“Senility has been a smooth transition for me.” So quipped an attendee here at the Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association conference in Grand Rapids. The aging mortgage banker workforce continues to be a concern around the nation, but there are certainly lenders and vendors attempting to “bring in new blood.” The FTC’s $62 million fine of Opendoor’s advertising policies raised eyebrows. We had the news of Two Harbors Investment Corp.’s Matrix Financial Services Corporation entering into a definitive stock purchase agreement to acquire RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation from Freedom Mortgage Corporation. People are talking about the Equifax alleged miscalculating of consumer’s credit scores. (But could they have resulted in both worse and better mortgage pricing?) There is a fair amount of discussion is about the difficulty of the deals that are out there, and how various derivations of pre-qual, pre-approval, and To Be Determined (TBD) programs can help. Some lenders are here to learn about lock and shop programs that are being offered. Of course these programs have a cost, usually credited back when the loan funds, and anything set up should be with the help of your compliance department! (Today’s podcast is available here and this week’s is sponsored by Richey May, a recognized leader in providing specialized advisory, audit, tax, technology and other services in the mortgage industry and in banking. Listen to an interview with Will Robinson, CEO of Encapture, on how mortgage banking professionals can use machine learning to lower overhead costs and increase team capacity.)