Mar. 25: Pricing, trading mgr., U/W, broker jobs; non-QM, data source, MI checklist, pipeline valuation class tools; farewell PHH name

I’ve been doing some flying recently, and have not seen the terrible security lines that the press has mentioned. Then I found out why. And there’s this perspective. On a more serious note, this week I was in Virginia, and the Commonwealth appears poised to follow Utah and become the second state in the country to approve plug-in solar, which are convenient panels that plug directly into a home’s electrical system through a standard wall plug and can significantly reduce energy bills. Of particular interest to lenders is that the Code of Virginia requires the CIO of the Commonwealth to establish a standard for the qualification and training of IT project managers. Put another way, Virginia has an IT examination. And why not? Global financial crime has surged to $4.4 trillion since 2023, growing at 19 percent annually, according to Nasdaq Verafin's 2026 Global Financial Crime Report, lenders and title companies included. The report highlights the increasing use of artificial intelligence by criminals, with 90 percent of financial crime professionals noting a rise in AI-driven attacks. (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 PRMG’s Kevin Peranio on implementing virtual assistants that help find the right documents and borrower information, streamline internal workflows, and scale support during peak demand.)

Employment and transitions

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“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 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. ”

Jet Mortgage is seeking a highly analytical and detail-oriented Pricing Analyst to join our Secondary Marketing team. This individual will play a critical role in managing and ensuring accuracy and consistency across all pricing engines and investor guidelines. Strong understanding of mortgage pricing, rate sheets, and loan-level adjustments (LLPAs) is required. Familiarity with Non-QM and wholesale lending is a plus. Join a growing platform where pricing matters and execution counts. Compensation ranges from $80,000–$120,000, depending on experience. For a confidential interview, please forward your resume.

As the season shifts and new possibilities bloom, now is the perfect time to grow your career by owning a mortgage brokerage. If you’re ready to run the show, Motto Mortgage offers a franchise model built for your business, for life, giving you the structure, stability, and long‑term opportunity to flourish. With a Motto franchise, you get the resources and framework needed for business growth, like established systems, a strong tech stack, and a dedicated HQ team from day one. We’re with you as you hire loan origination talent, streamline daily operations, and amplify your reach. If you’re ready to branch out and build a legacy that lasts, there's no time like the present. Email franchise@mottomortgage.com to get started.

Click n’ Close is seeking a Trading Manager, Whole Loan Trading for a full-time remote role overseeing the end-to-end whole loan acquisition and trading process. Responsibilities include pricing loan packages and scratch-and-dent loans, bidding on tapes from originators and brokers, managing acquired portfolios, and helping ensure returns align with investor and compliance requirements. Candidates should bring experience in loan pricing, secondary marketing, agency and investor guidelines, and the broader loan origination process, along with strong analytical and relationship-management skills. Click n’ Close is a tech-forward, multi-state mortgage company serving both consumers and originators through mortgage, title, and technology solutions. The company equips employees with the tools and resources needed to deliver standout service across the market. Interested parties should contact Michael Lima.

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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A restaurant can seem like the picture of efficiency…until the kitchen falls behind. Guests are seated, orders are taken, and everything appears to move seamlessly. But when what happens up front is not fully connected to what is happening behind the scenes, delays build quickly, and the experience starts to suffer. Home equity lending is no different. Demand may be strong, but when workflows, systems and fulfillment processes are not aligned, speed slips and opportunities stall. On March 31 at 2 PM ET, join FirstClose for a webinar on how lenders using Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology® are solving that challenge. The session will explore how automation and digital workflows help accelerate decisioning and closing, reduce friction and improve pull-through. Attendees will also see how FirstClose’s XpressEquity and Intelligent Automation-powered Order Management System work together to streamline the home equity process. Register here.

