A mullah, a rabbi, and a priest walk into a bar here in New York. The bartender says, “What is this, some kind of joke?” What isn’t a joke is people’s pay, and trends in mortgage compensation, and this month’s STRATMOR’s piece is titled, “Compensation is Still Lender’s Largest Expense.” What also isn’t a joke is likely, or at least possible, further consolidation in the residential mortgage business. There are still over 4,000 institutions reporting HMDA data. The MBA’s Chief Economist Michael Fratantoni (speaking with his array of bandages due to a bicycling accident) told us yesterday that the MBA expects dollar volume slightly higher than $2 trillion for 2025, up 16 percent from 2024. Unit-wise, probably more relevant to the “business” of lenders and vendors, is expected to be 5.7 million units, 14 percent higher in 2025 than 2024. So, if you hear, “A little better than last year” this sums it up. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Xactus and its commitment to the continued transformation of the mortgage verification industry. Pioneering a new class of technology, “Intelligent Verification,” Xactus is redefining how the industry originates and services mortgages. Today’s has an interview with BOK’s Chris Maloney on Agency MBS issuance trends, prepayment speeds, and why the money supply still matters.)

Software, Products, and Services for Lenders and Brokers

Merlin’s beard! Turns out you don’t need a crystal ball to see where your margins are heading, you just need to Ask Obi. Available at no additional cost for Optimal Blue clients, Ask Obi is an AI assistant built for capital markets executives who want fast, clear answers to complex business questions. Wondering which branches issued the most concessions last week? Or where margins shifted most last quarter? Just ask. Ask Obi searches across Optimal Blue’s entire platform and delivers real-time insights, no data analyst required. First previewed at the 2025 Optimal Blue Summit, Ask Obi has been tested, refined, and is ready to help lenders see their operations with unprecedented clarity. The more Optimal Blue tools you use, the more powerful Ask Obi’s insights become. Because in this market, knowing exactly where to steer next isn’t magic, it’s just good technology. Learn more about Ask Obi.

Achieving operational excellence starts with Encompass®, the industry’s leading LOS, but it doesn’t stop there. To truly optimize your workflows and elevate your team’s productivity, it’s essential to leverage powerful, seamlessly embedded solutions. From service ordering and compliance to underwriting automation and property valuations, these tools are designed to integrate directly into your existing platform, allowing your team to work smarter and faster. Click here to explore our comprehensive resources, including expert insights and proven strategies, to discover how these solutions can enhance your processes, support informed decision-making and drive measurable efficiency gains.

“At Servbank, we redefine what it means to serve to a higher standard. As the nation’s premier bank subservicer, we prioritize transparency, customer experience, and innovative technology to set a new industry benchmark. Our commitment to excellence drives every decision we make, ensuring our clients and their customers receive unparalleled service. Want to see how we’re leading the way? Click here to watch.”

After a successful pilot that documented significant time and process efficiencies (plus eliminated the need for a full-time hire at $70,000 to $80,000 annually), Envoy Mortgage is rolling out software from our friends at Down Payment Resource, the OG of DPA, across its national footprint. During phase 1, Envoy’s loan officers and underwriters are being trained to use DPR’s tools to extend DPA to more eligible homebuyers. Phase 2 will integrate DPR’s tools directly into Envoy’s Encompass® LOS. Phase 3 will explore API integration to capture qualified DPA leads in real time. “We are extremely excited to support Envoy’s expansion of DPA, which can help lower a borrower’s LTV by an average of 6%,” said Brad Cardwell, DPR’s VP of Sales and Business Development. Catch the DPR team at HousingWire: The Gathering, June 8-11 in Colorado Springs to learn more.

Ready to think like a modern lender? Join US Mortgage Corporation and LenderLogix for a live webinar on June 5th, 2025, at 1PM EST to learn how US Mortgage is cutting the clicks, reducing manual work, and building a more efficient tech stack with Encompass® workflow automation and LiteSpeed. From reducing tech sprawl to eliminating repetitive tasks, this session will break down the tools and strategies that keep their team focused on closing loans. Register here!

Is your cyber insurance enough to save your company if you experience a breach? Could you save money on your cyber insurance while still protecting your company? Cyber insurance alone is insufficient protection, and the most successful mortgage lenders are building multi-layered defenses that both reduce premium costs and provide superior protection against evolving threats. Read Richey May’s blog post to learn how cyber insurance fits into an effective security strategy, with tips for reducing premiums while building resilience. The question isn’t if you’ll face an attack… It’s how prepared you’ll be when it happens. Contact Richey May’s cybersecurity experts today to effectively protect your operation.

Mutual of Omaha Mortgage faced a common challenge: how to deliver personalized, compliant sales and marketing collateral for loan officers without overwhelming their internal design team. They needed a solution that balanced customization with brand and regulatory integrity, and found it in Total Expert Design Studio. With customizable, pre-built templates and lockable brand elements, their marketing team empowered loan officers to create high-impact assets independently while ensuring compliance. The results were immediate: asset creation time dropped from three days to one, internal design requests decreased significantly, and loan officers could easily produce co-branded materials without support. The intuitive interface also meant minimal training and fast adoption. Total Expert Design Studio enabled Mutual of Omaha Mortgage to streamline operations, boost efficiency, and give their teams the tools to market smarter and faster. Read the full case study to see how they transformed their content strategy and scaled success.

