HELOC, AI/Compliance, eNote Products; Skiing and AI Events/Training; Capital Markets

In what seems to be the blink of an eye we’re down two months of 2026, and by most accounts they were decent for lenders and vendors. Here in Ft. Lauderdale at the Lenders One Summit, the talk in the hallways, like that at several recent conferences, is centered around a handful of topics, M&A being one of them, and the desire for companies to control the “funnel.” STRATMOR’s Garth Graham, who resides nearby, last night told me that STRATMOR has a full complement of buyers and sellers and we discussed the Rocket/Compass deal and its relation to the Rocket/Redfin deal. Will the 80-basis point “spiff” motivate brokers to move business away from other leader wholesalers? The United States and Israel attacking Iran is certainly a topic, and along those lines the “disappearance” of the traditional “flight to quality” when something like this happens. Types of production are also a favorite topic at conferences, and I received this note. “Rob, my team and I have only done a handful of ‘mainstream’ loans in the last several months. We’re doing more private money loans than ever before, more non-Agency, and deals that take several months. Are you hearing this from others? Absolutely. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Feewise, which turns mortgage compliance from bottleneck to business accelerator. Handle all the complexities involved with establishing TRID compliant fees and disclosures, achieve sign off, and deliver packages to your consumers for review or signature. Hear an interview with FirstClose’s Andria Lightfoot on modernizing processes with low-lift digital entry points to eliminate bottlenecks, boost borrower satisfaction, and stay competitive in the evolving home equity market.)