Think Mortgage Improves Profitability by 28.5 BPS Through Hedging & Mandatory Delivery with MCT

MCT recently sat down with Anthony Focca, President and Founder of Think Mortgage, based in Staten Island, New York.

In this case study, Anthony shares how Think Mortgage transformed its secondary marketing operation by partnering with MCT, starting with a managed lock desk and progressing to full pipeline hedging with mandatory delivery, then agency approvals with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and disciplined assignment of trade (AOT) execution.

Within just over a year, Think Mortgage realized a 20 BPS lift over best efforts and over 8.5 BPS in cumulative AOT savings.

Summary of Think Mortgage’s Top Takeaways

Since Anthony Focca led Think Mortgage’s migration to a managed lock desk and mandatory delivery with MCT, the company has achieved measurable gains across every area of its secondary marketing operation.

By building a structured, relationship-first partnership and progressively expanding its capabilities, Think Mortgage has improved profitability, reduced manual execution work, and earned access to investors and execution channels that were previously out of reach.

From Manual Best Efforts to Scalable Mandatory Delivery

Before partnering with MCT, Think Mortgage sold loans on a best efforts basis through a manual, labor-intensive process. The team had the ambition to grow its secondary operations but lacked the trading infrastructure, institutional knowledge, and technology to make a shift.

Through structured onboarding, dedicated trading support, and ongoing education, MCT helped Think Mortgage participate in the secondary mortgage market with mandatory delivery. For Anthony, the partnership represented a complete reorientation of how Think Mortgage approaches loan sales, execution strategy, and investor relationships.

• Lock Desk – Professional lock desk management services that increase productivity, improve data integrity, for full control over lock management. Effectively outsource some or all of your centralized lock desk functions to MCT’s established team of secondary market analysts. The variable pricing model allows you to select from a menu of customizable service levels and only pay for the services you need to grow volume without the hassle of recruiting and training staff.
• Hedge Advisory with MCTlive! – A comprehensive capital markets platform for day-to-day loan pipeline management, trade positions management, and loan-sale best execution. MCTlive! automates repetitive tasks and frees your time for other high-value functions.
• MCT Marketplace – The world’s first truly open mortgage loan exchange, where buyers can bid regardless of approval status, and sellers receive automated live pricing from every buyer on the platform. MCT Marketplace connects buyers and sellers in a unique, digital auction regardless of counterparty approval status. Through patented technology, sellers have access to the most robust set of take-outs, while buyers are seamlessly connected to the largest community of sellers in the U.S.
• Lender Analytics – Mortgage pipeline and loan sale data providing business intelligence for mortgage competitive analysis.

Starting Small, Scaling Fast: A Lock Desk-First Strategy

Think Mortgage’s onboarding followed a deliberate, step-by-step approach. The team started with MCT’s Lock Desk service roughly two years ago, with the goal of building the relationship and operational foundation before moving into hedging.

MCT’s team helped Think Mortgage build its lock desk policies and procedures from the ground up. After running the lock desk for approximately one year with strong results, Think Mortgage was ready to expand. The team reached back out to MCT and initiated the transition to pipeline hedging with mandatory delivery, with a 30-day preparation period to configure the technology stack and align systems.

Cara Krause, VP of Regional Sales at MCT, and Joe Ellis, Trader at MCT, provided clear answers and fast response times throughout the ramp-up. Monthly check-in calls remain a regular part of the relationship today.

With MCT, Think Mortgage gained:

• Full agency approval from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with both agencies participating in nearly every loan sale
• Reduced time spent on loan sales through bulk trading with a concentrated investor set
• Team bandwidth freed for higher-value activities through platform-driven automation and MCT trader support

Expanding Access with Agency Approvals, AOT Savings, and Better Pricing

Two developments have materially changed Think Mortgage’s outcomes since partnering with MCT: agency approval with both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and consistent AOT execution.

