Running a mortgage company, turns out, isn’t free, and lenders are trying to cut costs and increase efficiency everywhere. For example (and this is not a paid ad), Lenders One offers some member benefits that may be of interest: L1 Credit for credit reports and fraud tools, L1 Flood for NFIP compliance, and L1 Insurance to help borrowers get competitive homeowner rates. L1 has exclusive discounts from 90+ providers and keeps your team compliant with complimentary, NMLS-approved continuing education. The Lenders One mission is simple: reduce costs, increase efficiency, and drive profitability, has a free membership promotion and complimentary cost-savings review. Another thing lenders are doing is adding product lines, like reverse mortgages. On Mortgage Law Today at 3PM ET, 10AM HT, Brian Levy, Loretta Salzano, and Marty Green welcome guests Wendy Oshiro and Jim Milano for a clear look at the fast-growing reverse mortgage market. They break down Reverse Mortgage Lending 101, what rising demand means for consumers and originators, and the latest compliance and legal developments shaping the space. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by The Refi Recapture Engine from LO Autopilot. Triple your recapture business in 2026. Its plug and play Refi Recapture Engine runs nonstop, analyzes every loan, creates and sends personalized, actionable quotes directly to borrowers. Hear an interview with Phoenix Burst’s Tela Mathias on the latest innovations in the mortgage space and how it is people rather than technology that is driving the pace of change in the industry.)

Lender and Broker Services, Products, and Software

“Your customers’ experience, loan portfolio health, and subservicer performance demand visibility and certainty. You can’t just trust that your needs are met, you must verify as well. That’s why you need a partner committed to full transparency. At Servbank, what you see is what you get. Servbank provides 24/7 access to your entire portfolio through our award-winning SIME technology. You get real-time, on-demand data in your preferred format with a single click. Built for clarity and ease of use, SIME eliminates outdated systems and unnecessary complexity. Servbank makes it simple to verify while also exceeding expectations… Your satisfaction is our priority. At Servbank, we’re committed to openness, honesty, and above all our compliance stamp of approval. Click here to partner with the nation’s premier bank subservicer.”

A free eGuide making the rounds among lenders right now tackles one of the more common questions in mortgage tech: how to evaluate all the new “AI powered” POS claims showing up in the market. LenderLogix recently published The Mortgage Lender’s Guide to Evaluating AI Powered POS Solutions, and it has been getting passed around by teams reviewing POS options and vendor roadmaps. The eGuide walks through what lenders should be looking for in an AI POS, along with common red flags and a lender friendly checklist you can use during demos or vendor reviews. For those looking for a clearer way to sort through AI claims before sitting through vendor pitches, the guide can be accessed here.

Lenders can now know upfront whether a borrower has a verification of income and employment record on The Work Number®. The Work Number Report Indicator and Income Qualify are now available as a value add alongside certain Equifax® credit reports ordered through Informative Research. Report Indicator provides a yes/no indicator of whether a record is available on TWN for a borrower within the past 36 months Income Qualify provides the borrower’s SSN, name, employer name, tenure, and prior-year total income. These early-stage insights help lenders determine whether a full verification of income and employment (VOIE) request is necessary, helping to streamline workflow and manage costs. Report Indicator and Income Qualify help increase lender confidence and support informed decision-making earlier in the mortgage lending process. Setup only takes a quick configuration, no development work required. Read the full announcement.

After years of elevated mortgage rates, tight inventory, and stretched affordability, the housing market may finally be ready to thaw. As 2026 approaches, the big question isn’t whether conditions will improve… it’s how quickly momentum will build and what will keep the market moving forward. Join First American Data & Analytics for a 2026 Housing Market Outlook webinar featuring Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American. We’ll unpack the data behind the shift, from mortgage rates and Fed policy to affordability, labor market fundamentals, demographic demand, new-home construction, and regional performance, and explore the signals pointing to a measured, gradual recovery. If the market is moving from freeze to forward motion, this is your roadmap for what comes next. Register now to get the insights you need to navigate a year defined by progress, not a breakout, in 2026.

“For 40 years, Richey May has gone deep in the mortgage industry… it’s where we came from, and it’s what we know. As 2025 closes and mortgage leaders prepare for what’s next, that singular focus matters more than ever. Richey May’s deep industry roots have shaped a full suite of services and products designed specifically for mortgage banking leaders, built by professionals who truly understand the operational, regulatory, and technology pressures defining today’s market. Through decades of collaboration, we help clients navigate complexity, manage risk, and position their organizations for a stronger 2026 with specialized audit, tax, advisory, technology, and cybersecurity solutions. We go deep so you can take your business to new heights, entering next year with clarity, confidence, and the insights needed to lead the way forward. Contact Richey May today to go beyond.”

’Tis the season for good news, and Down Payment Resource (DPR) is closing out the year with plenty to celebrate. In 2025 DPR’s database of DPA programs expanded to a record 2,624 nationwide, with assistance available in every U.S. county, offering an average benefit of $26,000 and lowering a borrower’s loan-to-value ratio by 8.8 percent. For many families, that help is the difference between wishing for a home and unlocking the front door. Just ask Crystal Damon, a single mother in Salem, North Carolina. With support from Wider Path Home and the power of a donation from DPR, she received $11,000 to buy her first home. She shares how that support changed life for her and her son in this video and reminds others not to be discouraged by naysayers. Let Rob Chrane and team show you how to spread joy to more homebuyers in 2026.

