedback collected through STRATMOR’s MortgageCX customer experience analytics program. Performance is tracked monthly and quarterly across key CX metrics, with final Best-in-Class rankings determined at year-end. 2025 lender award winners by tier include: Wintrust Mortgage (Large Bank), PrimeLending (Large Independent), Glacier Bank (Mid-Size Bank), and Veterans First Mortgage (Consumer Direct). Top individual loan officer honorees include James Perrine (Flagstar Bank), Kellie LaMonaca (Milestone Home Lending), Julia Kelly (Bank of the San Juans, division of Glacier Bank), and Danielle Humphreys (Veterans First Mortgage).

Tools to Make LOs More Effective

Recently I received a note “LO VieauxPoint” from Ethan Vieaux, VP, Customer Success at Finlocker, addressing LO efficiency. “Two weeks ago, we talked about ‘vibe coding’ as a mindset shift for loan officers. Not learning to code. Not becoming a software company. Simply using modern AI tools to turn plain-English ideas into live, useful resources faster than traditional marketing workflows allow.

“Mortgage marketing is no longer about who spends the most, it’s about who builds the fastest. In that VieauxPoint, I introduced vibe coding, a practical AI-powered approach that lets loan officers quickly create simple, high-impact tools that attract leads, energize agent partners, and turn social and databases into conversion engines. If you want to ship smarter assets in minutes, not months (and win attention in a purchase-driven market) this article shows exactly how to start.

“This week, I want to make it tangible. I built a live consumer-facing page using nothing more than an AI assistant and our CRM. No developer. No design sprint. No long intake process. The goal wasn't to create a perfect asset. It was to show how quickly a loan officer can spin up something genuinely helpful and immediately usable in real conversations.

You can see the live example here. That distinction matters.” Thank you, Ethan. See the whole post here.

Capital Markets

Ahead of (delayed) economic data to be released by the Trump administration this week, the labor market is giving more and more signals that things aren’t as strong as the various growth numbers are indicating. Beneath solid headline data, which has been especially rosy since the government shutdown, the underlying U.S. economic picture is increasingly fragile and polarized. Growth is being carried by affluent consumers, surging financial markets, and massive AI-driven investment by large tech firms doing most of the heavy lifting, while median-income households and smaller businesses face mounting pressure from high prices, slower hiring, and tighter credit.

The market did not receive any economic data yesterday, but the New York Fed released its Survey of Consumer Expectations for January, which showed a dip in year-ahead inflation expectations to 3.1 percent from 3.4 percent while three- and five-year expectations remained at 3.0 percent. The Chinese government ordered its banks to reduce their exposure to US Treasuries, citing concerns over concentration risks and market volatility, but geopolitical tensions remain. Separately, an election in Japan produced the biggest post-war win for the ruling party, meaning that there will be no additional bond issuance needed to fund the prime minister's agenda, which is encouraging for global bond markets.

The latest ICE Mortgage Monitor highlighted growing stress in government-backed lending alongside a still-stubborn housing supply backdrop: FHA performance remains a clear pressure point, with non-current rates still above 13 percent, over one million FHA loans past due, sharp increases in 90+ day delinquencies not yet in foreclosure, and active FHA foreclosures topping 100,000 for the first time since 2017, while forbearance usage among struggling FHA borrowers has surged to a four-year high following recent policy changes. At the same time, the mortgage lock-in effect continues to severely limit housing supply, as roughly two-thirds of all U.S. mortgages remain below 5 percent and about 95 percent of low-rate borrowers have held onto their homes, keeping new listings constrained. Adding to longer-term risk, underwater exposure is rising among recent VA and FHA vintages, with more than a quarter of 2024 VA originations and nearly 17 percent of FHA originations now underwater, and delinquent FHA loans with negative equity climbing above 200,000, underscoring why borrower equity and loss-mitigation trends will be critical to watch as the market moves deeper into 2026.

Today’s economic calendar consists of mostly rescheduled data due to the government shutdown. We’ve already received NFIB small business optimism for January (“99.3”, as expected), December retail sales (unchanged, less than expected), import/export prices, and the Q4 Employment Cost Index (+.7 percent, as expected). Later today brings Redbook same store sales, November business inventories, and remarks from Cleveland Fed President Hammack and Dallas Fed President Logan. The Treasury Department will be auctioning $125 billion in notes and bonds over the next couple of days as part of its quarterly refunding, which kicks off today with $58 billion 3-year notes; those have stopped through four of the last five auctions. There will also be a buyback in 10- to 20-year coupons for up to $2 billion. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices are a few ticks better than Monday’s close, the 2-year yielding 3.46, and the 10-year yielding 4.16 after closing yesterday at 4.20 percent.