UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2022
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the transition period from _______________ to _______________
Commission file number 001-39189
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | ||||||||||
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) | ||||||||||
Registrant's telephone number, including area code
N/A
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o No x
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports); and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | x | |||||||||
Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | |||||||||
Emerging growth company | |||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. x
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. o
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No x
The aggregate market value of the registrant's voting stock held by non-affiliates on June 30, 2022 was $326,829,162 , based on the closing price on the New
York Stock Exchange on that date of $3.54. (Does not include shares issuable upon exercise of warrants).
As of February 24, 2023, the registrant had 93,101,971 shares of Class A common stock outstanding and 1,502,069,787 shares of Class D common stock outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for use in connection with its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is to be filed no later than 120
Table of Contents
| Section Name | Page | ||||
| PART I | |||||
| PART II | |||||
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data | |||||
| PART III | |||||
| PART IV | |||||
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Terms | Definitions | |||||||
“Fannie Mae” | The Federal National Mortgage Association is a government-sponsored enterprise that purchases qualifying mortgage loans from mortgage lenders, packages them together, and sells them as a mortgage-backed security to investors on the secondary market. | |||||||
“FHA” | The Federal Housing Administration is a governmental agency that provides mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders. | |||||||
“Forward-settling Loan Sale Commitment” or “FLSC” or “TBA” | A forward-settling Loan Sale Commitment (also referred to as a FLSC or a TBA) is a forward derivative that requires a mortgage lender to commit to deliver at a specific future date a mortgage-backed security issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae which is collateralized by an undesignated pool of mortgage loans. | |||||||
“Freddie Mac” | The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation is a government-sponsored enterprise that purchases qualifying mortgage loans from mortgage lenders, packages them together, and sells them as a mortgage-backed security to investors on the secondary market. | |||||||
“Ginnie Mae” | Government National Mortgage Association is a government-owned corporation that guarantees mortgage-backed securities that have been guaranteed by a government agency, mainly the Federal Housing Administration and the Veterans Administration. | |||||||
“GSE” | Government-sponsored enterprises, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. | |||||||
“interest rate lock commitment” or “IRLC” | An interest rate lock commitment is a binding agreement by a mortgage lender with a borrower to extend a mortgage loan at a specified interest rate and term within a specified period of time. | |||||||
“loan officers” | We use the term loan officers to refer to the individual employees of our clients. Each loan officer is licensed, or exempt from licensure, in the state or states in which he or she operates. | |||||||
“mortgage-backed security” or “MBS” | Mortgage-backed securities, or MBSs, are securities that are secured by a pool of mortgage loans, which does not include the MSRs which are separated from the mortgage loan prior to the mortgage loan being placed in the pool and are therefore not part of the collateral. | |||||||
“mortgage servicing rights” or “MSRs” | Mortgage servicing rights, or MSRs, are the right to service a mortgage loan for a fee, which rights are separated from the mortgage loan once the mortgage loan is sold in the secondary market. | |||||||
“To Be Announced market” | The To Be Announced market is a secondary market where FLSCs or TBAs are sold by lenders seeking to hedge the risk that market interest rates may change and lock in a price for the mortgages they are in the process of originating. | |||||||
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements relate to expectations for future financial performance, business strategies or expectations for our business. Specifically, forward-looking statements in this report include statements relating to:
•the future financial performance of our business;
•our future growth, including our loan originations and position in the industry compared to our peers;
•our client-based business strategies, strategic initiatives, technological developments and product pipeline;
•expectations regarding the impact and timing of discontinuation of LIBOR on our warehouse and other facilities;
•the impact of interest rate risk on our business;
•our ability to renew our sale and repurchase agreements, and the impacts of counterparty risks on our business;
•our mitigation of credit risks and the impacts of defaults on our business, as well as our risk mitigation strategies;
•our accounting policies and recent amendments to the FASB rules regulations;
•macroeconomic conditions that may affect our business and the mortgage industry in general;
•political and geopolitical conditions that may affect our business and the mortgage industry in general;
•our utilization of our warehouse facilities, MSR Facility, and Revolving Credit Facility, including outstanding borrowings through 2023;
•the impact of litigation on our financial position;
•our repurchase and indemnification obligations; and
•other statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “may,” “can,” “should,” “will,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “target” or similar expressions.
These forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions which may be affected by risks and uncertainties
in the Company’s business, as well as other external factors, which could cause future results to materially differ from those
expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement including those risks set forth below in Risk Factor Summary and the
other risks and uncertainties indicated in this report, including those set forth under the section entitled “Risk Factors.”
All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
An investment in our securities involves substantial risk. Our ability to execute on our strategy also is subject to certain risks. The risks described under the heading “Risk Factors” immediately following the Summary below may cause us not to realize the full benefits of our competitive strengths or may cause us to be unable to successfully execute all or part of our strategy. Some of the more significant challenges and risks we face include the following:
•our dependence on macroeconomic and U.S. residential real estate market conditions, including changes in U.S. monetary policies that affect interest rates;
•our reliance on our warehouse facilities to fund mortgage loans and otherwise operate our business, leveraging of assets under these facilities and the risk of a decrease in the value of the collateral underlying certain of our facilities causing an unanticipated margin call;
•our ability to sell loans in the secondary market, including to government sponsored enterprises, and to securitize our loans into mortgage-backed securities through the GSEs and Ginnie Mae, and our ability to sell MSRs in the bulk MSR secondary market;
•our dependence on the GSEs and the risk of changes to these entities and their roles, including, as a result of GSE reform, termination of conservatorship or efforts to increase the capital levels of the GSEs;
•changes in the GSEs’, FHA, USDA and VA guidelines or GSE and Ginnie Mae guarantees;
•our dependence on licensed residential mortgage officers or entities, including brokers that arrange for funding of mortgage loans, or banks, credit unions or other entities that use their own funds or warehouse
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facilities to fund mortgage loans, but in any case do not underwrite or otherwise make the credit decision with regard to such mortgage loans to originate mortgage loans;
•the unique challenges posed to our business by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of governmental actions taken in response to the pandemic on our ability to originate mortgages, our servicing operations, our liquidity and our team members;
•the risk that an increase in the value of the MBSs we sell in forward markets to hedge our pipeline may result in an unanticipated margin call;
•our inability to continue to grow, or to effectively manage the growth of, our loan origination volume;
•our ability to continue to attract and retain our Independent Mortgage Broker relationships;
•the occurrence of a data breach or other failure of our cybersecurity;
•loss of key management;
•reliance on third-party software and services;
•reliance on third-party sub-servicers to service our mortgage loans or our mortgage servicing rights;
•intense competition in the mortgage industry;
•our ability to implement technological innovation;
•our ability to continue to comply with the complex state and federal laws, regulations or practices applicable to mortgage loan origination and servicing in general, including maintaining the appropriate state licenses, managing the costs and operational risk associated with material changes to such laws;
•fines or other penalties associated with the conduct of Independent Mortgage Brokers;
•errors or the ineffectiveness of internal and external models or data we rely on to manage risk and make business decisions;
•loss or inability to enforce intellectual property rights or contractual rights;
•risk of counterparty terminating servicing rights and contracts;
•the possibility that we may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and
•the requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members and team members.
