Mar. 12: U/W, LO, sales jobs; AI roadmap, UAD 3.6, repurchase tools; False Claims Act rumors; STRATMOR's subservicing survey; credit trend interview

I’m sitting here, wondering how many numbers my phone can permanently block given the daily calls I receive about some personal loan I’ve never applied for. Speaking of applications, let’s see what’s in the mailbox. “Rob, are there any jobs out there that you know of that you don’t post in your Commentary?” Kind of: Lenders and vendors add jobs to the Chrisman Job Board which takes just a few minutes and the listing is seen by thousands of mortgage professionals. If you're looking for your next move, you will find employers hiring across the business including LOs, AEs, processors, underwriters, marketers, compliance pros, and more. “Rob, do experts ever talk about the credit situation of our government?” Yes, but what is the credit score of a government? Neither political party can reign in spending, and, theoretically, it will impact borrower’s rates as the U.S. Treasury’s borrowing showed no signs of slowing. As the U.S. headed deeper into fiscal year 2026, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that another $1 trillion was added to the federal deficit in the first five months of the year. The monthly budget review from the CBO, and recently released, showed that the government is estimated to have borrowed $308 billion last month alone. The Pentagon, which banned anyone from photographing Defense Secretary Hegseth, told Congress that the first week of the Iran war cost more than $11.3 billion. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Floify, an industry-leading point of sale platform. The Dynamic Apps 2.0 AI-powered enhancement lets lenders tailor application flows by loan type, leading to higher completion rates, less operational back-and-forth and specialty lending without the one-size-fits-all compromise. Hear an interview with Consumer Data Industry Association’s Dan Smith on the debate over eliminating tri-merge credit reporting centers, and whether shifting to a single bureau would truly improve affordability or instead introduce systemic risk.)

Employment, company available, and transitions

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Megastar Financial Corp. proudly welcomes the Casa Express team. Led by Division Manager Xiomara Abadias and Senior Loan Officer Sandra Kourakis, this bilingual team is dedicated to expanding Hispanic homeownership nationwide. Casa Express brings cultural connection, education, and trusted guidance to families navigating homeownership. At Megastar, we're equipping them with cohesive technology, automated bilingual marketing, and specialized products designed to support self-employed borrowers and those without traditional documentation. Access matters. Education matters. Product matters. "I've known Xiomara for over 20 years, and she is one of the most passionate professionals in this industry. Watching her build Casa Express has been inspiring. This is exactly the kind of partnership that moves our mission forward. Together, we are creating more opportunity, more inclusion, and more keys in more hands." (Mickey Schilling, Chief Revenue Officer.) Ready to do the most meaningful work of your career? Reach out to explore what's possible at Megastar.

“National Sales Director, United One: Candidates seeking to take the next step in career growth will not want to miss this opportunity. For over 100 years, United One has been a trusted partner to lenders, delivering solutions across First Mortgage, Home Equity, and Commercial Lending. We’re investing in technology and national growth, and we’re seeking a National Sales Director to build and lead a high-performing sales team. Candidates should have 5+ years in Credit Reporting, Appraisal, Title, or Settlement Services; Proven ability to recruit & lead sales teams; and Strong strategic planning, forecasting, and Salesforce skills. Please send resumes to Sean Higgins.”

“Where Top Underwriters Build Their Legacy: A mid-sized privately owned mortgage bank located on the West Coast is in search of two influential Underwriters. We believe that the sales staff can only be as good as the underwriters on their team. We value critical thinking, we encourage collaboration and we believe in a work-life balance. If you like bureaucracy, rigid processes and being micromanaged we’re not going to be a great fit. Proficiency in Encompass, Experience with Jumbo/Non-QM and a positive attitude required. If you’re ready to be valued and part of something bigger than just checking boxes please contact Anjelica Nixt (and specify this opportunity) for a confidential conversation. (We’re open to working remote, we offer a full benefits package and have a culture that is unmatched in the mortgage industry.)”

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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Home equity lending is having a moment. The challenge for many lenders? The process behind it still looks like 2015: manual workflows, vendor emails, and too much operational juggling. FirstClose is hosting a 30-minute webinar on March 19 at 1 PM CT that examines how lenders are modernizing home equity operations to move faster without adding complexity. The session will include a walkthrough of the FirstClose platform and Intelligent Order Management Automation, showing how lenders can streamline vendor ordering, reduce manual coordination, and push critical data directly into their loan origination system. You’ll see how lenders are accelerating HELOC and home equity closings, improving borrower and staff experience and creating more consistent, scalable operations along the way. For lenders looking to keep pace with rising demand, automation is quickly becoming the operational advantage. Register here.

“Planet Servicing is built to support complex non-agency portfolios at scale. As lending expands across DSCR, RTL, SFR, and other business-purpose loans, investors need a servicer with the infrastructure, specialized technology, and operational expertise to support these assets. Our dedicated non-agency platform and team deliver robust investor reporting, proprietary pre-boarding technology that reduces onboarding friction, and Early Payment Default monitoring designed to identify risk quickly. With scalable sub-servicing capabilities for originators, lenders, and institutional investors, Planet helps protect portfolio performance while enhancing the borrower experience. See how Planet Servicing can help optimize performance across your non-agency portfolio.”

