Mar. 23: LO jobs; subservicing, LOS, verification tools; STRATMOR on tech & borrower experience; builder M&A; F&F buying; rates driven by war tweet

I head to Virginia today for a Southern Trust Mortgage Sales Summit. With 9 million people, Virginia’s population has been steadily increasing, unlike… Japan. Japan’s economy is stagnant and its population of 123 million is slowly declining, resulting in many things, including 9 million vacant houses and Buddhist temples losing relevancy. The country’s solution? ChatGPT-designed AI robot monks. Thanks… I’ll pass. AI may have dominated the conversation at this year’s ICE conference (and almost every other industry event recently), but the takeaway wasn’t that technology is only about replacing people… It’s that the most effective strategies bring the two together. In their session at ICE, STRATMOR’s Garth Graham and Sue Woodard emphasized that while innovation is accelerating, the human element remains essential to building trust, driving satisfaction, and creating lasting borrower relationships. (More below.) (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Quorum Federal Credit Union offering a broker outlet. Quorum empowers brokers to close more deals with flexible, high-LTV mortgage and HELOC solutions featuring up to 4 percent comp, low FICO options, and versatile programs for nearly every borrower scenario. Hear an interview with Castor Financial’s Brooks Champagne on solving DTI snags with unique income stacking qualification and asset depletion features to qualify more borrowers.)

Employment, transitions, and an industry death

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In the Northwest and California, Banner Bank is searching for Mortgage Loan Officers looking for a diverse product group to create lasting client, Realtor and builder relationships. At Banner you have Portfolio lending, Construction to Perm financing, Fannie, Freddie, FHA, VA, and USDA along with equity products for HELOC, bridge financing and Lot Loans to serve your clients. Banner has opportunities for lenders looking to create or build onto their career with support for homebuyer education, CRA lending (state bond and Portfolio) as well as access to internal and external DPA to add value to your eligible clients and make more loans possible. Banner is the right fit for an established team, or the individual looking to grow their business and take the next step in their career. Please send resumes to Aaron Miller.

Firstline Compliance is pleased to announce that Tanya Anthony has been named Chief State Regulatory Officer. With a career spanning mortgage, consumer finance, fintech, and legal advisory environments, Tanya has built and led licensing departments, managed complex multi-state initiatives, and served as a trusted resource for both clients and regulators. Firstline’s president, Josh Weinberg said, “Tanya is one of the most respected and well-liked state regulatory experts in our industry. She was part of the original group who built the NMLS, has helped countless clients with licensing issues (even before the NMLS was a thing!) and most importantly, develops relationships by building trust and earning credibility. She embodies each of Firstline’s core values and is a key part of our growth.” Her appointment further strengthens Firstline’s ability to help clients navigate an increasingly complex state regulatory environment. To learn more about Tanya’s role and how Firstline supports organizations with state regulatory strategy, please contact Ashley Bradford.

Dart Appraisal’s Brace Case passed away earlier this month. Michael Dresden summed it up best. “We lost a great man. Brace, along with his son, Darton, founded Dart back in 1993 after a successful run as the owner/operator of Oakland Mortgage. Brace had so many talents and used those as a successful loan officer, entrepreneur, realtor, lawyer, mitigator, and master negotiator. Brace obviously had foundational contributions to our company, but he also had a tremendous impact on me. He took me under his wing early in my career and helped teach me to sell our services and how to always put our customers first. Many of the lessons that shaped me, and continue to shape Dart today, came from him. Dart wouldn’t be what it is today without him nor would I. His greatest gift might have been his care for and interest in others. He cared for people in ways that extended far beyond what was ever expected and I was fortunate to witness that firsthand. I’m grateful for the 17 years I had with him and will work hard to make sure we continue to honor his legacy properly.”