PART I
Item 1. Business
Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, when used in this Annual Report, the term “UWMC” means UWM Holdings Corporation, “UWM” means United Wholesale Mortgage, LLC and "the Company," “we,” “our” and “us” refer to UWM Holdings Corporation and our subsidiaries.
Overview
We are the publicly traded indirect parent of United Wholesale Mortgage, LLC (“UWM”). Commencing in the third quarter of 2022, UWM is the largest overall residential mortgage lender in the U.S., despite originating mortgage loans exclusively through the wholesale channel. For the last eight years, including the year ended December 31, 2022, we have been the largest Wholesale Mortgage Lender in the U.S. by closed loan volume. We originate primarily conforming and government loans across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
We are focused on propelling the wholesale mortgage broker channel forward. During 2022, as interest rates rose and the mortgage industry experienced a slow-down of refinancings, we continued to make significant strides to provide Independent Mortgage Brokers with a variety of product offerings to address market conditions and bring more awareness to the broker channel overall and the value that this channel provides to consumers. With a culture of continuous innovation of technology, enhanced client experience, and market responsive pricing and profitability enhancements, our main goal has been to ensure the Independent Mortgage Broker community, and therefore UWM, is set up to win.
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Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Pontiac, Michigan, we have built a client-focused, team-oriented culture that strives to bring superior customer service, efficiency and operational stability to our clients, the Independent Mortgage Brokers. UWM completed its business combination with Gores Holdings IV, Inc. (“Gores IV”) on January 21, 2021, pursuant to which UWM became an indirect subsidiary of Gores IV. Upon consummation of the business combination, Gores IV changed its name to UWM Holdings Corporation. We began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on January 22, 2021 under the ticker symbol UWMC.
Strategy
Our principal strategy that has driven our substantial growth over the past years, is our strategic decision to operate solely as a Wholesale Mortgage Lender—thereby avoiding conflict with our partners, the Independent Mortgage Brokers and their direct relationship with borrowers. We believe that by not competing for the borrower connection and relationship, we are able to generate significantly higher loyalty and satisfaction from our clients (the Independent Mortgage Brokers) who, in turn, armed with our partnership tools are positioned to direct a growing share of the residential mortgage volume nationwide.
Integral components of our strategy are (1) continuing our leadership position in the growing wholesale channel by investing in technology and partnership tools designed to meet the needs of Independent Mortgage Brokers and their customers, (2) capitalizing on our strategic advantages which include a singular focus on the wholesale channel, that can quickly adapt to market conditions and opportunities, and ample capital and liquidity, (3) employing our six pillars (see below) to drive a unique culture that we believe results in a durable competitive advantage and (4) originating high quality loans, the vast majority of which are backed directly or indirectly by the federal government, to minimize market risks and to maximize opportunity in different macroeconomic environments.
The residential mortgage loan financing process typically involves three stages:
•Initiate Borrower Connection. A broker or other party is approached by a potential borrower for a mortgage loan. This party advises the borrower on loan options, runs the initial credit check, gathers the borrower’s information for the loan application and submits the loan application.
•Underwrite, Close and Fund. The borrower’s loan application is reviewed, the mortgage loan is underwritten, the borrower is approved, the closing is arranged and the loan is funded, collectively referred to as loan origination.
•Portfolio or Package and Sell mortgage loan into Secondary Market Sales. The loan is either placed into an investment portfolio (in the case of banks and typically only for certain loans tied to shorter term interest rates) or packaged together with other loans and sold as MBS to investors in the secondary market.
We operate exclusively as a Wholesale Mortgage Lender and only originate, underwrite and close mortgage loans arranged by an Independent Mortgage Broker. We believe that by focusing only on the wholesale channel, we can be a true partner to our clients (all of which are Independent Mortgage Brokers). Unlike “Retail Mortgage Lenders” that both offer mortgage loans directly to individual borrowers and underwrite the mortgage loans, we do not work directly with the borrower during the mortgage loan financing process.
Many of our competitors are primarily Retail Mortgage Lenders that also compete in the wholesale channel as Wholesale Mortgage Lenders. We believe that by competing in both channels, these competitors have an inherent conflict that makes them a less attractive option for Independent Mortgage Brokers when deciding which lender to work with when originating a mortgage loan. We further believe that this competitive advantage is a major reason that has and will continue to drive market share growth and loan production as the wholesale channel grows.
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Leading in the Growing Wholesale Channel
According to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System ("NMLS"), as of September 30, 2022, there were approximately 386,000 federally registered mortgage loan officers in the U.S. Our exclusive focus on the wholesale channel has resulted in relationships with over 12,000 independent broker businesses throughout the U.S., with over 45,000 associated loan officers—of which approximately 33,000 have submitted a loan to us during the year 2022. As the wholesale channel continues to grow, especially in a rising interest rate environment, we see a significant opportunity for these mortgage loan officers to join the wholesale channel.
Benefits to Borrower
•Provides Trusted Advisor in Complex Financial Instruments. Independent Mortgage Brokers serve as advisors to borrowers, leveraging their deep knowledge base of complex financial products to help borrowers make informed decisions. Independent Mortgage Brokers assist prospective borrowers in analyzing their financial situation, assessing his or her credit history and current mortgage and making an informed decision based on their personal circumstances.
•Maximizes Optionality. Independent Mortgage Brokers are able to provide borrowers with multiple options on product structure and pricing rather than being rooted in a single platform offering, which we believe empowers borrowers and enhances their borrowing experience. We believe that Independent Mortgage Brokers are able to deliver borrowers access to better rates than their Retail Mortgage Lender counterparts. As a partner to our clients, we continually strive to provide a range of residential loan options, so that our clients can match the needs of their borrowers with our product offerings.
•Streamlines and Enhances the Experience. Independent Mortgage Brokers are best positioned to be the single personalized point-of-contact for the loan process and provide borrowers a superior customer service experience.
•Aligns Interest. In the wholesale channel, the interests of the Independent Mortgage Broker and the borrower are aligned to achieve the best outcome for the borrower—which increases borrower loyalty to the Independent Mortgage Broker and provides a greater likelihood that the borrower will retain the advisor for future transactions.
Benefits to Independent Mortgage Broker
•Drives Brand Recognition and Loyalty. We believe that allowing Independent Mortgage Brokers to “own” the relationship with the borrower drives client brand recognition and loyalty. When borrowers view their Independent Mortgage Brokers as the person who delivered the superior results, rather than just as a conduit to funding, they are more likely to return to that Independent Mortgage Broker for their next residential mortgage loan, whether it is a new purchase or a refinance. Our technology provides Independent Mortgage Brokers with advanced personalized marketing tools to establish and maintain their borrower relationships.
