AMBA Monday Morning News - Week of August 10th, 2026 
Message from the Board
Fellow Alaska mortgage professionals,
August in Alaska is the month the light starts leaving and everybody pretends not to notice. If you haven't seen already, the retailers are already gearing up for fall/winter which makes it feel like summer is slipping by faster. It is also the busiest closing stretch of the year. If your desk looks like most desks in this business right now, you have files that need to fund before appraiser and construction calendars tighten and the road system gets harder to cover.
That is a good problem to have. It means people are buying, and it means somebody trusted you enough to put the biggest financial decision of their life on your desk. Most of them will never know how much of that closing happened because you caught something on a Tuesday afternoon.
Take the wins where you find them this month. And if a file is stuck, call somebody. Odds are good that another member of this association has already solved exactly that problem and would enjoy telling you how.
All the best,
Benjamin Reynolds - President, Alaska Mortgage Bankers Association
Thank you to our AMBA Monday Morning News Sponsor
News From Last Week
Condo Limited and Streamlined Reviews End for Loans Dated August 3 or Later
Fannie Mae retired its Limited Review process and Freddie Mac eliminated Streamlined Review for conventional condo loan applications dated on or after August 3, under coordinated policy updates the two issued March 18. Established projects that previously qualified for those streamlined paths generally must now go through Full Review, which covers association budgets, reserve funding, insurance, delinquencies, special assessments, litigation, and deferred maintenance, or through an applicable waiver or exempt-from-review path where the project and the loan qualify. Application date governs, not closing date.
Alaska Impact: Anchorage condo stock skews older and many associations are small enough that reserve documentation is thin. Order the HOA questionnaire and reserve documents at application rather than at underwriting, and set turn-time expectations with your agent partners now. Both agencies keep alternatives for how reserve adequacy can be documented, so a missing formal reserve study is not automatically a dead file. Read the current project review requirements before you tell an association what it has to produce.
Alaska Jobs Fall 0.3% as Government Employment Contracts
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported on July 17 that the statewide June job count fell 0.3 percent from a year earlier, with government losses of 1,900 jobs outweighing a private-sector gain of 1,000. The federal government cut 1,300 Alaska jobs over the year and state government shed 600. Oil and gas added 900. Alaska's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.4 percent against 4.2 percent nationally.
Alaska Impact: Federal employment concentrates in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, which is where a large share of your W-2 borrowers work. Nothing has changed in verification of employment requirements. What has changed is the risk picture behind them, so employment stability deserves a closer look this cycle, particularly for borrowers in agencies or departments affected by staffing reductions, probationary status, or a formal reduction-in-force notice.
US Employers Shed 23,000 Jobs in July as the FOMC Splits 9 to 3
Nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on August 7. May and June were revised down by a combined 103,000. Average hourly earnings rose 3.2 percent over the year, the slowest pace since May 2021. At its July 29 meeting, before that report, the FOMC voted 9 to 3 to hold, with Hammack, Kashkari, and Logan dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point increase.
Alaska Impact: Persistent inflation concern inside the committee alongside a weakening labor market is a genuine tradeoff, and it is not the setup that produces confident forecasts in either direction. Do not tell a client that relief is coming in September. Price the file in front of you.
Freddie Mac 30-Year Reaches 6.69% as Applications Fall Again
The 30-year fixed averaged 6.69 percent in Freddie Mac's August 6 Primary Mortgage Market Survey, up from 6.66 percent the prior week and above the 6.63 percent of a year ago. The 15-year averaged 6.01 percent, down from 6.04 percent. MBA weekly survey data released August 5 showed applications down 2.9 percent for the week ending July 31, with purchase off 4 percent and refinance off 2 percent. Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said listing prices are modestly below year-ago levels and for-sale inventory is improving from the limited supply of recent years.
Alaska Impact: Alaska pipelines run heavily purchase, so the refinance slide matters less here than the purchase print does. Improving inventory and softer prices are the setup that can get a fence-sitting buyer back to the table, and that is a conversation worth having before rates move again.
CFPB Moves Ability-to-Repay and QM Definitions to the Pre-Rule Stage
The CFPB's regulatory agenda, released July 6, moved its review of ability-to-repay requirements and Qualified Mortgage definitions from a long-term item to the pre-rule stage, with activity anticipated in August. The agenda also places the Regulation X mortgage servicing and loss mitigation rule in the final-rule stage, with final action anticipated in August. Both sit within the broader mortgage regulatory review directed by Executive Order 14393, Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit, issued March 13, which asks the Bureau to review ATR/QM, modernize HMDA, consider appraisal and supervisory guidance changes, and streamline certain Regulation X refinance requirements. Agenda dates are the Bureau's own forecast, not a commitment.
Alaska Impact: The federal ATR/QM framework in 12 C.F.R. 1026.43, and particularly the QM provisions in 1026.43(e), is the regulatory foundation underneath the Legislative Affairs Committee's non-QM work, because Alaska's own statute would reference it. The committee is tracking the docket and will report to the Board as the pre-rule stage develops.
Upcoming Events
Save the dates for the 2026-2027 Season!
It's that time of the year where we are able to announce dates for our 2026-2027 season here at AMBA. Dates are subject to change based on availability, speakers, special events, etc. As of August 10th, our upcoming schedule is going to be:
- September 30, 2026
- October 21, 2026
- November 18, 2026
- December 16, 2026
- January 20, 2027 - We can already announce that Tracy Reno and Autumn Miller will be joining us from the Division of Banking and Securities!
- February 17, 2027
- March 17, 2027
- April 21, 2027
- May 19, 2027
We have also made an update to this year's events. Along with a member discount on all events for this year, all named individual members will have free access to our virtual sessions! AMBA wants to make it even easier for members to join across Alaska and be a part of the conversation monthly.
That being said, renewal season is here. Membership renews September 1, 2026. Pricing has remained the same this year, however we will be moving our billing back to the beginning of September for everyone. Our experiment of annual billing caused tracking to be all over the place for the year and with a small volunteer board so we will be moving our main billing back to the beginning of the season and all new memberships throughout the year will be automatically prorated. Members that did have memberships later in 2026 will have their updated dues adjusted.
Rates and bands for 2026-2027:
The Board will be reaching out to members to confirm the bands for this year and will have invoices out by August 18th for renewal before September 1st. To add named seats, change a coordinator, or ask about your band, email [email protected] or call (907) 727-1076.
Welcome New Members!
AMBA has represented Alaska's mortgage industry since 1976. Membership is held by the company, and every person the company names gets a full seat: nine meetings a year - in person at a discount or virtual for free, a directory listing under their own name, committee eligibility including Legislative Affairs, and the Monday Morning News. Individual membership is available to professionals whose employer is not a member company. Email [email protected] or call (907) 727-1076.
New Job Posts
Hiring in Alaska
AMBA members get access to post directly on AMBA's website for new prospective candidates. Sign in to your member account today to post your latest position.
Currently Hiring:
Global Home Loans - MLO and Originator positions available across Alaska
First National Bank Alaska - Lending Support Supervisor and Mortgage Underwriter
Residential Mortgage - Receptionist in Soldotna and MLOs in Anchorage
