United Wholesale Mortgage Holdings Corp. on Thursday escalated its mortgage war with Rocket Companies Inc., saying it will not do business with brokers who continue to work with the Detroit-based lender a move Rocket calls desperate.
UWM, the Pontiac-based wholesale-exclusive lender, is calling attention to competitors that are working to undermine the independent mortgage brokers who seek to find the best rates for homeowners and homebuyers, CEO Mat Ishbia said during a Facebook Live. It comes as Rocket Mortage, America s No. 1 mortgage lender and the dominant player in the direct-to-consumer business, is making inroads in the wholesale channel, which UWM dominates.
Pontiac mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage Holdings Corp. s shares closed down on their first day trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and competitor Home Point Capital Inc. in Ann Arbor shared details on its own initial public offering.
UWMC shares closed down 1.65% on Friday, while market indexes were mixed. It completed on Thursday its $16.1 billion merger with a special-purpose acquisition company affiliated with the business of Alec Gores, brother to the Detroit Pistons owner. The stock closed at $11.35. But that is up 14% from the March IPO of the company with which UWM merged.
Meanwhile, Home Point took another step forward, saying it will offer publicly 12.5 million common shares on the Nasdaq from its stakeholders at a price between $19 and $21 per share under the ticker HMPT.