•Offers Flexibility. We believe that Independent Mortgage Brokers and their loan officers are better served by the wholesale channel as it provides them the flexibility of matching their borrowers’ needs with the most applicable lender and lender program. A Wholesale Mortgage Lender needs to earn business every day. If the Wholesale Mortgage Lender is not faster, easier and more affordable, it will not be successful in earning that business.
• Develops and Protects Relationship with Borrower. Utilizing the wholesale channel with a true Wholesale Mortgage Lender allows Independent Mortgage Brokers to both cultivate new borrower relationships and maintain their relationships with borrowers throughout the mortgage lending process and beyond with less risk of being replaced by the lender in the next new purchase or a refinance. Retail Mortgage Lenders that dabble in the wholesale channel do not afford this protected relationship.
•Ability to Provide Superior Sophisticated and Personalized Service. The wholesale channel allows Independent Mortgage Brokers to offer a diverse set of product options and capitalize on the benefits of scale to offer superior service, such as turn times and pull through rates, with the focus on personal service. Our suite of full-service technology platforms positions Independent Mortgage Brokers to effectively compete with banks and other non-bank loan originators by delivering a closely managed end-to-end experience for the borrower from origination through closing.
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Benefits to UWM
•Access to Extensive Network. The wholesale channel offers us access to a broad network of Independent Mortgage Brokers, reducing reliance on any one entity or any geographic region.
•Volume Levels Supports Significant Automation. Our volume allows for significant investment in automating each step of the residential loan process, which in turn reduces error rates, improves customer service and enhances efficiency.
•Distribute Fixed Cost Across Wider Network. Our exclusive focus on the wholesale channel reduces our fixed costs by allowing us to distribute costs across a wider network of clients. We invest in the personnel and technology resources to underwrite, close, fund and sell residential mortgage loans. This results in a minimal fixed cost base for origination and high marginal profitability.
•Supports Scalability. We believe that our exclusive focus on the wholesale channel coupled with our efficient and centralized processes, cost structure and technology platform has resulted in a business that is highly scalable with minimal incremental investment.
Capitalizing on our Strategic Advantages
We believe that our exclusive focus on the wholesale channel along with our business model, team members, technologies and competitive position provide us with some significant strategic advantages.
•Strong Brand Recognition. Our leading position as a Wholesale Mortgage Lender and ability to deliver superior client service provides us strong brand recognition with Independent Mortgage Brokers. Starting in the third quarter 2022, we were the largest residential mortgage lender in the U.S. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had approximately 38% market share in the wholesale channel (based on data released by Inside Mortgage Finance ("IMF")) and 8% share of the overall mortgage market.
•Operational Excellence. We believe our exclusive focus on the wholesale channel provides us with a differentiated, client-centric business model that enables us to invest in, and deliver to our clients, a full suite of technology and workflow solutions that allow for industry-leading closing times for our clients. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we originated approximately 348,000 loans, down from approximately 654,000 loans for the year ended December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2022, our average application to clear to close time was 18 business days, compared to management's estimate of the industry average of 50 calendar days for 2022. During 2022, we closed an average of 5.9 loans per month per production team member, well above the industry average of 1.7 during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 (based on a Mortgage Bankers Association report). Furthermore, we delivered this speed while receiving an 89% average monthly client Net Promoter Score ("NPS") for the year ended December 31, 2022, as well as an 86% average monthly client NPS for the past six years.
•Innovative Technology Platforms. Leveraging our culture of continuous technological innovation, we have built proprietary technology platforms and exclusively license technology that support our clients and borrowers to provide what we believe to be a best-in-class client experience. We believe that our technology platforms provide us with a competitive advantage, driving client retention and offering the ability to efficiently and quickly achieve closings on loan originations. We offer our clients a complete platform with a highly efficient, external-facing interface that includes required regulatory and compliance mechanisms. We seek to continuously improve and innovate our technology platforms and have a team of over 1,100 full time team members as of December 31, 2022 committed to our information systems and technologies.
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Employing Our Six Pillars to Drive a Durable Competitive Advantage
We were founded with a simple goal in mind: attract great people, to a great workplace, and give them the tools they need to do great work. Our culture is based on six pillars:
•People—our people are the secret to our success. We invest in our team members with continuous and real-time training so they can continue to set the standard. Team members are given a path to succeed and are rewarded for that success.
•Service—We pride ourselves on creating a memorable service experience for every partner. Internal service among team members is critical.
•Relationship driven—Our long-term reputation is more important than short-term gains. We place a premium on creating lasting relationships with our clients and counterparties, such as our Independent Mortgage Brokers, warehouse banks, vendors, regulators and other agencies.
•Thumb pointers—Team members are focused on accountability and personal responsibility. Our team members concentrate on taking ownership, improving and delivering results.
•Continuous improvement—We develop and introduce cutting-edge, industry leading technology and information processes.
•Fun and friendship—We are a big believer that work can (and should) be fun. It’s about finding your passion and purpose—but always leaving time for friendship and camaraderie. UWM is consistently recognized as a great place to work, winning Top Workplaces USA in 2022 along with its 10th year in-a-row of both Best and Brightest Metro Detroit and Best and Brightest National.
These core principles influence everything we do and form the basis of our client-focused culture.
Originating High Quality Loans Backed Directly or Indirectly by the Federal Government to Minimize Risks and to Maximize Opportunity in Different Macroeconomic Environments
An integral component to our strategy is to originate high quality loans throughout the U.S. For the year ended December 31, 2022, our borrowers had a weighted average FICO score of approximately 738 as compared to a weighted average FICO score of 750 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The following charts illustrate our loan originations portfolio by type and FICO score mix for the year ended December 31, 2022:
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Our model is focused on the origination business, with a specific focus on purchase loans. Historically, residential purchase mortgage loan origination volume has experienced less volatility in response to interest rate movements than the refinancing mortgage loan origination volume. Consequently, we believe that by focusing on the purchase business we will be better positioned to deliver more consistent volume in increasing and decreasing interest rate environments. In rising interest rate environments, we believe that our demonstrated reputation for excellent client service and short loan closing times will drive continued purchase mortgage volume, our broad client base will allow us to capitalize on lead generation and our cost structure will allow us to be more competitive on margins.
We currently retain the majority of the mortgage servicing rights ("MSRs") associated with our production, but we have, and intend to continue to opportunistically sell MSRs depending on market conditions. This nimble approach has provided us funding flexibility, and reduced legacy MSR asset exposure. In addition, our wholesale-only business is uniquely positioned to capture a greater share of purchase originations and, we believe, provides a competitive advantage relative to correspondent or various retail origination models.
Our Loan Programs
Over the past 10 years we have developed technologies and processes that allow us to quickly introduce and market new loan programs or to adjust for existing loan programs and to adapt services and offerings to ever-changing markets for home financing. These technologies allow us to quickly and efficiently build guidelines, rules, pricing, and controls into our loan origination platforms and workflows; generate new loan documents, disclosures and program descriptions from our systems; and efficiently distribute internal communications. By having nimble and flexible systems that are controlled internally, we believe we are better positioned to take advantage of market opportunities when they present themselves and change the direction of loan programs when the market dictates.
Conventional agency-conforming mortgage loans
Since 2012, we have been primarily focused on originating conventional, agency-eligible loans that can be sold to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or transferred to Ginnie Mae pools for sale in the secondary market. Our conventional agency-conforming loans meet the general underwriting guidelines established by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Loans that are written under the FHA program, the VA program or the USDA program are guaranteed by the governmental agencies and then transferred to Ginnie Mae pools for sale in the secondary market. Substantially all of our mortgage loans are underwritten to the “Qualified Mortgage” underwriting standards established by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"). For the year ended December 31, 2022, 94% of loans originated were sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or were transferred to Ginnie Mae pools in the secondary market, while the remainder were primarily jumbo loans that are underwritten to the same “Qualified Mortgage" underwriting standards and have a similar risk profile but are sold to third party investors purely due to loan size.
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The following table summarizes our loan production by loan type for the periods indicated.
| ($ in thousands) Loan Type | For the year ended December 31, 2022 | For the year ended December 31, 2021 | For the year ended December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| Purchase: | |||||||||||||||||
| Conventional | $ | 62,274,030 | $ | 63,026,794 | $ | 33,717,939 | |||||||||||
| Government | 23,773,422 | 14,833,808 | 8,619,874 | ||||||||||||||
| Jumbo and other | 4,782,879 | 9,395,143 | 583,299 | ||||||||||||||
| Total purchase | $ | 90,830,331 | $ | 87,255,745 | $ | 42,921,112 | |||||||||||
| Refinance: | |||||||||||||||||
| Conventional | $ | 27,059,252 | $ | 120,152,065 | $ | 119,807,647 | |||||||||||
| Government | 7,834,636 | 12,034,583 | 18,921,473 | ||||||||||||||
| Jumbo and other | 1,561,242 | 7,061,299 | 897,409 | ||||||||||||||
| Total refinance | 36,455,130 | 139,247,947 | 139,626,529 | ||||||||||||||
| Total Loan Production | $ | 127,285,461 | $ | 226,503,692 | $ | 182,547,641 | |||||||||||
| Production volume (closest '000) | 348,000 | 654,000 | 561,000 | ||||||||||||||
| Average initial loan balance | $ | 365 | $ | 346 | $ | 325 | |||||||||||
Our Mortgage Lending Process
We believe that our highly scaled, efficient and centralized mortgage lending processes are key to our success. Utilizing our proprietary system, “Easiest Application System Ever” (EASETM), and our dedicated team members we focus on client service, and loan quality throughout the entire loan origination, underwriting and closing processes. EASETM automates the process and, based on the jurisdictional requirements of the client and borrower, automatically generates the necessary documents required by us and by the clients for applications. The entire origination, underwriting and preparation of closing documents takes place in our centralized, paperless work environment where documents and data are entered into EASETM and are reviewed, processed and analyzed based on a set of pre-determined, rules-based workflows. We focus on speed to close as it is one of the primary metrics for client satisfaction. We believe our closing process is the most efficient in the industry and results in shorter application to clear-to-close times than any of the other major Retail Mortgage Lenders or Wholesale Mortgage Lenders. For both the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, we delivered an average of 18 business days from loan application to clear to close, as compared to management's estimates of the industry averages of 50 and 46 calendar days, respectively.
Our rules-based mortgage loan origination system, or LOS allows multiple teams to work on the same loan at the same time, to track and be alerted to missing or incomplete items, to flag items in order to alert other team members of possible deficiencies and to have visibility into the history, status and progress of loans in process. We use advanced technologies and workflow systems to assist all underwriting and operations team members in prioritizing which loans require their immediate attention and to monitor each team’s progress so workload-balancing decisions can be made among the operation teams in real time and avoid bottlenecks.
Underwriting
Our underwriting process is one of our key strategic advantages as our extensive training program and technology platforms allow us to produce a portfolio of high-quality loans, with an industry-leading time from application to clear to close and maintain the superior level of client service that allows us to attract and retain our clients. All mortgage loans that we originate are underwritten in-house by our underwriting team. We invest significant time and resources in our underwriters through our robust training process to help them and us succeed. We believe that our intensive training program is an integral component of our scalability as we are able to materially increase our underwriting resources, at a consistent quality, with less labor constraints and complications than our competitors.
Our clients, the Independent Mortgage Brokers, have the initial communication with a potential borrower and they receive from the borrower the relevant financial and property information to run a credit check and obtain a pre-approval through one of the automated underwriting systems. Once a pre-approval has been received, an Independent Mortgage Broker is able to seamlessly import the borrower’s information and documentation into our EASETM LOS without the need for extra data entry. One of our senior underwriters then reviews the file and, based on the loan product and the financial and other information provided, makes an underwriting decision. If the mortgage loan is approved, our system generates a “conditions to
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close” list based on the specifics of the borrower, the property and the loan product and a junior underwriter who generally takes ownership of the file ensuring that each of these conditions is met prior to granting a “clear-to-close.”
We utilize technology and automated processes throughout the underwriting process, to provide our underwriters “guard rails” and allow us to efficiently and effectively underwrite loans while mitigating risk. For example, if a loan product requires an 80% loan-to-value or a family gift is providing a portion of a deposit, our systems are programmed to automatically populate the appropriate conditions and not permit the loan to move on to the next step in the underwriting process until the appropriate documents are uploaded into the system. We also recently launched BOLT, which allows mortgage brokers to obtain initial underwriting approval for qualified borrowers in as little as 15 minutes, which we believe will enable brokers to close loans faster.
Loan closings
UWM UCloseTM, our document closing tool, allows clients to facilitate and easily control the closing process, including document generation, title company interaction and the timing of closing. In addition, we structure our closing process such that all conditions are satisfied prior to the generation of closing documents and therefore are able to provide clients and borrowers automatic funding for all closings. Once a title agent uploads the executed documents into UCloseTM, the funds are automatically wired to the appropriate parties. We believe that eliminating the hours of waiting in a title office leads to more satisfied borrowers and repeat business for us and our clients.
We believe we have achieved industry leading close times through the use of proprietary technology and process innovations such as DocHub, UClose and BOLT (described in the "Advanced technologies and systems" section below). Additionally, in 2021, we recognized that one of the pain points in timely closings were the delays in obtaining appraisals. Consequently, we launched UWM Appraisal Direct. Appraisal Direct provides mortgage brokers a streamlined, transparent process for the scheduling, execution and delivery of an appraisal that they can easily track, which we believe will deliver faster appraisals to offer a better experience and relieve a key pain point in the mortgage industry.