Assets Grow on Units. Not spreadsheets. If you’re a subservicer, you already know the problem: growing units under management is hard, slow, and usually involves too many emails, too many files, and not enough certainty. Black Lake’s Servicing Conduit Technology fixes that with a platform that is built for subservicers, investors aggregating assets, and originators seeking liquidity… without chaos. Boards loans from any LOS, across any asset type, with no custom integrations or manual re-keying. Assets move from seller to servicing in hours, not weeks, while data and documents stay aligned from day one. A live, dynamic order book connects originators looking to move assets, investors looking to acquire, and servicers ready to absorb them, adjusting automatically as pricing, eligibility, and allocations change. No reboarding. No stalled transfers. No “who owns this file?” conversations. Less manual work. Fewer surprises. More assets under management. Contact: info@blacklakeinvestments.com or book a demo to learn more.

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.

Marketing and Advertising in 2026

Of course I hope that any company’s marketing includes sponsoring Chrisman LLC podcasts and running ads. But on a more global view, I received a letter from a reader asking, “Rob, we’re looking at our marketing situation for next year. What are you hearing or seeing in terms of how marketing in lending has changed in recent years, and ‘where is the puck going’ in terms of wise spending?” Good question. I turned to Kerri Milam, Founder & President at Depth.

“Marketing trends we’re noticing in our work with mortgage tech and services vendors apply equally to lenders marketing to consumers. The marketing puck, as it were, is gliding toward focus, clarity, and proof.

“Focus. For example, we’re seeing thought leaders move away from trying to comment on everything — whether in a social media setting or in the trade media — and instead, focus on going deeper in the areas where their expertise is distinctive and contributory. You don’t need to be the first or most frequent voice on every trend. In fact, showing up as an expert on everything tends to read as self-promotional, and audiences see through it. Post frequency works both ways - too often can make you just as transparent as too little. The brands and leaders building trust are the ones who pick a lane and show real ‘depth,’ if you’ll pardon our pun.

“Clarity. There’s also a clear gravitation toward shorter traditional marketing content. Well-written white papers still move the needle, but 20-page tomes are condensing to ten-pages. Two-thousand-word articles are shrinking to 800 words. That may sound simpler, but in truth it raises the bar. When you’re operating with half the word count and even less of the attention span, you must work 2x as hard to earn and sustain attention by saying something that matters - either add to industry know-how or offer it a new way to think about itself is how we think about it for our clients.

“Proof. One thing that never goes out of style is social proof. If you’re a vendor, bring a lender with you to that webinar, demo, or case study presentation. If you’re a lender, tell great customer stories that appeal to potential customers. Credibility is built fastest when someone else is willing to put their name on your work. Please remember this: customer feedback IS marketing just as much as SEO, or email campaigns or social media. Words to market by in 2026: Focus. Clarity. Proof.” Thank you, Kerri!

(By the way, in the last few months Depth announced the addition of mortgage industry veterans Elizabeth Schroeder, vice president of client services, Amy Jerina, client services manager, and former business journalist Amber Perry who also joins as a client services manager.)

Capital Markets

What’s better in our industry than the gift of capital markets education? In this season of giving, Panoramic Capital Academy’s Executive course, designed as a math-light alternative to the in-depth Masterclass, is an ideal present for anyone seeking to advance their career. The 8-week Executive class is perfect for those interested in strategy and execution, but who may not want to deep-dive into the more advanced analytics. If it’s more in-depth mortgage capital markets content you’re after, the Masterclass is an intensive 14-week course that covers complex topics, such as hedge accounting and servicing valuation. Recent graduate testimonials speak to the unique structure of the course and the curated curriculum, otherwise unavailable elsewhere in the industry. Both courses start in mid-January. For more details about our comprehensive courses covering rate sheet pricing, hedging, servicing valuation and more, reach out to Rob Kessel at Rob Kessel, or visit here.

Monetary policy will continue to hinge on real-economy data, but shutdown distortions and missing inflation prints are limiting near-term clarity, keeping investor conviction low until data normalizes in January. Expect current rate ranges to hold into year-end, with any upside breakout in yields from strong data likely short-lived. Recent moves higher in long-end yields lack sticking power, with 10-year rates stabilizing near 4.16 percent, and front-end rates remain anchored, as markets continue to price rate cuts next year despite a slightly higher expected terminal rate after the Fed’s latest decision.

U.S. Treasuries opened the week with a risk-off bid, supported by weak overnight data from China and a sharply disappointing Empire State Manufacturing report, but those gains faded as the session progressed. Longer-dated Treasuries initially outperformed before the short end took the lead, reflecting cautious positioning ahead of a heavy data calendar. Soft Chinese retail sales, continued declines in home prices, and weak U.S. manufacturing reinforced global growth concerns, yet the rally lacked follow-through as investors avoided extending duration too aggressively. By mid-morning, yields had retraced from their highs but remained firmer than last week’s close, signaling stabilization rather than conviction. With November payrolls expected to be modest and set to backfill October gaps, markets appear content to hold range-bound positions until clearer labor signals emerge.

Attention remains on payrolls and inflation, and today’s economic calendar kicked off with November Nonfarm Payrolls (unemployment rate at 4.6 percent, slightly higher than expected; nonfarm payrolls +64k, slightly higher than expected). October nonfarm payrolls were -105k. Job growth was expected to slow to around 50k, well below year-to-date averages and consistent with a trend of weak hiring that even the Fed believes may overstate labor-market health. We’ve also received September Housing Starts and Building Permits, and October Retail Sales (unchanged, about as expected). Later today brings November Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization, Flash December S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI and flash December S&P Global U.S. Services PMI, and September Business Inventories. After the initial salvo of jobs data we have Agency MBS prices slightly improving from Monday’s close, the 2-year yielding 3.46, and the 10-year yielding 4.14 after closing yesterday at 4.18 percent.