“Here we are, a week away from Thanksgiving, and I’m in Kansas City. My family told me to stop telling Thanksgiving jokes, but I said I couldn’t quit cold turkey.” The CFPB isn’t going away “cold turkey” but yesterday’s personnel move was a reminder that there are clever people in Washington DC. It was a follow up to Trump Administration court filings last week that said the CFPB was on track to run out of money to operate at the beginning of next year and argued that it was legally prohibited from seeking an infusion of funding from the Federal Reserve, which is the bureau’s primary source of funding. Yesterday Donald Trump nominated Stuart Levenbach, a name you can forget as he is merely a placeholder, to be the permanent head of the CFPB. He’s a top aide to White House budget director Russ Vought. A CFPB spokesperson said the nomination was a “technical” maneuver intended to extend Vought’s ability to continue serving as the acting director of the agency without needing Senate confirmation, i.e., the move is designed to empower Vought to continue leading the agency as he moves to shut it down in the coming months. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by Figure. Figure is shaking up the lending world with their five-day HELOC, offering borrower approvals in as little as five minutes and funding in five days. And, embedding their technology is easy. Hear an interview with Figure’s Michael Tannenbaum on how small-balance first-liens and HELOC-as-refi strategies work, the latest developments after the company’s IPO, and his thoughts on the current lending climate.)

Services, Products, Software, and Tools for Lenders and Brokers

“Ready to roll out of the QM rut and into the non-QM fast lane? With Correspondent-in-a-Box™ retail originators can start manufacturing non-QM loans faster than you can say ‘manual data entry.’ Our platform ingests tapes of all stripes, wrangles wild loan docs, and gives you a turbocharged workflow that’s as user-friendly as your favorite food delivery app. Just upload, review, and let our AI do the rest… no coding, no late-night number crunching, and no caffeine overload required. Best of all, you get quality asset review that actually controls quality (imagine that!), plus same-day settlement that leaves your old process in the dust. Non-QM manufacturing with us is simple, scalable, and a little bit fun, like the mortgage version of a drive-thru: order up your next tranche of liquidity, and watch the deals fly out the window. Black Lake Investment Solutions: Empowering mortgage intelligence. Book a demo or contact us to learn more.”

Introducing Bonzo Content Studio: Marketing That Drives More Closings. Bonzo just made mortgage marketing faster, smarter, and easier. With the new Bonzo Content Studio, loan officers and branch teams can instantly create and send on-brand, compliant marketing, all inside Bonzo. No designers, no waiting, no juggling tools. Access a library of proven mortgage templates for flyers, emails, social posts, and postcards. Auto-personalize every piece with your photo, info, and branding. Instantly co-brand with your favorite agents or referral partners. And stay compliant with built-in approval workflows. The result? Faster campaigns. Stronger relationships. More closings. Bonzo Content Studio automates the marketing grind so you can focus on what really matters: closing more loans, more efficiently. Available now inside Bonzo. Learn more!

It used to be that Thanksgiving meant a little peace and quiet. These days it’s talk of rates over turkey, AI over dessert, and a dog that seems to understand timing better than most lenders. And sure, it’s funny, until you’re back at your desk Monday, dealing with verification workflows that feel just as chaotic. Multiple VOE/I vendors, redundant orders, and random fees that appear like uninvited relatives… It’s enough to make you reach for the leftover gravy. Some lenders are done with that. They’re using Informative Research’s Verification Platform, which automatically routes each verification to the best-performing provider, trims dead-end pulls, and keeps costs, and chaos, under control. Maybe that’s something worth thinking about while you’re waiting for the pie to cool. Click here to learn more.

“As we hit the home stretch of 2025, the Citi Correspondent Lending Team would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all of our Correspondent Sellers. Whether it be our expanded offering in Community Lending, improved execution against our Non-Agency Jumbo products or simply taking advantage of our robust and dynamic pricing within Citi’s Mandatory Trade Desk, Citi Correspondent Lending continues to deliver opportunities for our Sellers to grow. With this in mind, we are excited to unveil several enhancements to both our product offering and loan delivery experience beginning in Q1! Because we believe these comprehensive offerings could help you expand your market reach, we invite you to connect with your Account Executive to explore solutions tailored to your business; prospective clients can also complete our Prospective Client Questionnaire as we look forward to forging a prosperous 2026 together.”

