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Opinion: When competition crosses a line in mortgage brokering



A recent deal we lost raised serious concerns about how far some brokers will go to push others out of the way, even using veiled threats of regulatory complaints. This story isn’t about winning or losing. It’s about what happens when industry professionals start exploiting policy quirks and trust gaps to gain an edge.

And no, I’m not calling for new rules or regulatory intervention. This one’s on us, the broker community.

The setup

We were working with a client on a 3-year fixed conventional mortgage. We secured an approval with a major bank at 3.94%;  a competitive rate considering this particular offer doesn’t allow buydowns. The client was happy. Everything was progressing as expected.

Then the curve-ball came.

A few days later, the client said another broker had offered them a 3.89% rate. At the time, that rate didn’t exist in the broker channel. We suspected, and later confirmed, that the competing broker was using a portion of their commission to manufacture a lower effective rate.

We explained the mechanics to the client and offered to escalate the file internally to improve our offer. We were also good to offer cashback. But before the lender responded, the client asked us to cancel the file. We did so promptly.

The FSRA threat

Several hours after cancelling, we received a sharply worded email from the client demanding written confirmation. The message included this line:

“Please provide me with written confirmation that the application you submitted to The Bank on our behalf has been cancelled. Please note that if we do not receive this written confirmation within the next 48 hours then we will regrettably have no choice but to file a complaint with the regulator FSRA: Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario.”

That wasn’t written by a client.

Borrowers don’t usually reference “FSRA” and “The Bank” in precise, broker-specific terms.  (The Bank was named and goes by a name only used in the broker community) This was clearly drafted or coached by the competing broker, and it was obvious why.

Understanding the lender loophole

Some lenders only allow one broker to have a file in their system for a given borrower. Once a deal is submitted, no other broker can act on it unless the first file is cancelled.

That’s the system; and it works, most of the time.

But in this case, the competing broker pushed the client to issue a regulatory threat, not to address wrongdoing, but simply to clear the field. Their offer wasn’t better; in fact, we later learned they were approved at 3.99%, higher than our approved offer.

The “3.89%” was smoke and mirrors, achieved by padding cashback into the deal, which we too were prepared to do.

Their strategy worked. The client aligned with the broker who floated the lower number first. Our escalation with the lender was moot.

What’s the real problem?

Losing a deal is part of the profession. No one funds every file. But when brokers start coaching clients to send threatening emails that reference regulators, just to push another broker aside, then in my view we’ve crossed a line.

This wasn’t about a client protecting their interests. This was about a broker using intimidation tactics that masquerade as compliance concerns.

It’s not illegal. It’s not even something FSRA would take action on. But it’s unprofessional. And corrosive.

A message to fellow brokers

To be clear: I’m not asking for new regulations. I’m not expecting lenders to overhaul their policies either. Lenders would rather lose one broker’s loyalty than lose the deal entirely.

This is an issue of professional standards, not policy.

So here’s what I think we, as brokers, can do better:

  • Stop weaponizing compliance language. If you’re coaching clients to issue FSRA threats just to get a deal released, you’re misusing trust, and abusing the regulatory process.
  • Be transparent about buydowns. If your offer relies on cashback to beat another rate, say so. Clients deserve to understand the full structure of their mortgage.
  • Treat competitors like peers, not enemies. You don’t have to like losing, but you do have to act professionally. A quick phone call instead of a demand email can go a long way.

Why this matters, even if the client never notices

To the client, this was just “brokers fighting over my mortgage.” And they got their deal. The lender got the mortgage. No harm, no foul, right?

But internally, it’s a different story. What’s lost is another shred of professionalism, another bit of goodwill among peers. If left unchecked, these tactics chip away at the credibility we’ve all spent years building in the broker channel.

In the U.K., this wouldn’t happen. Everyone, broker or branch, works off the same rate sheet. Cashback and buydowns are off the table. Business is won based on service, execution, and advice, and not with pricing gimmicks.

Final word

I’m not naming names. I’m not crying foul. But I am confident that this was one of many instances where the competing broker used this strategy to win business away from other mortgage brokers.

And I am saying this: if brokers keep using regulatory threats and opaque pricing tactics to edge each other out, we all lose in the long run. We lose the respect that should come with calling ourselves professionals.

This isn’t a policy problem. It’s a people problem.

And it’s one we can fix if we want to.


Opinion pieces and the views expressed within are those of respective contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher and its affiliates.

