Mortgage lenders are seeing loan defects stabilize after several volatile years, but shifts in interest rates and loan volumes continue to expose weaknesses in quality control (QC), according to ACES Quality Management CEO Trevor Gauthier and chief operating officer Phil McCall.

In an interview with HousingWire, Gauthier and McCall highlighted staffing cuts, refinance surges and uneven technology adoption as reasons for high loan buyback risks, and they encouraged lenders to focus on earlier, more proactive quality checks as they head into 2026.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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