Value in mortgage is not just about rate.

It is about trust.
It is about communication.
It is about execution.
It is about whether the inside of the company is strong enough to deliver what the outside is promising.

In this episode of The MikedUp Show, Michael Kelleher and Michael Zau sit down with Kevin Peranio, Chief Lending Officer and partner at PRMG, for a conversation about leadership, customer experience, accountability, and what it really means to lead with value in today’s mortgage market.

Kevin oversees all production at PRMG and works closely with both sales and operations. His leadership is centered on improving the full customer experience, from the first conversation to the final closing. That includes better reporting, stronger accountability, modern lending technology, consumer facing tools, and a clear connection between what happens behind the scenes and what the borrower actually feels.

As Kevin puts it, the inside drives the outside.

That idea sits at the center of this episode.

Mortgage companies often talk about better service, better technology, better communication, and better execution. But Kevin explains why none of that matters if the internal structure is weak. If sales and operations are disconnected, if reporting is unclear, if teams do not know where the file stands, or if leadership is not aligned, the borrower experience suffers.

Kevin brings the perspective of someone who has seen multiple eras of the mortgage industry.

His career began in 2001. He worked at First Magnus Financial across Texas and Florida, seeing firsthand how different markets behaved during a fast changing lending cycle. He later served as Chief Operating Officer at North Star Lending, helping build a local lender after the financial crisis by applying lessons learned from one of the most difficult periods in mortgage history.

Since joining PRMG in 2010, Kevin helped lead the Southeast Region to become the number one ranked region in the company, reaching that milestone in record time. That success helped make him one of the youngest partners at PRMG. He is also a four time President’s Cabinet member, an NMP Top 40 Under 40 honoree, a national speaker, and a respected industry voice through his Walk and Talk videos on LinkedIn and KP Talks Dollars and Sense on Instagram.

This conversation covers what value actually means in today’s market.

Not as a slogan.
Not as a sales pitch.
As a daily operating standard.

Kevin talks about the importance of overcommunication during difficult markets, why accountability has to exist at every layer of the process, and how leaders can use reporting and technology to create clarity instead of noise.

The episode also looks back at the industry’s past. Kevin reflects on the expansion of the credit box in the mid 2000s, the rise of independent mortgage bankers, the lessons of the global financial crisis, and why responsible lending still matters today.

For loan officers, this episode is a reminder that value is not created by talking louder than the competition. It is created by knowing the product, communicating clearly, solving problems quickly, and making the borrower feel guided through one of the biggest financial decisions of their life.

For leaders, it is a reminder that culture shows up in the file.

If the team is aligned, the customer feels it.

If the team is not aligned, the customer feels that too.

Watch and listen to the full episode of The MikedUp Show.

Visit us at https://www.mikedupshow.com

Follow Adopt The Brand on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/adopt-the-brand

Truework
Truework helps mortgage teams verify income and employment faster. It reduc...

Some leaders are prepared for the role before the title arrives.

In this episode of The MikedUp Show, Michael Kelleher and Michael Zau sit down with LaTasha Waddy, President of NFM Lending, for a conversation about leadership, timing, responsibility, and what it takes to guide a major mortgage organization through a changing market.

LaTasha brings more than two decades of experience across legal affairs, corporate finance, contract management, regulatory compliance, and executive leadership. Before becoming President of NFM Lending, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, overseeing legal, compliance, and regulatory matters across the NFM Family of Lenders.

That background matters.

In a mortgage market where growth, risk, compliance, culture, and customer trust all collide at once, LaTasha brings a leadership style built on clarity, preparation, and accountability. She understands the pressure of the current moment because she has spent her career helping companies make better decisions when the stakes are high.

This episode is about what it means to be built for the moment.

Not just when the market is easy.

Not just when volume is high.

But when leadership requires discipline, patience, purpose, and the ability to bring people with you.

LaTasha shares how her legal and corporate finance background shaped the way she leads today, how strong governance can support growth instead of slowing it down, and why responsible innovation matters in mortgage banking. She also discusses the importance of building teams that understand both the business and the people behind the business.

A major part of the conversation centers on impact.

