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Jesse Allen on executing Rate’s reverse mortgage strategic blueprint

When Jesse Allen arrived at Rate in late 2024 to lead its reverse mortgage division, he was immediately tasked with continuing the growth trajectory for the Chicago-based mortgage lending giant. Rate has long been a leading forward mortgage lender, ranking No. 9 nationally in 2025 with $45.6 billion in volume, according to Inside Mortgage Finance….

The mortgage industry optimized for affordability. It ignored capital efficiency.

For decades, mortgage lending has been built around a single objective: to make homeownership affordable. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage became the dominant structure because it lowers monthly payments, expands borrower eligibility, and fits cleanly into underwriting frameworks built around debt-to-income ratios. It works—and it worked at scale. But in optimizing for affordability, the industry made…