BRAWL Unveils First-Ever Lender Scorecard, Ranking Broker-Friendliness of Wholesale Lenders
Multi-category scoring system rates wholesale lenders, identifies them as 'good, bad or neutral' partners to mortgage brokers
CHERRY HILL, N.J., March 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The nationwide network of independent mortgage brokers that comprise BRAWL (Brokers Rallying Against Whole-tail Lending) has released its much-anticipated inaugural Lender Scorecard, ranking wholesale mortgage lenders throughout the U.S. on how well they stack up as broker partners – or as infamous "whole-tail" lenders.
"These Lender Scorecards are a major step forward in terms of transparency in the wholesale mortgage industry," said Anthony Casa, founder of BRAWL and President of Garden State Home Loans, one of the nation's largest mortgage brokerages. "Moving forward, mortgage brokers will have something tangible at their disposal that will help them understand which wholesale lenders are out to help them, and which ones will likely hurt their business long-term."
The scorecard is based off 12-month data that is either publicly available, submitted to BRAWL by some of the 30 wholesale lenders included, or a combination of the two sources. Points are assigned for various factors such as loan origination allocation (percentage of volume attributed to wholesale vs. retail), the extent to which each lender defends brokers' business, and how proactive each lender is in supporting brokers.
Ultimately, the total computed score for each wholesale lender ensures that they are categorized into one of three tiers:
- True Partners: Lenders that are committed to the wholesale channel and go out of their way to help brokers grow their business and maintain past clients.
- In the Middle: Lenders that may have great service and great technology, but they fall short on returning brokers' business to them. Proceed with caution, as they don't have the same client loyalty tools in place as true partners.
- Whole-tail Lenders: Lenders that pose as wholesale lenders, but steal business away from brokers by retaining loans and repurposing them for their retail division. Their wholesale divisions are merely lead-generation tools for retail loan originators, as they buy customers for life by initially offering pricing incentives.
The inaugural Lender Scorecard identified six wholesale lenders as "true broker partners": American Financial Resources, MB Financial, Nations Direct Mortgage, Parkside Lending, Plaza Home Mortgage, and United Wholesale Mortgage.
On the flip side, the list of whole-tail lenders is long, but notable lenders include the wholesale divisions of Fairway Independent Mortgage, Freedom Mortgage, loanDepot, Quicken Loans, and Stearns Lending.
The full scorecards, which also include complete lists of "in the middle" lenders and whole-tail lenders, can be viewed on the BRAWL website. Scorecards will continue to be updated on a quarterly basis, giving each lender the ability to move from one category to another – in either direction – based on continued or adjusted practices. As additional data comes in from other wholesale lenders that did not initially participate, updated scorecards will be provided.
"The BRAWL movement has been effective in sparking real, positive change," Casa said. "Lenders have been proactively working with BRAWL to transition their companies to policies that protect and support the business-growth efforts of mortgage brokers."
Casa spearheaded the launch of BRAWL back in October 2017 to combat unethical wholesale lending practices. The initiative has effectively raised awareness of lenders that utilize their wholesale channel simply as an exploitative ploy to pass leads on to their retail operations, and has driven change in the way several of these lenders conduct business.
To learn more about BRAWL and the Lender Scorecard, visit www.StopWholetailLending.com.
CONTACT: Anthony Casa, 1-888-612-4604 x109
SOURCE BRAWL (Brokers Rallying Against Whole-tail Lending)
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