http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/topic/rob-chrisman Pipeline Press - Rob Chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-07312026 Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:49:27 GMT 6a6c96022e40639e5dcf0048 Rob Chrisman I am no numerologist, but Freddie Mac’s announcement yesterday, that 30-year mortgage rates are averaging 6.66, caught my attention. Unlike rumors, like the one going around about a Texas IMB buying California IMB, hard, provable numbers are hard to argue with… Like the hundreds of thousands of people every month turning 62. Setting up a reverse division at your company isn’t as difficult, say, parachuting beavers into Idaho. Why should lenders have a reverse mortgage division? Housing wealth among homeowners aged 62 and older rose in Q1 2026 to a record $14.92 trillion, according to the latest quarterly NRMLA/Riskspan Reverse Mortgage Market Index, driven by an estimated $314.8 billion (1.8 percent) increase in senior home values, partially offset by a $10.5 billion (0.4 percent) increase in senior-held mortgage debt. On today’s Last Word at 10AM PT, the gang will probably talk about demographics and business that works, the head-scratching Chair Warsh press conference and its impact on rates, and the latest MISMO news. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian Verify, providing mortgage lenders with automated income, employment, identity, and asset verification solutions that help accelerate underwriting while reducing fraud risk and manual documentation. Today’s has an interview CATO Institute’s Jai Kedia on if the Fed's policy stance is getting closer to its target, and the future of the central bank under Chair Warsh.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-07302026 Thu, 30 Jul 2026 15:56:05 GMT 6a6b463acb6350c6d33aaefa Rob Chrisman I was recently doing some bike riding in the Napa Valley and spent some time speaking with a wine maker. She told me that because of the increase in temperatures, growers are buying land to the south and planting vineyards there, nearer the San Francisco Bay where it is cooler. Their livelihood is at stake “up Valley.” In addition, this year’s harvest is a full month earlier than historical harvests as the grapes ripened quickly. Other fruit growers are seeing the same thing: products are ripening earlier in the year. One state over, Phoenix’s high temperatures this weekend will be around 115 F. Lenders and servicers, who have money at stake as well, are acutely aware of climate-related events and their impact on borrowers. The climate is changing, but human nature is stubborn: “Morgan Stanley Bankers Were Pressured to Approve Mortgages for Wealthy Clients” … Mortgage employees faced backlash when questioning or rejecting loans but the bank says it hasn’t ‘compromised its underwriting standards.’ Today’s The Big Picture at noon PT features Jennifer McGuinness-Lubbert, CEO of Pivot Financial, for a conversation on leadership, market strategy, and the forces shaping today's mortgage industry. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian Verify, providing mortgage lenders with automated income, employment, identity, and asset verification solutions that help accelerate underwriting while reducing fraud risk and manual documentation. Today’s has an interview with ALTA’s Chris Morton on first-quarter title insurance premiums, and the industry's preventative role in resolving title defects before closing as a form of reducing long-term underwriting risk.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-07292026 Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:23:29 GMT 6a69f1dfa1243219366162b6 Rob Chrisman “Technology is dominated by two types of people: Those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.” Even if you’re a 90-year-old LO using a rotary phone, the rest of your company, and your borrowers, use technology and new products and need to stay up on them. FICO Score 10T, adoption, for example, has surpassed 70 mortgage lenders. There’s still time to participate in STRATMOR Group’s first module of its 2026 Technology Insight® Study (TIS), the LOS Perception Survey. The survey explores how lenders view today's loan origination systems and how AI, automation, and other emerging technologies are reshaping expectations for the future. The survey is open exclusively to mortgage lenders. (Participants will receive a complimentary summary report featuring STRATMOR's expert analysis of industry trends, lender sentiment, and key findings.) Today’s Mortgage Matters show, at 11AM PT and sponsored by L1, focuses on strategy and technology, whereas tomorrow’s The Big Picture at noon PT features Jennifer McGuinness-Lubbert, CEO of Pivot Financial, for a conversation on leadership, market strategy, and the forces shaping today's mortgage industry. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian Verify, providing mortgage lenders with automated income, employment, identity, and asset verification solutions that help accelerate underwriting while reducing fraud risk and manual documentation. Today’s has an interview with Experian’s Jamie Norris on expanding data verification options and automation while enhancing efficiency, flexibility, and decision-making across the mortgage process.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-07282026 Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:32:11 GMT 6a68a25b1251af233ce2d203 Rob Chrisman Does innovation in lending always means building something new? MISMO’s President Brian Vieaux challenges that familiar assumption, instead, he argues that some of the industry's greatest opportunities lie in eliminating outdated processes that add friction without adding value. Read why the future of mortgage may depend as much on what the industry chooses to let go of as on what it chooses to build next. This kind of forward thinking leads directly to strategy, and tomorrow, Rick Scherer, CMB, Chief Strategy Officer at NewFed Mortgage Corp., sponsored by Lenders One, discusses this kind of thinking on Mortgage Matters at 11AM PT. