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March Mush
By Jeff Walton & Kelly Guest
In partnership with
7 IPOs On Wall Street’s 2026 Watchlist
The 2026 IPO calendar is beginning to take shape - and it’s unusually concentrated.
Instead of a scattershot list of early-stage hopefuls, the pipeline includes a handful of large private companies, each dominating a different segment of the economy.
At one end of the spectrum sits a global connectivity network.
At another, the infrastructure powering enterprise AI.
There’s a digital finance platform generating margins that resemble software, not banking.
And a consumer ecosystem that reaches hundreds of millions of users each month.
No two look alike.
And they all bring unique standout qualities to the table.
Our analysts studied the field and selected the 7 IPO prospects they believe merit close attention heading into 2026…
And they’re all detailed in this new report:
The report is available free for a limited time, so secure your copy before it’s too late.
Table of Contents
It wasn’t the best week for UWM with Two Harbors getting snagged right out from under them by CrossCountry, or for 150+ employees of Summit Funding who will lose their jobs as a result of their acquisition by CCM. UWM is also facing a lawsuit from a borrower who endured a hard credit pull before she claims she had committed to move forward with a loan; but the case begs the question as to who the real villain is, because the credit bureaus wouldn’t remove it from her record. A U.S. Senator put FICO in the crosshairs, but who knows if we’ll see any meaningful reform in the credit realm.
CHATTER
Should the GSEs Pay Taxpayers Back for Guarantee? NMN Recaps American Enterprise Institute Panel Discussion
Borrower Sues UWM Over Credit Pull: NMP
Borrower claims she didn’t authorize the pull, and that UWM LO told her it had been “pulled accidentally.” The credit bureaus wouldn’t remove the hard pull. Consumer is demanding a trial.
M&A or MMA?
CrossCountry Snagged Two Harbors from UWM - NMN
UWM shot out a sour grapes statement, claiming their offer was superior CrossCountry’s in every way.
Circuitous, But Interesting: Better-HighTechLending-Neo HELOC Initiative
It’s basically non-QM HELOC underwriting guidelines offered by HighTechLending: Based on a review of sample data from NEO Home Loans powered by Better's declined home equity applications, HighTechLending estimates that as many as 20% of those borrowers could qualify under the EquitySelect™ HELOC structure.
Fighting FICO: Sen Josh Hawley Opens Investigation, Urges FTC to Follow
“As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and as a member of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, I am investigating Fair Isaac Corporation’s pricing practices in the mortgage credit scoring market.”
“For 2026 alone, FICO doubled its per-score price from $4.95 to $10.00—a more than 100% increase for the identical product offered in 2025. This single increase has the potential to raise mortgage credit score costs across the industry by approximately $500 million. These costs are ultimately borne by borrowers. They are especially damaging to first-time homebuyers, who often pay for multiple credit checks across several loan applications before successfully purchasing a home.”
Crypto Now Conforms
Better & Coinbase Partner on Token-Backed Mortgages
The companies announced token-backed mortgages that will be originated and serviced by Better and benefit from the same backing of Fannie Mae as other conforming mortgages.
Borrowers can pledge BTC or USDC without needing to liquidate their holdings or potentially triggering a taxable event.
The “Unionization of Mortgage Lending?” - Union One is After Your Funnel
Union One announced the national launch of its Member Valued Programs, or MVP, campaign, expanding its platform beyond income protection to help unions deliver broader financial support and life planning solutions to members and their families.
More than 3 million union households that already have access to Union One's voluntary income protection programs will begin gaining access to a broader suite of support solutions. At the center of the expansion is Mortgage Advantage, a home readiness platform that helps members see the real costs of buying, selling, and borrowing, while providing education, planning tools, and clearer pathways to more affordable homeownership.
Banks Getting Spanked
New Report from LatinoProsperity
While overall lending has fluctuated, the share of home purchase loans to Latino borrowers in California has shown steady progress, increasing from 25.2% in 2018 to 31.0% in 2024. Despite this nearly six-point gain, traditional banks have largely retreated from serving this demographic, leaving nonbank lenders to carry the overwhelming majority of the market.
Minimal Bank Participation: Only six of California’s top 25 home purchase lenders are traditional banks.
Stark Disparity in Access: Nonbank lenders serve Latino borrowers at more than 2.5 times the rate of traditional banks. Nonbanks accounted for 91.1% of all Latino borrowers served by the top 25 institutions.
Bank Performance Lags: Latino borrowers received only 11.4% of loans originated by traditional banks—less than half of the overall 26.5% Latino share among the top 25 lenders.
AI Advice for Mortgage: NMP Story on WH Directive
The statement calls for a single federal standard to keep states from thwarting innovation and causing bureaucratic blocks. Details are vague at this point on specific industries; however, the article quotes an attorney and gives preliminary cautions and thoughts.
