Apr. 19: 1,500 CFPBers laid off... Or were they? The pros of tariffs from a reader & AI; Vendor updates; Saturday Spotlight: Prudent AI
A non-government, non-elected official doesn’t have the authority to shut down a government agency. But as we are finding out in the Trump Administration, that may not matter if you cut nearly every job, thereby rendering it uncapable of carrying out is mission, and turn over its business to states. In this case, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB, tasked with many things including regulating Elon Musk’s X’s digital wallet venture) is reportedly in the process of laying off 1,500 employees, which will reduce the agency’s staff to 200. This reduction-in-force (RIF) effort began Thursday (April 17). According to the Politico report, CFPB Director Russ Vought wrote in a notice to the affected employees that the cuts are “necessary to restructure the Bureau’s operations to better reflect the agency’s priorities and mission.” It was reported that the CFPB is scaling back enforcement of financial services companies and instead will focus on threats to members of the military and their families. But wait! A judge stepped in to halt the mass firings. The CFPB’s heavy-handed methods and attitude have certainly caused problems, but it serves a purpose, and, as any multi-state lender will tell you, 50 mini-CFPBs are not in the best interest of the consumer.
Saturday Spotlight: Prudent AI
_________________________________________________
“Get instant income certainty with fraud protection.”
In 3-5 sentences, describe your company (when was it founded and why, what it does, where, recent growth and plans for near-term future growth).
Prudent AI is the default income intelligence platform powering the top non-QM lenders, including Angel Oak, Newfi, Change Lending, Kind Lending, Logan finance and several others. Our intuitive UI and cutting-edge AI enables lenders to pre-qualify borrowers with a single click while providing day-one income certainty and proactive fraud screening.
Trusted by over 50 percent of the non-QM market, Prudent AI empowers lenders to double their loan volume, save 4 hours per application, and keep their operating costs in check as they scale.
Founded in July 2020, our mission is to revolutionize lending by equipping teams with tools that offer them unparalleled speed, accuracy, and confidence in their decision-making.
Looking ahead, Prudent AI is poised for explosive growth as we continue to transform the lending landscape. Our roadmap includes aggressive expansion into new market segments, strategic partnerships with industry giants, and the development of groundbreaking AI solutions that will redefine the way lenders operate. With our unrivalled technology and deep industry expertise, Prudent AI is not just shaping the future of lending – we are creating it.
What does your company do to help elevate your employees’ growth? Describe any mentoring programs, outside classes or training, in-house training. How does the company help people develop?
At Prudent AI, we prioritize the growth and development of our employees. We offer a dedicated budget for learning and development, allowing our team members to enroll in courses and training programs that align with their professional goals.
Additionally, we foster a culture of knowledge sharing through regular internal sessions. We also encourage innovation by providing our employees with the time and resources they need to work on new ideas.
We believe that we can achieve more when we trust each other, and we are committed to creating a high-trust environment for everyone on our team.
Tell us how your company maintains its culture in a work-from-home environment, or how you plan on bringing employees back into the office, if applicable.
At Prudent AI, we have adopted a flexible working model that balances the benefits of remote work with the collaborative spirit of in-person interactions. Our team members work from home three days a week and spend two days in the office. To further strengthen our company culture and promote cross-functional collaboration, we organize regular team dinners and off-site events that bring together teams from multiple locations.
Things you are most proud of that don’t have to do with sales.
At Prudent AI, we take immense pride in our technology, which has been developed with a deep understanding of our customers' needs. By working closely with lenders from the very beginning, we have built a platform that is intuitive, user-friendly, and incredibly fast. Our customers have become ardent fans of our app, appreciating its ease of use and the speed at which it delivers results.
(For more information on having your firm’s extracurricular activities, employee growth, and your charitable side featured, contact Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt.)
Interview about Trump’s tariff’s impact
_________________________________________________
There was an interview this week (on the 16th) with economist Dr. Elliot Eisenberg worth a listen for anyone thinking about the impact of tariffs on borrowers or lenders in general.
The pros of Trump’s tariffs, but is he merely repeating McKinley?
_________________________________________________
Thank you to Rollie L. who sent, “Rob, how about giving the other side of the coin perspective on Trump’s tariffs? See ChatGPT’s analysis below.
“Trump’s tariffs, particularly those imposed during his presidency on countries like China and others, had a range of economic effects, some positive, depending on the perspective and sector. Here’s a breakdown of the potential positive consequences of those tariffs on the U.S. dollar and economy:
“Strengthening of the U.S. Dollar (Short-Term). Capital Flight to Safety: Tariffs contributed to global uncertainty, prompting investors to move capital into U.S. assets (e.g., Treasury bonds), which increased demand for the U.S. dollar. Trade Deficit Impact: By attempting to reduce imports (especially from China), tariffs aimed to narrow the trade deficit, which can support the dollar’s value by reducing the outflow of dollars abroad.
