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COVER STORY
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Mortgage lenders across the cou Step one: Woo the people a
BY KEITH GRIFFIN | NATIONAL MORTG
W
hen the Super Bowl was played this year, millions of viewers more attuned to the ads than the passes were treated to an exhortation from Rocket Mortgage, nee Quicken Loans: Why don’t you use a mortgage broker? It was the latest in a series of efforts by the largest mortgage lender in the country to strengthen its wholesale channel. To beef up its Rocket Pro TPO Services, the company knew it had to show brokers it’s on their side, pushing business their way. Austin Niemec, Rocket’s EVP of wholesale, said the company has more than doubled it’s “partner channel” over the last two years. And Niemec seems intent on making sure it’s clear that they’re sharing the love. “Brokers are now featured on one of the most well-known Austin Niemec, EVP mortgage websites in of wholesale at Rocket the country,” he said. Mortgage, says its broker “Whenever Americans channel has doubled in see the Rocket Mortgage the last two years. brand during an NFL game, on HGTV, or while
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watching eSports, it can lead them to their local mortgage professional.”
LOVE THE MONEY It’s no secret that the big players in mortgage wholesale are trying to grab more of the channel. United Wholesale Mortgage, the largest wholesale lender in the U.S., reported eye-popping record volume and profit for 2020. And now brokers, relegated to wallflower status for so many years, are suddenly the belles of the ball. And when you’re the belle, suddenly there are a lot of suitors for your hand. Not just the large lenders, but many smaller companies have recently launched themselves into wholesale lending – or ramped up production after years of focusing on the retail market. Most are seeing it as a means for riding out what is going to be a turbulent market in the years to come, as interest rates increase in volatility, economic basics make another roller-coaster run, and market saturation rears up. With all that likely, the wholesale market is the place to be, since a wholesale operation scales up and down much more quickly than a retail one. From a market share of just 7 percent of total mortgage volume in 2011, to grabbing more than 20% in 2020, brokers are standing on top of piles of money. Mortgage origination volume in 2020 is on track to be over $4 trillion, the largest in history, Stratmor Senior Partner Garth Graham wrote in his October Insights Report. “With a market expected to set records for origination volume and profitability, most lenders are riding high in 2020.” At the same time, large independent mortgage banks are “flush with retained earnings and are seeking to grow via acquisition to compensate
