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Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), weighed in this week on recent moves by President Donald Trump and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte involving the Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Ishbia’s remarks, shared in a video released Tuesday, follow Trump’s Aug. 25 attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, which prompted Cook to file a lawsuit against the president. Trump tried to fire her for cause based on Pulte’s two criminal referrals against Cook, alleging she misrepresented the occupancy status of homes in Massachusetts, Michigan and Georgia.
“Director Bill Pulte of FHFA alleged that she committed mortgage fraud by saying she had a primary residence in two different locations, which we all know in the industry is a big no-no, and is actually mortgage fraud,” Ishbia said. “Director Pulte and President Trump are actually pushing and saying: ‘I’m trying to be a leader, we can’t have that type of person in there.’”
At the same time, Trump has been pressuring the Fed to cut interest rates, even interviewing possible successors to Chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May 2026.
“We need rates lower across the board, and that opportunity is going to be there not because of Lisa Cook being there or not. But the truth is, it’s there because the data supports it,” Ishbia said.
“President Trump is putting a lot of pressure on Jerome Powell to actually lower rates based on inflation, but also based on employment and what’s best for America,” he added. “Now, Jerome Powell is independent. Does he have to do it? No, but everyone thinks he can lower rates by 25 basis points in September.”
The CME Group‘s FedWatch tool shows that 96% of market watchers expect a 25-bps cut following the conclusion of the Fed’s meeting on Sept. 17. While benchmark rates aren’t directly tied to mortgage-backed securities, Ishbia said a cut would be “a great marketing piece for all of us in the industry.” He added that refinances are already active, with volume up 66% in the first half of 2025 compared to the prior year.
CFPB’s uncertain future
Ishbia also addressed the CFPB’s future, noting that it “might continue to shrink” under Trump. On Aug. 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit cleared the administration’s plan to cut 90% of the bureau’s workforce, trimming the staff from 1,700 to roughly 200.
“The CFPB will be much more diminished, if you think about it that way, going forward under President Trump,” Ishbia said. “The CFPB probably will not be focused on as many things as it has been in the past. However, in three years with the new administration, it will still come back to these loans going on today. Would I change different things? Would I be more loose? No, I continue to act the way it’s been acting.”
He added that mortgage companies will face “a little less pressure” from the agency in the short term, but he cautioned against relaxing compliance standards.
“The CFPB has maybe defanged a little bit, as people may say. They’re being dismantled a little bit, but the truth is, it’s still doing the right thing for consumers,” he added.
