Lykken on Lending

Generative and agentic AI are rapidly reshaping the mortgage technology stack, challenging traditional SaaS and CRM platforms while rewarding lenders that build flexible, AI-enabled operations.

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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.

Colorado’s proposed AI rules could require disclosure and human review of automated mortgage decisions, signaling a new compliance challenge for lenders nationwide.

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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!

Mortgage rates remain under pressure as oil prices, Treasury buyback activity, and elevated corporate bond issuance compete to drive bond yields, with PCE inflation and Jackson Hole providing the next potential market catalysts.

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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.

08-25-2026 The Bond Market Is On "Fire"

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Fire (ouch): The way news walks and talks really sets Bonds off to a four-alarm.

The FT and the WSJ declare the Bond market a FOUR-alarm fire, but if equities reverse, it will be a five-alarm. With all this heat from raging bears, why does the 10-yr remain below 4.80? What drives Bond implied volatility below 10?

When headlines hype fear, but the details reveal global economic malaise, what is a mortgage banker to do? Focus on the mundane.

Do we know bonds' desire?

These views are mine. Discover what drives rates at TMSpotlight.

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Song: Fire (1974) The Ohio Players Used in Cruella

MBA is urging the CFPB to modernize TILA, RESPA, and TRID rules to reduce unnecessary compliance burdens, simplify the mortgage process, and expand consumer access to credit.

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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.

AI is quickly moving beyond chatbots and simple assistants into something far more powerful: a personal workforce of intelligent agents capable of helping professionals get more done with less friction. In this week’s Weekly AI Update, David Lykken is joined by Pavan Agarwal and Jennifer Vallinayagam to explore how AI agents can help mortgage professionals organize their day, conduct research, prepare for meetings, create content, prospect and nurture leads, and make better use of their time. They also examine the broader economic opportunity created when small businesses combine greater access to capital with AI-powered productivity. With agents becoming easier and less expensive to deploy, the conversation is shifting from “How do I use AI?” to “What can I delegate to AI?”—and that could create a significant competitive divide between businesses that embrace an AI workforce and those that don’t.

The mortgage industry is entering a new era—one shaped by artificial intelligence, vertical integration, consolidation, expanding non-QM opportunities, and rising expectations for a better borrower experience. In this episode of Lykken on Lending, David Lykken sits down with Coby Hakalir of T3 Sixty to explore what mortgage lending could look like over the next decade and why, despite rapid technological change, the human relationship will remain at the heart of the business. They discuss how AI can reduce the cost and complexity of originating loans, why lenders are increasingly looking beyond traditional mortgage revenue through real estate, title, insurance, and servicing, and how non-QM lending could become an increasingly important part of the market. From improving the customer journey to navigating the next wave of industry consolidation, this conversation examines the forces reshaping mortgage lending—and what lenders and loan officers should be preparing for now.

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.

The mortgage industry is preparing for another significant transformation as appraisal modernization introduces expanded data requirements, tighter validation standards, and new technology demands across the valuation process. While lenders and technology vendors are preparing for the transition, a larger concern may be developing at the individual appraiser level—particularly in rural markets where an already limited pool of professionals could shrink further as experienced appraisers decide the additional complexity isn’t worth the investment. The changes could also drive appraisal costs higher at a time when lenders are working aggressively to reduce other origination expenses. In this week’s discussion, we examine whether lenders, AMCs, technology providers, and appraisers are truly ready, what the changes could mean for appraisal capacity and pricing, and whether growing pressure on the traditional appraisal model could ultimately accelerate the mortgage industry’s move toward automated valuation technology.

Generative and agentic AI are rapidly reshaping the mortgage technology stack, challenging traditional SaaS and CRM platforms while rewarding lenders that build flexible, AI-enabled operations.

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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.