Takeover and M&A rumors continue to swirl, and smarter companies are merely hiring production staff away from lenders rather than pay the baggage that may be associated with the target while some are selling servicing to help strategically or with cash flow. The MBA reports that our biz originated $4.1 trillion in 2020 and $4.4 trillion in 2021. 2022 is down from those numbers, and 2023 is expected to be $1.5-$2ish trillion, depending on who you ask, certainly less than half of 2021. It impacts everyone, but certainly with credit fees shooting up, credit reporting agencies (CRAs) are feeling the pressure and are being scrutinized by every lender. (See below for a full write up.) Want something else to worry about? Forgetting CRA feels and expensive mortgage leakage for a moment, how about the oil spill in Kansas that isn’t necessarily in the national press but will take years to clean up and cost billions? The Keystone pipeline has dumped an estimated 588,000 gallons of oil into Mill Creek in Washington County, Kansas, stemming from an issue with the pipeline first observed on December 7. The type of oil that spilled was tar sands oil, known as diluted bitumen, is thick and especially difficult to clean up. Keystone has had at least 23 leaks in its history. (Today’s podcast 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.) Lender and Broker Software, Products and Services