Jan. 30: SVP Wholesale, Ops, AE & LO jobs coast to coast; verification, licensing tools; Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh primer
“Rules? In a knife fight? No rules!” Sounds sensible, at least to Butch Cassidy and his opponent. Donald Trump’s Fed nominee sounds sensible (lots below), but he and his family suing the IRS and others for $10 billion not so much. There’s a lot of sensible thinking going on out there in our biz. Yesterday in the Thought Leadership section, attorney Mitch Kider addressed the “Rule of Law” and what he believes is important to the industry. In a new article featured in Chrisman Commentary's Thought Leadership, David Spector challenges the rate-centric view of housing affordability, arguing that the real strain comes from a tight housing supply pipeline, local zoning and permitting roadblocks, and tax policies that shape who can afford to own versus invest. He examines how transaction costs, insurance, property taxes, and operational inefficiencies quietly inflate monthly payments, and why lowering mortgage origination friction, modernizing appraisal and title practices, and revisiting pricing policies could meaningfully ease borrower burden without adding risk. Read the full article to unpack where these pressures originate and what coordinated changes could shift the trajectory. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by Truework, the one verification solution to replace in-house waterfalls. Verify any borrower with a VOIE solution that automates the entire process to quickly deliver the most accurate and complete reports with broad GSE coverage. Today’s has an interview with Prudent AI’s Suha Zehl on moving certainty to the front of the lending process to reduce operational friction, eliminate late-stage surprises, and allow lenders to scale volume, protect margins, and serve complex borrowers without adding staff.)
Employment & transitions
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“Knock is redefining the home buying and selling experience, and we’re hiring Mortgage Account Executives (remote, U.S.) to help drive what’s next. Founded on a people-first mindset and recognized as one of Inc.’s Best Workplaces six times, Knock empowers homebuyers to buy before they sell through the first-of-its-kind Knock Bridge Loan™.
In this role, you’ll generate new business with lending partners through proactive outreach, education, and relationship building. You’ll operate in a B2B2C environment, serving as a trusted advisor to loan officers and leadership teams while driving consistent loan application volume. We’re seeking sales-driven Account Executives with proven experience and the ability to educate, advise, and support lending partners through industry knowledge and expertise. This fully remote opportunity offers competitive base pay, uncapped incentives, and the chance to make a meaningful impact on homeownership. Learn more and apply here.”
A leading mortgage lender is seeking an experienced Senior Vice President (SVP) of Wholesale Lending to build and lead a national wholesale lending channel. This executive-level role is responsible for driving profitable growth, operational excellence, and long-term strategy while aligning with company objectives. The SVP will recruit, coach, and develop a high-performing team of account executives and leaders, while building strong relationships with mortgage brokers to expand production through tailored mortgage solutions. Success in this role requires a proven ability to create focus, accountability, and cross-functional collaboration across sales and operations. The ideal candidate has an extensive background in Third Party Origination and wholesale lending, and a track record of building or scaling channels from the ground up. Strong senior sales leadership, financial acumen, strategic planning, data-driven decision-making, and exceptional communication skills are essential. If interested, please send your confidential resume to Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt and specify this opportunity.
“Jet Mortgage is a well-capitalized, growth-oriented lender expanding its East Coast footprint. We are hiring experienced QM and Non-QM Underwriters and Wholesale Account Managers to support our growing wholesale platform. Jet Mortgage is also seeking an experienced Wholesale Mortgage Trainer with a strong focus on non-QM products. This highly visible role is essential to effective onboarding, product expertise, and consistent execution across sales, operations, and credit. Prior mortgage training experience is required. Interested candidates for any of these roles should submit their resume.”
Evergreen Home Loans™ is still growing! We are now licensed in Oklahoma, marking another step in our national growth. We’re actively recruiting Loan Officers and Branch Managers who want the backing of a national company without sacrificing local connection. At Evergreen, “you’ll find competitive products like CashUp®, helping borrowers make cash offers to secure the deal, along with in-house servicing on most loans and leadership that understands what it takes to win. We’re excited to grow our presence in the Sooner State. Reach out if you want to be part of the growth. Visit discoverehl.com or contact Todd Miles, EVP of Production Growth, to learn more.”
Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group announced the appointment of 30-year vet Robyn Zacharias as Chief Marketing Officer where she will oversee Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group’s marketing, brand, and communications strategy, which will support its continued growth while reinforcing the company’s commitment to service, innovation, and community engagement. Robyn is a seasoned marketing executive with deep expertise in brand strategy, campaign execution, and organizational leadership. Congratulations!
The Chrisman Job Board is the go-to platform for employment opportunities across the mortgage industry. For employers, adding a job listing is easy. Simply create an account and drop in your existing application link, or forward the details to our team and we’ll take care of it for you. For job seekers, joining our Talent Community is completely free. Upload your resume to be visible to hiring companies across the industry and stay connected to new opportunities as they go live.
Products, services, and software for brokers and lenders
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“Truework is a comprehensive income and employment verification platform that fully replaces manual in-house waterfalls and provides mortgage lenders with a single automated solution to run their verification processes. With Truework, lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications while increasing speed, accuracy, and R&W relief. We also offer free pre-approvals to help you qualify borrowers faster… Only pay when we complete a file. Trusted by 4 of the top 5 lenders in the U.S., Truework is built to deliver results. Learn more.”
“Scaling a mortgage company shouldn’t feel harder than closing loans. LicensingStore helps entrepreneurs build their mortgage businesses and executes the licensing, compliance, audit support, and post-closing loan file QC needed to scale with confidence. Our team is made up of industry veterans and mortgage professionals who understand growth pressure, expansion timelines, and regulatory risk because we’ve lived it. From company formation to multi-state expansion and ongoing compliance, we help clients stay focused on revenue while we protect the foundation. Ready to grow through strategic partnership with expertise? Contact our sales team to start the conversation or call 877-809-1212.”
On today’s Last Word at 1PM ET, Brian Vieaux, Kevin Peranio, Coby Hakalir, and Christy Soukhamneut sit down to discuss the new Fed Chair nominee as well as what’s really happening in the mortgage world. They bring their own experiences, opinions, and even a little debate to the biggest stories, from market shifts and new rules to the technology and ideas changing how we work.
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.
Misc. correspondent and wholesaler news
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Sometimes the news in the last week or three doesn’t fit into any particular bucket. Who’s doing what out there?
Cardinal Financial Third-Party Origination has officially launched its Non-Delegated Correspondent program, designed to help independent mortgage lenders scale with transparency, speed, and control. “The program allows approved Non-Delegated Correspondents to originate loans in their own name while using Cardinal Financial’s loan technology, Octane®. Octane handles underwriting, pricing, and more to streamline operations without sacrificing clarity or control.
“The launch of this program builds on a year of growth within Cardinal Financial’s Third-Party Origination division, which has introduced several new options to expand opportunity and flexibility for brokers. This includes Cardinal Complete, a full-service loan processing solution that streamlines workflow and enhances profitability, and a suite of Non-QM products, offering flexible solutions for clients with non-traditional income sources. Alongside its Non-Delegated Correspondent program, these initiatives reflect Cardinal Financial’s commitment to empowering partners through smarter technology, broader product access, and a more seamless path to growth.”
AmeriHome advised that at this time, they are not participating in the Broad Production Period due to additional internal work and readiness of outside vendors. The Broad Production Period spans from January 26, 2026, through November 1, 2026. Details are available in AmeriHome Announcement 20260103-CL.
Citi Correspondent Lending posted Bulletin 2026-01 containing credit policy updates, Flood Certification fee changes and other notices, Combined Flood and Hazard Insurance escrow policies and other clarifications.
Recent agency announcements are in effective immediately for all Newrez Correspondent loans in the pipeline, unless otherwise noted. Additionally, Newrez posted clarifications and/or corrections to the Newrez Guides as of January 22, 2026, and updates to the Product Summaries and/or Overlay Matrix. Correspondents are advised to use announcements as guidance until all applicable underwriting guides are published.
Newrez Correspondent announced an enhancement to its SmartSelf Initial Income Calculation Process effective for loans registered on or after January 16, 2026. Check out SmartSelf – Bank Statement Income Calculation Job Aid. Also available, SmartSelf – Bank Statement Recorded Training.
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) and the USPBL, a Michigan-based independent professional baseball league, announced a 10-year naming rights partnership. “As part of this agreement, the league's ballpark located in downtown Utica Michigan will be renamed to UWM Field, and the league will rebrand its name to USPBL powered by Mortgage Matchup, previously known as USPBL powered by UWM.”
