Hello, LOs!
Mat Ishbia has drawn a line in the sand.
United Wholesale Mortgage announced today that any broker partnering with Rocket Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation will not be permitted to do business with UWM. He claims that Rocket and Fairway are "participating in actions including soliciting loan officers away from brokers and working directly with real estate agents to cut brokers out of the entire process."
The deadline for brokers to cut ties with the two multi-channel lenders is March 15.
"Independent mortgage brokers are leading a seismic shift in the mortgage industry and this does not align with the business model of some retail lenders," Ishbia said in a statement. "That's why they are attempting to circumvent the mortgage broker in the lending process. As the #1 advocate for independent mortgage brokers, protecting the wholesale channel is part of UWM's responsibility, which is why we're asking our partners to go all in with lenders who support them and their growth."
Alienating your customers generally doesn't put a business on the path to success, but the broker space is a complicated one.
There are plenty of brokers who use Rocket, Fairway and UWM. Thousands of them. For those brokers, this represents a Sophie's Choice of sorts. Cut ties with the biggest wholesale lender and largest purchase originator in the country, or tie your wagon to UWM and risk incurring the wrath of Rocket, which made $9.5 billion in profits last year and is basically the only mortgage company the average consumer has heard of. That lender happened to originate $320 billion in mortgages last year. Fairway is no small fry, either. The lender originated about $66 billion in mortgages during 2020, according to Inside Mortgage Finance.
UWM clearly isn't playing around, but let's not forget that Rocket isn't exactly known for its cuddly demeanor. As every reality show contestant has said, they didn't come here to make friends. They came to win.
So, brokers: What do you make of this escalation between the two biggest lenders in America? Who will you hitch your wagon to, and why?
As always, I'd love to hear from you. You can email me anonymously at jkleimann@housingwire.com.
James Kleimann
Managing Editor, HousingWire
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