They earned agency approval with both GSEs in Q4 2025. MCT’s trading team recognized the opportunity early, demonstrating that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac routinely offered some of the highest bids on loans Think Mortgage could not yet sell to them.

The approval process required a meaningful investment of time and resources, but the payoff was immediate. Both agencies now participate in nearly every loan sale.

Think Mortgage is assigning 48% of its trades alongside loan sales in 2026, generating average savings of 8.5 basis points on the bid-ask spread and over $33,000 in cumulative savings. MCT’s trading team manages the complexity of tri-party agreements and handles identification and execution of these opportunities as part of the standard workflow, with minimal lift required from Think Mortgage’s internal team.

Liquidity growth is the next priority. Think Mortgage is targeting net worth expansion to qualify for additional investors.

Full Interview: Think Mortgage

What MCT solutions is Think Mortgage currently using?

We’re currently using MCT’s lock desk, and hedge advisory, and both have been amazing. We’re also using Lender Analytics and MCT Marketplace for our loan sales.

Describe Think Mortgage’s secondary marketing workflow prior to moving to mandatory with MCT.

Prior to mandatory, we were selling best efforts. It was a very manual process. MCT has been an amazing partner for us. They introduced us to an entire part of the secondary market that we were not aware of. Without their training and guidance, we probably would not be able to do what we do today. We’d definitely recommend other folks use MCT, especially when they’re just getting started in this part of the business.

What were the limitations around execution and pricing visibility before partnering with MCT?

We had lots of limitations when we first started looking into the secondary marketing space.

We didn’t have the technology, knowledge, or personnel to make it happen. Through our partnership with MCT, we’re now successfully running a lock desk and selling mandatory on the secondary market. We’re seeing a huge pickup, and it’s really thanks to our partnership with MCT.

Did Think Mortgage consider other vendors when evaluating a secondary marketing partner?

We actually didn’t consider any other vendors before MCT. MCT’s reputation speaks for itself, you’re the industry leader. Everyone I spoke to told me I should use MCT.

And once we brought MCT on as a vendor, when investors we worked with questioned who was running our secondary team and we told them it was MCT, we immediately got a green light.

Walk us through your onboarding experience. What surprised you most, and where did MCT’s team make the biggest difference?

Onboarding was a step-by-step process. We started with MCT about two years ago with lock desk management. Our mentality was to walk before we run.

Natalie Arshakian, who runs the lock desk for our team, has been amazing. She helped us build the lock desk, helped us build the policies and procedures, and the first year we executed that process, it was very successful. We could tell immediately that MCT was very organized and very structured and you were going to be a great partner.

After about a year, we reached back out to move into the secondary piece and begin hedging. There was about a 30-day prep to get everything lined up, and once that happened, we hit the ground running.

Cara Krause, our VP of Regional Sales, and Joe Ellis, our trader, have been amazing. They’re very responsive, they answer all our questions, and they’re willing to teach our team what we need to do. This part of the business was completely new to me. I’ve been in the mortgage business for 21 years, but I’d never been on the secondary side. MCT held our hand throughout the entire process.

How would you describe the training and education MCT provides?

The education that MCT provides to all of its customers has been a game changer for us. There were many onboarding calls, and we’re still doing team calls every single month to check in on the process.

MCT provided us with presentations and materials on how the platform connects from our system to MCT’s system, and we were able to have our tech team build that out. Everything MCT has done has been very structured and very successful in getting our team into the secondary market.

Since transitioning to mandatory, Think Mortgage has realized a 20 BPS profitability increase over best efforts. How did MCT support that transition?

The transition from best efforts to mandatory is probably a very scary transition for any company to consider for the first time. My recommendation is just jump in with both feet. We knew there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and we knew MCT was going to get us there. MCT did all of the heavy lifting and walked us through exactly what needed to happen for the onboarding and for the initial loan sales.

The workflow is amazing, and the responses we get from phone calls and emails, along with the trainings, have been superb.

20 basis points in our production is essentially free money for us. We didn’t have to do any additional work. To pick up 20 basis points on an entire company’s production is a huge win.

Think Mortgage is assigning 48% of trades this year, generating average savings of 8.5 BPS on the bid-ask spread and over $33,000 in cumulative savings. How has MCT’s trading team supported those opportunities?

The folks at MCT, especially our trader Joe Ellis, work very closely with our post-closing team to make sure that when we do have to move a file from one investor to another, they’re assigning those trades.

Because MCT is able to assign the trades that are committed to a location where the loan can no longer go, there are savings we’re able to realize as a company. It’s reducing expenses and ultimately getting us to a higher net profit margin.

In Q4 2025, Think Mortgage achieved agency approval with both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and began selling released to each. What role did MCT play in that approval process?

Think Mortgage is now fully approved with both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and a big part of that approval is due to MCT.

With a little bit of nudging from the folks at MCT, we began the application process for both. It’s a lengthy process, but time and money well spent. Now that we’re approved with both, we can sell to them and they’re paying higher premiums.

They’re now involved in almost every one of our sales.

We wouldn’t have recognized the long-term revenue opportunity we were missing without MCT highlighting the value we were leaving on the table by lacking agency approval. That insight prompted us to act immediately instead of waiting another year or two.

How has MCT’s Lender Analytics influenced your execution decisions and visibility into performance?

The software and technology that MCT provides, like Lender Analytics, is definitely giving us an eye-opening experience into the secondary market that we would not have as an independent mortgage banker without their assistance.

The technology and support we’re getting from the MCT team is helping us move in the right direction: increasing profitability, shortening the time we spend on loan sales, and ultimately getting a higher net profit because of the data MCT is compiling and sharing with us through the Lender Analytics platform.

What time savings has Think Mortgage realized since moving to mandatory with MCT?

Most of our loans are being sold to a smaller pool of investors each week, rather than a wider swath of folks who are not paying premiums as a result of MCT’s recommendations. My team is seeing time savings because we’re selling in bulk, and additional savings because of the technology MCT is sharing with us. It makes the loan sales go much quicker.

We let MCT know we’re prepped and ready, your team goes in and executes all the trades, and my team immediately goes to work to get those loans sold. It’s a team effort, but the ability for Think Mortgage to grow in this arena is really coming from the strength of MCT.

Looking back just over a year after selecting MCT and moving to mandatory delivery, what has been the most meaningful operational or strategic benefit?

The move from best efforts to mandatory was an important piece for us. We realized we were leaving a lot of revenue on the table, and it’s given us an opportunity to grow as a company. We’re reinvesting into technology that’s making us more efficient with the additional revenue we’re receiving. We’re working faster, we’re working smarter, we’re making more sales.

It’s truly a lifecycle process, and a lot of that is thanks to the team at MCT.

If you were told you could no longer use MCT’s platform and services, what would your reaction be?

We’d be very upset if we could no longer partner with MCT. MCT is one of our most valued partners. The company is well-run, extremely structured and organized, and it’s customer service driven.

Anytime I have a problem, whether it’s the lock desk or hedging or anything else, I shoot an email and I get an immediate response. I make a phone call, I get a call back. If MCT were to go away, we’d probably have to start from scratch to get back into the secondary market.

Conclusion: Technology, Education, and Partnership That Drive Results

By partnering with MCT, Think Mortgage successfully transitioned to mandatory loan sale delivery and built a secondary marketing operation capable of sustained execution improvement. The combination of lock desk, MCTlive!, hands-on trader support, and Lender Analytics gave Anthony’s team the tools, education, and confidence to compete at a level that was previously out of reach.

Ready to achieve similar results? Schedule a demo to see how the same technology and team support used by Think Mortgage can help your organization transition to mandatory delivery, expand your investor set, and drive measurable gains in profitability.

Learn More:

• Introduction to Mandatory Loan Sale Delivery
• Assignment of Trade (AOT) Executions 101
• Lock Desk Centralization 101
• Reviewing and Optimizing Your Investor Set