LaTasha has been a key voice in advancing NFM Lending’s mission to create more responsible and accessible paths to homeownership. Her work helped support the launch of NFM’s Special Purpose Credit initiative, designed to help remove barriers to homeownership and expand opportunities for generational wealth in underserved communities.

Her leadership was recently recognized by HousingWire, naming her one of the 2025 Women of Influence. But this conversation goes beyond recognition. It focuses on the work behind the award, the responsibility that comes with leadership, and the importance of using influence to create real change.

LaTasha also brings a personal passion for financial literacy. As the author of a children’s book series focused on normalizing conversations about money, she believes financial education should start early and should feel accessible to every family.

This episode is for mortgage leaders, loan officers, executives, operations teams, compliance professionals, and anyone thinking seriously about the future of housing.

Because the next chapter of mortgage will require leaders who understand more than production.

It will require leaders who understand people, risk, responsibility, community, and long term impact.

LaTasha Waddy is one of those leaders.

Watch and listen to the full episode of The MikedUp Show.

Visit us at https://www.mikedupshow.com

Follow Adopt The Brand on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/adopt-the-brand

Truework
Truework helps mortgage teams verify income and employment faster. It reduces the back and forth that slows files down and gives lenders a cleaner way to move borrowers through the process.
https://www.truework.com/

FundingShield
FundingShield helps protect mortgage closings from wire fraud, payoff fraud, and transaction risk. It gives lenders real time checks before money moves.
https...

Not everything with automation is AI.

And not every “AI tool” is actually changing the business.

In this episode of The MikedUp Show, Michael Kelleher and Michael Zau sit down with Quinton Harris, Chief Growth and Strategy Officer at Texana Bank Mortgage, for a straight conversation about what mortgage leaders are getting right and wrong when it comes to AI, growth, and strategy.

Quinton brings more than two decades of mortgage experience to the table. Since entering the business in 2002, he has built and led high performing teams, mentored more than 200 loan officers, and helped drive over $6 billion in purchase and refinance production. His previous team ranked as the top branch company wide for ten straight years and held the number one market share in Northeast Florida from 2020 to 2024.

That kind of growth does not happen by chasing trends.

It happens by knowing what actually moves the business.

This episode gets into one of the biggest problems in mortgage right now. Everyone is talking about AI, but too many people are using the term for anything that feels new, automated, or slightly faster than before.

Quinton breaks down why leaders need to stop labeling everything AI and start asking better questions.

What problem are we solving?

Is this helping the loan officer?

Is this improving the borrower experience?

Is this creating more trust, more speed, or more clarity?

Or is it just another tool that sounds impressive but does not change the outcome?

The conversation also covers what it means to lead growth inside a modern mortgage company. Quinton shares lessons from building dominant local market share, developing loan officers, staying connected to customers, and turning strategy into execution. As one of the first 100 Certified Mortgage Advisors in the country and host of the podcast What’s Your 1 More, Quinton brings a practical view of leadership that is rooted in discipline, communication, and doing the next right thing consistently.

This episode is for mortgage executives, branch leaders, loan officers, marketers, and technology teams who are tired of buzzwords and want a clearer way to think about what actually matters.

AI may be part of the future.

But clarity, leadership, and execution still win.

Watch and listen to the full episode of The MikedUp Show.

Visit us at https://www.mikedupshow.com

Follow Adopt The Brand on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/adopt-the-brand

Truework
Truework helps mortgage teams verify income and employment faster. It reduces the back and forth that slows files down and gives lenders a cleaner way to move borrowers through the process.
https://www.truework.com/

FundingShield
FundingShield helps protect mortgage closings from wire fraud, payoff fraud, and transaction risk. It gives lenders real time checks before money moves.
https://www.fundingshield.com/

Addy AI
Addy AI helps mortgage teams handle repetitive work, respond faster, and keep borrower communication moving. It gives teams practical AI tools built around real lending tasks.
https://addy.com/

TRUE
TRUE helps mortgage companies use AI to clean up loan files, reduce manual work, and improve speed across operations. It is built for lenders that need better execution without adding more complexity.
https://true.ai/

Covered Insurance
Covered Insurance helps make insurance easier for borrowers, lenders, and real estate partn...