Are you confident you’re capturing every dollar your pipeline is actually worth? On March 26, tomorrow, join Optimal Blue for Hedging 201: The Components of Pipeline Valuation, where we break down the critical elements that help shape accurate, profit‑driving valuation. Following up on Hedging 101, this session goes deeper into how data quality influences your pull‑through models, why precise position and gain/loss reconciliation matters, and the best practices that strengthen loan sale execution and hybrid AOT strategies. You’ll also explore duration modeling and its impact on hedging precision, plus key accounting and cash‑flow considerations like SIFMA settlement dates and recognizing unrealized versus realized gains. Led by Optimal Blue’s hedge and loan trading experts, this webinar shows how our advisory, analytics, and modeling can help mitigate interest rate risk, reduce hedging costs, and support smarter, more confident decision‑making across your secondary workflow. Register today.

“PlainsCapital Bank National Warehouse Lending, a subsidiary of Hilltop Holdings (NYSE: HTH), understands the importance of efficiency when it comes to meeting mortgage lenders funding requests. “Express Funding” is how we help our customers reduce the time needed to get loans funded quickly. Express Funding allows our customers to submit multiple loans for funding in one simple data upload, whether it is one loan or 100 loans. We have a growing list of 5,000+ approved closing agents, No Doc funding requirements and funding turn times averaging under 20 minutes! As a well-capitalized financially strong banking partner we give our customers confidence in an uncertain market. If you are interested in learning more about PlainsCapital Bank National Warehouse Lending please contact Deric Barnett, (469)955-6786.”

Are your borrowers having trouble coming up with a down payment in this market? Here’s a tip: Talk to them about pairing down payment assistance (DPA) with MI for maximum affordability and approval power. Get practical tools and resources, including the new 5 workflow tips for successful community lending with DPA and MI checklist, from MGIC’s Community Lending Field Guide. Help more people achieve homeownership with these actionable workflow tips.

Thinking about outsourcing your loan processing, but feeling nervous about placing that responsibility in someone else’s hands? With wemlo®, you get processing support that feels really, really personal, predictable, and in sync with how you like to work. When you hand things over to wemlo, our processors take care of the behind-the-scenes work, freeing up more of your time for client conversations and revenue-boosting activities. Our streamlined process and clear communication help create a consistent, seamless experience for both you and your borrowers. Ready for loan processing support that’s really, really reliable? Book a 1:1 demo today! NMLS ID: 1853218

Did you know in February, annual house price growth turned slightly negative, declining 0.15 percent compared with a year ago, the first year-over-year decline since 2012? It's true. In case you missed it, First American Data & Analytics recently released its February Home Price Index (HPI) report where you can receive the most current insights into home price changes at the national, state, and metropolitan CBSA levels. In the report, First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming says, “While the shift into negative territory is notable, the decline is modest and reflects a market that has flattened after years of rapid price gains. Importantly, near-zero national price growth combined with rising household incomes and an increase in homes for sale continues to improve affordability. As we move into the spring home-buying season, the typical seasonal firming in prices may return, but today’s slower growth trajectory suggests a more balanced and sustainable market for buyers and sellers alike.” Download a full copy of their report to learn more.

Pennymac TPO Expands Offerings with Launch of Non-QM Products! Pennymac TPO is empowering its partners to reach more borrowers with the launch of a comprehensive suite of Non-QM products. Its Non-QM suite includes a variety of income documentation options, including DSCR for investors, bank statement , full documentation (1 or 2 years income documentation), WVOE for wage earners, 1099 (1 year), asset depletion, and asset qualifier options. These products provide flexible solutions to fit your client’s unique financial situation. Want to learn more? Watch their announcement video for full details or join their upcoming Non-QM webinar. Ready to capture more market share? Contact your Pennymac TPO Account Executive to get started or become a partner today.

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.