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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Less back-and-forth. More first-time-right verifications. Truework replaces manual verification waterfalls with a single automated platform, so underwriters, LOs, and ops can cut down the document chasing, conflicting numbers, and last-minute corrections. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times, higher accuracy, and stronger R&W relief. Trusted by 4 of the top 5 lenders in the U.S., Truework gives your team verification results they can rely on. Learn more.

Forget your bracket. The conference you actually want a seat at is Horizon 2026. Dark Matter Technologies' annual user conference, April 1–3 in Ponte Vedra Beach, isn't a tradeshow; it's a community of lenders, credit unions, and banks getting behind closed doors to see what's coming next. Sean Dugan, CEO, takes the stage to deliver a vision that will change how their clients think about what's possible now and in the future. MBA President and CEO, Bob Broeksmit, joins the agenda for an unfiltered look at policy, rates, and where the market is going. The event is built around peer-to-peer conversation, with lenders comparing notes on what's working in origination, servicing, and beyond. The only thing worse than a busted bracket is watching the best game of the season from the parking lot.

Many originators say they want to work with real estate investors. Fewer have a clear strategy for doing it consistently. NMP is hosting an upcoming Complete Guide to Serving Real Estate Investors on Wednesday, March 25, at 1PM EDT, a live town hall builds on insights from the Complete Guide to Non-QM: Real Estate Investors Edition and focuses on how successful originators serve investors through cash-flow-driven lending strategies. Join real estate investor experts from Constructive Capital for a practical, unscripted discussion on understanding the investor mindset, identifying repeatable opportunities, and structuring financing around execution and long-term strategy. The session is designed to help brokers develop consistent investor pipelines and long-term client relationships. You’ll learn how investors evaluate leverage, risk, and growth; where opportunities are found; how DSCR is applied in real scenarios; and how originators structure for repeat business. Sign up to attend and submit questions in advance here.

The industry just crowned its Loan Origination Platform of the Year. Is your LOS keeping up? The FinTech Breakthrough Awards Program named the Mortgage Cadence Platform (MCP) the winner, and for good reason. While other platforms force lenders to choose between capability and simplicity, MCP delivers both. One powerful, end-to-end digital mortgage solution. Two configurations (MCP Enterprise and MCP Essentials) built on the same codebase, scaling with lenders at every stage of growth. Streamlined operations. Improved efficiency. Support for every loan product, every lender size. This isn't just an award. It's validation of what forward-thinking lenders already know: the right platform changes everything. See why lenders are making the switch. Schedule your demo today.

“Delivering An Exceptional Subservicing Experience! At Cenlar, exceptional client service begins with treating homeowners the same way our clients do because we are an extension of the client-homeowner experience. Investing in client service isn’t just good manners; it’s smart business. Because at the end of the day, people remember most how you made them feel. That’s why many of our partnerships have lasted decades… some spanning more than 20 years. We cultivate strong client relationships and stay ahead of the curve by continuously investing in technology, cybersecurity, and robust operational controls. These commitments allow us to deliver a level of service that stands apart in the industry. To learn how we can partner with you, connect with Matt Detwiller, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Tom Donatacci, Chief Client Officer.

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.

STRATMOR on technology and the borrower’s view

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STRATMOR’s Solution Provider Advisory (SPA) Program, developed as a way to help bridge the gap between mortgage lenders needs and technology solution providers offerings, has drawn significant interest from technology firms looking to sharpen their value propositions and better align with lender needs. At the recent ICE Experience Garth and Sue also shared findings from recent secret shopping efforts, revealing how lenders are performing across key moments in the customer journey. The results reinforced a clear point: technology can enable consistency and scale, but it’s the human touch that ultimately differentiates the experience. For lenders looking to see themselves through the borrower’s eyes, STRATMOR’s Secret Shopping program offers a practical path to uncover both strengths and gaps.

Builder M&A is alive and well

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Trumark Homes, the No. 67 company on the 2025 Builder 100 list, has expanded into the Pacific Northwest with the acquisition of Washington-based builder JK Monarch. The acquisition adds a Washington division for Trumark, joining existing teams in Northern, Central, and Southern California and Colorado. 

