Wells to Mortgage Brokers: Drop Dead Now. Yeah

Eighteen months ago National Mortgages News began hearing rumors that Wells Fargo was going to toss its wholesale lending network overboard. The bank denied it and in the ensuing quarters remained among the top ranked table funders in the nation, according to the Quarterly Data Report. (In 1Q 2012 it raked first with $7 billion table funded.) But Thursday morning, the megabank finally threw in the towel – in the wake of a fair lending settlement with the Department of Justice. NMN is working on a larger analysis of the Wells’ departure, but in the meantime brokers need to ask themselves these two questions: (1)Who will fill the void now that Wells is gone and (2)Do I have enough money to become a correspondent? And one final question: Which megabank remains in the wholesale channel? Answer: None. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells have all departed.