As Roy Cohn once instructed a young Donald Trump, much can be accomplished by attacking first and dealing with the consequences later. I get opinions from both sides: “Rob, when are you going to wise up? Yesterday’s Commentary discussed a lopsided pro-Trump view of the recent tariff activity, and how the changes may impact mortgage rates. But China made no concessions. By now, most of us are familiar with this pattern: Trump makes big claims about what his tariffs can get, only for him to later back down without the other country giving up anything meaningful. It happened with Mexico, Canada, and most of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ levies. Despite his claims, the United States seems to need other countries’ trade as much as they need ours, diminishing Trump’s negotiating position. Meanwhile, our financial markets are jacked around, and our potential borrowers are afraid to pull the trigger. Your readers should keep that in mind.” (Today’s podcast can be found here and Sponsored by TRUE and its Mortgage Operations Service (MOS) AI background worker, which transforms borrower documents into instant, trustworthy data for real-time decisioning. TRUE helps lenders accelerate decisions, cut costs, and deliver superior borrower experience, all without a $100M tech budget. Hear an interview with Hometap’s Josh Gaffney on the evolving regulatory landscape for Home Equity Investments (HEIs), highlighting state-by-state approaches, industry-led initiatives, and what an ideal regulatory framework could look like as the market matures.)

Software, Products, and Services for Lenders and Brokers

“HELOC demand is climbing and so are servicing complexities. With variable interest rates dipping below 8% and nearly $35 trillion in tappable equity, HELOCs offer a prime opportunity to deepen borrower relationships and grow portfolio value. However, managing variable rates, utilization shifts, and compliance in today’s fast-moving market requires more than manual processes. In our latest blog, “Servicing the Expanding HELOC Market,” we explore key servicing challenges and how CLARIFIRE®’s powerful workflow automation helps servicers stay ahead of current market drivers. From streamlining credit line management to elevating borrower engagement and minimizing risk, CLARIFIRE® delivers real-time visibility, scalability, and control. Discover how to turn market volatility into a servicing advantage: future-proof your home equity strategy with truly BRIGHTER AUTOMATION®.”

Champions Funding is rewriting the non-QM playbook, shattering records with its DSCR and Alt-Doc programs, supercharged by revamped 2025 guidelines. While other lenders shut out investor borrowers, Champions opens doors with flexible programs that fuel serious volume. The lender’s firepower doesn’t stop at loan programs. The company’s momentum doesn’t stop at innovative programs. Champions recently appointed Mellissa Rugh as Senior Vice President of Operations. A respected industry leader known for driving operational excellence, Rugh brings a proven track record of elevating speed, efficiency, and loan quality, further strengthening Champions’ commitment to delivering an exceptional lending experience.

Mortgage brokers looking to accelerate their business can learn more about partnering with Champions at www.champstpo.com/partner-with-us.

Due diligence veteran Pete Butler has joined Clayton as the new Vice President of Business Development. Butler brings more than two decades of experience in the mortgage and financial services sectors to the Clayton team, with a deep background in capital markets, credit risk and business development. In this role, Butler will drive strategic growth initiatives and cultivate new client relationships to further expand Clayton’s position as a 30-year, trusted provider of due diligence and advisory services. Butler and the Clayton team will be attending MBA Secondary in New York next week and will be ready to discuss how Clayton can help you get your next deal done, and done right. Contact Pete to schedule a meeting while at MBA Secondary or to learn more about Clayton’s services.

Isn’t it time to maximize your resources and get the most value out of every investment in your mortgage business? It’s exciting to share that Usherpa is offering something unique: free Admin and Assistant accounts. That’s right: no extra charges for these critical roles. Usherpa’s Admin accounts give you the power to manage users, track performance, and control workflows with ease. Meanwhile, Assistant accounts help streamline operations by supporting loan officers with tasks like data entry and follow-ups. In an industry where costs can quickly add up, this is a real game-changer. Usherpa’s goal is to make sure you get the most out of your CRM without breaking the bank. Whether you’re a small team or a large organization, these free accounts make managing your business smoother and more cost-effective. Ready to see the difference? Give Usherpa a try today.

The countdown is on! We're less than a week away from the MBA Secondary & Capital Markets Conference in NYC, and the team at eRESI is eager to connect to share our latest updates. We've been working hard, and updates include a newly released Seller Guide and enhanced guidelines, enabling our lenders to grow their non-QM business more seamlessly. Plus, there is much more coming on the horizon! If you haven't already done so, schedule a meeting with us at The Westin New York at Times Square. Discover how eRESI's next-level liquidity solutions and flexible Non-QM program can support your growth in 2025 by contacting an eRESI Representative or emailing sales@eresimortgage.com.

Introducing the Chrisman Vendor Marketplace! We're launching a new platform where mortgage professionals can discover the industry's tech solutions to lender’s issues. If your product helps lenders streamline operations, improve compliance, or boost efficiency, this is your chance to get in early and stand out. Founding vendors receive premium placement, visibility in the Chrisman Commentary (read by over 80,000 industry professionals), and direct access to decision-makers who are actively looking for new tools. Spots are limited. If you're interested, let us know and we'll send over the details: info@chrismancommentary.com.

