Products, Services, and Software for Brokers and Lenders Can AI help you spot the lending bias you can’t see? In his CEO Magazine Podcast interview, Optimal Blue CEO Joe Tyrrell shares the company’s platform-wide AI strategy to help reduce human bias in lending decisions. Instead of replacing lending teams, AI at Optimal Blue is built as a suite of assistants, including Originator Assistant in the Optimal Blue® PPE, which reviews a wide range of loan programs and surfaces options a human might not typically consider. Grounded in clearly defined use cases, transparent prompts, extensive customer testing, and human oversight, Optimal Blue deploys AI solutions designed to deliver value while helping to mitigate forms of human bias. Curious what a modern, proven AI strategy looks like? Check out the video of Optimal Blue CEO Joe Tyrrell on the CEO Magazine Podcast today. In a fluctuating market, efficient servicing is vital, especially with foreclosure rates up 14 percent since 2024 and serious delinquencies in the FHA sector accounting for more than twice the amount of any other loan type. To effectively manage this critical revenue stream, more servicers are streamlining loss mitigation through remote online notarization (RON). By integrating NotaryCam and RON into its workflow, one servicer cut notarization errors by 50 percent, resulting in fewer document exceptions, faster turnaround, and better borrower experiences. A large subservicer cited significantly reduced turn times and warehouse line carrying costs, thus delivering wins for clients and borrowers, through its partnership with NotaryCam. NotaryCam delivers secure, compliant notarization for loan modifications and loss mitigation packages. Its flexible integrations and experienced in-house notaries support operational efficiency and borrower retention everywhere RON is permitted. Visit Booth 610 or schedule a meeting at MBA Servicing to explore how NotaryCam powers modern servicing workflows.

Today’s two key reports are ADP Employment (8:15am ET) and ISM Services (10am ET).  The former came out a bit softer than expected, but bonds didn’t react.  15 minutes later, Treasury released financing estimates for the quarter. These were as-expected and unchanged from the previous quarter, but Treasury noted that issuance would likely need to increase in fiscal year 2027.  Higher issuance = higher rates, all else equal. This wasn’t necessarily a surprise or even “new” info, but the reminder may have been worth a bit of selling at 8:30am.  ISM remains the day’s biggest source of potential volatility. 

Less than 45% of mortgage residential properties in the United States were equity-rich last quarter, a 1.5-percentage-point drop from the third quarter.

Mortgage rate trends in late 2025 led the lender into the red in the fourth quarter, even as Newrez originations picked up from the prior quarter and year.

As measured by earnings available for distribution at the REIT, Two posted a profit of $0.26 per share but this was well below the consensus estimate of $0.37.

The partial US government shutdown is on track to end later Tuesday after the House passed a funding deal President Donald Trump negotiated with Senate Democrats, overcoming opposition from both ends of the political spectrum.

Lennar Corp. and Taylor Morrison Home Corp. are among the firms that have worked on the proposal, which calls for builders to sell entry-level homes into a pathway-to-ownership program funded by private investors, according to people familiar with the plan.

Mostly Sideways. Volatility Elsewhere

The legend of the bond market’s extreme apathy is increasingly making the rounds in financial circles. Bond issuance, inflation, and economic strength are not seen surging enough to put huge upward pressure on longer-term rates. And without a big downturn in 2 of those 3 variables, there’s no major impetus for a big drop in rates. So we wait (and wait and wait) while bonds gyrate in micro-ranges.  Add today to the list. It might have been more volatile if we had the econ data that was postponed due to the shutdown, but JOLTS wouldn’t be enough to singlehandedly change the narrative. Stocks and commodities were volatile in contrast, but with limited correlation to bonds. The government funding bill passed the house and a reopening is assumed for Wednesday, but Friday’s jobs report will nonetheless not be coming out on Friday.

Econ Data / Events

ISM Manufacturing Employment (Jan)

48.1 vs — f’cast, 44.9 prev

ISM Manufacturing PMI (Jan)

52.6 vs 48.5 f’cast, 47.9 prev

ISM Mfg Prices Paid (Jan)

59.0 vs 60.5 f’cast, 58.5 prev

Market Movement Recap

09:46 AM Sideways to slightly weaker overnight in Treasuries with 10yr now up 1bp at 4.285.  MBS outperforming, up 1 tick (.03) on the day.

12:34 PM Not much movement. MBS down 1 tick (.03) and 10yr up 1.5 bps at 4.29

03:14 PM off weakest levels. MBS unchanged and 10yr down 0.4bps at 4.271

Regarding rate movement, the bond market often does the Fed’s job for it, and so whatever the Fed’s Open Market Committee actually does is almost an afterthought. The partial U.S. Government shutdown is hurting economic activity, and companies like Newrez are posting and how the shutdown is impacting lending. The FHA Office of Single Family Housing released FHA INFO 2026-05 and some of its mortgage insurance programs “will be operational but with limited services. Under a funding lapse, FHA’s actions and decisions about the operations that continue are governed by the U.S. Constitution…” The shutdown and chatter from the hallways will be the focus of today’s Advisory Angle at 3PM ET where Sue Woodard brings the conversation straight from the floor of the MBA’s IMB Conference. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by Truework, the one verification solution to replace in-house waterfalls. Verify any borrower with a VOIE solution that automates the entire process to quickly deliver the most accurate and complete reports with broad GSE coverage. Today’s features an interview with TLS’ Will Pendleton and Calque’s Jeremy Foster on how the Buy Before You Sell model helps brokers remove timing and contingency risk for today’s buyers, and why transparent, well-integrated solutions like this are increasingly becoming essential tools for brokers navigating more competitive and complex housing markets.) Products, Services, and Software for Brokers and Lenders

The bad news: mortgage rates moved up to their highest levels in 2 weeks today.  The good news: the rate range has been very narrow during that time, so there’s not too much of a difference between 2-week highs (6.20%) and lows (6.15%).  Today’s move wasn’t a product of anything that happened today. Rather, the culprit was the focal point of our coverage yesterday. Specifically, an economic report on the manufacturing sector was exceptionally strong yesterday. The result was a weaker bond market and, thus, an implication for higher rates. But the report came out after most mortgage lenders had published rates for the day and the average lender didn’t see quite enough weakness in bonds to justify a mid-day rate change yesterday. Instead, they simply waited until this morning to make the expected changes.