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Redwood launches Aspire securitization shelf with $391M non-QM deal

HWmember, LendingLife, Mortgage, Non-QM, Origination, Redwood Trust, Secondary market, Securitization /

Redwood Trust closed a $391 million securitization backed by nonqualified mortgages (non-QMs), marking the inaugural deal from its Aspire platform that was expanded in early 2025, the company announced Friday. The transaction (SPIRE 2026-1) establishes Redwood’s third securitization shelf, alongside Sequoia for nonagency mortgages and CoreVest for business-purpose lending. Aspire’s first securitization includes 752 loans […]

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Angel Oak’s Tom Hutchens on new growth path for non-QMs as rates ease

Angel Oak, HELOC, HWmember, LendingLife, Mortgage, Non-QM, Origination, Real Estate Investing /

When mortgage rates stayed higher for longer over the past few years, originators increasingly turned their attention to nonqualified mortgages (non-QMs). But that resurgence may not lose momentum even if rates decline in 2026. “We traditionally have seen nonagency volumes represent about 10% of the mortgage business. If you figure it’s $2 trillion a year

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Better launches ChatGPT-based credit decision engine for mortgage and HELOC lenders

Artificial Intelligence, Better, ChatGPT, HWmember, Loan Processing, Mortgage, Origination, Technology, Underwriting /

Better.com has launched a conversational credit decision engine that lets mortgage and home equity lenders run underwriting through ChatGPT using the company’s Tinman AI platform, the company announced Thursday. The integration, built with OpenAI using a Model Context Protocol (MCP) connector, allows loan officers and bank teams to access Better’s Tinman engine directly in ChatGPT

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Morgan Stanley cuts 2,500 jobs across divisions

Banking, HWmember, Morgan Stanley, Mortgage, Mortgage and Housing Layoffs, Origination /

Morgan Stanley’s reported layoff of about 3% of its workforce — roughly 2,500 employees — is affecting some staff working on mortgage origination services for wealth management clients. The bank is cutting positions across its estimated 83,000-employee global workforce due to shifts in business priorities, geographic strategy changes and individual job performance considerations, people familiar

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RenoFi to expand AI-powered renovation financing after $22M Series B funding

Artificial Intelligence, Funding, Home Improvement, HWmember, Investors, Lenders, Mortgage, Origination, Remodeling Activity, Technology /

RenoFi, an end-to-end financing platform built exclusively for home renovations, announced Tuesday that it closed a $22 million Series B funding round led by Fifth Wall and participation from Progressive Insurance and other new investors. In addition to their financial backing, Fifth Wall and Progressive Insurance join RenoFi as strategic partners, a move the company

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How to ensure locked-down compliance during HMDA reporting season, and year-round

Compliance, Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination, Regulatory /

HMDA reporting season has just wrapped as financial institutions were required to submit detailed data from the previous calendar year’s mortgage applications and loans to their regulators by March 2nd. But for compliance professionals at community banks, the work doesn’t stop there.  HMDA reporting has become less about “checking the box” and more about defending

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Experian imposes another price increase on mortgage lenders

Credit Score, Experian, FICO, HWmember, LendingLife, Mortgage, Origination, Xactus /

Experian is imposing another price increase on credit reports sold to mortgage lenders — an unusual move at this time of year, according to resellers who spoke with HousingWire. “I have never seen a price increase after a price increase in January,” said one reseller executive, who requested anonymity to avoid potential retaliation. “It comes

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Why mortgage licensing must be a priority for private lenders In 2026

Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination /

Private lending has matured. What was once a fragmented, relationship-driven corner of real estate finance has evolved into an increasingly institutional, multi-state industry with sophisticated counterparties, warehouse lines, and capital partners. Yet one critical area still receives far less attention than it deserves: mortgage licensing and compliance. For private lenders, particularly those making business-purpose residential

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You can’t automate trust: Why I built my business on relationships

Artificial Intelligence, Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination /

I have built an entire company on being able to relationship. Yes, I said it like that on purpose. According to Google, a relationship is “the way in which two or more concepts, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.” And while the industry is currently obsessed with AI ( I mean

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Rocket grows revenue to $6.7B, expands market share in 2025

Compass, Earnings, HWmember, LendingLife, Mortgage, Mr. Cooper, Origination, Redfin, Rocket Companies, Rocket Mortgage /

Rocket Companies Inc. wrapped up 2025 with higher revenues and growing mortgage activity, the company reported Thursday in its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings report. For the full year, Rocket reported total revenue of $6.7 billion and a GAAP net loss of $234 million, or $0.05 per diluted share. On an adjusted basis, revenue was

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