Lykken on Lending

With mortgage rates hovering around 7%, persistent inflation, and unpredictable bond market movements, mortgage professionals face a challenging environment that demands both perspective and adaptability. In this week's Lykken on Lending commentary, David Lykken is joined by Bill Corbett, David Kittle, Alice Alvey, and Marc Helm to discuss the forces driving mortgage rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association's outlook for continued rate pressure and lower origination volumes, and what these developments mean for lenders and loan originators. While uncertainty surrounding inflation, geopolitical tensions, and government debt continues to influence the market, the conversation shifts toward an important message: opportunities still exist for those willing to recognize them. From strengthening borrower relationships and exploring FHA lending opportunities to better understanding the factors behind rate movements, the panel emphasizes the importance of education, experience, and a positive mindset. As one memorable analogy reminds us, when skiing through the trees, focus on the open path rather than the obstacles. For mortgage professionals navigating today's market, success may depend less on waiting for rates to fall and more on recognizing the opportunities already in front of them.

Allen Pollack explores the rapid adoption of AI in mortgage lending, from autonomous borrower agents and homegrown technology to regulatory compliance challenges, rising origination costs, and the continued importance of human relationships.

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Allen Pollack, a Mortgage & Financial Services Technology Advisor, is a subject matter expert in the mortgage origination process along with software product management and software development.

In today’s financial services push to all things Digital, Allen has been helping lenders and financial services solution providers align their digital transformation and technology strategies by removing the human element of risk, and automating processes that drive efficiencies and margins into profits.

Over the course of his career, Allen has co-created and developed technology business models that have birthed highly successful, innovative solutions and companies.

Allen co-founded and served as CTO of New York Loan Exchange (NYLX), a loan product eligibility and pricing engine (PPE) that made an immediate impact on the industry, scaling the company quickly and forming partnerships with multiple mortgage and financial lending companies. In 2012, Allen was a co-founder of a merger between NYLX and Aklero Risk Analytics that created LoanLogics, A Mortgage Loan Quality and Performance Analytics company. Allen served as CTO where he continued to bring new and innovative product solutions to the market that made a significant impact to mortgage lenders that reduced risk, scaled business channels, and grew profits in a very competitive and highly regulated market.

Allen is also is mortgage and finance technology contributor on a weekly live industry podcast, Lykken on Lending, and is launching a new podcast soon to be released, TechStack Radio, dedicated to technology and innovation in Financial Services.

Alice Alvey discusses FHA's upcoming VantageScore 4.0 implementation, important Fannie Mae, VA, and USDA updates, and how increased online mortgage shopping and multiple applications could create new challenges for lenders.

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Alice Alvey, Master CMB

Vice President Partner Education and Training at Union Home Mortgage

She handles development of their World Class Training program designed to support UHM partners and organizational effectiveness.

Prior to UHM, Alice served as Senior Vice President at Indecomm leading the Indecomm-Mortgage U division, Internal QA and Compliance and SaaS technologies. Indecomm acquired Mortgage U in 2013, where Alice was President/Co-founder, providing training and consulting since 1996. Prior to MU she served as SVP of Operations at a national bank overseeing operations for wholesale, retail and correspondent from underwriting through servicing, and compliance.

She has been in the trenches of mortgage lending operations from application through servicing for over 30 years. Her authoring work in training content, policies and procedures and the FHA/VA Practical guides illustrates her ability to bridge regulatory requirements with day-to-day operations.

Alice has been a weekly contributor to the Lykken on Lending show since its beginning in April 2009 and has made her weekly contributions to 450+ episodes!

Matt Graham explains why mortgage rates continue climbing despite weaker jobs data and temporary relief from European financial concerns, highlighting shifting labor market dynamics, Treasury yields, inflation pressures, and persistent bond market selling.

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Matt began as an originator in 2002. He fell in love with the idea of following MBS in real-time but felt that existing products were only scratching the surface. Thus was born MBS Live in 2007, the first-of-its-kind platform with real-time market data/analysis, and live chat with analysts, traders, and originators around the country. He is currently the Founder and CEO of MBSLive!

He's been covering bond/mortgage markets, writing commentary, alerts, and chatting with the live community every business hour of every business day ever since.

Matt also serves as the Chief of Operations for mortgagenewsdaily.com, where he is one of the industry's most respected mortgage rate experts, frequently quoted in the media. Mortgage News Daily's rate index is used as the definitive resource on day-to-day mortgage rate averages.

He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and son, where he enjoys skiing, fishing, coaching youth sports, playing the guitar, and more DIY projects/hobbies than he'd care to admit.

The Lykken on Lending Weekly Mortgage Update delivers expert commentary and timely insights from across the mortgage industry. Each episode features a curated lineup of respected thought leaders and analysts:

• Adam DeSanctis with the MBA Mortgage Minute, providing key updates from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
• Les Parker’s TMSpotlight offers a macroeconomic perspective with his signature musical parodies.
• Matt Graham of MBS Live, breaking down market activity and interest rate movements.
• David Kittle, CEO of The Mortgage Collaborative, sharing insights on mortgage originations and industry trends.
• Alice Alvey of Union Home Mortgage, delivering essential regulatory and legislative updates.
• Allen Pollack, with the Tech Report, spotlighting emerging technologies impacting mortgage operations.
• Bill Corbet, presenting Bill's Bullet Commentary with focused insights on loan servicing and capital markets.
• Marc Helm, offering Marc’s Rant, an unfiltered take on operational and agency-related developments.

Together, this expert panel brings clarity, relevance, and a touch of personality to the ever-evolving mortgage landscape.

As the mortgage industry prepares for another challenging year, lenders are facing a new reality of persistent interest rates, evolving credit scoring requirements, and increasing pressure on profitability. In this week's Lykken on Lending segment, David Kittle is joined by Bill Corbett and Marc Helm for an insightful discussion featuring key takeaways from MBA Annual 2026 in Chicago. The conversation explores the potential unintended consequences of FHA's adoption of VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T, including increased borrower shopping, higher origination costs, and greater competition among lenders. With MBA's mortgage rate outlook suggesting rates could remain around 7% to 7.25% in 2027, the panel emphasizes the importance of adapting business strategies, diversifying loan products, and improving revenue rather than relying solely on expense reductions. They also examine broader economic uncertainties, industry consolidation, and the lessons mortgage professionals can learn from top-performing lenders. Despite the challenges ahead, the discussion delivers an encouraging message: profitability is still possible for mortgage companies willing to innovate, execute effectively, and remain committed to long-term success.

10-13-2026 Is the Fed on The Road to "Shambala?"

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Wash away Bonds’ troubles. Wash away price pain, with the reign of Grow-a-lot.

The economy is rolling along a bumpy road of inflation. So, the Fed tightens and placate the Bond vigilantes. However, nervous nellies on the short end see a fundamental shift: the Fed will raise rates much more.

Will rates stay higher for longer? An economy can thrive with little inflation while early-stage AI generates productivity gains. The 10-year yield might peek at 5.50. But, what trades first: 5.50 or 4.90?

How do the rates rise in the throes of A. I. gains

These views are mine. Understand change at TMSpotlight.

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Song: Shambala (1973) Three Dog Night

Adam DeSanctis discusses FHA's adoption of VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T beginning January 1, 2027, highlighting expanded mortgage credit access, new lender implementation requirements, and MBA's ongoing efforts to support a smooth transition.

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Adam DeSanctis, VP of Communications at Mortgage Bankers Association

As a strategic public affairs and communications executive with nearly two decades of experience, Adam has deep expertise in strategy, management, and media relations. He is widely considered to be an expert in a variety of communications, including advocacy, brand, executive, crisis, grassroots, and social media. In his career, he has been the MBA spokesperson on a wide variety of real estate research and advocacy-related issues, promoted MBA research and advocacy efforts to financial, political, and trade industry media and on MBA's social media channels, and secured media opportunities for MBA leadership on key real estate trends and issues, generated media coverage for MBA's research and data on mortgage applications, credit availability, homebuilder applications, mortgage forbearance/delinquencies, commercial real estate originations, and forecasts, and other industry analysis, developed key strategic initiatives for MBA's organizational public affairs plan, media relations and member communications support for mPower, MBA's Opens Doors Foundation and MBA's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program.

What if the mortgage industry's biggest missed opportunity isn't a lack of qualified borrowers, but the way loan applications are evaluated? In this week's Weekly AI Update, David Lykken welcomes Pavan Agarwal, founder and CEO of Angel AI, to explore new research suggesting that artificial intelligence could significantly reduce mortgage loan denial rates while creating substantial economic opportunities. Drawing on Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data and Angel AI's underwriting results, the company's latest white paper highlights striking differences in reported loan denial rates across borrower demographics and examines how AI could help address the challenges of evaluating complex income, nontraditional employment, and unconventional financial documentation. The research projects that broader adoption of AI-powered lending technology could potentially expand homeownership opportunities for more than one million borrowers and contribute as much as $75 billion in economic growth. From improving fair lending outcomes to helping mortgage lenders uncover previously missed business opportunities, this episode explores how AI could reshape mortgage underwriting and why the industry's approach to loan approvals may be ready for a fundamental transformation.

In today's competitive mortgage market, being an experienced loan officer isn't enough if potential borrowers can't find you online. In this episode of Lykken on Lending's Hot Topics, host David Lykken welcomes Bobby Kerr, founder of LOC8 My Business, to explore why your Google Business Profile may be one of the most powerful—and overlooked—tools for growing your mortgage business in 2026. As artificial intelligence transforms how consumers search for lenders, having a strong digital presence is becoming increasingly important. Bobby shares practical strategies for optimizing your Google Business Profile, generating authentic customer reviews, improving local search visibility, and building credibility across platforms such as Google, ChatGPT, and Bing. Whether you're a seasoned mortgage professional relying on referrals or a loan officer looking to attract new borrowers, this conversation offers actionable insights to help you stand out, strengthen your online reputation, and compete in an increasingly AI-driven marketplace.