Mergers and Acquisitions Continue

Whether it’s the age or skill set of the existing owners, or belief that this is going to be a very difficult business for quite some time, companies will continue to seek buyers, merger partners, or sellers, or strategic partnerships.

The latest example for lenders came across the teletype yesterday, coming from Ohio and Texas, with Lower announcing that it is acquiring Movato, a “top 5 real estate portal,” “to accelerate national growth and build an end-to-end homeownership platform… This acquisition combines Movoto's significant reach with Lower's lending platform and retail network, creating an end-to-end homeownership platform while offering an unmatched growth engine for real estate agents and loan officers.”

“Integrating Movoto.com, which attracted over 150 million visits in 2024, with Lower's lending experience marks a significant step in Lower's mission to be the ultimate destination to buy, refinance, and sell a home. Movoto connects hundreds of thousands of consumers with top local agents and will now pair those realtors and consumers with a Lower loan officer to create a super-team to better serve them right out of the gate… Homebuyers on Movoto.com will gain early and on-demand access to Lower's expert, local loan officers, simplifying crucial decisions around affordability… In the future, the seamless connection between consumer, agent, and loan officer will deliver historically impossible features at scale.”

The combined company will have more than 1,000 employees with offices in Columbus, OH and Austin, TX. Immediately after closing, the teams will integrate Movoto into the Lower brand. The financial details of the transaction are undisclosed.

In the vendor space, Mortgage Automation Technologies (MAT), the company behind The BIG Point of Sale, today announced a new partnership with Argyle, a platform providing automated income and employment verifications for some of the largest lenders in the U.S.

“Leveraging native functionality of ICE Mortgage Technology’s Encompass Partner Connect in combination with workflow automation rules, the partnership allows loan officers to initiate verification of income and employment (VOIE) from any device for faster borrower qualification, loan processing and underwriting. Verification results, including verification of income and employment reports, paystubs, and W-2s, are delivered in real time and automatically posted to the eFolder in Encompass, giving lenders accurate, up-to-date information without the need for manual uploads.”

“Key benefits of the integration include faster credit decisions, reduced time to close, improved workflow efficiency, and a better borrower experience. ‘Our goal with The BIG Point of Sale is to give loan officers access to the most powerful tools in the industry, right at their fingertips,’ said Matthew VanFossen, Chief Executive Officer of MAT. ‘By partnering with Argyle through Encompass Partner Connect’s native workflow functions, we’re giving lenders a faster, more accurate way to complete VOIE that improves processing timelines and supports a better borrower experience.’”

Capital Markets

Are you still running a complicated spreadsheet for your MBS pool bids? Join Agile on May 28th at 11AM PT for its latest webinar, Outsmart the Chaos: How Top Firms Are Fixing MBS Pooling. In this webinar, Agile’s Greg Vacura, Tawab Abawi, and Sam Farmer will walk through real-world scenarios, from managing dealer bids to simplifying swap allocations, and show how lenders can achieve operational efficiency through intelligent automation. Designed for mortgage capital markets professionals, this session will highlight the challenges lenders face today when managing MBS pool bidding and demonstrate how a centralized, automated, and more intelligent solution can improve efficiency and execution. Register for the webinar or schedule a meeting during the upcoming MBA National Secondary conference in New York to learn more.

Shifting to the bond markets and interest rates, no news is good news, at least when it comes to CPI. The CPI report for April was cooler than expected at the headline (0.2 percent month-over-month) and core (0.2 percent month-over-month) for the third consecutive month. As a result, the year-over-year headline CPI rate decelerated to 2.3 percent (the lowest in four years but still above the 2 percent target) from 2.4 percent in March while core CPI was up 2.8 percent year-over-year for the second month in a row. Services inflation slipped to 3.6 percent on a year-over-year basis, the smallest increase since late 2021.

However, increased housing supply will be key to shelter costs and fully taming inflation and paving the way for meaningful Fed rate cuts that could lower mortgage rates. Economists caution that inflation could still rise in coming months as pre-tariff inventory runs out and the full impact of earlier hikes begins to show in core goods prices. Ordinarily the positive nature of this report would have a positive effect on bonds, but sentiment in the bond market is still negative given the prospect of tariffs and a patient Federal Reserve.

Speaking of the Fed, traders are dialing back expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts amid easing U.S.-China trade tensions and that softer-than-expected inflation data from the U.S. government. After markets plunged in response to Trump’s April 2 rollout of “reciprocal” tariffs, the administration quickly backed off, making conciliatory overtures to Beijing. The retaliatory tariffs had pushed duties to levels that effectively halted trade for many companies, stoking fears of a self-inflicted recession. With inflation still present and recession risks subsiding, the Fed is unlikely to cut rates in the near term, especially with fiscal policy expected to bolster growth in 2026. Some projections now anticipate no changes to the federal funds rate through the end of 2025. Reflecting this sentiment, the 10-year Treasury yield has surged to 4.5 percent, its highest level since February, as markets reassessed the likelihood of monetary easing.

Today’s economic calendar kicked off with mortgage applications increasing 1.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 9, 2025. There is no other economic data of note today, but three Fed speakers are currently scheduled: Governor Waller, Vice Chair Jefferson, and San Francisco President Daly. We begin Wednesday with Agency MBS prices unchanged from Tuesday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.00, and the 10-year yielding 4.46 after closing yesterday at 4.50 percent.