End endless meetings. Roam is the virtual office built for high-performing distributed teams who need instant access to each other to close business faster. Thousands of mortgage professionals are transforming how they work with Roam’s 8-in-1 platform - reducing their tech costs by 80 percent, slashing meeting times, and boosting productivity across the board. You can replace Zoom, Teams, Slack, Calendly, Loom/BombBomb, Otter/Fireflies, and more, all while working in one seamless virtual office. All for just $18.88/month. Schedule a demo now or try it for yourself.

Tidalwave's Diane Yu joins The Big Picture sponsored by Depth today at 3PM ET for a discussion on various approaches to agentic AI, and how this technology solves real mortgage-industry workflow problems. The trio will also explore the importance of human-centered design, the future of the mortgage tech stack, and any timely industry news worth reacting to.

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.

Servicing Tools in Mortgage Banking

Mortgage servicing used to be the sleepy back office of mortgage banking. Collect the payment, balance the escrow, and stay in compliance. But that world has vanished. Today, servicing has become the power center of the industry: a profit engine, a competitive moat, and the single biggest predictor of who wins the next cycle. And if you think servicing is still just an administrative function, the latest Voice of the Industry piece by Pennymac CEO David Spector will change your mind.

What’s driving the shift? A perfect storm of industry consolidation, tech modernization, rising consumer expectations, and the realization that recapture, not purchased leads, is the most valuable customer acquisition channel in the business. From IMBs buying billions in UPB every month to servicers quietly cutting costs by over 40 percent with next-gen platforms, the real action in mortgage innovation is happening after the loan closes. Servicing, far from being an afterthought, is now shaping origination strategy, profitability, and long-term enterprise value.

If you want to understand why Rocket is buying real estate portals, why VA VASP rollout separated the innovators from the laggards, or why the next industry leaders will be the ones who pair AI with deep mortgage expertise, not Silicon Valley theory, this is a must-read. Explore how servicing became the industry’s new strategic battlefield… and why the lenders who master it will dominate 2026 and beyond.

DARA INVOICE: the modern default-servicing upgrade servicers need. Default invoice management is still quite messy, with manual reviews, spreadsheet chaos, email back-and-forth, ultimately leading to unreimbursed servicing costs. Dara by Sagent changes that with a new tool built for modern servicing teams (Dara Invoice) which automates the entire workflow with real-time, rules-based validation that checks every line item against investor requirements the moment an invoice hits the system. No delays, no surprises, and far fewer losses. It also centralizes everything servicers need, vendor communication, documentation, auditing, and reporting, into one unified workspace. Bulk submissions move faster. Errors get flagged instantly. Teams finally get a consistent, trackable process that cuts operational risk and keeps recoveries flowing. If your default servicing operation is still weighed down by manual invoice processing, it’s time to level up. See Dara Invoice in action and discover how modern automation can transform your workflow from end to end.

Managing loans in bankruptcy can be a complex and time-consuming process, with intricate rules that servicers must follow. The ICE Bankruptcy solution can help servicers efficiently manage loans through the various stages of the bankruptcy process by automating critical steps like case monitoring, claim filings, cash processing, and attorney collaboration. Seamlessly integrated with the MSP® loan servicing system, ICE Bankruptcy helps reduce risk, improve compliance, and maximize productivity using an advanced rules engine and event-tracking workflows. Learn more about how ICE can simplify your bankruptcy process today.

The Right Partner for SFR Performance. Planet’s investor-focused Sub-Servicing platform delivers transparency, proactive oversight, and responsive communication that minimizes risk and preserves yield. At IMN’s SFR West Forum, Dec. 2–4 in Scottsdale, AZ, discover how Planet’s tailored Sub-Servicing strategies support your goals and scale with your growth. Meet with Samantha Manfer, Chief Business Development and Brand Officer or email here.

Are We Makin’ Money?

Marina Walsh and the MBA reported that, “Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported a pre-tax net production profit of $1,201 on each loan they originated in the third quarter of 2025, compared to a net production profit of $950 per loan in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) newly released Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report… Combining both production and servicing operations, roughly 85 percent of the more than 325 mortgage companies in our sample posted overall profits.”