Loan closing speeds are also positively impacted for clients who select our innovative Title Review and Closing ("TRAC") program, which provides an alternative to utilizing a traditional lender title policy. By leveraging in-house title counsel to review title related documents and issue attorney title opinion letters ("ATOL(s)") UWM is able to streamline the title review process and facilitate a faster and easier experience for the borrower.
Capital Markets and Secondary Marketing
Our capital markets team is dedicated to maximizing loan sale profitability while at the same time minimizing operational, interest rate and market risks. This team manages the interest rate risk for the business and is responsible for interest rate lock management policies and procedures, hedging the pipeline, managing warehouse facilities and associated facility utilization and managing risk and sales of mortgage servicing rights on the balance sheet. We aggregate our loan production into pools that are (i) sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or securitized through the issuance of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac bonds, (ii) transferred into Ginnie Mae pools and securitized by us into government-insured mortgage-backed securities, or (iii) sold outright or securitized to investors in the secondary mortgage market. Our primary access to the secondary market comes from pooling and selling eligible loans that we originate through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae’s securitization programs. The goal of the capital markets team is to protect margin at origination, and to maximize execution at sale. We believe that our technologies, automated workflow and experienced capital markets team allow us to quickly aggregate and sell the pools of loans in order to make efficient use of our capital and warehouse facilities. Our focus on agency deliverable originations and speed to sale reduces our exposure to market volatility, liquidity risk and credit risk.
When we have identified a pool of mortgage loans to sell to the agencies, non-governmental entities, or through our private label securitization transactions, we repurchase such loans from our warehouse lender and sell the pool of mortgage loans into the secondary market, but generally retain the mortgage servicing rights, or MSRs, associated with those loans. To the extent we generate non-agency loans, these loans are typically sold under an incentive-based servicing structure which permits us to retain servicing and control the borrower experience. We retain MSRs for a period of time depending on business and liquidity considerations. When we sell MSRs, we typically sell them in the bulk MSR secondary market.
Repurchase and indemnification risks
Although we do not retain credit risk on the loans we sell into the secondary market, we (i) have repurchase and indemnification obligations to purchasers of mortgage loans for breaches under our loan sale agreements and (ii) are
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contractually obligated, in certain circumstances, to refund to the purchasers certain premiums paid to us on the sale if the mortgagor prepays the loan within a specified period of time.
Loan sale agreements, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac master agreements, require us to make certain representations and warranties related to, among other things, the quality of the loans, underwriting of the loans in conformity with the applicable agency, FHA or VA guidelines, and origination in compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Generally, liability only arises if there is a breach of the representations and warranties in a material respect based on standards set forth under the terms of the related loan sale agreement. While some of the representations and warranties in our loan sale agreements may extend over the life of the loan, most of our historical repurchase activity has involved loans which defaulted within the first few years after origination. We attempt to limit the risk of repurchase and indemnification by structuring our operations to ensure that we originate high-quality mortgages that are compliant with the representations and warranties given in the loan sale agreements.
Infrastructure, Systems and Technologies
Advanced technologies and systems
We are a technology driven company that continuously seeks to innovate and provide superior systems to our clients, with over 1,100 highly trained team members dedicated to our technology and information systems located in our Pontiac, Michigan headquarters as of December 31, 2022.
We focus on automating and providing sophisticated tools for loan origination functions, but also with respect to automating the infrastructure that supports those core operations, such as training, capital markets, human resources and facilities functions. Our integrated technology platforms create an automated, scalable, standardized and controlled end-to-end loan origination process that incorporates government/agency guidelines and loan program requirements into rules-based workflows, to ensure loans progress to closing only as conditions, guidelines and requirements are met and required information is provided and verified, and accounts for variations in state laws, loan programs and property type, among other variables.
Our client facing systems are generally proprietary (other than Blink+TM), developed in-house and were built to be scalable and readily modified, which allows us to quickly introduce enhanced features and to change loan program guidelines in response to market, industry and regulatory changes without excessive complex programming or dependency on outside entities. Our client facing systems are as follows:
•Boost - Our exclusive platform which provides independent mortgage brokers with streamlined access to purchase tailored leads, stay in touch with past clients, connect with real estate agents and opt into live call transfers.
•BOLT – Allows mortgage brokers to obtain initial underwriting approval for qualified borrowers in as little as 15 minutes, which we believe will enable brokers to close loans faster. We also believe that BOLT will unlock underwriter capacity and ultimately drive down our cost-per-loan.
•DocHubTM – Our custom-built document management system that allows team members to control the way they view, interact with, and deliver the documents required to close and fund loans. The program allows us to scale business without increasing costs associated with document storage, and processes can be designed in conjunction with the document management system for maximum efficiency.
•Blink+TM – A client facing point of sale (POS) system white-labeled for our clients. Blink+TM allows clients to access our products and pricing, automated underwriting system and fee templates. This solution syncs loan application data, including fees, with our EASETM program, and replaces a client’s costly existing system free of charge while encouraging lead conversion. Blink+TM integrates with Brand 360TM to convert leads into applications.
•InTouch Mobile App – A mobile app that allows our clients to handle virtually every aspect of the lending process, from underwriting through clear-to-close, without need for a desktop computer.
•Brand 360TM – Our all-encompassing marketing platform supports our clients’ growth and brand building capabilities. It provides useful communications tools to help our clients stay connected to borrowers and monitors home equity, new home listings, and rates to provide relevant market updates to ensure clients stay connected with potential new or repeat borrowers.
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•UCloseTM – Our tool that allows clients to facilitate and easily control the closing process, notably timing, document generation, and title company interaction and the autonomous nature of the tool promotes more timely and efficient closings.
•EASETM – Our “Easiest Application System Ever” is our primary LOS that allows clients to interact with us and to select products, lock rates and run the Automated Underwriting System (AUS).
Our Blink+TM (POS) system was developed by a third party and has been white-labeled for our clients and integrated into our technology suite to provide Independent Mortgage Brokers a direct online method for communicating with us the information required for residential loan applications. We pay the Blink+TM developer per unit transaction fees, subject to a minimum monthly fee. Pursuant to our agreement with the Blink+TM developer, the developer has agreed to not make its online platform available to other wholesale lenders for a term that extends until November 2023 (or November 2024 to the extent that we have closed at least 25,000 loans using the platform during 2023), subject to a de minimis exception that includes our prior written consent for new participants.
In addition, we have internally developed enterprise level systems that:
•provide automated work queue prioritization, operational visibility and relevant metrics which allow us to readily detect and address bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the loan origination process,
•use custom electronic interfaces with vendors and transaction partners, which allow us to quickly obtain and import data into our systems in a form which does not require re-keying of information; and
•deliver desktop computer based training to efficiently and effectively train clients and internal operations teams on new programs and changes in guidelines.
