Mat Ishbia

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According to Ishbia, the FHFA years ago took action so Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would not push back loans for “illogical reasons, small reasons left and right or after a 36-month window.” However, it doesn’t seem to be working, Ishbia said. 

“They are making billions, and lenders are barely scraping by, but they continue to make them buy back loans for small reasons here, little things that happened on a loan that maybe are not impacting the borrower’s success in that loan,” Ishbia said.  

At the end of August, HousingWire reported on a new report by mergers-and-acquisitions consulting firm Sterling Point Advisors showing that loan-repurchase rates have been on the rise in recent quarters when many IMBs are struggling to stay in business.  

In 2020, Fannie Mae reported $1.1 billion in repurchases on $1.4 trillion of single-family loan-acquisition volume (loans originated by lenders and purchased by Fannie Mae), or an eight basis-point repurchase rate. In Q1 2023, the GSE had $459 million in repurchases on about $68 billion in loan-acquisition volume or a 68 basis-point repurchase rate, the report shows. 

“The industry is up in arms and is very frustrated with the amount of repurchases Fannie Mae and particularly Freddie Mac are pushing back on lenders,” Ishbia said. “A lot of trade groups, a lot of people are talking about it, and it’s impacting lenders, impacting mortgage people, and impacting consumers at the end of the day as well.”

The GSEs showed a different approach to buybacks in May during the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Secondary and Capital Markets Conference and Expo in New York. Fannie Mae’s position was that the loan-repurchase increases are an economic problem, not an underwriting process issue. Meanwhile, Freddie Mac said it’s in talks with lenders to address the problem through a more customer-focused approach. 

Amid mounting concerns that loan-repurchase rates in upcoming quarters are likely to continue to trend upward, Freddie Mac told HousingWire last week that, “We’re seeing a positive trend in loan quality and materially fewer repurchase letters as a result of the progress we’ve made by working collaboratively with our industry partners in the past year. We will continue to look for opportunities to build on this progress.”

Freddie Mac also said they are “always looking for ways to improve our quality control processes, and we will continue to engage in open and productive dialogue with lenders to find ways to further improve loan quality while fostering sustainable homeownership.”

Source: housingwire.com

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This story was updated post-publication to include additional information from UWM

Mortgage rates for a 15-year fixed currently sit at approximately 2.5%. However, customers of the nation’s second-biggest lender could soon receive an interest rate below 2%.

United Wholesale Mortgage announced Friday that it is rolling out a new loan program that offers borrowers an interest rate as low as 1.875% for both purchase mortgages and refinances — a record low.

UWM is both the nation’s biggest purchase mortgage lender and the largest wholesale lender, meaning it doesn’t lend directly to borrowers. UWM works directly with mortgage brokers, who can in turn offer low rates to their customers.

“United Wholesale Mortgage is proud to provide some of the best rates, service and technology to borrowers exclusively through independent mortgage brokers while closing loans in 15 days or less,” said Mat Ishbia, president and CEO. “We’re proud to offer great rates for borrowers for 15-year mortgages just like we have been on our 30-year mortgages as well.”

Those eligible for a conventional mortgage are eligible for the rate, according to Ishbia. The minimum FICO score is 640, the company said.

In May, UWM rolled out a new loan program that offered borrowers an interest rate as low as 2.5% for both purchase mortgages and refinances.

Then in June, UWM announced a new VA loan program that offered borrowers mortgage rates as low as 2.25% for both purchases and refinances.

Be sure to check out our follow-up to this piece: Making sense of ultra-low mortgage rates.

Source: housingwire.com

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Mat Ishbia, chairman and chief executive officer at United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), provided more than half of the mortgage company’s outstanding shares as a guarantee to secure loans ahead of the acquisition of the Phoenix Suns, according to a Bloomberg report.

According to the report, Ishbia pledged stock he controls to back two loans that were finalized days before his purchase of the Suns was approved. The deal, which values the Suns at $4 billion, first became public in December. The executive received the NBA blessing in February.

In total, 805 million shares, currently worth $4.6 billion, secured two loans with JP Morgan Chase & Co. Ishbia holds his UWM stake via SFS Holding Corp., which owns 94% of UWM’s outstanding stock and pledged the shares, per the firm’s 2023 proxy statements.

“The number of shares of Class A common stock beneficially owned by SFS Corp. also includes a total 805,281,450 shares of Class A common stock which are pledged as security for two separate loan facilities,” the proxy statement states.

The risk of tying up the shares to the loans is that if the value of the stock falls, the bank can usually request additional collateral or for the loan to be repaid. And if the borrower fails to comply, the bank can seize and sell the shares.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows Ishbia’s fortune dropped by $3.4 billion after the pledged shares were removed from his net worth calculation. 

UWM and JP Morgan Chase declined to comment on the topic.  

The seller of the Suns Legacy Holdings, which owns the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, was Robert Sarver. The executive acquired both teams in 2004. Earlier in 2022, Sarver was fined $10 million and suspended for one year following an NBA investigation regarding workplace conduct.

Ishbia and his brother Justin bought 50% ownership of the franchises, including Sarver’s interest. They also acquired a portion of the interest of minority partners, who were granted additional sale rights. Mat serves as governor and Justin as alternate governor.

Source: housingwire.com

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Ahead of its initial public offering slated for mid-December, United Wholesale Mortgage is offering mortgage rates below 2% on FHA loans through its Conquest Program.

UWM, the second-largest lender in the country, is offering rates between 1.99% and 2.5% on FHA loans, the company announced in a statement on Wednesday. The rates will be available on FHA purchase mortgages, FHA rate and term refinances, and FHA streamline refinances.

