Evergreen Moneysource Mortgage Company is entering wholesale lending with a pitch aimed directly at one of independent mortgage brokers’ persistent concerns: Who controls the borrower relationship after the loan closes?
The Bellevue, Washington-based retail mortgage lender announced the launch of BrokerBrand TPO, its first third-party origination channel. The new division will offer conventional, government, jumbo, and specialized mortgage products exclusively through independent mortgage brokers.
Rather than leading with pricing or a niche product, Evergreen is positioning BrokerBrand around a promise that the broker’s relationship with the borrower will remain the broker’s relationship.
That is a consequential pledge from a company that also originates directly through Evergreen Home Loans, operates its own retail branches, and provides loan servicing.
“For more than 40 years, Evergreen has earned the trust of homeowners, communities, and business partners by putting relationships first,” Evergreen founder and CEO Donald Burton said. He added that brokers should not have to wonder whether their lending partner will compete for relationships they worked to build.
Retail Lender Adds Another Production Channel
BrokerBrand expands Evergreen beyond its longtime retail model at a time when the company is already pursuing broader geographic growth.
Evergreen has added retail leadership and entered new markets over the past two years. In February, the lender appointed two divisional managers to support its geographic expansion. Its licensing page currently lists approvals across Western, Southeastern, and other states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
The wholesale launch gives Evergreen access to production generated outside its employed retail sales force, allowing it to reach borrowers through independent originators without adding a company branch or loan originator in every market.
Evergreen is not alone in looking to TPO for additional reach. LoanDepot returned to wholesale lending earlier this year, while GO Mortgage introduced a new TPO channel built around complaints about service consistency and turn times in the traditional wholesale model.
Experienced Wholesale Leadership
BrokerBrand will be led by Bob Marseilles, senior vice president of third-party originations.
Marseilles most recently served as vice president of TPO at First Tech Federal Credit Union. His previous roles included wholesale and correspondent leadership positions at Spring EQ, PHH Mortgage, Genworth, and IndyMac.
Evergreen said the channel will provide brokers with experienced account executives, responsive underwriting, loan-fulfillment support, and technology intended to streamline the origination process.
“We built BrokerBrand TPO around the way brokers want to do business,” Chief Strategy Officer Dan Richards said, pointing to service, experienced personnel, execution, and support for the broker’s own brand.
The name BrokerBrand reflects the division’s stated goal of keeping the independent originator, rather than the wholesale lender, at the center of the customer experience.
For brokers, the value of a noncompete promise depends on what happens when a borrower becomes eligible for a refinance, seeks a home equity loan, or returns to purchase another property. BrokerBrand has made protection of that relationship its primary differentiator. Its policies on servicing, recapture, borrower solicitation, and broker referrals will determine how far that promise extends.
