http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/topic/rob-chrisman Pipeline Press - Rob Chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-08282026 Fri, 28 Aug 2026 15:45:43 GMT 6a9180c4ba4c454766c1a770 Rob Chrisman STRATMOR’s 2026 Technology Insight® Study Lender Intelligence Survey is now open, giving mortgage lenders a chance to share their firsthand experience with the technology that powers their businesses, and to help shape a clearer picture of what’s working, what isn’t, and where the industry is headed. The study reflects actual lender experience, providing an independent view of user satisfaction and Lender Loyalty Score® across a wide range of mortgage technology categories. Complete the survey and receive the results free of charge, giving you valuable intelligence you can use to understand how your technology experience compares across the industry. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian. From lenders and landlords to employers and consumers, Experian helps connect the housing ecosystem with the data and insights needed to make faster, confident decisions. Lead a smarter housing journey with Experian. Today’s has an interview with Figure’s Alysse Guitar on marketing lending products in a digital environment where both trust and attention spans are waning.) Broker and Lender Products, Software, and Services Traditional CRM is dead... Total Expert just said so, out loud. Not as a rebrand, but as a category shift: CRMs were built to log tasks and manage transactions, and they start losing value the day you deploy them. Total Expert's Customer Operating System works the opposite way, getting smarter with every interaction by pairing a system of context—Customer IQ—with a system of action—AI Sales Assistant, Journey Orchestration—so rate opportunities, tappable equity, and life-event signals get caught and acted on automatically, with loan officers stepping in only when a customer actually needs their expertise. One top 10 lender used it to drive over 1,000 HELOC originations in six weeks. Total Expert has enabled more than $7 trillion in funded loan volume since 2016. Read the full breakdown. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-08272026 Thu, 27 Aug 2026 15:45:13 GMT 6a90305f9f1ef7eae9f2d815 Rob Chrisman Thank you to the folks who wrote to me about their concerns with the Reno fire, knowing my ties there (my place is safe). On a broader scale, as of August 24, the United States has had nearly 51,000 wildfires, blazes that have burned over 7.8 million acres, a concern of everyone including lenders and servicers. It’s not your imagination that it’s a lot: Compared to the 10-year average, the number of fires is 129 percent of normal, and the acres burned is 168 percent of typical. Last year over the same period, there were just 45,331 fires and 4,065,073 acres burned. Water can equally be a concern: Some 129 million people (nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population) live in coastal counties. Recent research shows that a rise in sea level driven by humans has increased the frequency of extreme coastal flooding around the world, also a concern to lenders and servicers. Here’s what’s Florida is doing. Florida’s traditional appeal as a retirement destination is being eroded by rapidly rising housing costs and inflation (South Florida’s CPI has climbed 36 percent since 2019), while homeowners insurance premiums remain more than twice the national average, making the state increasingly expensive for retirees. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian. From lenders and landlords to employers and consumers, Experian helps connect the housing ecosystem with the data and insights needed to make faster, confident decisions. Lead a smarter housing journey with Experian. Today’s has an interview with MIAC’s Dan Libby on the long-term drivers of MSR value, portfolio construction, and hedging effectiveness.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-08262026 Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:45:12 GMT 6a8edee8cd723c9aba8f01c0 Rob Chrisman Hackers intercepted about 103 bank regulators’ e-mails for more than a year, gaining access to highly sensitive financial information, according to two people familiar with the matter and a draft letter to Congress seen by Bloomberg News. What are the implications of that? Anthropic is telling investors that it has the potential revenue of basically the entire US GDP, leading one wit to say, “Anthropic is a gross domestic product.” A California federal jury on Monday held that cryptocurrency startup founder Japeth Dillman deceived Block Bits investors by falsely claiming the company's auto-trading platform was up and running, following a trial in which his co-founder testified against him under a plea agreement. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian. From lenders and landlords to employers and consumers, Experian helps connect the housing ecosystem with the data and insights needed to make faster, confident decisions. Lead a smarter housing journey with Experian. Today’s has an interview with Experian’s Michele Bodda on lenders engaging earlier, providing better education, and using modern credit data to help them overcome affordability and credit hurdles.) Lender and Broker Software, Products, and Services Affordability pressure doesn't disappear when the loan closes. It comes back later as repurchase risk. Your borrowers are stretched, leaving less room for errors in the file. Truework, a Checkr company, verifies income, employment, and assets before you close, replacing error-prone processes with fast, automated reports pulled directly from sources. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times and higher accuracy. Learn more. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-08252026 Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:52:07 GMT 6a8d8b68d21895be381c0771 Rob Chrisman Zillow and Redfin settled their FTC antitrust case, as we figured they would, and certainly technology was involved. With the increase in artificial intelligence, many teachers have gone back to having all writing done in classes, handwritten, or with an electric typewriter. Would parents rather have their child learning something in class from the instructor, or taking that time to write an essay? Students lose much more than grammar skills when they use AI to write. In healthcare, critical legal questions are emerging: who is responsible when inaccurate advice causes harm? What is the potential liability? Do disclaimers protect AI companies? Why is proving causation difficult? Can existing injury laws possibly keep pace? For lenders, the question of implementing technology results in a “help” versus “replace” scenario. I have never heard an AI vendor talk about replacing employees, but instead leveraging the capabilities of the existing staff. No LO wants a client who knows more about AI than they do. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian. From lenders and landlords to employers and consumers, Experian helps connect the housing ecosystem with the data and insights needed to make faster, confident decisions. Lead a smarter housing journey with Experian. Today’s has an interview with Deluxe’s Adria Liss on how the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (HPPA) is reshaping mortgage marketing around privacy, compliance, and smarter targeting, making data governance and adaptability key competitive advantages.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-08242026 Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:47:47 GMT 6a8c38ea7c01a5b3181eaf5b Rob Chrisman “People make their wealth out of one investment. People keep their wealth by diversifying their investments.” Owning mortgage servicing rights has created wealth for many companies, and STRATMOR’s current blog is, “Those Monthly Payments Go Somewhere.” I am glad that all my 401(k) isn’t in Agency shares: Fannie Mae’s stock is down 42 percent this year, and Freddie’s is down 45 percent. Although there is a steady stream of informal communication, things have been somewhat quiet formally from the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte and the FHFA in recent weeks. Recall that before he left his post at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, he made another round of personnel cuts. (Pulte was tapped to lead ODNI following the departure of DNI Tulsi Gabbard.) That ended last week as Fannie Mae parted ways with at least 10 high-ranking officials. Pulte’s FHFA is mum, but word of the senior departures spread across the industry Friday, creating worries that Fannie’s ability to provide stability to prices and activity could be hampered. Our housing market doesn’t need instability. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian. From lenders and landlords to employers and consumers, Experian helps connect the housing ecosystem with the data and insights needed to make faster, confident decisions. Lead a smarter housing journey with Experian. Today’s has an interview with Tidalwave’s Chris McLendon on why the question lenders should ask isn't "does it use AI?" It's "can you prove the answers are right?") Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-08212026 Fri, 21 Aug 2026 15:52:30 GMT 6a884894c475e7480d62ac78 Rob Chrisman LOs tell me that they are counseling potential borrowers. “If you’re in the market for a home, focus on the things you can control. Save for your down payment which can be less than 20 percent, but the more you can put down, the less you have to borrow and the lower your monthly payments. Consider your priorities. Can you live further from the city and save a little money? Do you need a fourth bedroom or will three do for now? Understand clearly your ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ and be ready to compromise. Shop around for your mortgage. Don’t just go to your primary bank or get a loan from the credit union your real estate agent recommends. Do the legwork to search for the best mortgage rate you can qualify for. Lower rates aren’t going to fix everything, but it never hurts to get one as low as possible.” (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to close, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an interview with NonQMVerifi’s Danny Flucke on how lenders can make faster, better-supported underwriting decisions without relying on hard-to-obtain CPA letters for non-Agency borrowers.) Lender and Broker Software, Products, and Services Affordability pressure doesn't disappear when the loan closes. It comes back later as repurchase risk. Your borrowers are stretched, leaving less room for errors in the file. Truework, a Checkr company, verifies income, employment, and assets before you close, replacing error-prone processes with fast, automated reports pulled directly from sources. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times and higher accuracy. Learn more. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-08202026 Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:43:37 GMT 6a86f54fe03a12bfc5d8b6fd Rob Chrisman Lender and Broker Software, Products, and Services Automating individual tasks isn't the same as transforming mortgage operations. Real efficiency comes from connecting people, policies, systems, and decisions across the entire loan lifecycle. JazzX AI creates a governed intelligence layer that orchestrates work from application through post-close, without replacing your LOS. See how leading lenders are reducing cost per loan and increasing throughput. Book a demo with our team to see JazzX in action. The industry’s most valuable conversations are coming to you. Is your team using a PPE... or building a survival strategy around one? Extra pricing checks. Delayed locks. Manual workarounds. Hopping in and out of the loan. Individually, they seem manageable. Together, they become the way your organization operates. That's the real warning sign. When experienced teams spend more time validating decisions than making them, friction has become process. The Optimal Blue® PPE helps restore what a pricing engine should deliver: trusted real-time pricing, seamless in-loan execution, centralized automation, AI-powered intelligence, and confidence at every step. No more wondering if updates synced correctly. No more workflow detours. No more treating pricing verification like a second job. Just faster execution, stronger control, and better-informed margin decisions across the pipeline. Discover what your team is capable of when the system actually works with you. See the warning signs. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-08192026 Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:43:49 GMT 6a85a2e98b71f9c9187ca918 Rob Chrisman Everyone is racing to bolt AI onto their lending process. QAwerk's Konstantin Klyagin says most of them are skipping the boring part that actually matters, and it's going to catch up with them. His argument: an AI agent that can't explain its own decisions isn't a shortcut; it's a liability waiting for a regulator to find it. Read on for what separates the lenders who'll survive scrutiny from those who won't. I remember when the cost to produce a loan was less than $11,000, where it is now. (More detail below.) I remember when LOs weren’t insurance counselors, trying to help clients with affordability struggles not even due to interest rates. Yes, I think that we all remember lots of things while collectively we continue to help thousands of borrowers every day. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to close, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an interview with Polly’s Brandon Story on differentiators among capital markets technology providers.) Lender and Broker Software, Products, and Services What? What’s that you say? Your AML program got away? Finding out during an exam that you didn’t complete your internal AML Risk Assessment or Independent Review shows regulators you can do better! Presenting a current and updated AML Policy, a current Risk Assessment, and ongoing Independent Review are three of the pillars of an effective AML Program and demonstrate to examiners you take protecting against suspicious activity and money laundering seriously. If it’s been 12 to 18 months since your last Independent Review, it’s time to get it scheduled and Firstline Compliance wants to help. We evaluate how your AML program works in practice, identify areas that need attention before an examiner finds them for you, and provide recommendations to strengthen your program. Contact Ashley Bradford or 469-717-4232 to learn more. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-08182026 Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:52:10 GMT 6a845404e440571de06d7240 Rob Chrisman While Lake Powell and the Colorado River are at their lowest levels ever, and states like Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington are in a drought, would you like a short clip of what they’re experiencing in Hawai’i? So far, the North Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 to November 30) has been light, which pleases homeowners, servicers, lenders, and insurance companies. But elsewhere this year’s tornado season showed the continued trend of Tornado Alley shifting eastward and into more populated areas, with Illinois leading all states in tornado activity (220 confirmed tornadoes) and Indiana and Wisconsin also setting record high numbers. The insurance industry is far ahead of the mortgage industry in terms of monitoring damage, and it reports that “Tornado Alley” appears to be shifting from Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas thanks to a warming climate that is moving warmer and more-humid air further north and further east. Mortgage servicers can’t ignore the fact that Illinois’ annual tornado report average was up 45.6 percent in the 2020 to 2025 period than it was in the 2000 to 2025 period; by comparison, in Kansas, the average was down 49 percent in the five-year span compared to the 25-year span. Look for this to impact the value of servicing. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to close, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an interview with Yardi’s Doug Ressler on affordability-driven housing demand, favoring markets where housing costs, jobs and migration align and challenging lenders and the mortgage industry to rethink traditional paths to homeownership.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-08172026 Mon, 17 Aug 2026 15:41:27 GMT 6a8301092c0720ae16dae1bb Rob Chrisman Some aren’t a fan of new federal escrow laws. Ten states have sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over new federal rules that would prevent them from enforcing laws requiring national banks to pay homeowners interest on money held in mortgage escrow accounts. Some weren’t fans of 10 percent credit card caps, 50-year mortgages, portable and/or assumable mortgages, but proponents say that the Administration is at least making suggestions. Congress’ effort to boost the nation’s housing supply passed both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support and became law, although it also left a mountain of paperwork for Washington’s significantly shrunken federal agencies, which are now tasked with turning dozens of new policies into reality. And at this point, from now through election day, we pretty much have Congress on vacation or campaigning to keep their jobs. Are we having fun yet? (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to close, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an interview with Bipartisan Policy Center’s Emma Waters on the shift from legislation to execution now that the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is law, and how quickly its provisions will translate into tangible effects for builders, lenders, local governments, and homebuyers.) Lender and Broker Software, Products, and Services Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman