Rate welcomes Jason Stenger to executive leadership

Residential mortgage and services provider Rate is rolling out the welcome mat for mortgage industry veteran Jason Stenger, appointing him to chief production officer. 

Stenger moves over to Chicago-based Rate from Movement Mortgage, where he most recently held the title of chief operations officer, a role he served in for over three years. Lyra Waggoner has replaced him in that role. During his tenure, Stenger helped scale production at Movement, leading to more than $200 million in volume in the last decade with over half coming in the past five years.

"He is a strategic addition to our already world-class production team who greatly reinforces what makes Rate different: a relentless focus on empowering our loan officers through technology and support," said Rate CEO Victor Ciardelli in a press release. 

In his new position, Stenger will lead production strategy and support originators with an eye on scaling growth for the company once known as Guaranteed Rate. Stenger will be responsible for Rate's retail platform, overseeing improvements to existing proprietary technology and the use of artificial intelligence in underwriting. He will also lead development and enhancements of existing products and programs belonging to the company, including its digital application, same-day mortgage closings and the PowerVP platform that assists loan officers. 

"Jason's experience and mindset will make an immediate impact at Rate. He has a mindset grounded in positivity and a genuine belief and commitment in helping people reach their full potential," Ciardelli added.

Before joining Movement over a decade ago, Stenger also served in mortgage leadership at Bank of America Home Loans. 

Other recent Rate moves

The addition of Stenger comes after Rate announced other new personnel moves, with several loan officers joining this year, including some who returned to the company after previously leaving for other lenders. The company currently operates more than 850 branches in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

Among the new or returning faces at Rate since May were Mike Buffler, tapped to serve high-net-worth clients in sports and entertainment industries from his base near Nashville, Tennessee. 

Returning to the company this summer to serve Chicago-area and Las Vegas communities, respectively, were Brad Rasof and Jia Mei Wang. 

Last month, the company also named industry veteran Ryan Proffitt as producing area manager in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to his role with Rate, Proffitt is also the incoming president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Northeast Florida. 

As the company looks to further expand and tap into underserved communities around the country, the lender unveiled a new Spanish-language mobile app in mid September aimed at enhancing services already offered through its language-access program.  

Rate originated $24.7 billion in loan volume in 2024, according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.