Preparing for 2026: Discipline Beats Optimism
- Jewell Salazar
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
As we enter 2026, many mortgage executives are hopeful that interest rates will stabilize or decline—unlocking a return to healthier volume. But from a leadership and financial governance perspective, hope is not a strategy. The past several years have reinforced a hard truth: rate forecasts are unreliable. Moments of relief tend to be brief, and optimism alone does not protect margins or enterprise stability.
We heard similar expectations in both 2024 and 2025. Rates would fall. Volume would return. Instead, the market delivered short-lived dips followed by rapid reversals—classic dead cat bounces. Firms that built operating plans around those temporary windows often found themselves overstaffed, overextended, and unprepared when conditions shifted again.The companies that outperformed weren’t the ones that predicted rates correctly. They were the ones that focused relentlessly on what they could control.
• Cost structure discipline
• Operational efficiency
• Pricing rigor
• Clear visibility into loan-level profitability
These organizations built operating models that could protect margins in low-volume environments—while remaining scalable if conditions improved.
For CEOs and CFOs heading into 2026, the most responsible posture is clear: plan for continued pressure while positioning the organization to move quickly if the market turns. That mindset forces sharper decisions around staffing, technology ROI, and performance accountability—and shifts focus away from variables no leadership team can reliably forecast.
In mortgage banking, durability rarely belongs to the most optimistic firms. It belongs to the most prepared. Hope for better conditions, certainly—but build a plan that assumes they may not arrive.
MBS Financial Services supports the following areas:
Growth Strategy – We can help you plan and execute a growth strategy.
Hedging & Pipeline Risk Management - Dr. Schell can help explain how hedging functions, the benefits of hedging, and the risks associated with the activity. See blog posts.
Technology must align with a firm's strategic objective. Every mortgage lender's technology infrastructure significantly impacts its customer experience and employee workflow. MBS will help select, configure, and deploy the best technology solution.
Executive Development - Leadership is a learned skill. Dr. Schell can teach you to be an amazing leader, an effective manager, and an inspiring coach that can foster a vibrant culture.
Accounting Services – Dr. Schell, CPA, leads the accounting services team to become your outsourced accounting department. This alternative makes more and more sense for companies wishing to focus on their core business and also want trustworthy accounting and financial reporting support.
About Dr. Schell:
Dr. Andy Schell, Ph.D., DBA, MSML, MBA, CPA/CFF, CMB
Dr. Schell is CEO, Managing Partner, and Co-Founder of Mortgage Banking Solutions and the Founder of MBS Financial Services ("MBS"), based in Austin, Texas. Dr. Schell is known for his ability to turn "vision into reality" and "chaos into order" as he finds creative solutions to the challenges his clients face addressing Revenue Stability, Technology Enhancement, Financial Management, and Workflow Efficiency.
He has 4 decades of experience as a strategist directing the activity of both small and large groups of employees including mortgage lending activity at Bank of America. His leadership knowledge extends from his hands-on experience and his academic training in his MBA, his master's degree in leadership, and his doctoral work to examine employee dynamics given leader stimulus
To find out more information about MBS' services, please click HERE
To contact Dr. Schell, click HERE
Find more information at
DoctorSchell@MBS-Team.com ; (512) 501-2812;
Doctor Schell the Profit Doctor
Comments