Today’s Mortgage Law Today Addresses CFPB

Mortgage Law Today, formerly “Regulation Central,” today at 12p PT/3p ET, takes a step back to ask some foundational questions about today’s regulatory climate—what’s really happening at the CFPB, and how are the laws they supervise and interpret evolving in practice? We’ll explore how uncertainty is driving questions from the industry that go beyond technical compliance and speak to broader risk and responsibility. We’ll also look at how states are stepping into more active regulatory roles, and what that means for lenders trying to stay ahead. One area drawing heightened attention is proposed legislation around trigger leads, as stakeholders continue to weigh the consumer protection concerns and operational impacts. And finally, we’ll share key takeaways from the MBA’s Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference (LIRC), including several trends and insights worth your attention. Tune in for a grounded conversation on how to stay compliant, and confident, in a fast-shifting regulatory landscape.

MBA’s Open Door Foundation Auction

Support the MBA Opens Doors Foundation Annual Charity Wine Auction at the MBA Chairman’s Conference on June 3 in Sea Island, GA. The MBA Opens Doors Foundation's Annual Charity Wine Auction at the MBA Chairman’s Conference is a premier online and live auction event that raises more than $200,000 each year. 100% of the proceeds support the MBA Opens Doors Foundation Home Grant Program, which provides mortgage and rental grant assistance to families caring for a critically ill or injured child, helping to keep them in their homes while their child is in treatment.

The 2025 Charity Wine Auction aims to raise $250,000 through offerings of high end, rare and unique wines such as Perrarus from Laurence Fairchild, spirits including one of a kind Clase Azul Día de Muertos 2024 Limited Edition Música, and experiences such as the Rocket Classic, Detroit’s PGA Tour June 24 - 26 which includes two nights at the Shinola Hotel, access to the Pro Am pairing party, inside-the-ropes experience for the Pro Am, and viewing from Rocket’s chalet on the 18th green. Best of all, you get to play in the Delta ProAm with a PGA tour player and Rocket's Bill Emerson. The MBA Opens Doors Annual Charity Wine Auction caps an eventful and productive 3-day MBA Conference. Registration and participation in the auction are free for conference attendees. Full catalogue of auction items forthcoming. Online bidding is available soon! Contact Auction Co-Chair Jim Deitch (717) 578-1871 or MBA Opens Doors President Deb Dubois (202) 550-2822.

Capital Markets

Are you still running a complicated spreadsheet for your MBS pool bids? Join Agile on May 28th at 11AM PT for their 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. They will also demonstrate how a centralized, automated, and more intelligent solution can improve efficiency and execution. Register for the webinar or contact Agile to learn more.

One of the big discussion topics here at the Secondary Conference is how U.S. bond markets, and thus interest rates, have not moved as they normally would given world, financial, and political events. Given the turmoil and uncertainty, the “flight to quality” has not happened. Money has not come into our bond markets and driven rates down. Stay tuned.

Quite the volatile day yesterday, as overnight trading and cash session movement conflicted one another after the understanding that the Moody's downgrade wasn't really a "surprise" pervaded sentiment. Makes sense, given that it came years after similar downgrades by Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings. Monday also saw a dour-looking Leading Economic Index for April, and short-covering activity. While risks remain tilted to the downside, particularly from renewed trade tensions and fiscal instability, upside potential exists if sentiment improves and tax policy spurs renewed investment and consumer activity.

April’s tariff increases have been partly reversed, but U.S. tariffs remain significantly elevated, contributing to slower economic growth and higher inflation (though are yet to trigger a recession). Discretionary consumer spending and hiring have softened, yet the economic outlook has improved modestly since April, with the Fed expected to hold rates steady through 2025 due to the inflationary nature of the shock. We’re yet to see widespread reshoring, as most manufacturers await clarity on long-term trade policy, especially the 2026 tax law. Meanwhile, a major 2025 tax cut bill is projected to boost growth in 2026, though persistent deficits recently prompted a credit downgrade and are likely to keep long-term interest rates elevated. Housing is expected to soften, with multifamily construction outpacing single-family as high mortgage rates deter homebuying.

Philadelphia Fed non manufacturing for May () led off today’s economic calendar. Later today brings Redbook same store sales, some short-duration Treasury auctions, and remarks from a bevy of Fed speakers (Atlanta’s Bostic, San Francisco’s Daly, Cleveland’s Hammond, Richmond’s Barkin, Boston's Collins, St. Louis’ Musalem, and Governor Kugler). The Reserve Bank of Australia was out with its latest monetary policy decision overnight with a 25-basis points cut to the cash target rate to 3.85 percent. Today is also 48-hours for Class D MBS. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices unchanged from Monday, the 2-year yielding 3.96, and the 10-year yielding 4.46 after closing yesterday at 4.47 percent.