“Boost to Domestic Industries. Protection for Key Sectors: Tariffs on steel, aluminum, and other imports helped protect U.S. manufacturers from foreign competition, leading to short-term growth in those sectors. Incentive to Reshore Production: Some companies considered relocating supply chains back to the U.S. or to friendlier countries, creating potential for domestic investment and job creation.
“Increased Government Revenue. Tariff Collections: Billions of dollars were collected in tariffs, essentially functioning as a tax on imports. This added revenue could be used for government spending or deficit reduction, although it was not a major fiscal game-changer.
“Bargaining Leverage in Trade Negotiations. Pressure on Trading Partners: The tariffs served as leverage to renegotiate trade deals (e.g., USMCA replacing NAFTA), which included more favorable terms for U.S. workers and industries in some areas like auto manufacturing and intellectual property protections.
“Stimulation of Alternative Trade Relationships. Diversification of Supply Chains: U.S. companies began exploring and developing trade relationships with non-tariffed countries, potentially broadening U.S. global economic ties in the long run.”
But Seeking Alpha weighed in with a historical perspective. “Tariff news continues to dominate the headlines after President Trump unveiled the largest set of tariff increases seen in a century or more. There have been plenty of references to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, but the presidential era that Trump has seemingly modeled his economic platform after occurred in the 1890s. At the time, William McKinley was making waves from the White House, and the 25th president continues to be referenced in many of Trump's speeches, media interviews and even his inaugural address.
“The similarities: ‘I am a tariff man, standing on a tariff platform,’ McKinley declared on the presidential campaign trail in 1896, appealing to America's core manufacturing base and dominant industrial states. It followed decades of his work in Congress that culminated in the McKinley Tariff of 1890, which raised the tariffs on most imported manufactured goods to around 50%, as well as the 1897 Dingley Tariff when he assumed the presidency.
“Mckinley also oversaw a period of American expansionism, from the annexation of Hawaii to territories like Puerto Rico and Guam, aligning with Trump's current view of taking Greenland, the Panama Canal, and making Canada the 51st U.S. state. A crackdown on illegal immigration further mirrors McKinley's stance of "securing the United States from invasion by the debased and criminal classes of the old world... against all such our gates must be tightly closed."
“Economically speaking, Trump has pointed to the 1890s as an era when the U.S. ran a massive surplus and "didn't know what to do with all of the money we were making." As they did then, and still do today, economists debate the impact of tariffs, especially in different periods for the economy, such as rapid industrialization or integrated globalized supply chains, and their relation to federal government spending as a share of GDP. Before McKinley was assassinated in 1901, he also discussed the value of ‘reciprocity treaties’ and opening more trade with the outside world once the U.S. had "produce[d] beyond our domestic consumption... under the domestic policy now firmly established" (i.e., no deficits).
“Whether McKinley's stances helped the markets, or whether they align with Trump in the modern age, might be just as controversial as they were then. One thing that's certain is that Trump is out to remake the U.S. economy and the world trading system. ‘In the coming days, there will be complaints from the globalists, the outsourcers, and special interests, and the fake news,’ he declared from the Rose Garden. ‘Never forget every prediction our opponents made about trade over the last thirty years has been totally wrong. They were wrong about NAFTA, they were wrong about China, they were wrong about the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In my first term, they said tariffs would crash the economy, instead, we build the greatest economy in the history of the world.’”
Vendor tidbits
_________________________________________________
Heading toward the California MBA’s Innovation Conference and the National Secondary, both in May, it’s good to keep up on who’s doing what.
Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT®), the de facto leader in innovative mortgage capital markets technology, and Calyx®, a leading provider of comprehensive mortgage software solutions, announced a new release of the data integration between their software platforms. The new API-driven integration improves speed, breadth, control, and customization options of data flow for mutual mortgage lender clients. This strengthened integration is offered free of charge to mutual clients and between the firms themselves, for the good of the mortgage banking community and efficient commerce in the secondary market. Read the full Press Release.
Asset Based Lending (ABL), a New Jersey-based lender providing private capital to real estate investors, funded 1,866 loans in 2024, a 60% increase over 2023, and expanded its employee headcount by 15%, marking a year of rapid growth and innovation for the company. The lender credits strategic sales efforts, operational improvements, and a focus on enhanced customer experience for its success. In November, the lender announced its second securitization in two years, closing ABL 2024-RTL1. The industry-leading ground-up construction package totaled $175 million; a feat made possible by ABL’s long-term track record as an authority in the sector. In 2025, ABL plans to expand its sales team, providing loan officers with additional support and incorporating marketing automation into its tech stack to improve team productivity and enhance the borrower and partner experience.