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Last modified: October 15, 2025

Amazon Prime: Link Earnify Account & Get $0.25 Off Per Gallon On Fridays (BP, Amoco or AMPM)


The Offer

Direct link to offer (our affiliate link)

  • Amazon Prime members are being offered $0.25 Off Per Gallon on Fridays until the end of the year at BP, Amoco or AMPM when you link your account to Earnify. If you’ve already linked your account you will also get the discount.

Our Verdict

Limit of 35 gallons, you can fill up multiple vehicles in one transaction as well. Make sure to price compare to ensure you’re getting a good deal. 

Citi attributes 100K hours of savings to gen AI deployment


Citigroup is starting to realize returns on its investments in generative AI and tech modernization.  The $1.7 trillion bank reported that its gen AI tool saved employees 100,000 hours during the third quarter. The bank conducted 1 million code reviews in Q3, up from 220,000 code reviews in Q1, according to its Q3 earnings report. […]



Building a Company Culture That Encourages Feedback


Senior leaders often tell me: “We have a great culture. People here are kind, relational, and genuinely care about one another. But … we’re not very good at giving direct feedback.” They know kindness fuels harmony, but also that harmony can slip into avoidance. Without candor, people don’t improve as quickly as they need to. Frustration festers. Performance stagnates.



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Is PSLF Buyback Worth It? What It Will Cost You


Key Points

  • The PSLF buyback program allows borrowers to pay for past months in deferment or forbearance so they count toward loan forgiveness, but a blackbox of support have left many confused.
  • Some borrowers may find buyback cheaper, while others might reach forgiveness faster by resuming monthly IDR payments instead of waiting for approval.
  • Borrowers face tough choices about affordability, liquidity, and timing as they weigh lump sums against steady repayment.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program requires 120 qualifying monthly payments while working for an eligible employer. But many borrowers are falling short because months spent in deferment or forbearance (even while employed full-time in public service) did not count. This is specifically harmful because of the SAVE forbearance, which found 8 million borrowers in forbearance due to court rulings outside of their control.

The buyback provision was introduced to address this gap. It allows borrowers to make a lump-sum payment covering past periods of deferment or forbearance, effectively turning those months into qualifying payments. For someone sitting at 117 or 118 payments, buyback could push them over the forgiveness threshold.

In theory, it’s a practical fix for years of technical disqualification. In practice, the process is opaque and there’s currently a backlog of 74,000 PSLF buyback requests while the Department of Education is only processing about 5,000 per month.

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Why Borrowers Are Confused

PSLF buyback is a confusing process.

Eligibility questions. Borrowers can only request buyback if they reach 120 months when the purchased months are included. This means some cannot even start the process until they’re essentially done with “normal” PSLF. Periods before loan consolidation don’t count, and not every type of deferment is eligible.

Unclear status. Once a borrower submits a request, it’s unclear how long it will take and what’s happening. It’s effectively a black box. The only real status markers are hearing from others getting approvals (on forums like Reddit). That’s the only gauge borrowers really have.

Backlogs and delays. As of August 2025, fewer than 10% of pending buyback requests had been processed. Some borrowers have waited close to a year for a response. During this time, they don’t know whether to resume monthly payments or hold out for approval. Furthermore, with a government shutdown, the backlog is only going to grow.

Surprise costs. The buyback amount is typically calculated using the lower of the borrower’s income-driven repayment (IDR) payments before or after the deferment. However, once a borrower goes past 12 months of buyback requests, or if a borrower wasn’t on IDR, the Department may use past tax returns to estimate what payments would have been. Many borrowers end up with higher-than-expected lump sums. And since SAVE was ruled illegal, SAVE is NOT the plan being used to calculate buyback requests. Borrowers are seeing REPAYE be the monthly payment amount.

Buyback vs. Resuming Income-Driven Repayment

For some borrowers, buyback is appealing because it can retroactively add qualifying months and close the gap to forgiveness. But for others, it may be faster (and more predictable) to simply resume payments under an IDR plan.

Example: A borrower earning $80,000 wants to buy back 12 months. If their monthly IDR payment is $478, the buyback lump sum would be $5,736. Resuming IDR payments would also cost $5,736 over 12 months – no savings, just different timing.

But if the borrower only qualifies for the older IBR plan at $718 per month (because they were a borrower before June 2014), the 12 payments would total $8,616. In this case, buyback is clearly cheaper.

For borrowers with fluctuating incomes, the math changes. A recent pay cut could mean lower future IDR payments, making buyback less attractive. Conversely, if income has risen, buyback could lock in a lower historical payment calculation.

