Loan originators using AI are seeing significant gains in productivity. Use cases range from non-consumer-facing activities to voice bots that interact with loan applicants.

Residential mortgage originations declined by 2.0% on a quarterly basis in the third quarter of 2025.

“A dampened summer home-buying market weighed down PrimeLending’s operating results,” said Jeremy Ford, chairman, president and CEO of Hilltop Holdings, which owns the mortgage lender.

Investor demand is fueling issuance of MBS and ABS to record levels without declines in underwriting standards.

The firms have issued a number of expanded-credit mortgage-backed securities.

Popular, a bank based in Puerto Rico, stopped originating mortgages in the continental U.S. at the end of the third quarter.

The sentiment among investors at the ABS East conference this week was overwhelmingly positive. Attendance at the event hit a record, and investor demand for MBS and ABS is expected to remain strong into 2026, buoyed by anticipated interest rate cuts by the Fed.

Trade groups representing smaller lenders called on the Trump administration to prompt the GSEs to increase their holdings of MBS as a way to reduce mortgage rates.

Originations of first-lien mortgages declined by 2.0% on a quarterly basis to an estimated $485.0 billion in the third quarter. Nine months into the year, lending was up 10.8% on an annual basis.

“Our agency portfolio benefitted from meaningful spread tightening during the quarter driven by increased MBS demand and declining volatility,” said David Finkelstein, CEO and co-chief investment officer of the REIT.