THE LEAD
PULTE NAMED DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE; Promises Not To Let It Affect His Other Job, Which He Was Already Bad At
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a move that career intelligence officers are calling "the kind of thing you read about in a Tom Clancy novel and then put the book down because it's too unrealistic," President Trump has appointed FHFA Director Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence.
He will keep his FHFA job. Also the Fannie Mae chairmanship. Also the Freddie Mac chairmanship. Sources confirm he is now responsible for the entire U.S. intelligence community AND the entirety of American housing finance, simultaneously, part-time, primarily via posterboard.
"I'm crushing it at FHFA," Pulte said in a statement. "Why stop now? Imagine what I'll do at both." An anonymous senior FHFA staffer responded: "Please. Please stop him."
Pulte's qualifications for running 18 intelligence agencies include: zero military service, zero intelligence work, zero national security background, one great-grandfather who built houses, and approximately 14,000 tweets about credit scores. His FHFA tenure has produced five criminal referrals (convictions: zero), a credit score pilot involving 21 lenders nobody can identify, 47 consecutive monthly announcements of imminent conservatorship exit (status: still in conservatorship), and a personal Twitter feed that ICE-T described last week as "concerning."
"I've reviewed his housing finance record," said one anonymous CIA analyst. "If he runs our intelligence community the way he ran FHFA, China will own Alaska by Christmas."
But the real story is what happened at FHFA after Pulte's promotion.
Virtual Pulte was sworn in as Acting FHFA Director at 11:47 AM.
The holographic figure flickered into view, placed a hand on a printout of the Fannie Mae 2025 annual report (he refused the Bible), and was sworn in by another instance of himself reading the oath off a poster board.
"He's a great American," Pulte said of Virtual Pulte. "Maybe the greatest. Honestly, he doesn't sleep, he doesn't eat, he doesn't tweet things he regrets at 2 AM. I'm going to be totally transparent here: he's just a better version of me."
An anonymous Fannie Mae executive said: "Virtual Pulte does not tweet. Virtual Pulte does not subpoena anyone. Virtual Pulte does not show up on CNBC at 6 AM eastern still slightly damp from the shower. Honestly, the upgrade is staggering."
May God have mercy on our mortgages. And our intelligence community. And, increasingly, on us.
CHART OF THE DAY
CFO: "Credit quality has never been stronger."
FHA delinquency rate, ascending in the background: "👋"
UH OH!
DEVELOPING: Ohio Mortgage Consultant Suddenly Very Interested In Witness Protection Program
Twinsburg, OH (AP) - Local mortgage industry consultant Rich Swerbinsky, founder of Onward & Upward Consulting and publisher of the Swerb's Blurbs newsletter, was observed Tuesday afternoon purchasing a burner phone, three different fake mustaches, and a one-way Greyhound ticket to Boise following the announcement that FHFA Director Bill Pulte had been named Acting Director of National Intelligence.
Swerbinsky has spent 14 months publishing what sources describe as "an alarming volume of jokes" about the now-spy chief, including: the 14-part Virtual Pulte hologram series, unending poster board satires, the running "0 for 5 on criminal convictions" gag, the Bessent attempted-punch piece, the factual series related to Pulte having accomplished nothing in his career, and the extended bit where Countrywide was secretly added to the bungled VantageScore pilot.
"He really committed," said one anonymous mortgage industry source. "Sustained. Daily. For over a year. There was a haiku at one point. There was a hologram. There was even a Strait of Hormuz piece. Honestly, in retrospect, the warning signs were everywhere. Going into hiding is probably best for him, I was starting to really worry about his mental health."
Reached for comment, Swerbinsky said: "I have always been a huge supporter of Director Pulte. The greatest housing finance leader of our generation. Possibly any generation. Director Pulte, if you're reading this, please note that I have always said exactly that."
Industry insider Greg Sher of NFM Lending offered a candid assessment: "I love Rich. Truly. Best friend a guy could have. Just sayin'... if I were taking bets on Rich making it to the 4th of July, I'm taking the under."
Mortgage Bankers Association President Bob Broeksmit posted the following on LinkedIn at 1:07 PM Tuesday:
"Saddened to learn of the unexpected loss of Rich Swerbinsky, a tireless advocate for the mortgage industry, a brilliant strategic mind, and a dear friend. Rich's contributions to TMC, OMBA, his coaching practice, and his newsletter touched countless lives. He is survived by his beloved girlfriend Katie, the Cleveland Guardians, and approximately 32,000 LinkedIn followers. Donations in Rich's memory may be made to the MBA Opens Doors Foundation. Rich, you will be missed. Bill, if you're reading this, congratulations again on the appointment."
Broeksmit later clarified that he wrote the post "preventatively" and was "merely getting ahead of the news cycle."
Sources close to Swerbinsky report he has been observed:
Everything is fine.
SWEET MOTHER OF MARY
T-13 days to OMBA 2026 and the full keynote slate is locked.
This is the strongest lineup we have ever put on a state MBA stage.
Sunday 6/14
Bill Cosgrove, CEO Union Home Mortgage Corp. and Co-Chairman of the Tampa Bay Rays, opens the conference at 4:15 PM.
Michael Hammond JD, CMT ☘️, CEO and Founder of NexLevel Advisors, follows at 5:15 PM with "AI Search, LinkedIn Relevance, and the Death of the Old Marketing Playbook."
