MPA 5-Star Wholesale Lenders 2021

SPECIAL REPORT

2021

WHOLESALE LENDERS MPA names the top wholesale lenders who have led the industry through challenging times

CONTENTS

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Feature article ..............................................

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Methodology ................................................

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5-Star Wholesale Lenders ..........................

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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

5-STAR AWARDS 2021: WHOLESALE LENDERS

COMMITTED TO SERVICE AND INNOVATION WHO ARE the wholesale lenders that provided top-notch customer service, showcased great innovation in technology and software, and impressed originators with their breadth of product offerings and in a host of other areas amid challenging times?

MPA found out by compiling this list of the top wholesale lenders in the

US for 2021, following an extensive reader survey.

To discover the wholesale lenders who had left their mark – whether in Colorado or California, Idaho or Iowa, New Jersey or New York, or beyond – MPA reached out to readers across all 50 states. The respondents were asked to provide the

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO BROKERS WHEN CHOOSING A WHOLESALE LENDER? Technology and software 94%

Customer service (to the broker/originator) 91%

Turnaround time 85%

Interest rates 78%

Support and training 77%

Top marks for service, product range

Breadth of product offering 75%

Compensation 54%

Referrals generated by the wholesale lender 52% 0%

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60%

80%

name of their favored wholesale lender, as well as an overview of the services, criteria and benefits that made the particular lender great to work with. MPA received a phenomenal response from a huge number of respondents – meaning that the competition for a place on the list was very tough indeed.

The end result? A selection of 19 deserving winners who were delighted to be among such good company.

“We are proud to be featured on this list,” says a spokesperson from the United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), “and it is an honor to be recognized by MPA and the broker community for our unwavering commitment to our clients and the entire wholesale channel.

Laura Brandao, president of American Financial Resources, adds: “We are both honored and proud to be able to serve the wholesale community working hand in hand with our partners to bring families home.”

100%

When respondents were asked to rank their chosen wholesale lenders based on a range of criteria, the total scores for technology and software and customer service were virtually neck and neck, at 94% and 91% respectively.

Ultimately, customer service was ranked as the most important factor by 85% of respondents, and technology and software followed at 71%.

In an industry in which technology is becoming ever more essential, these two categories almost go hand in hand. Few know this better than UWM. With a 20% market share and 35 years in the business, UWM has honed its approach to service, which has enabled it to maintain resilience in the face of pandemic-related challenges.

“UWM’s approach has always been to be an advocate and true partner to mortgage brokers throughout the nation,” says the company’s spokesperson.

“We are in tune with our clients’ businesses and their needs, and we build tools, technology and resources specifically designed to help grow their businesses while also educating consumers and realtors on the benefits of working with an independent mortgage broker. UWM succeeds only when

Among those getting well-deserved recognition in this area was American Financial Resources, an organization established in 1997 and based in Parsippany, New Jersey.

The organization has evolved throughout the years to add both B2B and B2C residential mortgage channels to its markets.

“As a specialized lender, we are able to serve many different types of markets,” says Brandao, “including manufactured housing, renovation, construction-to-permanent, and those who need down payment assistance.

We are committed to providing our originators with these niche programs so they can continue to serve their communities in any rate or inventory environment.”

Embracing the unknown A changing global landscape and the specific

“We embraced all the challenges … and with a positive attitude we were able to thrive through them” Laura Brandao, American Financial Resources

brokers succeed, and we will continue innovating and finding new ways to support and grow the wholesale channel.”

Coming close behind customer service, turnaround times and interest rates of the winning wholesale lenders were given high importance by survey respondents, at 85% and 78% of the votes, respectively.

Winners were also ranked highly for their breadth of product offering, which won 75% of total votes for importance in choosing the lender; 17% of respondents said it was the most important factor to them.

industry climate have had a huge knock-on effect on working practices. Remote working and border closures have become the norm, creating major challenges for a sector in which face-to-face communication is so highly valued.

“We embraced all the challenges. Going 100% remote, people not being able to get permits, different counties being closed and so on. With a positive attitude we were able to thrive through them,” Brandao explains.

A can-do attitude in the face of adversity arguably mattered more than ever in 2021.

METHODOLOGY To select the best wholesale lenders for 2021, MPA enlisted some of the industry’s top experts.

Now, 19 companies can claim to be market leaders on the back of hard market research gauging the opinions of the people who matter most: mortgage brokers.

During a 15-week process, MPA’s research team conducted oneon-one interviews with brokers and originators and surveyed thousands more in the magazine’s network to understand what mortgage professionals think of current market offerings.

The wholesale lenders’ performance was measured on the basis of factors such as customer service, technology and software, turnaround time, interest rate, support and training, breadth of product offering, compensation, and referrals generated.

85% of respondents deemed customer service to be most important

37% of the winners are based in California

77% difference between the factor deemed most important and the one ranked least important

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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

5-STAR AWARDS 2021: WHOLESALE LENDERS

Survey respondents were keen to highlight that people-focused methods of support for brokers – that is, the ‘support and training’ factor – were vital. This factor won 77% of total votes for its importance in choosing a wholesale lender, and around a third of respondents said it was the most important factor to them.

While the above criteria ranked highly in terms of importance, it was clear which factors were of least concern to respondents – at least in 2021. Although ‘referrals generated by wholesale lenders’ was considered important by 52% of respondents, only 8% of them rated it as the most important factor overall.

HOW WELL DID WHOLESALE LENDERS PERFORM ON AVERAGE? Weighted average on a rating scale of 1-5 Customer service (to the broker/originator) 4.85

Technology and software 4.71

Turnaround time 4.54

Breadth of product offering 4.15

Managing unpredictability Interest rates 3.75

Support and training 3.83

Compensation 2.71

Referrals generated by the wholesale lender 2.69 1

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“There is no question that mortgage brokers provide borrowers the fastest, easiest and cheapest loan option” United Wholesale Mortgage spokesperson

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What do these takeaways from the 2021 survey say about the future of the wholesale lending sector and the factors that future survey respondents will value most highly in their top choices of lender?

It’s worth noting that the impact of recent events will be felt for many years to come. In such an unpredictable climate, which makes expert advice and guidance for borrowers more important than ever, the value of premium customer service will remain high, and keep the market on solid ground.

“There is no question that mortgage brokers provide borrowers the fastest, easiest and cheapest loan option,” says the UWM spokesperson. “As more and more consumers and real estate agents become educated on the widespread benefits of working with an independent mortgage broker, wholesale will continue to grow market share.”

Moving forward, AFR plans “to continue to make our originators and partners experts in the specialized products we offer, like construction-to-permanent, manufactured housing, and renovation,” says Brandao.

WHOLESALE 2021 LENDERS American Financial Resources

Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions

MiMutual Mortgage

NEXA Mortgage

BCF Wholesale Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Caliber Home Loans Plaza Home Mortgage Finance of America Rocket Pro TPO Homebridge Financial Services

BluePoint Mortgage Home Point Financial Corporation

Kind Lending

United Wholesale Mortgage

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