Steve Smith Named One of HousingWire's 2026 Vanguards
Movement Mortgage President and Chief Financial Officer Steve Smith has been named one of HousingWire’s 2026 Vanguards, an annual honor recognizing 100 executives whose leadership and impact are helping shape the future of the housing industry.
As President and CFO, Smith oversees Movement’s sales, operations, finance, servicing and corporate functions, bringing more than 30 years of mortgage industry experience to a role that touches nearly every part of the business.
Since taking the helm in late 2024, Steve has helped Movement navigate a rapidly changing mortgage market while positioning the company for growth. His focus on pricing competitiveness, operational efficiency and financial discipline helped Movement build momentum in a challenging environment and strengthen the foundation for what comes next.
That work has included finding new ways to turn Movement’s financial strength into advantages for its loan officers and borrowers. In 2025, Movement took advantage of strong investor demand for mortgage servicing rights to improve execution and sharpen pricing, including a 0.375 price improvement on most FHA and VA purchase loans over $200,000.
At the same time, Steve has helped bring greater alignment across Movement’s sales, operations and corporate teams around a clear objective: give loan officers what they need to compete, grow and serve more families.
This isn’t Steve’s first Vanguard recognition. HousingWire also named him a Vanguard in 2017 while he served as Chief Financial Officer of Stearns Lending. Nearly a decade later, the common thread remains the same: an ability to see where the business needs to go, make the hard decisions required to get there and build an organization positioned to win.
