Shant Banosian Crowned Top Mortgage Officer for 2026

If there were a Hall of Fame for Scotsman Guide Top Originators, Shant Banosian of Rate would undoubtedly be a first-ballot inductee. Repeating his impressive performance from the previous year, Banosian closed over $1 billion in loan volume in 2025, securing the top spot in the 2026 Top Originators rankings. This marks the sixth time since 2018 that the Waltham, Massachusetts-based mortgage officer has achieved this prestigious position.

Like the vast majority of top performers this year, Banosian’s success was driven by purchase loans, accounting for 77% of his closings, compared to 19% refinances and 4% second mortgages. In 2024, Mark Cohen of Cohen Financial Group in California held the top position, but Banosian narrowly edged him out this year.

The Competition Heats Up

While Banosian closed an impressive $1.04 billion in loans, Cohen followed closely behind with 692 loans totaling $933.7 million (63% purchases and 37% refinances). In terms of the sheer number of closed loans, Banosian led with 1,561, surpassing second-place finisher Jeffrey Miller from Truss Financial Group in California by 210 closings.

Seven mortgage officers finished the year with over 1,000 loans closed. Ben Cohen of Rate secured third place with $718.3 million on 1,050 closings, closely followed by Jarret Coleman of U.S. Bank in Connecticut, who generated $711.2 million on 683 loans. Brian Minkow of CMG Home Loans in California rounded out the top five with $502.3 million on 403 closings.

Top 10 Performers – Dollar Volume

• Andrew Marquis of CrossCountry Mortgage ($501 million, 690 closed loans)
• Baret Kechian of loanDepot ($482.3 million, 708 closed loans)
• Jeffrey Miller of Truss Financial Group ($474.1 million, 1,351 closed loans)
• Ameer Katifi of Trusted Mortgage Capital ($445.4 million, 1,118 closed loans)
• Matt Weaver of CrossCountry ($427.6 million, 1,224 closed loans)

Record-Breaking Year for Mortgage Origination

The originators who qualified for this year’s rankings collectively produced an impressive $324 billion in 2025, closing 795,000 loans. This represents a significant increase from the $254 billion originated in 2024 on 645,000 closings. The top 150 mortgage officers closed $36.3 billion in loans, totaling 58,920 closings, with an average of 66% purchase loans, 29% refinances, and 4% second mortgages.

Introducing Top Private Originators

For the first time, Scotsman Guide is recognizing the achievements of Top Private Originators. A total of $5.3 billion was originated, with 12,106 loans closed among 54 entrants. Paul Shaughnessy of Renovo Financial in Massachusetts led this category with $354.8 million from 549 closed loans. He was followed by Israel Lopez of Vontive/Certain Lending in Washington ($230.9 million, 271 loans), Matt Ferrigno of RCN Capital in Connecticut ($216.1 million, 852 loans – the most in the category), and Aubrey Kozer of HouseMax Funding in Texas ($207.4 million, 546 loans).

Non-QM Volume Leaders

Mark Cohen dominated the Top Non-QM Volume category, closing 262 non-qualified mortgage loans worth $417.1 million. Jeffrey Miller, who finished second overall in closings, led in non-QM closings with 569 for a total of $325.9 million. Dustin Rosenberg of Convoy Home Loans in California focused exclusively on the non-QM segment, closing 460 loans for $312.7 million.

Congratulations to all the high-achieving mortgage officers!

Eric Souza is editor of Scotsman Guide magazine.

Scotsman Guide is a leading resource for mortgage professionals.