We also maintain an enterprise data/metrics warehouse which provides our team with the ability to interface with statistical, analytical and reporting tools that provides senior management with visibility into key performance indicators in real time.
Data security & safeguards
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) and other state and federal laws require that financial institutions take measures to safeguard the security and confidentiality of the personal financial information of their clients. Some states have passed laws to further protect client information, including laws that regulate the use of Social Security numbers as identifiers, require notifications to clients if the security of their personal information has been breached and/or require us to encrypt personal information when it is transmitted electronically. We employ various in-house and third-party technologies, and network administration policies, that are designed to:
•protect our computer network and network-accessible resources from unauthorized access;
•protect information stored on our computer network from losses, viruses, external threats and data corruption;
•protect the privacy of information on our computer network and with respect to transfers of information to and from our computer network; and
•protect our computer network and system availability from malicious attacks.
In light of constantly changing threats and vulnerabilities, no computer network can be said to be impervious from attack. However, we believe that the technologies and the information security program that we have adopted are appropriate to the size, complexity and scope of services we provide, as well as the nature of the information that we handle. Our network and information security team members are dedicated to monitoring security systems, evaluating the effectiveness of technologies against known risks and adjusting systems accordingly. In addition, we have outside firms specializing in network security perform periodic penetration testing and periodic internal audits of various information security functions. We also perform periodic audits of our systems for identity and access management.
Loan Servicing
In addition to loan origination, we derive revenue from MSRs related to our loan originations. After a loan is originated, loan servicers manage payments, delinquencies, and other administrative functions of mortgages for third party investors. Servicers derive contractual revenue from servicing fees on the UPB of the loans in their servicing portfolio as well as other ancillary income. The net present value of these expected future cash flows is represented on the balance sheet as
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MSRs. MSR valuations have traditionally increased with increased interest rates because higher rates lead to decreased prepayments, thereby extending the average life of the asset and increasing related expected cash flows. Conversely, decreases in long term interest rates generally result in a decrease in the value of the MSR portfolio due to the expectation of higher prepayments. As such, MSR cash flows provide a natural hedge to originations, as volumes tend to decline in rising interest rate environments and increase in declining interest rate environments.
We retain MSRs for a period of time depending on business and liquidity considerations. When we sell MSRs, we typically sell them in the bulk MSR secondary market. We utilize two sub-servicers to service the loans for which we have retained servicing rights, one of which is a bank and one is a non-bank lender. By diversifying the type of sub-servicer, as well as splitting the MSR portfolio between two well recognized and capitalized sub-servicers, we believe it mitigates against certain risks inherent in the servicing business (whether done internally or outsourced to a sub-servicer). Our team of approximately 40 servicing oversight professionals is responsible for monitoring our sub-servicers. We have a robust sub-servicer oversight program to ensure a high level of borrower satisfaction and to support the relationships between those borrowers and our clients. Our in-house servicing team performs daily, monthly and quarterly testing to determine performance metrics and ensure agency and regulatory compliance and provides regular updates to our executive leadership team. We contractually obligate our sub-servicers to maintain appropriate licenses where required, maintain their approved servicer status with the applicable agencies and adhere to the applicable agency, investor or credit owner servicing guidelines and requirements in their servicing of mortgage loans for us.
Our servicing, quality control, internal audit, vendor relations, and legal and compliance teams perform various reviews of our servicing oversight program and operations. Our servicing team addresses any deficiencies with sub-servicers to ensure corrective action and controls are implemented.
As of December 31, 2022, our servicing portfolio consisted of 967,050 loans with an aggregate UPB of approximately $312.5 billion, a weighted average service fee of 0.2862% and weighted average note rate of 3.64%. As of December 31, 2021, our servicing portfolio consisted of 1,017,027 loans with an aggregate UPB of approximately $319.8 billion, a weighted average service fee of 0.2624% and a weighted average note rate of 2.94%.
We have experienced delinquency rates in our servicing portfolio that are lower than the industry average, with the percentage of UPB of mortgage loans that are 60 or more days delinquent in payments (referred to as the “60+ delinquency rate”) of approximately 0.85% and 0.81% as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, compared to the industry average of 2.04% and 3.38%, based on data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. We attribute this to both our commitment to high quality originations and our focus on client service within the servicing portfolio.
Advance obligations
As a servicer, we are obligated to service the loans according to the applicable agency, investor or credit owner guidelines and law. These obligations may require that we advance certain funds to securitization trusts and to others in the event that the borrowers are delinquent on their monthly mortgage payments. When a borrower remains delinquent, we may be required to advance principal and interest payments to the securitization trusts on the scheduled remittance date. We may also be required to advance taxes, insurance payments, legal fees, and maintenance and preservation costs with respect to property that is subject to foreclosure proceedings. These advances create a receivable due to us from the securitization trusts and/or borrower, and we recover these funds from the securitization trusts, from the borrower or from the proceeds of the sale of property in foreclosure. We had receivables of $135.4 million and $135.1 million as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, which are due to us from the securitization trusts and/or borrowers.
Competition
Competition in the residential mortgage loan origination market is intense. Institutions offering to make residential mortgage loans, regardless of the channel, include regional and community banks, thrifts, credit unions, mortgage banks, mortgage brokers, brokerage firms, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.
Some of our competitors may have more name recognition and greater financial and other resources than we have (including access to capital). Other competitors, such as lenders who originate mortgage loans using their own funds, or direct retail lenders who market directly to homeowners, may have more operational flexibility in approving loans, may have advantages in soliciting home loans from their clients or have access to capital through deposits at lower costs than our warehouse facilities. Additionally, we operate at a competitive disadvantage in some respects to U.S. federal banks and thrifts and their subsidiaries because they enjoy federal preemption and, as a result, conduct their business under relatively uniform U.S. federal rules and standards and are generally not subject to the laws of the states in which they do business (including state
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“predatory lending” laws). Unlike our federally chartered competitors, we are generally subject to all state and local laws applicable to lenders in each jurisdiction in which we originate and service loans. To compete effectively, we must have a very high level of operational, technological and managerial expertise, as well as access to capital at a competitive cost.
Competition for mortgage loan originations takes place on various levels, including brand awareness, marketing, convenience, pricing, and range of products offered. We have increased our share of the residential mortgage market over time due to a client-centric, disciplined, centralized approach to origination. In the face of significant changes in the mortgage market, we have maintained our commitment to high credit quality loans. Our focus on technology and process improvements creates a more efficient origination system for both us and our clients. This has been rewarded with strong client service scores, via our net promoter scores, which we believe is a significant competitive advantage.