Impact On Borrowers And Their Families

For many households, the choice between buyback and monthly payments comes down to cash flow and risk tolerance.

  • Liquidity: Do you have access to thousands of dollars for a lump sum, or is a predictable monthly payment easier to manage?
  • Timing: How close are you to 120 payments? If forgiveness is less than a year away, monthly payments might get you there faster than waiting for buyback approval.
  • Uncertainty: Families relying on forgiveness to reset their finances may not want to gamble on a backlog that could drag on for months (or years).

The stress of waiting, paired with the lack of clear instructions, has left many borrowers unsure how to plan. Some risk making unnecessary payments, while others risk delays in achieving forgiveness.

What Borrowers Can Do Now

The PSLF buyback option is meant to help borrowers who lost credit for small gaps in repayment history. But because of unclear rules, missing instructions, and severe delays, many are left confused and frustrated.

For some, buyback can offer real savings, especially under older repayment plans. For others, resuming IDR payments on PAYE or IBR may be a more reliable path to loan forgiveness.

In the meantime:

  1. Check PSLF counts: Log into your loan account to verify your qualifying payment history and see how close you are to 120.
  2. Gather documentation: Ensure you have employment certification for the buyback months, income tax returns for relevant years, and a have submitted a buyback request.
  3. Estimate the cost: Compare the likely buyback lump sum with projected monthly payments under REPAYE.
  4. Consider timing: If you’re within 12 months of forgiveness, monthly payments may be quicker and less stressful than waiting for buyback. Plus, the dollar amount may be the same!
  5. Keep records: Save all forms, emails, and submission confirmations – processing errors can happen.

Borrowers should carefully weigh their income, liquidity, and tolerance for delay before choosing which path to take.

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Chesapeake Asset Management Begins Investing in Ryder System. Is the Stock a Buy?


What happened

Chesapeake Asset Management LLC disclosed a new position in Ryder System (R -0.16%), according to a quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 15, 2025 (SEC filing). The fund purchased 19,350 shares during the period, bringing the position’s value to approximately $3.08 million as of June 30, 2025. This trade represents an estimated 2.78% of the fund’s $110.74 million in U.S. equity holdings.

What else to know

This is a new position for the fund, representing 2.78% of 13F reportable assets under management following the trade.

Chesapeake’s top five fund holdings after the filing are:

  • NASDAQ:MSFT: $11.41 million (10.0% of AUM) as of 2025-06-30
  • NYSE:LLY: $6.94 million (6.2% of AUM) as of 2025-06-30
  • NYSE:SPOT: $6.27 million (5.6% of AUM) as of 2025-06-30
  • NASDAQ:AAPL: $5.99 million (5.4% of AUM) as of 2025-06-30
  • NYSE:JPM: $5.52 million (5.0% of AUM) as of 2025-06-30

As of October 14, 2025, Ryder System shares were priced at $182.01, up 20.07% over the past year, outperforming the S&P 500 by 6.68 percentage points over the same period

Company Overview

Metric Value
Revenue (TTM) $12.72 billion
Net Income (TTM) $505.00 million
Dividend Yield 1.83%
Price (as of market close 2025-10-14) $182.01

Company Snapshot

Ryder System, Inc. is a leading provider of logistics and transportation solutions, operating globally with a diversified service portfolio. The company leverages its scale and expertise to deliver integrated fleet management and supply chain services to enterprise customers.

The company generates revenue through leasing and maintenance contracts, rental fees, logistics services, and the sale of used vehicles, offering integrated solutions to optimize clients’ transportation and supply chain operations.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Ryder System provides fleet management, supply chain solutions, and dedicated transportation services, including full-service leasing, commercial vehicle rental, and logistics management.

It serves businesses across industries with large-scale transportation and logistics needs, targeting corporate clients seeking efficiency, reliability, and scalability in fleet and supply chain management.

Foolish take

Chesapeake Asset Management starting a new position in transportation giant Ryder System is noteworthy. The investment isn’t small; Ryder stock sits just outside the financial management company’s top five holdings at the number six position.

Ryder had a rough 2023 with sales down 2% year over year, but it undertook changes to its business, bouncing back strong in 2024 with 7% year-over-year revenue growth to $12.6 billion. However, sales results in 2025 have been mixed. Through the first half of this year, revenue of $6.3 billion was flat compared to 2024.

But that’s not the whole story. Ryder expects its free cash flow (FCF) for the year to reach between $900 million and $1 billion. This sum far outpaces the $133 million in FCF produced last year, and will allow it to continue paying its robust dividend.

