Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is shutting down its wholesale division.
"The people who have run Fairway's Wholesale Department are some of the most talented, humble people in the business and will be a huge value add at their next mortgage home," Fairway CEO and Founder Steve Jacobson said in a statement. "We want to thank our entire amazing Wholesale team for its dedication and professionalism over the years. We are simply making a business shift, nothing more, nothing less, in order to focus on our core business to ensure that we continue providing the best customer experience going forward."
The last lock date on new loans will be Feb. 9 and the last day to submit them will be Feb. 16. All brokered loans, according to the announcement, must be closed by March 15.
“We wish the Fairway employees well and are saddened to learn when any organization decides to leave the wholesale channel," Valerie Saunders, president of NAMB, said in a atatement. "As companies make decisions that impact the marketplace, NAMB will continue to represent the mortgage community as the preeminent volunteer-led and membership driven organization in the nation."
The move comes as companies like United Wholesale Mortgage turn up the heat on pricing.
Last year, there had been a movement toward wholesale away from retail, because it gave brokers better rates for their borrowers. However, Fairway was one of the company's targeted by UWM as part of its "All-In" pricing initiative, which says essentially that if you do business with UWM than you can't do business with Fairway or Rocket Pro TPO.
The Michigan-based lender has been filing lawsuits in order to enforce the initiative over the past few months.
Fairway has not said exactly how many employees will be laid off as a result of the move, but it could lead to the elimination of around 100 positions, according to social media posts. Last year, the channel recorded a production of only $2.5 billion. In stark contrast, UWM achieved $29.7 billion in the third quarter alone, while Rocket Pro TPO originated $22.2 billion.
Late last year Citizens announced the closure of its wholesale division. That follows earlier moves by Homepoint, loanDepot and AmeriSaves, to shutter theirs too. Others, like EPM, shut down their retail division and went all-in on the wholesale channel.