Government Regulations Affecting Loan Originations and Servicing
We operate in a heavily regulated industry that is highly focused on consumer protection. Our business is subject to extensive oversight and regulation by federal, state and local governmental authorities. Both the scope of the laws and regulations and the intensity of the supervision to which we are subject have increased in recent years, initially in response to the financial crisis, and more recently in light of other factors such as technological and market changes. We expect to continue to face regulatory scrutiny as a participant in the mortgage sector.
Our loan origination and loan servicing operations are primarily regulated at the state level by state financial services authorities and administrative agencies, and at the federal level by the CFPB. The CFPB has federal regulatory, supervisory and enforcement authority over the residential mortgage loan origination and servicing industry, including residential mortgage lenders and servicers, such as UWM. Specifically, the CFPB has rulemaking authority with respect to the federal consumer financial services laws applicable to mortgage lenders and servicers. These laws include (i) the Truth-In-Lending Act (TILA), (ii) the Homeowners Protection Act (HPA), (iii) the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), (iv) the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and Regulation C, and (v) the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). The CFPB’s enforcement jurisdiction is broad, and it has the ability to initiate investigations and enforcement actions against mortgage lenders and servicers for violations of applicable consumer financial services laws, including, but not limited to, the Dodd-Frank Act’s prohibitions on unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices. In addition, the CFPB shares jurisdiction with the FTC with respect to (i) the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B issued by the CFPB pursuant to ECOA, (ii) the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and (iii) the GLBA.
As part of its enforcement authority, the CFPB can order, among other things, rescission or reformation of contracts, the refund of moneys or the return of real property, restitution, disgorgement or compensation for unjust enrichment, the payment of damages or other monetary relief, public notifications regarding violations, remediation of practices, external compliance monitoring and civil money penalties. Since its inception in 2011, the CFPB has exercised its enforcement jurisdiction aggressively with respect to mortgage industry participants, initiating investigations, entering into consent orders with significant monetary and injunctive relief, and initiating litigation. Often these matters have involved differing theories and interpretations of long-existing laws without first issuing industry guidance or rules.
In addition to the CFPB, we are subject to a variety of regulatory and contractual obligations imposed by credit owners, insurers and guarantors of the mortgages we originate and service including, but not limited to, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, FHFA, FHA, VA and USDA. We periodically receive requests from federal, state and local agencies for records, documents and information relating to the policies, procedures and practices of our loan servicing, origination and collection activities. The agencies as well as GSEs and Ginnie Mae, and various investors and lenders also subject us to periodic reviews and audits and examinations. We are also subject to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and related regulations including the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act.
As noted above, we are also subject to the laws, regulations and rules of the fifty states in which we operate. These laws, regulations and rules may differ by state and sometimes differ from federal standards, are sometimes vague and subject to differing interpretations – all of which exposes us to legal and compliance risks. For example, many states have adopted regulations that prohibit various forms of “predatory” lending and place obligations on lenders to substantiate that a borrower will derive a tangible benefit from the proposed home financing transaction and/or have the ability to repay the loan. These laws have required most lenders to devote considerable resources to building and maintaining automated systems to perform loan-by-loan analysis of points, fees and other factors set forth in the laws, which often vary depending on the location of the mortgaged property.
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Our clients, the Independent Mortgage Brokers, are also subject to extensive regulation at the state level by state licensing authorities and administrative agencies. In certain circumstances, we can be held potentially liable for the acts and practices of our clients for violations of various federal and state consumer protection and other laws and regulations, including but not limited to (i) RESPA and Regulation X, (ii) the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), the FTC Credit Practices Rules and the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, each of which prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices and certain related practices; and (iii) the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which restricts telephone solicitations and the use of certain automatic telephone equipment. As a part of our enterprise risk management approach, we monitor our clients’ compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
The federal and state laws, rules and regulations to which we or our clients are subject affect nearly all aspects of our lending and servicing operations as well as those of our clients and partners. Given the extensive, complex and sometimes vague nature and scope of the laws, rules and regulations applicable to us, our clients and our partners and the judicial and administrative decisions and other actions interpreting them, we are subject to significant legal and compliance risks that could arise merely from inadvertent errors and omissions that we may not be able to eliminate entirely from our operations and activities or from the inadvertent errors of clients or partners that we may not be able to control for or address proactively. Consequently, we devote substantial resources to regulatory compliance and collaborate across our legal, operations, underwriting and IT teams to maintain our compliance management systems. However, we believe that the complexity of governmental regulations and the cost of compliance is a competitive advantage insofar as it imposes barriers to entry, limiting market participants to those whose volume supports such costs. Laws, rules and regulations that affect participants in the residential mortgage lending process, such as Independent Mortgage Brokers, also afford us an opportunity to leverage our technology platform to develop processes that are faster, easier and more affordable for such participants and ultimately for consumers.
Cyclicality and Seasonality
The demand for loan originations is affected by consumer demand for home loans and the market for buying, selling, financing or re-financing residential real estate, which is primarily driven by interest rates and employment levels. Interest rates and employment levels are, in turn, affected by the national economy, regional trends, property valuations, and socio-economic trends, and by state and federal regulations and programs which may encourage or discourage certain real estate trends.
Human Capital Management
We are more than just a mortgage company, we are a team of focused professionals making dreams come true for hopeful homebuyers across the country. We have created a culture that celebrates team spirit and an environment where work-life balance is more than lip-service.
Team Members
Our team members are the secret to our success, and we believe our team is only as strong as we make it. As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately 6,000 team members, substantially all of whom are based in our corporate campus in Pontiac, Michigan. We celebrate our team members and all of their accomplishments through various events throughout the year. From our annual company-wide family fair with thousands of smiling faces to afternoon dance parties, we believe that it is important to focus on the health and happiness of our team members and their families.
We provide a combination of health and retirement benefits to our eligible team members, including but not limited to coverage for medical care, vision, dental, life insurance, disability, 401(k) and paid time off. Our campus also offers team members easy ways to manage their health and welfare with a full-size indoor basketball court, an outdoor sand volleyball court, a large, state-of-the-art fitness center with a variety of fitness classes, a game room, featuring arcade games and table tennis, a primary care doctor's office, physical therapy studio, chiropractor and a full-time massage therapist.
We believe this commitment to our team members is why we have been recognized again in 2022 by numerous organizations for being a top employer and a great place to work. In a 2022 employee engagement survey, 95.28% of team members responded that they felt they belonged at UWM from a diversity and inclusion standpoint.
Diversity and Inclusion
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We strive to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion so all team members feel respected and no team member feels discriminated against. Our diverse, inclusive culture was built to promote positive attitudes, strong work ethics and individual authenticity. We believe a diverse workforce fosters innovation and cultivates an environment of unique perspectives. As of December 31, 2022, approximately 42% of our team members were female and 31% of our team members that choose to identify their ethnicity identified as ethnically diverse.