Moreover, the company adopted cost-saving initiatives that helped it increase diluted earnings per share (EPS) by 11% year over year to $3.15 in the second quarter. That’s the third consecutive quarter of double-digit EPS growth.

Ryder’s transformation from its difficult 2023 is delivering benefits to shareholders through higher EPS and FCF even though topline sales have not been impressive in 2025. These factors probably contributed to Chesapeake’s decision to begin investing in Ryder, which looks like a solid stock to buy for income investors.

Glossary

13F reportable assets: Assets that investment managers must disclose quarterly to the SEC if they exceed $100 million in U.S. equity holdings.
Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or firm.
Position: The amount of a particular security or investment held by an investor or fund.
Stake: The ownership interest or share an investor holds in a company or asset.
Top five holdings: The five largest investments in a fund’s portfolio, usually by market value.
Outperforming: Achieving a higher return than a specific benchmark or index over a given period.
Dividend yield: A financial ratio showing how much a company pays in dividends each year relative to its share price.
Fleet management: Services that oversee and coordinate commercial vehicles for businesses, including maintenance, leasing, and logistics.
Supply chain solutions: Services that help businesses manage the flow of goods, information, and resources from suppliers to customers.
Full-service leasing: A leasing arrangement where the provider handles maintenance, repairs, and other services for the leased asset.
Logistics management: The planning and coordination of moving goods and resources efficiently through a supply chain.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Robert Izquierdo has positions in Apple, JPMorgan Chase, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, and Spotify Technology. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

40 Real Ways to Earn Money From Home


Jacob Lund / Shutterstock.com

Wondering how to make money from home? The key is to find a career path that aligns with your skills and interests. While many companies have embraced permanent remote work, zeroing in on specific categories with work-from-home (WFH) jobs can be a great strategy for your search. By focusing on the best career fields for at-home jobs instead of simply scrolling through the latest job postings…

BlackRock: We Are At The Beginning Of The Tokenization Of All Assets


BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), an asset management firm with over $13.46 trillion in assets, holds quite a bit of sway regarding global markets. So when its CEO, Larry Fink, talks up tokenization, it is important to listen to what he has to say.

Yesterday, while visiting CNBC, Fink discussed the tokenization of everything. Fink stated:

“I do believe we are just at the beginning of the tokenization of all assets. From real estate, to equities, to bonds, and across the board… There is $4.1 trillion globally sitting in digital wallets. A lot of that money is outside the United States. If we could tokenize an ETF … digitize that ETF, we can have investors who are just beginning to invest in markets through, let’s say, crypto, but now we can get them into more traditional, long-term types of products. We look at that as the next wave of opportunity for BlackRock, for the next tens of years, as we focus on moving away from traditional financial assets by repotting them in a digital manner and then having people stay in that digital ecosystem. They can have their cash, and we have the largest cash/ money market fund that is tokenized…”

Fink added that America remains the best place in the world to invest, and he would be investing here today.

BlackRock is also highly active in AI and cryptocurrency, as well as Fintech in general.

BlackRock announced Q3 2025 earnings yesterday, reporting $205 billion of quarterly total net inflows, a 25% increase in revenue year-over-year and an EPS of $8.43 (diluted).



Still Lending DSCR In Baltimore City – When Others Won’t


We remain committed to supporting real estate investors and borrowers in Baltimore City. While many lenders have pulled back or paused their programs, our lending policy for single-family DSCR loans in Baltimore City remains unchanged. We are still actively and confidently funding deals, giving you the certainty you need to move forward.

Baltimore City DSCR Loans

  • Certainty of Execution: We’re still closing both DSCR and Bridge loans in Baltimore City.
  • DSCR Price-Beat Guarantee: We’re confident in our pricing and committed to providing competitive terms.

Managing Risk, Delivering Confidence

Yes, a recent DSCR case created uncertainty in the Baltimore lending market. But we’ve built our strategy around risk management at every level. That means our borrowers can move forward with confidence, knowing we have the experience and infrastructure to close loans when others won’t.

Nationwide DSCR Lending – Beyond Baltimore

Our reach extends far beyond the city. If you have a DSCR deal, whether in Baltimore City or anywhere across the country, our team is ready to deliver fast, reliable quotes and seamless execution.

Get Your DSCR Loan Quote Today

If you have a Baltimore City DSCR deal (or nationwide), please send us the basics, and we’ll get back to you right away.