While most mortgage organizations are struggling with shelfware and expensive platforms that LOs simply ignore, CANDID is delivering a new standard for engagement with a 61 percent daily adoption rate. As a comprehensive mortgage marketing and sales operating system, we provide high-performance tools, including AI Insights, AI-powered newsletters, and automated campaigns that drive daily production without erasing the human element that makes the mortgage industry great. By streamlining the entire sales workflow into one intuitive experience, we give your team the social intelligence to be the best, most personal version of the LOs they already are. This ensures your technology isn't a static line item, but a primary operating system that your team actually wants to use every single day. Stop paying for tech your team ignores. Schedule an executive demo to see the platform they’ll actually use.

Non‑Agency deals aren’t getting simpler. For lenders looking to grow in this space, having a knowledgeable partner behind the scenes can be a true competitive advantage. AmeriHome now offers a powerful resource: the Non‑Agency Scenario Desk, available to support underwriters and loan officers and provide hands‑on assistance with complex scenarios, unique borrower situations, and strategic loan structuring, helping lenders maximize opportunities. Whether you’re exploring a challenging scenario or fine‑tuning a deal, AmeriHome’s Non‑Agency team is available to help you get the most out of their Non‑Agency program. Contact your sales executive today for access. If you’re looking to connect with the AmeriHome team in person, catch them at the TMBA 110th Annual Convention in Austin: click here to schedule a meeting with one of their sales executives! Check out their events page to see where they’ll be throughout the rest of 2026, find your sales executive here, and follow AmeriHome Correspondent on LinkedIn to stay in the loop!

For many lenders, the challenge around UAD 3.6 isn’t awareness. It’s operational readiness. How will the new URAR change appraisal review, underwriting checklists, and engagement letters? As traditional forms give way to data-driven appraisal reports, lenders need to update policies, train teams, and adjust workflows before the November deadline. To help lenders prepare, Class Valuation has created a UAD 3.6 Lender Resource Hub. The hub brings together official GSE materials, including training resources and sample reports, along with guidance by Class Valuation. Visitors can explore FAQs and access a lender transition guide outlining practical steps to take for the new appraisal format. If your organization is preparing for UAD 3.6 adoption, the Class Valuation UAD 3.6 Lender Resource Hub is a practical place to start.

“Heading to ICE Experience next week? Let’s talk tax. Stop by booth 202 to learn how servicers are using better data, automation and integrated tax solutions to reduce operational friction, manage risk and improve borrower outcomes. From property tax intelligence to portfolio insights, Cotality, formerly CoreLogic, helps servicing teams stay ahead of the issues that impact performance and compliance. Meet with our experts to see how leading servicers are turning complex property data into clearer decisions across their servicing portfolios. See you in Vegas!”

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.

Brody Gapp LLP on AI & repurchase defense

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Less than a year after launching, Brody | Gapp LLP is approaching its tenth attorney, and the firm's AI governance and fair lending practice has produced something the industry can actually use. After leading the panel on "AI, Automation, and Fair Lending" at a recent conference, Brody Gapp LLC, the firm released four free practitioner-level tools: MB Governance Guide, an AI Governance Survival Guide built around Freddie Mac Bulletin 2025-16 and Guide § 1302.8, a Fair Lending AI Risk Map addressing proxy discrimination and ECOA/Reg B adverse action exposure, and an AI Vendor Due Diligence Toolkit anchored in SR 11-7 and GSE examination expectations, for depositories, IMBs, credit unions, and brokers, the kind of document most institutions know they need and haven't built yet.

But AI governance is one piece of a full-suite national practice: the firm is currently handling large-scale LO poaching and trade secret litigation with TROs and preliminary injunctions, managing M&A transactions on both the buy side and the sell side, defending state regulatory audits in multiple jurisdictions, and litigating more than 20 FLSA cases across the country. With that, on Wednesday, April 15 at 10:30 AM PT, 1:30 PM ET, Brody | Gapp is hosting a live webinar, titled: "Fight Back and Recover: A Masterclass in GSE Repurchase Defense and Third-Party Loss Recovery." Managing Partner James Brody has spent over a decade building a national repurchase defense practice, and the thesis of this session is blunt: most lenders leave defenses unraised and third-party recovery claims on the table. With AI-generated fraud documents surging and the GSEs deploying machine learning to retroactively scan portfolios, repurchase exposure is accelerating in ways that the standard "negotiate and eat the loss" playbook doesn't address. For more details, contact James directly by emailing him here (415-246-3995).

Opinion on False Claims, HUD, and what may be in store

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From an industry vet in Michigan, I received a note about how HUD may allow the return of the False Claims Act “Monster.” “Rumors suggest multiple new sealed FCA lawsuits against FHA lenders are emerging, potentially violating the 2019 HUD-DOJ Memorandum of Understanding by punishing lenders for technical/ immaterial non-compliance via FCA liability rather than HUD's normal administrative remedies.

