Biggest climbers in California in 2023, ranked by total volume. Powered by ChatMMI — the only fully conversational AI experience for mortgage and real estate data.
As of July 13, 2026, the top 3 include Wesley Denison (Vellum Mortgage, Inc., NMLS #1930896), Krista Watson (Masters Team Mortgage, NMLS #1402351), and Shane Stokes (Secure Choice Lending, NMLS #1606121).
Updated · Recorded mortgage transactions typically appear in this dataset approximately 22 days after the recording date.
| Rank | Loan officer | LO NMLS | Current Lender / Broker | Lender NMLS | Location | Rank Change | 2023 Volume | 2023 Loans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Wesley Denison | 1930896 | Vellum Mortgage, Inc. | 1657323 | Walnut Creek, CA | ▲ 9088 (#9479 → #391) | $51.8M | 82 |
| #2 | Krista Watson | 1402351 | Masters Team Mortgage | 265226 | Folsom, CA | ▲ 8886 (#9199 → #313) | $57.7M | 99 |
| #3 | Shane Stokes | 1606121 | Secure Choice Lending | 1689518 | Riverside, CA | ▲ 8579 (#9874 → #1295) | $27.3M | 46 |
| #4 | Barbara Holder | 1984282 | Orchard Mortgage, LLC | 1817479 | Austin, TX | ▲ 8349 (#9904 → #1555) | $24.2M | 39 |
| #5 | Yang Cui | 1776396 | AITON CAPITAL INC | 2471360 | Alhambra, CA | ▲ 8265 (#9844 → #1579) | $24.0M | 42 |
| #6 | Yunjing Zhou | 1782007 | EAST WEST BANK | 469761 | Fremont, CA | ▲ 8152 (#9615 → #1463) | $25.2M | 39 |
| #7 | Joel Maloney | 275663 | Lendwise Mortgage, Inc. | 2702455 | Woodland Hills, CA | ▲ 8141 (#9780 → #1639) | $23.5M | 13 |
| #8 | Jose Valenzuela | 455321 | Lifetime Home Loans, LLC | 1861406 | Midvale, UT | ▲ 7902 (#9760 → #1858) | $21.5M | 40 |
| #9 | Chao Wang | 1749975 | EAST WEST BANK | 469761 | — | ▲ 7837 (#9057 → #1220) | $28.3M | 21 |
| #10 | Jeff Olson | 335783 | Active Link, Inc. | 2387382 | Tustin, CA | ▲ 7717 (#9891 → #2174) | $19.3M | 36 |
| #11 | Steven Tavera | 220932 | Clear Mortgage Capital, Inc. | 1935005 | Irvine, CA | ▲ 7689 (#9150 → #1461) | $25.2M | 43 |
| #12 | Robert Little | 384813 | St. Fin Corp. | 1429 | Laguna Hills, CA | ▲ 7601 (#8998 → #1397) | $25.9M | 54 |
| #13 | Joshua Boswell | 84475 | U.S. Bank National Association | 402761 | Beverly Hills, CA | ▲ 7584 (#7919 → #335) | $55.8M | 32 |
| #14 | Amarjit Dhanowa | 455431 | PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company | 13649 | Turlock, CA | ▲ 7570 (#9979 → #2409) | $17.9M | 37 |
| #15 | Jose Fernandez | 457670 | VIALOS PARTNERS, INC. | 2286835 | Santa Clarita, CA | ▲ 7490 (#8822 → #1332) | $26.8M | 51 |
| #16 | Justin No | 2020141 | Better Mortgage Corporation | 330511 | Irvine, CA | ▲ 7420 (#9266 → #1846) | $21.6M | 35 |
| #17 | xing zhou | 1778356 | General Mortgage Capital Corporation | 254895 | City of Industry, CA | ▲ 7369 (#8667 → #1298) | $27.3M | 57 |
| #18 | Elle Nguyen | 519534 | Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | 399801 | San Leandro, CA | ▲ 7334 (#8987 → #1653) | $23.4M | 20 |
| #19 | Michael Dunham | 1576009 | Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association | 663185 | — | ▲ 7307 (#7952 → #645) | $41.0M | 17 |
| #20 | Scott Bird | 488358 | Lennar Mortgage, LLC | 1058 | — | ▲ 7282 (#8344 → #1062) | $30.8M | 39 |
| #21 | Oscar Ramos | 346936 | SUPER RATE LENDING | 39160 | Downey, CA | ▲ 7216 (#7612 → #396) | $51.5M | 102 |
| #22 | Karleen Stemler | 2278389 | Lennar Mortgage, LLC | 1058 | Fresno, CA | ▲ 7189 (#8359 → #1170) | $29.1M | 75 |
| #23 | Mark Bicknell | 2061565 | Finance of America Reverse LLC | 2285 | Irvine, CA | ▲ 7179 (#8860 → #1681) | $23.1M | 19 |
| #24 | Fleurdelis Tecson | 582911 | U.S. Bank National Association | 402761 | Earth City, MO | ▲ 7119 (#7925 → #806) | $35.6M | 48 |
| #25 | Anna Davila | 250943 | Citibank, NA | 412915 | O Fallon, MO | ▲ 7111 (#8579 → #1468) | $25.2M | 48 |
| #26 | MICHAEL HOUGHTON | 79855 | RE Mortgage Advisors, LLC | 2368909 | Los Gatos, CA | ▲ 7105 (#8863 → #1758) | $22.4M | 17 |
| #27 | Chad Levinger | 1110600 | Guaranteed Rate, Inc. | 2611 | Newport Beach, CA | ▲ 7067 (#8773 → #1706) | $22.9M | 46 |