Lenders are advised to:
Continue building AI compliance programs aligned with the strictest state requirements
Assume current laws, including state-level rules, will remain in place for the foreseeable future
Monitor developments in Colorado, where lawmakers are already revising their AI statute
Ensure borrower-facing AI tools remain compliant with fair lending and disclosure requirements
Cowtown to Uptown: USDA Upgrades Rural Housing Programs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the Rural Housing Modernization Initiative, an effort to upgrade how USDA delivers affordable single-family housing through its Rural Development Mission Area. This was in response to Trump’s March 13th Executive Order “Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction.”
TransUnion Arming Agents: App Wraps Data Sources in One Place (TruLookup for Real Estate)
Validate Ownership: Confirm legal property ownership before listing.
Personal Safety Check: Use a phone number to review identity attributes and assess potential risk indicators before in-person meetings.
Property Contact: Instantly find phone, email and postal address information for owners of unlisted properties.
Prospecting Lists: Generate phone, email and direct mail lists based on a location and customizable radius for circle prospecting campaigns.
Pulte Still Pursuing Tish: Pulte Refers to DOJ Over More Misrepresentations
FHFA Director has made more referrals against NY AG Letitia James. This time, it’s about lying to insurance companies in 2 states.
MOVING & SHAKING
Jill Ranck joined the Mortgage Bankers Association as Director of Associate Membership.
Fidelity National Financial named Jeffrey Heighton President of Enterprise Solutions.
Evergreen Home Loans promoted three people from within organization, touting commitment to develop talent: Tyler McMahon has been promoted to Regional Manager, Cole Grode has been promoted to Area Sales Manager, Amber Page has been promoted to Area Sales Manager.
Greenbox named Will Fisher Chief Production Officer.
MARKET/INDUSTRY
You probably don't need an expert to tell you last week was a rough one, but Bill Bodnar breaks it down and looks forward in his latest Master the Markets segment.
Mortgage Rates Average 6.38%: Freddie 3-26-26
Mortgage Applications Decreased 10.5% from One Week Earlier: MBA Weekly Survey for the week ending 3-20-26.
Homebuyer affordability improved in February, with the national median payment applied for by purchase applicants decreasing to $2,061 from $2,070 in January, according to the MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index - PAPI.
ARM Spreads Widest in 4 Years, But is $150/Mo Worth It? - Redfin
The average rate for an ARM so far this month is 5.51%, compared with a 6.19% average for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage.
The typical homebuyer using an ARM takes on a monthly payment of $2,578, down 7% from last year.
February Fallout
14% of Deals Fell Through in February
More than 42,000 U.S. home-sale agreements fell through in February, equal to 13.7% of homes that went under contract that month.
That’s up from 12.8% a year earlier, and the highest February share in records dating back to 2017.
To be fair, cancellations have been above 10% every year since that 2017 mark, with 10.8% being the lowest average in 2022.
Boon for Buyers: There are 630K More Sellers Than Buyers - Redfin
There were an estimated 46.3% more home sellers than buyers in the U.S. housing market in February (or 629,808 more, in numerical terms).
That’s the largest gap in records dating back to 2013 and is up from 29.8% (or 449,409) a year earlier.
Lending Up (a Little) Across Board: VantageScore Feb CreditGauge
AVERAGE VANTAGESCORE 4.0 CREDIT SCORE RISES ON STRENGTH FOR TOP TIER CONSUMERS: In February 2026, the average VantageScore 4.0 credit score ticked up one point to 701 after holding at 700 for the prior two months. Overall consumer credit health remains relatively resilient, as improvements in the credit health of top-tier consumers outweigh the deterioration among lower-tier consumers.
Still Stretched
Median-priced homes are still less affordable than historical averages in 97% of analyzed counties. While this marks a slight improvement from recent quarters, the overall picture for buyers remains challenging, as typical homeownership costs still exceed recommended affordability thresholds in nearly 70% of markets.
Wages grew faster than home prices in 64% of counties, helping ease pressure slightly.
Nearly 25% of counties are considered severely unaffordable, with housing costs consuming over 43% of wages.
Despite modest improvements, high home prices and rising rates continue to limit affordability for most buyers.
Q4 Worse than Overall YE: ATTOM's Q425 Flipping Report
We reported last week that 2025 profits were the worst since ’08. Q425 said, “Hold my beer:”
National ROI: 23.6% gross return (down from 24.0% in Q3 2025) — the lowest since Q3 2007
National gross profit: $62,000 (down from $74,076 in Q4 2024)
Quarter-over-quarter trend: Up from 6.8% in Q3 2025
Year-over-year change: Down from 7.4% in Q4 2024