Pulte Bails, Dealmakers Feast & MBA Parties On

As is tradition, we're going Quickies-style for this MBA Annual Monday edition b/c there's a lot to cover. Expect a few more editions this week loaded w/ scoops, insider intel & the usual smartassery 🤓 🍑 you won't find anywhere else.

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Thanks as always for your time & trust!

— James Kleimann

1) Bill Pulte informed the MBA on Sunday that he was bailing on his scheduled Monday appearance, leaving organizers scrambling to fill a rather large hole in the program. Update: Pulte has now canceled his Tuesday virtual session. The rumor mill es muy caliente 🔥: He'll instead sit for a video interview Tuesday morning. Pulte could unveil several executive orders, including one on credit (bi-merge? A mandate to use FICO 10T or VS4.0?) & possibly a new LLPA grid. Beyond cutting some red tape & opening the door to VantageScore, Pulte has generated a lot more headlines than actual policy changes. Tuesday is a chance to change that. Let's see if he delivers 📦

2) Per Bob Broeksmit: “The specific reform is still being worked out, but at this point, I am increasingly confident that tri-merge won’t be around for long. And the sooner it goes away, the better!”

3) First Alliance has acquired MLB Wholesale in an asset sale, multiple sources confirmed. This gives First Alliance’s Sam Khalil a wholesale channel that was long desired. MLB had been struggling of late, per sources.

4) Owen Lee was officially named the new chair of the MBA. He led a lively discussion w/ former President George W. Bush this morning. Lots of anecdotes & commentary from W. about the state of the American Dream. 

5) Even if VantageScore is roughly equal to FICO Classic, several bank analysts told me that MBS buyers are worried about whether they are being appropriately compensated for increased risk…

6) Optimal Blue has acquired Usherpa, a CRM run by Dan & Chris Harrington. I sure didn’t expect to see a PPE+CRM deal! In other OB news, Joe Tyrell was appointed to the MBA board.

7) Turns out AI is rather good at the mortgage industry's favorite pastime: chasing down paperwork. loanDepot is expanding its use of Novaprime’s agentic AI platform after a pilot reportedly automated more than 80% of government insuring tasks. Now it's rolling out the tech across closing disclosure reconciliation, defect remediation & loan delivery, hoping to slash costs & boost productivity. Novaprime says its ultimate ambition is to make mortgage employees “10x more efficient.” (Disclosure: Novaprime is an advertising partner of The Mortgage Scoop.)

8) Speaking of CRMs, Total Expert landed a good-sized deal w/ New American Funding, sources told me. That’s despite NAF’s connections to Bonzo. NAF is also working to roll out Vesta to its distributed retail LOs.

9) There were a bunch of new “AI” companies w/ booth space in the Hub. Arguably their biggest challenge? “People want to buy from people they know, & they also need the assurance that there is a compliance focus,” said one vendor exec. “That’s hard to do if you have never been in the mortgage industry before.”

10) All those mortgage layoffs I’ve reported over the last three weeks? “It’s probably quadruple that at minimum,” one IMB CEO said. “You have no idea how many have just been cutting a few dozen a week for months or [are] simply not backfilling.”

11) Per sources, Wilqo has three live clients. You may recall they acquired Brimma about a year ago…

12) The vibes are surprisingly decent despite reports of volume expected to drop 25% to 40%. Why? Well, that may be b/c bigger lenders are disproportionately represented at Annual & will pick up market share. They can ride 🏍 it out…

13) Per Owen Lee, a final rule on Basel III is expected by year-end. MBA also unveiled an "affordability action plan," which is a list of 20 specific “& achievable” reforms it wants political leaders to adopt. 

14) There is another policy initiative that I think could make an impact. Lee introduced Homebase, a platform to give LOs a pathway to be more participatory/influential beyond just slingin’ mortgages. These people are the tip of the spear for the industry, right? It would be great for them to be more involved/informed on policy matters. The platform comes w/ complimentary access to federal 8-hour NMLS CE from either Kensie Mae, Knowledge Coop, Lockedin Learning & MLO Force. It also comes w/ monthly coaching sessions from MortgageCoach by TrustEngine, a “Trust Certification’ from FirstHome IQ & membership to Mortgage Action Alliance. It’s $150 per LO. Dave Savage, Kristin Messerli & David Upbin gave a well-attended presentation today. 

15) Lots of people seemed to enjoy the presence of the DocMagic robot on The Hub floor. Me? Fuck that, no thank you. I’ve seen too many videos of those terrifying Boston Dynamics dogs & it weirds me out. The only robots I ever want to see are Battlebots. That show is dope AF.

16) Here’s the list of parties for tonight, courtesy of Britt Bachelder.

I’ll be stopping by Blend/Vesta. Figure is also hosting a bash on a boat at Chicago's First Lady Cruises Dock (112 E. Wacker). Gotta see the blockchainers on a boat! FWIW, Snapdocs usually throws a v good party & I will absolutely hit up the Total Expert + Tidalwave event. I heard there’s also a VantageScore party tonight but don’t have details. LMK if you have deetz! Most people will check out the Freedom concert tonight, but it’s honestly just too loud for my delicate sensibilities & I will probably call it an early night.

OK, that’s all for today. I’ve gotta run — if you see me out & about, please say hi!

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