Opening reception 6-7:30 PM after that.
Monday 6/15
Sen. Bill Blessing of the Ohio State Senate delivers the breakfast address at 8:10 AM.
Monday morning, main stage, 8:45 to 9:50 AM. Alice Alvey, Master CMB, moderates the inaugural class of Ohio's Own: The Women Shaping Ohio Lending - women who have spent careers building, operating, and leading the mortgage businesses that make Ohio a real lending state.
Maurice Clarett takes the main stage at 11:50 AM with "Resilience, Reinvention, and the Ohio Playbook."
Robert Broeksmit, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, headlines the luncheon at 12:30 PM.
Tuesday 6/16
Melanie Coulton, CMB®, AMP of Plaza Home Mortgage, Inc. Home Mortgage opens the day at the breakfast keynote.
Steve Richman delivers "The Change Equation: Why Some Lenders Pull Ahead While Others Fall Behind" at 8:30 AM.
Jodi Hall, CEO of The Mortgage Collaborative, takes the stage at 9:10 AM with "The Vanishing Middle: Consolidation, Change, and the Leaders Who Will Define What's Next."
She follows that with a fireside chat alongside Julie May of FICO on what lenders need to know about FICO 10T adoption in 2027.
Ten keynotes. Three days.
That is before the 20 breakouts across three tracks. The inaugural Ohio's Own honorees. The Future Leaders Program graduation. Tech Demo Showcase. The board installation dinner.
If you are in Ohio mortgage and have not registered yet, this is the year to be in the room.
Renaissance Columbus Westerville-Polaris. June 14-16. Register here.
ACQUISITION ANALYSIS
Warren Buffett's hand-picked successor just made his first big move. He bought a homebuilder. Xactus made its second acquisition in 4 months. And the consolidation wave in mortgage continues.
Two M&A stories from the last week that you should be paying attention to...
Story 1 - Berkshire Hathaway is buying Taylor Morrison for $8.5 billion.
Greg Abel's first big swing as CEO. All cash. 24% premium. America's 5th largest homebuilder, taken private.
Why this makes sense for Berkshire ...
The US is short somewhere between 4 and 7 million homes. That gap doesn't close in a year. It doesn't close in five years. Whoever owns the entities actually building houses in this country has a multi-decade tailwind that no policy, no rate cycle, and no recession can take away. Berkshire already owns Clayton Homes Inc. (manufactured housing) and HomeServices of America (real estate brokerage). Bolting national homebuilding on top of that gives them ownership of damn near every layer of the housing transaction.
What it means for the industry...
When the smartest patient capital on the planet pays a 24% premium for a homebuilder during what most people consider a housing slump, it's a tell. Buffett spent decades teaching us to be greedy when others are fearful. We should all be paying attention. We should probably all own homebuilder stock too.
Story 2 - Xactus just acquired Mortgage Credit Link from MeridianLink. Two months after acquiring Baleen Solutions.
Baleen automates self-employed income analysis. MCL is a verification ordering hub. Both bolt directly into the Xactus360 platform.
Why this makes sense for Xactus ...
The verification space used to be 12 vendors and a spreadsheet. Lenders are exhausted by that complexity. The winners over the next 5 years will be the platforms that consolidate credit, income, employment, property, flood, and identity into one stack a lender can actually run. Xactus is making the bet that scale and integration win, and they're putting capital where their mouth is.
What it means for the industry...
Your tech stack is about to get a lot more consolidated whether you want it to or not. The fragmented vendor world is ending. Either pick partners that are doing the bolting, or get bolted.
Stepping back. The headline of 2026 isn't rates. It isn't volume. It's consolidation. At every layer. Builders. Lenders. Servicers. Brokerages. Verification vendors. Everyone.
Warren Buffett. Making smart unsexy decisions for decades.
LINKS THAT DON’T SUCK
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Jun 3 - Jobs Report (May)
Jun 5 - Belmont Stakes (Saratoga Race Course) -- Triple Crown on the line
Jun 11 - FIFA World Cup kicks off (USA, Canada, Mexico -- 48 teams)
Jun 14-16 - Ohio MBA Annual Conference (Columbus OH)
Jun 21 - Father's Day
Jun 16-17 - FOMC Meeting (rate decision, press conference)
Jun 18-21 - US Open Golf (Shinnecock Hills)
Jun 19 - Juneteenth (federal holiday, markets closed)
Jun 21 - Father's Day
Jun 22 - NBA Draft
Jun 29 - Wimbledon begins
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I laugh because I must not cry, that is all, that is all." — Abraham Lincoln
THE OHIO MORTGAGE BANKERS ASSOCIATION (OMBA)
The OMBA Podcast Network = underrated if you like mortgage content
Reg is OPEN for our 2026 Annual Conference!
THE MORTGAGE COLLABORATIVE
Want to learn more about the benefits of membership in TMC? Reach out to Heidi Belnay at [email protected]! Or me by replying to this email!
THE CARDBOARD JUNGLE
LOADED sports card break lineup for this coming Friday! Get your sports at thecardboardjungle.com!
We are one of eBay’s biggest and most highly rated sellers of sports card singles! Check out our eBay store here and pick up one of your favorite players rookie cards!
Until the next one,
Swerb
[email protected]