Mountain West Financial ends wholesale lending

Another mortgage lender is shutting down its wholesale channel.

Redlands, California-based Mountain West Financial stopped accepting loans last week and loans in the pipeline must close by Sept. 30, it said in an announcement. The lender didn't disclose whether it cut employees as part of the move, although social media posts indicate some staff had been laid off. 

"Mountain West Financial has made the difficult decision to take a step back from wholesale lending," the company said in a post on its website. "We appreciate and are grateful for the partnerships forged and the opportunity to have served you and your borrowers throughout the years."

A MWF representative didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning. The news was first reported by HousingWire.

The company originated over $1.9 billion in 2021 with 39% of the volume coming from its wholesale channel, according to the Scotsman Guide Top Mortgage Lenders 2022 rankings. It reported 75 originators operating in 10 states, while 291 employees are listed on LinkedIn. MWF's products include conventional, USDA, Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs loans and it offers down payment assistance programs.

Other lenders exiting wholesale lending this year include Guaranteed Rate, which cut its Stearns Lending wholesale channel in the beginning of the year, and loanDepot, which said earlier this month it will wind down its $1 billion pipeline by the end of October. Meanwhile, some of the space's largest players are ramping up their pricing strategies to capture business during a difficult stretch for mortgage companies. 

United Wholesale Mortgage in June announced a Game On promotion cutting up to 1 percentage point on all product types. The move will drive down gain-on-sale margins in the third quarter and likely beyond, but UWM chairman and CEO Mat Ishbia this month said the promo is an investment for the long-term to capture market share.

Homepoint last week also announced it was lowering the price of its conforming conventional loans by 75 basis points for homebuyers in select zip codes in 20 states, targeting communities with a high percentage of loans originated to people below the Area Median Income.