Better Home & Finance Holding Company Appoints Hugh Frater, Former Fannie Mae CEO and BlackRock Founding Partner, to Board of Directors
Veteran investor and housing finance leader brings deep capital markets and mortgage experience to support Better's next phase of AI-driven growth through Tinman® AI Platform
Better Home & Finance Holding Company (NASDAQ:BETR) ("Better," the "Company," "we" or "our"), the leading AI-powered homeownership company, today announced that Hugh Frater, a founding partner and former managing director of BlackRock and former CEO of Fannie Mae, has been appointed to its Board of Directors, effective March 23, 2026. Frater brings decades of experience across capital markets, housing finance, and corporate leadership to help guide Better's long-term strategy as it scales the Tinman AI Platform.
"Hugh has helped shape the modern housing finance system from the ground up. He's exactly the kind of leader you want in the room when you're rebuilding housing finance," said Vishal Garg, CEO and Founder of Better. "From helping build BlackRock as a founding partner to growing Berkadia into a leading agency lending an investment sales platform to leading Fannie Mae through one of the most complex periods in mortgage history, he brings a level of perspective that very few people have. As we use AI to make the mortgage experience, faster, easier, and cheaper for Americans through Better's AI-native Tinman Platform, Hugh's experience will be critical at the board level in guiding our long-term strategy."
Frater was a founding partner of BlackRock, where he helped build the global leader in fixed income and mortgage-backed securities into the world's largest asset management company. His early work played a key role in shaping the modern mortgage capital markets ecosystem, connecting institutional investors to US housing finance.
He later served as Chief Executive Officer and Board Member at the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) from 2018 to 2022, where he guided the organization through one of the most volatile periods in the US mortgage market. Prior to his role at Fannie Mae, he served as CEO and Chairman of Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC, a leading commercial and agency real estate lending and investment sales platform.
"The mortgage banking industry has long been ready for innovation, modern consumers are demanding it and Vishal and Better have consistently pursued that vision. Better's combination of technology, data and automation has proven to make housing finance more efficient and affordable over the last decade," said Frater. "To tackle the housing affordability crisis, we need a transparent system that connects capital with a variety of housing needs and does so at the best practical cost to consumers. Tinman provides a thoughtful approach to delivering more housing, and I'm excited to support the Board as their team continues to scale and deploy the platform to lenders, banks, and fintechs across the country."
Frater currently serves on the boards of directors of Hippo Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HIPO), Vessel Technologies, Findigs, and the Bipartisan Policy Center. He has spent his career at the intersection of global capital, housing finance, and corporate leadership.
"We're delighted to welcome Hugh to Better's Board of Directors," shared Harit Talwar, Chairman of the Better Board. "Better is well positioned to redesign the traditional mortgage process and deliver a superior customer experience as well as attractive returns to shareholders with its AI-native platform, Tinman. Hugh's experience, insights and judgement will be invaluable along the Company's journey."
Frater's appointment reflects Better's continued focus on strengthening its board to guide the Company's next phase of growth as an AI platform bringing the entire industry forward. Better reported its Q4 2025 earnings earlier this month, signifying rapid growth and technological progress:
- In Q4 2025, Funded Loan Volume grew 56% year over year versus industry growth of 4%, while revenue grew 77% year over year
- Tinman AI Platform Funded Loan Volume reached $646 million in Q4 2025, up 34% quarter-over-quarter, representing more than 40% of Funded Loan Volume, and exceeding prior guidance of $600 million
- Tinman AI Platform partnerships launched in Q4 2025 grew approximately 100% month-over-month throughout Q4 in initial rollout to less than 1% of partners' combined customer base of over 150 million customers
- In Q4 2025, Better launched Credit Karma Home Loans powered by Better in partnership with Intuit Credit Karma, one of the largest consumer finance platforms in the United States with more than 140 million members using the Tinman AI platform
About Better Home & Finance Holding Company
Better Home & Finance Holding Company (NASDAQ:BETR) is the first AI-native mortgage and home equity finance platform, and first fintech to fund more than $110 billion in loan volume. Since 2016, Better has leveraged its industry-leading AI platform, Tinman®, to achieve a singular mission of making homeownership cheaper, faster, and easier for all Americans. Tinman® allows customers to see their rate options in seconds, get pre-approved in minutes, lock in rates, and close their loan in as little as three weeks. In addition, Betsy™, leveraging Tinman MCP, the first AI loan agent built exclusively for the mortgage industry, is revolutionizing the homebuying journey by delivering timely application status updates to consumers, answering questions, and moving their loan application along 24/7/365. Better's mortgage offerings include GSE-conforming mortgage loans, FHA and VA loans, and jumbo and Non-QM mortgage and home equity loans. Better serves customers in all 50 US states and the United Kingdom.
For more information, follow @betterdotcom on Instagram and TikTok and @tinmanAI on X.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this press release that are not historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements and expectations regarding Better's platform, including the use of AI, and Mr. Frater's contributions to Better's board of directors. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "potential," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "could," "would," "project," "plan," "target," or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this communication. These risks and uncertainties include those risks discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as any such factors may be updated from time to time in the Company's other filings with the SEC, which is available, free of charge, at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for Better to predict these events or how they may affect us. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Better undertakes no obligation, except as required by law, to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, changes in expectations, future events or otherwise.
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