15-year-old JK Monarch is a private company with communities across the Puget Sound and Tri-Cities area with active developments in Puyallup, Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Bonney Lake, Lakewood, and Enumclaw in Washington. 

Trumark said JK Monarch’s founder Jonathan Bartels will serve in an advisory role during the transition process and the company anticipates bringing the broader JK Monarch team into the organization as part of the transition. JTW Advisors served as the exclusive financial advisor to JK Monarch on the acquisition.

Trumark Homes has been going gangbusters since 2020. The builder has partnered with Japanese company Daiwa House, started a greenfield operation in Colorado, acquired central California-based Wathen Castanos Homes, and acquired Icon Lending. Since 2020, the builder has achieved a compounded annual growth rate exceeding 60 percent. The company has also surpassed 1,000 in annual closings and achieved $1 billion in revenue annually over the past two years. Nelson highlighted that M&A will continue to play a significant role in Trumark’s strategic operations and the builder is targeting a doubling of revenue by 2027, surpassing $2 billion.

The Daiwa House Group’s U.S. portfolio consists of regional hubs: Stanley Martin Homes (No. 21 on the Builder 100) in the east, Texas-based CastleRock Communities (No. 49 on the Builder 100), and Trumark Homes in the west. Daiwa House has targeted supplying 10,000 single-family housing units across its U.S. operations by 2026.

Capital markets: odds of a Fed rate hike increasing

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Fear and loathing in (Las) mortgage. Fears of worst-case economic scenarios pushed interest rates higher last week. And what is the worst case? That a quagmire awaits the U.S. military, further stoking inflation. Even small pockets of stability in bond prices last week didn’t help much, as lenders repeatedly raised rates, leaving borrowers now fortunate to see anything around 6.375 percent while investors brace for more uncertainty ahead. President Trump’s decision to go to war appears to have convinced markets that rate hikes, not cuts, are a more likely future outcome: Bond traders bets that the central bank will raise interest rates now sit around a 50 percent chance by October. Persistent affordability challenges and structurally low housing inventory continue to cap upside in residential lending, leaving the industry constrained.

While news has broken that both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are placing large orders to buy MBS, softer economic data (i.e., slower GDP growth, weakening consumer spending, and signs of a cooling labor market) are reinforcing that more cautious outlook, suggesting that underlying cracks in the economy may become a bigger focus for policymakers in the weeks ahead. And stress in the private credit markets continues to quietly build, with both investors and the Fed flagging risks tied to lending to weaker borrowers. These concerns previously helped push rates lower and could do so again if geopolitical tensions ease. Surging inflation expectations have been reflected in wider TIPS breakeven spreads.

This week’s data, mostly of the second-tier variety, includes Fed surveys, previously delayed updates on construction spending, productivity/unit labor costs and import prices, and Michigan sentiment (where inflation expectations will be closely scrutinized amid the recent surge in oil prices). Treasury will auction month-end supply (consisting of $69 billion 2-year, $70 billion 5-year, $44 billion 7-years notes, and $28 billion reopened 2-year FRNs) tomorrow through Thursday. Fed speakers return following last week’s FOMC events. Today’s economic calendar gets underway with the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for February and will be followed by delayed construction spending for January, and some short-duration Treasury auctions. We began today with Agency MBS prices worse roughly .250 from Friday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.00, and the 10-year yielding 4.43 after closing last week at 4.39 percent, up 10-basis points over the course of the week. But wait!  After President Trump’s pronouncement this morning of backing off the hostilities for five days, the 2-year dropped to 3.86, the 10-year to 4.33, and MBS prices improved. Who can keep track?

Frank is prompted by a computer screen to “Enter password,” to which he playfully types out the word “password.”

When the screen displays “Password is incorrect,” he doesn’t miss a beat and simply types the word “incorrect.”

As the prompt changes to “Try again,” Frank types “again,” and finally “again later” when the system asks him to try again later.

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.)