LOs are seeing the changing math of the American dream

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Matt Schulz has some thoughts on changing borrower mentality. “The most important shift in housing right now is not rates or inventory, it is that buying no longer clearly beats renting, and that changes borrower behavior in ways the industry has not fully absorbed. When owning costs materially more each month, the decision becomes analytical, not aspirational, which extends renter timelines, compresses first-time buyer demand, and reshapes where volume shows up geographically. This feels different from past cycles because the pressure is not cyclical alone, it is structural, tied to taxes, insurance, and supply constraints. For lenders, the implication is clear: demand is becoming more conditional, more mobile, and more selective. That recalibration is already underway in how borrowers think.

Corporations are always in flux

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Farewell PHH. Don’t forget that Onity Group Inc. (NYSE: ONIT) announced that its mortgage subsidiary has officially started operating under a new name, Onity Mortgage Corporation (“Onity Mortgage”), replacing its former name, PHH Mortgage Corporation (“PHH Mortgage”).

Anthem Capital, a division of Paramount Bank, announced the transition of its third-party origination (TPO) business to Watermark TPO, a division of Watermark Capital, Inc. Paramount Bank has made a strategic decision to exit third-party mortgage banking due to other business-to-business partnerships and broader institutional priorities. Therefore, the TPO platform, Anthem Capital, is transitioning to an organization fully committed to mortgage lending and TPO growth. Recall that Watermark TPO is backed by Watermark Capital, Inc., also known as Watermark Home Loans, a trusted leader in the mortgage industry since 2006. “Watermark is a well-capitalized, forward-thinking independent mortgage bank with a long-term vision for growth.”

Capital markets: are lower credit scores entering MBS?

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Ascendant Capital and Black Lake launched RESOLVE™, “the first complete end-to-end platform purpose-built for pricing, trading, and transferring scratch and dent mortgage assets. It operates through a seamless, transparent auction process powered by Black Lake’s proprietary auction technology, MATRIX™. RESOLVE™ brings institutional-grade efficiency to the market.”

Fannie Mae’s move to remove minimum credit score requirements in its automated underwriting system is intended to broaden access to homeownership and introduce more flexibility in how borrowers are evaluated, but so far it has not led to a meaningful increase in lower-credit borrowers entering the conventional mortgage market or being in MBS in the secondary markets.

While there has been a slight uptick in loans to borrowers with sub-700 scores, they still make up a relatively small share of overall lending, suggesting the change is more incremental than transformative. The broader takeaway is that while expanding access is a worthwhile goal, credit scores remain a strong predictor of risk, and any shift that allows more marginal borrowers into the system must be approached carefully to avoid repeating past cycles of rising delinquencies and financial strain.

The “markets” are struggling to find direction as oil prices move higher and investors try to sort through a wide range of possible geopolitical outcomes, which has led to rates bouncing around this week. For example, who is the Trump Administration negotiating with about Iran? In aggregate, rates have been drifting upward across the curve, hovering near levels not seen since mid-2025. Experts say that some signs suggest a short-term pause or pullback is possible, but the bias is still pointing toward higher borrowing costs due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and uncertainty around any diplomatic resolution.

Additionally, it remains unclear how much this will ultimately impact the broader economy, inflation, or Fed policy. For now, the Fed remains on hold, and markets are trading largely on headlines rather than fundamentals, leaving volatility elevated and conviction relatively low.

Today’s economic calendar kicked off with mortgage applications from MBA, which fell 10.5 percent for the week ending March 20, driven largely by a 15 percent drop in refinancing activity, though refi volume remains significantly higher than a year ago. Purchase applications declined more modestly by 5 percent week-over-week, but are still slightly above year-ago levels. We’ve also received February Import/Export prices, obviously overruled by recent & current oil price moves. Later today brings a Treasury auction of $70 billion 5-year notes, and remarks from Fed Governor Miran. We begin Wednesday with Agency MBS prices better than Tuesday’s close by .125-.250, the 2-year yielding 3.85, and the 10-year yielding 4.31 after closing yesterday at 4.39 percent.

Wife: “Do you want dinner?”

Husband: “Sure! What are my choices?”

Wife: “Yes or no.”

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, “Mortgage Rates Are Not Random.”  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.)