Lykken on Lending

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.

Mortgage rates are finally showing signs of improvement, with the 10-year Treasury yield dipping below 4.90%, but is this welcome relief enough to save an industry struggling with shrinking margins and rising operating costs? In this week's Lykken on Lending Weekly Mortgage Update commentary, David Lykken is joined by industry veterans Bill Corbett, David Kittle, Alice Alvey, and Marc Helm for a candid discussion about the growing financial pressures facing independent mortgage bankers. From the dangers of sacrificing profitability to offer lower rates to the increasing number of lenders considering mergers and acquisitions out of desperation, the panel explores why strategic planning—not panic—must drive business decisions heading into 2027. They also examine seasonal staffing challenges, potential regulatory actions that could improve housing affordability, and troubling similarities between today's market conditions and previous mortgage industry downturns. With lenders exhausted from waiting for a meaningful recovery, one question stands out: Are mortgage companies positioning themselves for long-term success, or simply making desperate decisions to survive another quarter?

Allen Pollack explores why AI and automation alone cannot solve rising mortgage origination costs, examining agentic AI, LOS integration, loan officer compensation, and practical strategies lenders can use to improve efficiency and profitability.-----------------------------------------------------Allen Pollack, Tech ConsultantAllen 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 examines FEMA's proposed flood insurance changes and the FCC's updated TCPA opt-out requirements, highlighting their potential impact on mortgage affordability, regulatory compliance, and lender operations.------------------------------------------------------------------Alice Alvey, Master CMBVice President Partner Education and Training at Union Home MortgageShe 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 how AI-related financing concerns and technology sector volatility helped drive mortgage rates to their lowest levels in six weeks, while examining whether the bond market rally can continue.-----------------------------------------------------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.