Benchmark shuts wholesale in first exit of latest high-rate cycle

Benchmark Mortgage is ending its wholesale and correspondent operations to focus on retail, in the first significant pullback by a lender during the latest high-rate cycle.

The company reported that it shut down its Eleven Mortgage brand Friday, and its website was down Monday. In a press release, the lender described its move as "deliberate and strategic," but did not elaborate on potential layoffs nor the process for any loans in the pipeline. 

"It allows us to simplify our business, sharpen our focus, and align our resources around the areas where we believe we have the greatest opportunity — our retail business, and most importantly, our people," Benchmark CEO Norman Koenigsberg said in the press release. 

Shutdowns like this one and City Lending's have been relatively rare in 2026 compared with the widespread downsizing that occurred when rates rose from record lows earlier this decade. The multichannel lender reported nearly $5 billion in origination volume in 2025, 208 sponsored mortgage loan originators and 51 active branches according to public databases. 

The lender also issued a statement regarding its personnel.

Benchmark "acknowledged the impact of the transition on the people who built and supported its wholesale and correspondent division" and said in the press release that  "their contributions to the company have been significant and are recognized and respected."

The lender, which is a brand of and holds industry licensing under the name Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification in its home state of Texas on Friday saying it would be laying off 81 people on Nov. 24.

The company's general counsel told National Mortgage News Monday evening it had no comment beyond the press release.

Throughout the press release Benchmark emphasized its renewed focus on retail, and said it's concentrating its capital on retention, technology and growth. 

Shutdown comes during tough market

The announcement is notable as it comes during a period of climbing rates, with the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage now above 7% after dipping below 6% earlier this year. Industry leaders have also recently shaved their yearly origination forecasts in the face of today's market conditions. 

Lenders were largely profitable through the first half of this year, although public reports and earnings have yet to react to the soaring Treasury yields of recent weeks. 

Over the past two years, only a handful of lenders have wound down mortgage operations. Estimates for nonbank mortgage payrolls meanwhile have declined slightly in recent months, with a preliminary estimate for July of around 261,400 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.