Leading Lending Through Culture and Vision ft. Kevin Peranio

Hello to another information-packed session of The MikedUp Show! As most of you know, we pride ourselves on uncovering the strategies, stumbles, and sparks that fuel today’s mortgage innovators. In our conversation with Kevin Peranio , Chief Lending Officer at PRMG, we peeled back the layers of leadership, culture, and technology that have shaped one of the industry’s most forward-thinking lenders.

Kevin’s story isn’t just about growth - it’s about grit. From surviving the post-crisis chaos of the early 2010s to scaling a multibillion-dollar enterprise built on trust, transparency, and teamwork, his work at PRMG stands as a living case study in how originator-led leadership can thrive in any market.

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BUILT BY ORIGINATORS FOR ORIGINATORS

When Kevin talks about PRMG, you can hear the pride in his voice. This isn’t a lender driven by spreadsheets or stock prices: it’s a company built by people who know what it feels like to sit across the table from a borrower. “We’re built by originators, for originators,” Kevin said. “Even after 24 years, our founders are still in the weeds. They know what our people face every day.” That phrase isn’t just a tagline. It’s a leadership philosophy that has shaped PRMG’s success across multiple channels. I SSUE 53 Kevin acknowledges the challenge of being a true multi-channel lender, but he embraces it as a competitive strength. PRMG refuses to play favorites. Instead, they take what he calls a ‘Switzerland mindset.’ “I like being Switzerland because I want to serve everyone,” he said. “Each channel has its own personality, and we’ve learned to respect that instead of forcing them to compete.” It’s a perspective that more leaders could adopt, one rooted in abundance, not scarcity. Instead of fighting over market share, PRMG’s culture champions collaboration and empowerment across every business line. This level of flexibility mindset is not only how strong organizations are built from the foundations up - it’s also the kind of mindset that sustains a business through whatever the market brings next.

BEYOND THE BUZZ: USING A.I. TO COLLABORATE AND EMPOWER

Few topics spark as much buzz in the mortgage industry today as artificial intelligence. But Kevin approaches the subject with a level-headed, ethical mindset: AI is here to help humans work better: not eliminate them. At PRMG, the focus isn’t on automation for cost-cutting’s sake. It’s on improving performance and scalability responsibly. “I’m not in a hurry to save $5,000 per P&L,” Kevin said. “I’m in a hurry to create $50,000 more in revenue per month per P&L by using AI voice to drive business.

That single statement captures positive and proactive corporate responsibility in a nutshell - technology should serve people, not the other way around. Kevin shared how PRMG prioritizes AI voice technology first, enabling sales teams to build stronger borrower relationships and generate more opportunities before layering in AI tools to streamline processing. This sequencing ensures that innovation enhances human potential rather than replacing it. Using tech in this way belies a deeply personal and practical innovative spirit, one that bridges humanity and technology in exactly the way the mortgage industry needs right now.

7:35 - 8:05 -- "You have people in the broker channel saying, "How could you ever work for an independent mortgage banker?" I'm my own boss. I got my own thing. I have my own op. I get to be like Switzerland. And I like being Switzerland because I like to be a servant to anyone and all their needs. I just sit back and internally laugh when people get downright mean about other channels. I'm like, "Really? Just go build your business, dude. Do your thing.""

Truework is the only all-in-one, automated VOIE platform that fully replaces costly in-house verification waterfalls by orchestrating all major verification methods within a single platform. With an industry-leading 75% completion rate, we have helped mortgage providers achieve up to 50% cost savings on their verification process, resulting in multi-million dollar savings. Looking to save on verification costs while improving borrower experience and pull-through? Let’s talk.

FRAUD, TRUST, & TECH: THE RISK MANAGEMENT BATTLEGROUND

In an industry built on risk, Kevin doesn’t mince words about one of the biggest threats lenders face: fraud. He shared a story that hit hard: a single broker shop in Oklahoma that sent PRMG twelve straw-buyer loans, resulting in millions in losses. “That’s the most fraud we’ve seen in six years,” he said. “And the worst part? The enforcement side barely blinked.” Kevin’s frustration is palpable - not at regulation itself, but at its misdirection: “If you want to protect consumers, go after the bad actors.” The solution may lie not just in policy but in technology. PRMG and its peers are leveraging AI-powered quality control tools and fraud detection systems to identify patterns that humans can’t see. The goal isn’t just compliance; it’s prevention. By combining tech with moral clarity, lenders can build a culture where risk management isn’t about fear: it’s about trust

9:19 - 9:42 -- "There's something to be said about scale that you simply cannot replicate in every channel or every lender. They are all great in their own way. I just don't like to sit here and say that one is better than the other...It's just great to have someone that has your back. PRMG has your back in all three channels, that's for sure."

Polly didn't just set a new bar in product and pricing technology; they've redefined it. Purpose-built in the cloud and for the cloud, its enterprise-grade solutions include the industry's only cloud-native, commercially scalable product, pricing, and eligibility (PPE) engine and first-of-its-kind Polly/™ AI platform. Through best-in-class innovation that enables unlimited configurability, flexibility, granularity, and scalability, Polly empowers the nation's top banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders to increase profitability, automate workflows, and revolutionize the loan officer and broker experiences. To learn more, follow Polly on LinkedIn or visit polly.io.

THRIVING IN A “FOURTH LAST BEST CHANCE TO BUY” MARKET

Every market cycle produces its own catchphrase, and Kevin’s is one for the books. “This is your fourth last best good chance to buy a home,” he laughed. “I said it in 2022, again in 2023, and again in 2024. And it’s still true in 2025.” Beneath the humor lies a serious insight about borrower psychology and market opportunity. After years of volatility, rates have begun to stabilize, and with that stability comes renewed consumer confidence. Kevin believes that sustained lower rates - even without dramatic Fed cuts - will unlock pent-up demand in the housing market. As he explained, “When borrowers see rates stop jumping around, they start planning again. That’s when the conversations get real.” He also pointed out the enduring reality of housing undersupply. For originators, this means the coming year represents a psychological opening as much as an economic one. The key is to help borrowers see that opportunity clearly: to be proactive, educational, and ready when they finally say, “Let’s do this.” That’s where the human side of the business becomes more important than ever.

Floify the mortgage industry’s leading point-of-sale solution, introduces Dynamic Apps, a no-code feature that customizes loan applications based on loan type, eliminating irrelevant questions and streamlining the borrower experience. By automatically adjusting application fields based on loan purpose—whether purchase, refinance, HELOC, or construction—Dynamic Apps helps lenders accelerate approvals, improve application completion rates, and maintain compliance.

Visit Floify.com to learn more or reach out to Jason Mapes and tell him "the Mikes" sent you.

10:32 - 10:59 -- "As far as technology goes, I will say that if you're a smaller shop, it's hard to have the money to set aside to develop. And to be quite honest, enterprise-level technology is not offered to brokers. It's just not. So you have to rely on your lender to invest in technology to give to you as a smaller broker shop."

Full episode

To hear more lively discussions and special guest insights in the realm of mortgages and real estate, check out TheMikedUp Show with Mike Kelleher and Michael Zau, every Thursday at 2pmET!

THE ABOVE IS A SUMMARY OF INSIGHTS & ANECDOTES TAKEN FROM AN HOUR-LONG PODCAST EPISODE OF THEMIKEDUP SHOW. MIKE & MIKE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO PARAPHRASE WHEREVER NECESSARY.