On Wednesday, the FHA announced new loan limits for 2021, increasing those amounts to $356,362 for much of the U.S. and to $822,375 in high-cost areas.

The Conquest FHA announcement is the latest in a series of UWM product launches in 2020. The lender, led by CEO Mat Ishbia, has offered ultra-low mortgage rates on VA purchase and IRRRL loans, as well as purchase and refinances on both 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate products.

Not all borrowers have qualified for the products, and to obtain the lowest rates borrowers have had to buy points upfront.

5 reasons to refinance your mortgage right now

If you’re thinking about refinancing your mortgage, here are five reasons why you might want to act now and reach out to a loan officer.

Presented by: Citi Mortgage

Like many other mortgage companies, UWM has ridden a wave of record-low mortgage rates and rising home prices en route to its best-ever year in 2020.

As of the end of the third quarter, Pontiac, Michigan-based UWM closed nearly $128 billion in production, eclipsing the $108 billion it originated throughout all of 2019, the firm said. UWM originated $54.2 billion in closed loans during the third quarter, an 81% increase from the $29.9 billion it originated in Q3 2019 (loan volume was up 31.8% from Q2 2020).

According to company statements, net income totaled $1.45 billion in the third quarter, up from $198 million during the same period in 2019. The gain-on-sale margin also inched up to a record 3.18%; a year ago it was 1.29%.

In the summer, UWM announced it was merging with a blank-check company led by businessman Alec Gores. Ishbia, who will control 94% of the company, is seeking a valuation of about $16.1 billion. He’s described the impetus to go public as achieving greater scale, promoting the broker channel, and avoiding having to sell mortgage servicing rights.

The mortgage brokers that UWM bet its future on and championed have also reaped the rewards from low mortgage rates and a boom in mortgage originations over the last few quarters.

According to Inside Mortgage Finance, the wholesale and correspondent channels in the third quarter rose 34.1% from the second to the third quarter. By contrast, there was only a 9.2% increase in retail production and 16.9% growth in total first-lien originations, the publication reported. The third-party-origination share of third-quarter production rose 4.5 percentage points to 35.5% in the third quarter.

Source: housingwire.com

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Pontiac, Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced on Wednesday that its brokers can request a dedicated loan coordinator, adding a level of loan processing support when needed. In addition, UWM announced brokers can also connect their loan origination platform to the lender’s system. 

When they order the service known as “PA+,” loan officers, processors, and their borrowers will have access to a loan coordinator to help receive, scrub, order and send docs. The service can be used loan-by-loan basis to increase operational capacity.

The mortgage lender also announced UWM Portal, a bi-directional Application Programming Interface (API) for brokers to link their LOS platform to UWM’s EASE system. The goal is to sync brokers’ data and eliminate the need to reconcile information during the process manually. 

Mat Ishbia, UWM’s president and CEO, said the new services are “providing a new level of support, client experience and seamless process for independent mortgage brokers.”

“Today, speed and efficiency are more important than ever, and we will continue to find solutions that will help brokers continue scaling their business for the future,” Ishbia said. The executive announced the new offerings at UWM! Live, a mortgage broker event held in its sports complex in Pontiac.

Source: housingwire.com

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According to the lawsuits filed in a U.S. district court in Michigan, the alleged events occurred amid the mortgage lender’s return-to-work policy during the Covid-19 pandemic. UWM forced employees to return to the office on July 9, 2021, per the lawsuits.  

Kassandra Memmer, hired as a conventional underwriter in September 2019, sued the company in April 2023. Memmer says she quit her job after the lender forced her to return to work despite a doctor’s note outlining her leave of absence to ensure her health and that of her unborn child. 

“In June of 2021, Defendant started removing barriers from desks, removing hand sanitizer machines, and not being strict on mask mandates,” the plaintiff’s attorney states in the lawsuit. “She had no choice: she either chose her family or her job.”

Her partner Jackson Memmer, a transgender man, started working at UWM as a conventional underwriter in August 2019. In a lawsuit filed in late May 2023, he alleges he was fired due to an investigation into clearing conditions with appraisals done when he was on paternity leave. The former underwriter was told he was being let go in December 2021, per the lawsuit. 

A spokesperson for UWM said the company “does not comment on legal matters that are currently pending.”  

Kassandra Memmer accuses the company of not paying her final bonus for June 2021 for files completed over daily commitment. Meanwhile, Jackson Memmer alleges he did not receive his final bonus from November 2021, which should be roughly $5,000. 

The plaintiffs complained to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about the discriminatory treatment and received a right-to-sue letter, the lawsuit states.  

Kassandra Memmer said she was offered a promotion to team lead but declined. However, she contacted human resources to switch to another department because “she was under a lot of stress with the brokers screaming at her and for denying the team lead position.”

She said a broker contacted her via e-mail and hit on her. The broker stated that “she was too pretty to be an underwriter and that he was going to tell her CEO Mat Ishbia to make her a model for the company,” per the lawsuit.

The leadership, according to the case, never reported the incident. 

Kassandra Memmer said in the lawsuit that she had to work many overtime hours to finish files and train senior underwriters. 

“Plaintiff and other underwriters were also required to do something Defendant called ‘Rise and Grind,’ which meant coming into work earlier or staying two hours more than the employee’s scheduled time, but with no compensation,” attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. 

Kassandra and Jackson Memmer said that in October 2020, they bought a home with a UWM mortgage, which is when they allege UWM became aware that Jackson was a transgender man. 

In early April, Bloomberg reported that with more than two-dozen current and former employees said UWM has a toxic work environment, with racial disparities, sexual harassment, drug use and bullying by managers. UWM said Bloomberg’s portrayal of a hostile workplace was “false and misleading.” 

Source: housingwire.com