Ncontracts, the leading provider of integrated compliance, risk, and third-party management solutions to the financial services industry released findings from its 2025 Third-Party Risk Management Survey, revealing the biggest trends, risks, and strategies shaping third-party risk management (TPRM) today. The survey highlights a significant use of hybrid TPRM operating models, especially among larger institutions, where dedicated TPRM teams oversee the framework while vendor owners manage day-to-day risk and performance. This approach helps balance consistency with flexibility as vendor portfolios grow more complex. To download the full report, visit 2025 Third-Party Risk Management Survey. To learn more, watch its on-demand webinar, TPRM in 2025: How Financial Institutions are Navigating Vendor Management.
AssetVal, a valuation industry leader known for delivering high-quality Broker Price Opinions (BPOs), is partnering with Restb.ai, a trusted innovator in computer vision AI for the mortgage industry. The integration of Restb.ai’s advanced computer vision technology to elevate the consistency and accuracy of its residential BPO offerings. This AI-driven enhancement enables AssetVal to validate the condition and quality of both subject properties and comparables, helping reduce valuation drift and deliver more consistent price opinions on a scale. Delivering a new level of objectivity and precision to BPO analysis, modernizing the process while maintaining its trusted human foundation.
For homeowners facing financial hardship, the threat of losing their home can be devastating, causing stress, anxiety, and uncertainty about their future. But servicers can play a critical role in helping families find a way forward. The ICE Loss Mitigation solution helps you streamline processes and reduce risk, while providing you with the tools to connect struggling homeowners with available assistance options. Loss Mitigation also helps automate GSE decision and settlement steps with API integrations, track activities with rules-driven tracking, and more all from within a user-friendly interface for agents. Learn more about ICE Loss Mitigation so you can be ready to help homeowners when they need it most.
Lender LTD, a new face in the 3rd Party Origination space, announced that it has selected OptifiNow as its customer relationship management (CRM) platform provider. The decision to implement OptifiNow’s platform was driven by one key factor: OptifiNow is one of the few CRM solutions purpose-built for wholesale lenders. Unlike most mortgage CRM platforms, OptifiNow comes ready out of the box with tools, workflows, and data models tailored specifically to the needs of wholesale lenders. This turnkey approach significantly reduces the time, cost, and resources needed to deploy and manage a CRM solution, allowing Lender Ltd. to focus on growth and customer service rather than platform development.
Halcyon’s CEO, Kirk Donaldson, has been featured in an insightful article, discussing how Halcyon is revolutionizing income validation. Income validation has been a persistent challenge, with six out of ten post-close validations failing, leading to costly repurchases for lenders. Halcyon is addressing this issue head-on by integrating directly with the IRS to source data, eliminating errors associated with manual data entry and ensuring data integrity.
As a leading innovator in mortgage and income verification technology and the only 8821 Form provider, Halcyon announced its integration to provide import capability for Fannie Mae’s Income Calculator using IRS transcript data, seamlessly integrated into Halcyon Income Analyzer platform. This innovative solution allows lenders to calculate qualifying income using verified IRS transcript data automatically, consistently, and with precision. Most importantly, these calculations are eligible for rep and warrant relief from Fannie Mae, empowering lenders to originate loans with enhanced confidence and reduced risk.
Xactus, a fintech and market leader in verification solutions for the mortgage industry, announces The Work Number(R) Report Indicator from Equifax is now available through Xactus360, the industry’s first Intelligent Verification Platformsm (IVP). This new solution allows lenders to quickly see an indicator of the applicant’s employment status through The Work Number alongside an Equifax credit report. This is a complimentary benefit from Xactus for clients who order their credit reports through Xactus and leverage The Work Number for their verifications of income and employment. The data provided will indicate whether an active record is available from The Work Number within the last 36 months. The additional report can be delivered alongside the credit report.
It’s always good to be sensitive when you’re apologizing.
Visit www.robchrisman.com for more information on our industry partners, access archived commentaries, or to subscribe to the Daily Mortgage News and Commentary. If you're interested, visit my periodic blog at the STRATMOR Group web site. This month’s piece is titled, “Love Them or Leave Them? The Ongoing Saga of Fannie and Freddie.” The Commentary’s podcast is live and at any place you obtain your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify).
qoɹ
(Market data provided in partnership with MBS Live. For free job postings and to view candidate resumes visit LenderNews. This newsletter is for sophisticated mortgage professionals only. There are no paid endorsements by me. For up-to-date mortgage news visit Mortgage News Daily. For archived commentaries, or to subscribe, go to www.robchrisman.com. Copyright 2025 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. Occasionally paid job & product listings do appear. This report or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold, or redistributed without the written consent of Rob Chrisman. The views and opinions in this newsletter are mine alone unless otherwise specifically stated herein.)