United Wholesale Mortgage

United Wholesale Mortgage is an American wholesale mortgage lender headquartered in Pontiac, Michigan. It is publicly traded on the NYSE and underwrites loans for independent brokers. The company is subject to lawsuits for its failure to do business with brokers who also do business with Rocket Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage.

UWM Holdings Corporation
United Wholesale Mortgage
FormerlyShore Mortgage
TypePublic company
IndustryWholesale Mortgages
Founded1986 (1986)
FounderJeff Ishbia
HeadquartersPontiac, Michigan, U.S.
Key people
Mat Ishbia (CEO)
Brands
  • Brand360
  • EASE
  • BOLT
Number of employees
7,000 (June 30, 2022)
Websiteuwm.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

History

United Wholesale Mortgage was founded by Jeff Ishbia in 1986 while working as an attorney. He founded the company as a side business under the name Shore Mortgage.[2] It started off focusing on conventional and FHA loans and the name was later changed from Shore Mortgage to United Wholesale Mortgage.[3] By 2003, the company had 13 employees. It experienced large growth during the 2000s United States housing bubble after larger banks such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America exited the wholesale mortgage lending market.[4]

Mat Ishbia was the president of the company[5] until he was named CEO in 2013.[6] In 2021, Ishbia announced that the company would no longer due business with any broker doing business with competitors Rocket Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage.[7][8] At the time, Ishbia claimed the decision was due to the practices of those companies, including working directly with realtors instead of mortgage brokers in securing home loans.[9]

A lawsuit seeking class action status was filed against United Wholesale Mortgage and Ishbia in 2021 in response to his demand for brokers not to do business with Rocket Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.[10] At the time of the filing, United Wholesale Mortgage was the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the United States.[10] A year later, United Wholesale Mortgage filed a lawsuit against America’s MoneyLine for continuing to do business with Rocket Mortgage in breach of its agreement. America's MoneyLine filed a countersuit against the company shortly after.[11]

In 2018, United Wholesale Mortgage settled a lawsuit from account executives who claimed they were not paid overtime while working for the company.[12]

United Wholesale Mortgage went public in January 2021 through a merger with Gores Holdings IV, and the formation of a special-purpose acquisition company.[13][14] The deal made the company the highest valued company to be purchased by a special purpose acquisition company to date, valued at $16.1 billion.[15] The deal became the subject of a shareholder lawsuit in 2023, alleging breach of fiduciary duties to stockholders.[16] Employees have also claimed that the company has a toxic work culture, an accusation that United Wholesale Mortgage has denied.[17][18]

Services

United Wholesale Mortgage underwrites loans for independent mortgage brokers.[19]

References
  1. "United Wholesale Mortgage LLC". Bloomberg. 2021-11-10.
  2. Cain, Carol (28 November 2020). "Ishbia never dreamed UWM would go public". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  3. Ahrens, Ronald (5 October 2020). "Shore Up". DBusiness. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  4. "Pontiac-based United Shore could steal No. 1 ranking from Quicken Loans". Detroit Free Press. 2020-01-17.
  5. Guest, Greta (22 December 2011). "Shore team preps to be a $10 billion player". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  6. "What to know about Mat Ishbia, the billionaire CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage". Detroit Free Press. 2021-02-04.
  7. "UWM says it won't do business with brokers working with Rocket, Fairway". Detroit Free Press. 2021-03-05.
  8. "United Wholesale Mortgage says its crosstown war with Quicken Loans is paying off". CNBC. 2021-03-24.
  9. "United Wholesale Mortgage says its crosstown war with Quicken Loans is paying off". CNBC. 2021-03-24.
  10. Noble, Breana (27 April 2021). "Mortgage broker seeks class-action suit against UWM over feud with Rocket". The Detroit News. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  11. Nunes, Flavia Furlan (3 January 2023). "UWM scores partial win in broker ultimatum lawsuit". Housingwire. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  12. Volkova, Maria (1 June 2023). "UWM will pay $2.75M to settle unpaid overtime claims". Housingwire. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  13. "United Wholesale Mortgage Goes Public in Biggest SPAC Deal Ever". The Wall Street Journal. 2021-01-22.
  14. "The Biggest SPAC Deal Ever Was Just Announced. It's With a $16B Wholesale Mortgage Lender". Barron's. 2020-09-23.
  15. Hu, Krystal (23 September 2023). "United Wholesale agrees merger with Gores Holdings to go public". Reuters. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  16. Leonard, Mike (3 April 2023). "Billionaire Gores Sued Over United Wholesale Mortgage SPAC Deal". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  17. Coppola, Chris (13 April 2023). "Report: Employees claim toxic work culture at Suns owner Mat Ishbia's mortgage company". AZ Central. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  18. Mosendz, Polly; Melby, Caleb (12 April 2023). "Employees Call Out Locker-Room Culture at Phoenix Suns Owner's Company". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  19. Reindl, JC (1 March 2023). "United Wholesale Mortgage reports loss, but keeps No. 1 title". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  • Official website
  • Business data for UWM Holdings Corporation:
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