| #28 | Antonio Braganza | 900511 | Apex Home Loans LLC | 2140181 | Glendale, CA | ▲ 7060 (#8213 → #1153) | $29.4M | 46 |
| #29 | Michael Guerra | 2332716 | Star One Credit Union | 456439 | Sunnyvale, CA | ▲ 7059 (#7133 → #74) | $105.0M | 302 |
| #30 | salatiel montoya | 938225 | Montoya & Associates Inc. | 1331762 | Tustin, CA | ▲ 7025 (#9662 → #2637) | $16.8M | 34 |
| #31 | Roy Hartwell | 2135578 | Acrisure Mortgage, LLC | 152859 | Victorville, CA | ▲ 7024 (#7927 → #903) | $33.6M | 77 |
| #32 | Nicole Schaefer | 868970 | RCU Services Group | 2789679 | Santa Rosa, CA | ▲ 7014 (#7288 → #274) | $60.4M | 69 |
| #33 | Ofir Yeyni | 2128416 | OPTION ONE LENDING, INC. | 1101290 | Sherman Oaks, CA | ▲ 7013 (#7345 → #332) | $56.1M | 73 |
| #34 | Walter Kosich | 248655 | Barrington Bank & Trust Company N.A. | 449042 | Newport Beach, CA | ▲ 6980 (#8654 → #1674) | $23.2M | 25 |
| #35 | Kimberly McCain | 667195 | Xpert Home Lending Inc. | 2179191 | Roseville, CA | ▲ 6965 (#9746 → #2781) | $16.2M | 39 |
| #36 | Ting He | 1700854 | Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | 399801 | San Mateo, CA | ▲ 6928 (#8380 → #1452) | $25.3M | 20 |
| #37 | Gregorio Letargo | 1825734 | Everett Financial, Inc. | 2129 | Walnut Creek, CA | ▲ 6896 (#9994 → #3098) | $14.8M | 30 |
| #38 | Melanie Pong | 485535 | KBHS Home Loans, LLC | 1542802 | Corona, CA | ▲ 6850 (#9597 → #2747) | $16.4M | 29 |
| #39 | Dayana Cervantes | 1642495 | Nu Level Realty, Inc. | 332463 | Burlingame, CA | ▲ 6826 (#9861 → #3035) | $15.0M | 30 |
| #40 | Luan Nguyen | 1704246 | NEXA Mortgage, LLC | 1660690 | San Diego, CA | ▲ 6814 (#8834 → #2020) | $20.2M | 35 |
| #41 | HILDA PAYES | 296938 | Golden Empire Mortgage, Inc. | 2427 | Bakersfield, CA | ▲ 6808 (#9839 → #3031) | $15.0M | 63 |
| #42 | Christine Shin | 280502 | Northwestern Capital, Inc. | 2132921 | Fullerton, CA | ▲ 6800 (#9299 → #2499) | $17.4M | 27 |
| #43 | SAMIT PABUWAL | 273807 | SKP INVESTMENTS INC. | 1906836 | Valencia, CA | ▲ 6783 (#9436 → #2653) | $16.7M | 23 |
| #44 | Daniel Waddell | 1965113 | CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC | 3029 | Palos Verdes Estates, CA | ▲ 6770 (#8795 → #2025) | $20.2M | 25 |
| #45 | Young Ho Yoo | 2277426 | HP Mortgage, LLC | 1456273 | Delray Beach, FL | ▲ 6769 (#8493 → #1724) | $22.8M | 39 |
| #46 | Ryan Axe | 1784924 | INDEPENDENCE HOME LOANS LLC | 2524174 | Scottsdale, AZ | ▲ 6762 (#9337 → #2575) | $17.1M | 100 |
| #47 | Yuqian Ta | 903630 | New American Funding, LLC | 6606 | Santa Ana, CA | ▲ 6741 (#9800 → #3059) | $14.9M | 13 |
| #48 | William Auyang | 488688 | KBHS Home Loans, LLC | 1542802 | Corona, CA | ▲ 6694 (#9451 → #2757) | $16.3M | 34 |
| #49 | David Pressly | 410130 | HSBC Bank USA National Association | 399799 | Irvine, CA | ▲ 6668 (#7187 → #519) | $45.4M | 24 |
| #50 | raquel saleh | 335355 | Premier Realty Group Inc. | 1756474 | Indio, CA | ▲ 6608 (#9076 → #2468) | $17.6M | 33 |
These rankings are powered by MMI's nationwide residential mortgage public record dataset. MMI collects mortgage transaction data from recording jurisdictions across the United States, with an average data latency of approximately 22 days from the recording date.
Transactions are matched to NMLS identifiers for loan officers, lenders, and brokers where applicable. MMI then deduplicates, normalizes, and validates this data to create an authoritative mortgage production dataset that powers MMI's analytics, recruiting, marketing, and intelligence products.
Rankings reflect recorded mortgage transactions available to MMI at the time of the last data refresh. Recent activity may continue to update as additional transactions are recorded and processed.
TopMortgageOriginators.com. Biggest Climbers by Volume — California (2023). Powered by MMI public record mortgage production data, accessed July 13, 2026. https://topmortgageoriginators.com/lo-leaderboard/california/top-climbers-by-volume/2023
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