Noted Walsh, “While third quarter closed loan volume was relatively flat, and per-loan production expenses rose slightly compared to the second quarter, the increase in recorded production revenue drove profits higher in the third quarter.” The average pre-tax production profit was 33 basis points (bps) in the third quarter of 2025, compared to profit of 25 bps in the second quarter of 2025. The average quarterly pre-tax production profit, from the first quarter of 2008 to the most recent quarter, is 40 basis points. Total production revenue (fee income, net secondary marketing income, and warehouse spread) increased to 359 bps in the third quarter, up from 346 bps in the second quarter. On a per-loan basis, production revenues increased to $12,310 per loan in the third quarter, up from $11,914 per loan in the second quarter.

Total loan production expenses (commissions, compensation, occupancy, equipment, and other production expenses and corporate allocations) increased to 326 basis points in the third quarter of 2025 from 321 basis points in the second quarter of 2025. Per-loan costs increased to $11,109 per loan in the third quarter, up from $10,965 per loan in the second quarter of 2025. From the first quarter of 2008 to last quarter, loan production expenses have averaged $7,799 per loan.

Servicing net financial income for the third quarter (without annualizing) was $29 per loan serviced, about flat compared to the $30 per loan serviced in the second quarter. Servicing operating income, which excludes MSR amortization, gains/loss in the valuation of servicing rights net of hedging gains/losses, and gains/losses on the bulk sale of MSRs, was $92 per loan serviced in the third quarter.

Including all business lines (both production and servicing), 85 percent of the firms in the report posted pre-tax net financial profits in the third quarter of 2025, up from 80 percent in the second quarter of 2025.

(To purchase or subscribe to the publications, please click here. Media wishing to view a copy of either report should contact Falen Pitts at 202-557-2771.)

Capital Markets

Jobs and housing drive our economy. What is driving massive job cuts in the US? Kobeissi’s Letter tallied that, “U.S.-based employers have announced 1,099,500 job cuts in the first 10 months of 2025, the 2nd-highest since 2009.” Nearly 21 percent of those layoffs were driven by "unfavorable" market and economic conditions. Meanwhile, 7 percent of job cuts were made to reduce costs, while about 4 percent were as result of AI. In October alone, US companies announced 153,074 job cuts, the worst October in 22 years… AI automation is only part of the narrative for layoffs.

What did we learn yesterday? Supply and demand determine market rates, and the government’s sale of 20-year Treasury bonds drew weak interest… But markets barely reacted, and expectations for a December Fed rate cut dropped after officials said that the October jobs report won’t be released because the BLS couldn’t collect data during the record-long government shutdown, so those figures will instead be folded into the November report. Yes, the November employment report is delayed until December 16, more than a week later than planned and after the Fed’s final meeting of the year. Overall, markets were choppy as investors digested the data backlog, questions about the Fed’s next move, and softer demand in the latest Treasury auction. The trade deficit narrowed in a way that should help Q3 GDP.

The Fed minutes from its October meeting reinforced the market’s view that policymakers are unlikely to cut rates again this year, with most officials saying it’s appropriate to keep policy unchanged and only a few are arguing for a possible December cut. Combined with the lack of clean economic data due to the government shutdown, investors interpreted the discussion as confirmation that a year-end move is highly unlikely, pushing December rate-cut odds down to around 25 percent currently.

Today’s economic calendar kicked off with the (delayed, so the data is a couple months old) September payrolls report. Private payrolls were +119k for the month, much stronger than expected, with the unemployment rate, average hourly earnings (+.2, about as expected, +3.8 percent year-over-year), and August nonfarm numbers were revised down. Other releases today include weekly jobless claims (+220k, continuing claims 1.974 million), Philadelphia Fed manufacturing for November, existing home sales for October, KC Fed manufacturing for November, a Treasury auction of $19 billion reopened 10-year TIPS and buyback (due to illiquidity) in 20- to 30-year coupons for up to $2 billion, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, and remarks from no fewer than five Fed speakers. Additionally, today is Class D 48-hours for MBS. After the employment data Agency MBS prices are better by nearly .125 from Wednesday’s close, the 2-year is yielding 3.56, and the 10-year is yielding 4.12 after closing Wednesday at 4.13 percent.