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian Verify, providing mortgage lenders with automated income, employment, identity, and asset verification solutions that help accelerate underwriting while reducing fraud risk and manual documentation. Today’s has an interview with PMSI’s John Walsh on the mortgage investor reporting and accounting space.) Lender and Broker Software, Products, and Services “NMBNOW®, a recognized innovator in Non‑QM lending, is expanding into the wholesale lending market to give brokers the same dedicated, individualized service that fuels our retail success. Benefit from concierge support for scenarios, pricing, and underwriting—delivering fast decisions and tailored solutions for complex borrowers. Close more loans with flexible Non‑QM guidelines, seasoned underwriting, fast turn times, and competitive pricing. We handle diverse files, from DSCR, alt‑doc, and full‑doc loans (including those with recent housing or credit events) to ITIN borrowers and foreign nationals. Learn more and get approved. Contact: Joe Villani, EVP, TPO Lending.” Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-07272026 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 15:45:14 GMT 6a6751739d3d41e3d5a8ae95 Rob Chrisman In 2025, the IMF reported that, across the globe, companies, households, and countries had amassed $251 trillion in debt. Looking toward the end of 2026, J.P. Morgan has warned that interest rates on such borrowings are set to spike, owing largely to dwindling populations and diminishing fiscal discipline. JPMorgan’s Joyce Chang and team unpacked the “six D’s” that will shape the global economy under the current and surrounding Administrations: Deficits, deregulation, de-carbonization, de-population, de-globalization, and de-dollarization. Of these factors, two in particular will put upward pressure on borrowing rates around the world: Deficits and de-population. How might that impact your borrowers, or will we continue to ignore things like deficits? (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian Verify, providing mortgage lenders with automated income, employment, identity, and asset verification solutions that help accelerate underwriting while reducing fraud risk and manual documentation. Today’s has an interview with Lower’s Paul Zinn on how successful retail mortgage teams are staying competitive by evolving their sales strategies, investing in recruiting, and developing top loan officers, and positioning their organizations to capitalize.) Lender and Broker Software, Products, and Services Truework, a Checkr Company, is the unified income, employment, and asset verification platform built for mortgage lenders, replacing slow, manual processes with fast and automated reports pulled directly from payroll providers and other authoritative data sources. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times and higher accuracy. Trusted by 4 of the top 5 lenders in the US, Truework delivers verification results your team can rely on. Learn more. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-07242026 Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:40:04 GMT 6a635c58de21bbf5300fb00f Rob Chrisman Odds are, anything you buy was transported using diesel fuel, the price of which has shot up after Russia banned exports of it, impacting farmers, trains, trucks… kind of nearly everything. Today is “Pie and Beer” Day in Utah, aka Pioneer Day, and having parades is costly. It was also celebrated last year, and the year before, and the year before. What were we talking about a year ago? We were interested in how FHA and VA wanted early payoffs when loans traded below par. At that point, JPMorgan Chase was very active in MBS issuance, and most banks preferred short duration products like HELOCs or ARMs while offloading 30-year MBS. There was a lot of talk about how IMBs were increasing production of non-Agency loans. Things haven’t changed too much… like Pie and Beer Day. But change is the name of the game on today’s Last Word at 10AM PT where Brian Vieaux, Kevin Peranio, Christy Soukhamneut, and Coby Hakalir break down the week's biggest market signals, agency developments, and industry storylines. The discussion focuses on what the industry got right, what it missed, and what lenders should be watching next. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to closing, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an interview with Morgan Stanley’s Matthew Hornbach on identifying the risks that investors and the mortgage industry may be underestimating as the economy transitions into its next phase.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-07232026 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 15:28:18 GMT 6a620b17321b5a4702a0795a Rob Chrisman There are only twelve (12) legislative days left until the November election, and today on The Big Picture attorney Mitch Kider and I will discuss what that means for lenders as well as other regulatory topics. Rates aren’t doing much. Deals continue to happen as the big get bigger (the latest example being Union Home buying AmeriTrust to shoot for $20 billion a year; Rocket closed on a multibillion-dollar credit agreement with JPMorganChase that will replace the facility it took out while two of its large acquisitions were pending last year) and lawsuits are filed, and are resolved (the latest example being NEXA Lending announcing the successful resolution of all litigation between CEO Mike Kortas and former business partner Mat Grella, bringing multi-year legal matters to a close and establishing Kortas as the sole owner of NEXA Lending). (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to closing, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an interview with JazzX’s Varant Herculian on effective change management and a clear strategy for integrating AI into workflows in ways that empower employees and deliver measurable business outcomes.) Correspondent and Wholesale Products More professionals are looking at reverse mortgages to reengage clients with strong home equity who may be living on a limited or fixed income. What’s holding you back? HomeSafe Second, a second-lien reverse mortgage, gives you another way to help senior homeowners leverage their equity. Roughly 36 percent of homeowners aged 75+ are denied a HELOC. That represents a meaningful share of otherwise viable borrowers who may be turned away from traditional financing. If you’re running into deals that don’t fit traditional eligibility requirements, HomeSafe Second could help you capture volume that might otherwise be lost. Fill out this form to get a whitepaper on the $14.5 trillion senior home equity market. Finance of America NMLS 2285. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-07222026 Wed, 22 Jul 2026 15:43:45 GMT 6a60bb7083593ed1039490e8 Rob Chrisman There’s always something in the news, whether it is Jimothy the raccoon in the Northwest, or the Canadian wildfire smoke in the Northeast which coincided with more tariffs directed at Canada. Homebuilders, and those who lend to them, know that materials from Canada are already subject to tariffs, but the new tariffs could affect building materials such as (primarily) cement, doors, heating and ventilation equipment, glass, and plywood products. Speaking of building, the artificial intelligence boom in the United States is being matched by a data center building boom. There are more than 3,000 data centers in the U.S. and another 1,500 in development, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Properties and land are being consumed by using Eminent Domain (for the public use?), once again demonstrating the intersection of the government, law, and lending. Today, on Lender One’s Mortgage Matters at 11AM PT, Mitchell Sandler's Ari Karen discusses the mortgage litigation space, potential updates to RESPA, and storm clouds with AI from a legal perspective. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to closing, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an Interview with Pivot Financial's Jennifer McGuinness-Lubbert on the importance of data integration, diversification beyond traditional Agency products to meet borrower needs, and customer-centric approaches in the evolving mortgage landscape.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-07212026 Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:49:11 GMT 6a5f67aae47ef91fbe0c4139 Rob Chrisman People who say that residential lending and the state or federal governments aren’t intertwined have to look no further than the CFPB.  Their new office spaces fit 550. There are 1,100 currently. They will get there? Theoretically only Congress can actually shut down the CFPB, in the Senate with 60 or more votes, and the CFPB is still functioning with a regulatory agenda… which doesn’t include RESPA! 1974’s RESPA could be too tough to eliminate, especially Section 8, the anti-kickback provision and no one wants to come out against that. On today’s Mortgage Law Today (3 PM ET), presented by Polunsky Beitel Green, panelists will have a debate on the future of RESPA Section 8, examining whether the regulation still serves its intended purpose or if the mortgage industry would be better served by reform. Join Phillip Schulman, Senior Counsel at Mayer Brown, and Suzanne Garwood, Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase, join Brian Levy, Loretta Salzano, and Marty Green. Tomorrow, on Lender One’s Mortgage Matters at 11AM PT, NewFed’s Chief Strategy Officer Rick Scherer, CMB, will address tech-driven innovation, setting and implementing strategy, and companies striving to grab market share. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to underwriting, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an interview with Climative’s Winston Morton on turning homeowner demand for energy and resilience upgrades into qualified financing opportunities.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-07202026 Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:50:49 GMT 6a5e15fc7e13284cfcfd9bb4 Rob Chrisman Dang. I don’t know why I put my entire retirement plan into SpaceX stock… it has lost $1 trillion in book value since its post-IPO high. In 2026 Fannie’s stock price is down 44 percent, and Freddie’s stock price is down 46 percent. Did you sink your 401(k) into either, when doing a “re-IPO” was the talk of the Trump Administration? (Speaking of Fannie, rumors are flying that Fannie Lender Letter LL-2026-04 on AI will be followed by a more prescriptive framework.) One would hope that the industry has input into Freddie and Fannie’s activities. Mortgage leaders have limited influence over many of the forces dominating today's housing debate: They cannot directly control interest rates, housing inventory, inflation, or the pace of legislative reform. But they can direct how effectively their organizations prepare for technological disruption. The lenders that spend the coming years waiting for external solutions to affordability challenges may find themselves reacting to change rather than shaping it. By contrast, those that invest now in AI-ready operating models, governance structures, and workforce capabilities will be positioned to create lasting competitive advantages regardless of the broader economic environment. Housing policy will remain important, but the defining strategic decisions of the next decade are increasingly likely to occur not in Washington, but within the institutions responsible for financing homeownership itself. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to underwriting, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an interview with the Institutional Risk Analyst’s Chris Whalen on the fallout from the Two Harbors servicing deal, further consolidation in the mortgage industry, and dominos to fall as companies race to grab market share.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman