Lykken on Lending

This podcast segment explores how rising AI adoption is creating new compliance, liability, and operational risks for mortgage lenders, requiring stronger governance, oversight, and risk management strategies.

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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!

This podcast segment explains how ongoing war-driven headlines and market fatigue are keeping mortgage rates range-bound despite shifting oil prices and largely ignored economic data.

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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.

4-21-2026 "You Spin Me Round" The Strait of Hormuz

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Iran, you get to know the game.

The blockade caused Iran to see the end of its oil revenue. So, the civilian leadership agreed not to impede any ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and to surrender their nuclear material. Oil and mortgage rates fell.

Over the weekend, the military declared the Strait closed to get the US to stop the blockade. Expect the 10-year yield to spin around between 4.40 and 4.10 until the deal is done and action proves it. Each side feels like.

You spin me right round, baby

Right round like a record, baby

Right round, round, round

These views are mine. Join TMSpotlight to know when the deal round is right.

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Song: You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (1985) Dead Or Alive

This first installment in a three-part series challenges one of the most repeated narratives in mortgage today—that the industry is “broken.” Drawing on decades of perspective, David Lykken reframes today’s pressures not as failure, but as the natural result of an operating model that has been pushed beyond its original design. While the legacy model was built for volume, headcount, and manual control, today’s environment demands intelligence, leverage, and speed. This episode is not about technology—it’s about structure. Why have years of tech investment failed to materially improve outcomes? What’s the difference between modernizing versus rebuilding? And how can leaders tell if they’re solving surface issues or addressing something deeper? This conversation establishes a critical lens for understanding the transformation already underway—and why the future of mortgage will not be built through incremental fixes, but through fundamental redesign.

This podcast segment breaks down the proposed 2027 federal budget, highlighting significant HUD funding cuts alongside targeted FHA support and what it could mean for the mortgage industry.

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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.

This Weekly AI Update explores dives into one of the most critical—and misunderstood—realities in today’s AI race: technology alone is not a competitive advantage. As companies rush to cut costs and automate workflows, many are unknowingly eroding the very thing that drives long-term success—human capital. Drawing from real-world examples, including a powerful Fast Company article and lessons from Toyota’s legendary operating model, this episode breaks down why AI must be paired with human intelligence to create sustainable value. If you're a leader in mortgage, fintech, or any service-driven business, this conversation will challenge how you're thinking about AI—and more importantly, how you're implementing it.

Lenders today are under constant pressure to increase margins without increasing volume—but what if the answer is already sitting inside your existing pipeline? This episode dives into one of the most overlooked opportunities in the mortgage industry: capturing title revenue from your current book of business. Industry experts break down how lenders, brokers, and real estate professionals are turning closings into consistent, “stackable” income streams while also building a sellable asset with significant enterprise value. From minimal startup costs to high capture rates and operational support, this conversation reveals why more forward-thinking companies are taking control of the closing process—and why those who don’t may be leaving serious money on the table.

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.

This podcast segment breaks down the industry’s most significant appraisal changes in years, highlighting what lenders must do now to prepare for the upcoming URAR and UAD 3.6 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.

This Weekly AI Update explores a powerful and unconventional question—Does God play dice with your business?—as Pavan Agarwal breaks down the true nature of AI, risk, and decision-making in today’s rapidly evolving landscape. Stripping away the hype, he reveals that AI isn’t magic at all, but deeply rooted in over a century of mathematical principles like probability and Markov chains. For mortgage professionals and business leaders, the real takeaway is practical: success in an AI-driven world comes from focusing on present data, making clear-headed decisions, and leveraging tools that amplify productivity. This episode challenges listeners to rethink uncertainty—not as chaos, but as something measurable, manageable, and ultimately, winnable.