“The 2019 Agreement reserved FCA liability for egregious fraud, calling for HUD to instead use its normal administrative enforcement powers to enforce compliance with its rules. As a reminder, whistleblower FCA lawsuits in the mortgage are predatory tort litigation in its most dangerous form. With unlimited treble damages and penalties for technical violations, sleazy law firms see FCA lawsuits against mortgage lenders as a career-ending lottery ticket. Before the 2019 Agreement sent them into hiding, such firms had significant success in weaponizing it, turning good-faith underwriting errors into taxpayer-funded windfalls.

“Secretary Ben Carson declared the post-2008 FCA ‘monster’ ‘slayed’ after it drove major banks from FHA lending (depository share fell from ~50 percent in 2010 to <14 percent). JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon noted a major FCA settlement ‘wiped out a decade of FHA profitability,’ making it ‘risky and cost prohibitive for many banks.’

“If these sealed cases are real, HUD may be quietly retreating from previously agreed upon protections, potentially chilling FHA lending and harming low-income/first-time buyers. This trend could undermine the FHA program and further restrict access to credit for low-income/ first-time buyers… See Atlanta Fed's 2024 paper on past FCA litigation: "Government Litigation Risk and the Decline in Low-Income Mortgage Lending"

“I wonder what Ben Carson would think about this. Perhaps someone should ask HUD leadership for comment? Or the Mortgage Bankers Association? Public attention might help them remember the hard-fought victory in 2019 and inspire their recommitment to it.”

STRATMOR Survey on Subservicing Trends

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Subservicing continues to play an increasingly important role in the mortgage industry. As more lenders evaluate subservicing as a viable option, and with recent M&A activity reshaping the market, STRATMOR Group is conducting a short survey to better understand lender perspectives. The survey explores several key questions, including which companies the market views as leading subservicers, what factors matter most when selecting a subservicing partner, and which capabilities and offerings lenders value most. Input is welcome from lenders who currently use a subservicer, as well as those who own MSRs or are considering retaining MSRs in the future. The survey takes less than 15 minutes to complete, requires no internal data, and responses will help inform a broader view of how the subservicing landscape is evolving. Participants will receive a summary of the findings once results are compiled. Take the survey.

Capital markets: bond prices down, rates up

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What does it take to optimize your mortgage pools in today’s market, and are spec pay-ups playing a bigger role in your strategy than you realize? Join MCT’s Jessica Visniskie and Paul Yarbrough for Best Practices for Pool Optimization, a live webinar on March 19 at 11:00 a.m. PT. This practical, capital-markets-focused session explores the nuances of specified pools in residential mortgages, including their distinct prepayment characteristics and the downstream impact on hedging and pricing strategies. As spec pay-ups continue to expand across the market, attendees will learn best practices for incorporating specified pool dynamics into optimization strategies, improving front-end pricing approaches, and managing risk more effectively. Register for the webinar to gain actionable insights into pricing, hedging, and optimizing specified pools in today’s evolving mortgage market.

Mortgage rates moved higher yesterday after the 10-year Treasury yield pushed above the closely watched 4.20 percent level, triggering broader selling across the bond market and pressuring mortgage-backed securities. As Treasuries weakened, MBS prices fell even more sharply, widening the spread between the two and forcing lenders to adjust rate sheets to protect margins. The move was amplified by technical dynamics in the mortgage market, where many securities are trading near par and pricing relies heavily on interest-only valuations, which can exaggerate rate changes when markets shift quickly. The result was a round of lender reprices for the worse that felt larger than usual, not because of a single headline, but because several market mechanics moved against mortgage pricing at the same time.

February’s consumer prices, although old news given the war in Iran & oil prices, offered little relief on the inflation front, coming in largely as expected and reinforcing the view that the disinflationary progress seen since last summer is losing momentum. Treasury yields briefly fell early yesterday before rebounding after weak demand at a $39 billion 10-year note reopening, leaving yields across the curve above their 200-day moving averages by the close. With oil prices already up about 25 percent since late last month and core Personal Consumption Expenditure expected to post another solid 0.4 percent monthly gain when it prints tomorrow, the report does little to shift the Federal Reserve’s near-term outlook, as policymakers remain more focused on evolving energy dynamics and geopolitical risks while still expected to deliver two modest rate cuts later this year before holding policy steady.

War & oil inflation dominate the news, but today’s economic calendar kicked off with the previously delayed January trade deficit (a big jump in exports), as well as housing starts and building permits (permits were 1.376 million, lower than expected, -5.4 percent) and weekly jobless claims (213k, as expected; 1.85 million continuing). Later today brings Treasury announcing the auction sizes for next week’s reopened 20-year bonds and 10-year TIPS auctions before actually auctioning $22 billion reopened 30-year bonds, the New York Fed conducting a buyback for liquidity support in 7-year to 10-year coupons for up to $4 billion, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, and remarks from Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Bowman on “Basel III and Bank Capital Rules.” We begin the day with Agency MBS prices little changed from Wednesday’s close, the 2-year yielding 3.64, and the 10-year yielding 4.21 after closing yesterday at 4.22 percent.

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, “Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!”

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, “Never mind, I found one.”

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.)

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.)