Capital markets: Primer on Fed nominee Warsh
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This morning Donald Trump announced that he will nominate Kevin Warsh for Federal Reserve chair to succeed Jerome Powell. Warsh, 55 years old, is married to the daughter of Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics fortune and a longtime donor and confidant of Trump's. Although it is a nomination process, it is expected that Warsh will sail through. The pick of Warsh, who is 55 years old, likely wouldn’t ripple markets because of his past Fed experience and Wall Street’s current view that he wouldn’t always do exactly what Trump wanted. He is not an economist and has been a critic of the Federal Reserve, and the market wonders how he will fit in with the other 18 members of the Federal Open Market Committee.
But the markets don’t expect much action from the new chair: Traders are pricing in at most two more cuts this year before the benchmark fed funds rate lands around 3 percent, which policymakers have indicates is the long-run “neutral” rate that neither boosts nor hinders economic growth. Though chairs historically have resigned their Fed positions after being removed as chair, that may not be the case this time since Powell has two years remaining in his governor term, and he could choose to serve it to push against Trump’s efforts to compromise Fed independence. (The Supreme Court is currently considering Trump’s, or any president’s, ability to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, a case that ultimately could decide what powers a president has over Fed board members.)
As it turns out, Treasury yields are higher, and those prices as well as MBS prices, are lower on what investors viewed as a “hawkish” pick. Trump emphasized Warsh’s academic credentials, private-sector leadership, and international policy influence, noting his reform work adopted by the Bank of England and his role representing the Fed globally. He praised Warsh as exceptionally qualified and expressed strong confidence that he would become one of the "greatest" Fed Chairs in history. He may do what Powell would have done anyway, should the nomination go through.
But U.S. Treasuries and MBS prices rallied yesterday, with gains across the curve pushing 5- and 10-year yields back below their 200-day moving averages despite an early dip after slightly weaker-than-expected jobless claims (which dipped slightly to 209k while continuing claims fell to their lowest level since September 2024), flat productivity data (unchanged at a strong 4.9 percent and unit labor costs down 1.9 percent), and a wider trade deficit (posing a drag on Q4 GDP). Bond yields ultimately finished the day near session highs even after a soft $44 billion 7-year Treasury auction.
Mortgage rates rose again in this week’s Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: for the week ending January 29, the 30-year and 15-year mortgage rates increased 1-basis point and 5-basis points to 6.10 percent and 5.49 percent, respectively. From a year ago, rates are 85-basis points and 63-basis points lower.
Today’s economic calendar kicked off with the rescheduled December Producer Price Index. The PPI is viewed as old as news as it came in at +3.0 percent year over year, a touch higher than expected and up .5 percent month over month. Later today brings Chicago PMI for January, and Fed remarks resume following Wednesday’s Fed events, including from St. Louis’ Musalem and vice chair for supervision Bowman. Earnings also continue from Wall Street. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices slightly worse from Thursday’s close after the producer price numbers, the 2-year yielding 3.56, and the 10-year yielding 4.26 after closing yesterday at 4.23 percent.
A man woke up early and kissed his wife good morning and goodbye. He made a thermos of coffee and a thermos of hot soup as his car warmed up in the driveway. He packed his fishing gear and proceeded to drive out to the lake for some ice fishing.
As he drove down the road, he realized that his visibility was horrible. It was too dangerous, so he turned around and went back home.
Quietly he re-entered his house. He crept up the stairs and stripped down to his long johns. He slipped into bed and nestled beside his sleeping wife.
Sleepily she said, “I didn’t expect you so soon.”
He whispered in her ear, “It’s a frigging blizzard out there. It’s a mess.”
His wife whispered back, “Yeah, can you believe my idiot husband is out there fishing right now?”
Visit www.ChrismanCommentary.com for more information on our industry partners, access archived commentaries, or subscribe to the Daily Mortgage News and Commentary. You can also explore the Chrisman Marketplace, a centralized hub connecting mortgage professionals with trusted vendors and solutions. If you’re interested, check out my periodic blog on the STRATMOR Group website. This month’s piece is titled, “Helping Borrowers in a Market Defined by Complexity and Change.” The Commentary’s podcast is available on all major platforms, including Apple and Spotify.
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(Market data provided in partnership with MBS Live. For free job postings and to view candidate resumes, visit the Chrisman Job Board. This newsletter is intended for sophisticated mortgage professionals only. There are no paid endorsements by me. For the latest mortgage news, visit Mortgage News Daily. For archived commentaries, or to subscribe, go to www.ChrismanCommentary.com. Copyright 2026 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. 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.)