Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s biweekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon.
–Flagstar last month agreed to a $31.5 million settlement in multiple class-action cases filed by former customers, focused on two data breaches that exposed the personal information of millions of customers in 2021 and 2022. The New York-based lender, which sold its mortgage servicing business in 2024 to Mr. Cooper, also paid $3.5 million to the SEC for making “materially misleading statements” related to the breaches.
–Stockton Mortgage Corporation has filed a lawsuit against Ixonia Bancshares (also known as Novus Home Mortgage) and 18 former employees over poaching. The company alleges that the employees “defected en masse” to Novus, breaching their contractual obligations of non-solicitation and confidentiality. Stockton was granted a temporary restraining order on Oct. 24 that bars the defendants from contacting the company’s clients or employees. The order also required the 18 employees to return all Stockton company materials within five days. Stockton Mortgage was previously sued by Success Mortgage over similar claims of poaching.
-Retail mortgage lender loanDepot narrowed its losses in Q3, driven, the company said, by higher revenue and disciplined expense management, resulting in positive operating leverage. On its third quarter earnings call Nov. 6, the company reported a revenue increase of 14% to $323 million and an adjusted revenue increase of 11% to $325 million. Pull-through weighted gain on sale margin increased nine basis points to 339 basis points. “A key part of my efforts during the third quarter has focused on reshaping our leadership team, positioning us to leverage loanDepot’s unique set of assets and drive operational excellence,” said founder and CEO Anthony Hsieh. “With key senior-level promotions, strategic hires and organizational realignment, I believe we have the right team in place that returns us to our innovative roots to pursue profitable market share growth.” Earlier this week, Hsieh announced renowned fintech leader Nikul Patel as its chief growth officer.
–United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) saw another successful quarter, reporting a total revenue of $843.3 million in Q3, up from $758.7 million in Q2 and $745.6 million last year, and an adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $211.1 million, up from $195.7 million in Q2 and $107.2 million last year. During the investor call Nov. 6, Chairman and CEO Mat Ishbia attributed the company’s success to its own AI initiatives, namely the company’s AI Loan Officer Assistant Mia, which UWM debuted back in May. Ishbia shared that Mia has already made “over 400,000 calls on behalf of our mortgage brokers, helping them stay in touch with past clients,” of which “over 14,000 have already closed.”
-National mortgage lender NewDay USA announced the launch of NewDay Home—a new loan offering designed to help veterans and service members achieve the American Dream of homeownership without the financial barriers that often come with saving enough money to cover closing costs. Borrowers who qualify with steady employment, strong credit and stable income can secure a fully underwritten VA-backed mortgage with no money down and competitive rates. Veterans and service members who don’t have the funds to cover closing costs can leverage NewDay Advantage to finance closing expenses over a period of five years (with no interest due if the funds are paid within a year). The product will enable veterans to compete with cash buyers and close in as few as 15 days.
–Mortgage applications were down overall this week, but those in the FHA category saw a slight uptick. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports that the market composite index—the measure of mortgage loan activity volume—decreased 1.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Oct. 31 following last week’s 7.1% increase. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage saw a slight increase this week as well, as according to the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) released by Freddie Mac Nov. 6, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) moved up five basis points this week to 6.22% from last week’s average of 6.17%. This continues to represent a range much lower than a year ago at this time.