Engagement and Opportunities
Continuous improvement is a primary focus of our strategic plan and one of our core pillars. We believe personal and professional growth accelerates careers while promoting productivity and innovation. We heavily invest in the development of each team member. We have approximately 200 training team members dedicated to providing our new hires and existing team members with the trainings and resources necessary to pursue their career paths and ensure compliance with our policies. In 2022, approximately 1.6 million total training hours were delivered to team members. We are dedicated to increasing team member engagement by strategically aligning talent within UWM. As a result, we promoted approximately 1,300 team members during 2022.
Community Outreach
We recognize that our team members are part of the greater community in which they live and work and we are committed to giving back and making a positive impact on these communities around us and supporting our team members in their efforts to do the same. We believe in providing our team members the opportunity to do a lot of good and support the causes they care about. Team members receive paid-time off that they can use to volunteer. We and our team members partner with charities such as Adopt-A-Family, Breast Cancer Awareness and the American Red Cross, and sponsor local backpack, bike and coat drives to provide opportunities to give back. Our unique Pay It Forward program allows everyone the chance to earn points that direct where our Company charity dollars are spent — ensuring that even small gestures can be turned into generous contributions, and the opportunity to choose where our charitable dollars go.
Available Information
Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on From 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and amendments to those reports filed with or furnished to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available free of charge through the investor relations section of our website at www.uwm.com as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such material with the SEC. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding our filings at www.sec.gov. The above references to our website and the SEC’s website do not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on those websites and should not be considered part of this Annual Report.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully review and consider the following risk factors and the other information contained in this Annual Report, including the financial statements and notes to the financial statements included herein. The following risk factors apply to our business and operations. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in these risk factors, alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may have an adverse effect on our business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations. You should also carefully consider the following risk factors in addition to the other information included in this Annual Report, including matters addressed in the section entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements; Risk Factor Summary.” We may face additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known to us, or that we currently deem immaterial, which may also impair our business or financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Business
Our loan origination and servicing revenues are highly dependent on macroeconomic and U.S. residential real estate market conditions.
Our success depends largely on the health of the U.S. residential real estate industry, which is seasonal, cyclical, and affected by changes in general economic conditions beyond our control. Economic factors such as increased interest rates, slow economic growth or inflationary conditions, the pace of home price appreciation or the lack of it, changes in household debt levels, and increased unemployment, stagnant or declining wages or decreased purchasing power due to inflation affect our borrowers’ income and thus their ability and willingness to make loan payments.
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National or global events affect all such macroeconomic conditions. Weak or a significant deterioration in economic conditions reduce the amount of disposable income consumers have, which in turn reduces consumer spending and the willingness of qualified potential borrowers to take out loans. It is uncertain what impact the recent American Rescue Plan, other actions that the new Biden administration may adopt or steps that may be implemented by the Treasury Department may have on the macroeconomic conditions of the U.S. Furthermore, several state and local governments in the U.S. are experiencing, and may continue to experience, budgetary strain. One or more states or significant local governments could default on their debt or seek relief from their debt under the U.S. bankruptcy code or by agreement with their creditors. Any or all of the circumstances described above may lead to further volatility in or disruption of the credit markets at any time and could adversely affect our financial condition. Such economic factors typically affect buyers’ demand for new homes or their willingness or ability to refinance their current mortgages which could adversely affect the wholesale loan origination market and our financial condition or results of operations.
Any uncertainty or deterioration in market conditions that leads to a decrease in loan originations will likely result in lower revenue on loans sold into the secondary market. Lower loan origination volumes generally place downward pressure on margins, thus compounding the effect of the deteriorating market conditions. Moreover, any deterioration in market conditions that leads to an increase in loan delinquencies will result in higher expenses for loans we service for the GSEs and Ginnie Mae. The increased cost to service loans could decrease the estimated value of our MSRs. In addition, an increase in delinquencies lowers the interest income we receive on cash held in collection and other accounts and may increase our obligation to advance certain principal, interest, tax and insurance obligations owed by the delinquent mortgage loan borrower. While increased delinquencies generate higher ancillary revenues, including late fees, these fees are likely not sufficient to offset the increased cost of servicing the loans. An increase in delinquencies could therefore be detrimental to our business. Recently, financial markets have experienced significant volatility. There may be a significant increase in the rate and number of mortgage payment delinquencies, and house sales, home prices and multifamily fundamentals may be adversely affected, which could lead to a material adverse decrease of our mortgage origination activities.
Any of the circumstances described above, alone or in combination, could lead to volatility in or disruption of the credit markets at any time and have a detrimental effect on our business. For additional information on macroeconomic and U.S. residential real estate market conditions, please consider the matters addressed in the section below entitled “—The COVID-19 pandemic and the actions taken by local, state and federal governments have and are expected to continue to adversely affect the national economy and the macroeconomic environment which could adversely affect our current operations and our ability to continue to grow.”
Our financial performance is directly affected by, and subject to substantial volatility from changes in prevailing interest rates.
Our financial performance is directly affected by, and subject to substantial volatility from changes in prevailing interest rates. During 2022, in order to address rising inflation, the Federal Reserve began to aggressively raise interest rates. As a result, mortgage interests have significantly increased which has significantly adversely affected the volume of refinancings and new mortgage originations. Rising interest rates and inflation will likely decrease the demand for new mortgage originations and refinancings and increase competition for borrowers. This has and is expected to continue to adversely pressure our margins origination volumes, especially our refinance volume.
With regard to the portion of our business that is centered on refinancing existing mortgages, generally, the refinance market experiences more significant fluctuations than the purchase market as a result of interest rate changes. As interest rates rise, refinancing, has and is expected to continue to generally become a smaller portion of the market as fewer consumers are interested in refinancing their mortgages. With regard to our purchase mortgage loan business, higher interest rates may also reduce demand for purchase mortgages as home ownership becomes more expensive. This has and is expected to continue to adversely affect our revenues or require us to increase marketing expenditures in an attempt to increase or maintain our volume of mortgages.
Changes in interest rates are also a key driver of the performance of our servicing portfolio, particularly because our portfolio includes MSRs, the values of which are highly sensitive to changes in interest rates. Historically, the value of MSRs has increased when interest rates rise as higher interest rates lead to decreased prepayment rates, and has decreased when interest rates decline as lower interest rates lead to increased prepayment rates. In addition, increased prepayment rates may lead to increased asset decay and a decrease in servicing fees. As a result, decreases in interest rates could have a detrimental effect on our business.
Borrowings under some of our finance and warehouse facilities are at variable rates of interest based on short term rate indexes, whereas our mortgage loans that serve as collateral for such facilities are generally based on long-term interest rates, which also exposes us to interest rate risk. If short term interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on certain of our
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variable-rate indebtedness will increase and if long-term rates do not increase in kind (i.e., the yield curve flattens or inverts) our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, could correspondingly decrease.
Our business is highly dependent on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and certain U.S. government agencies, and any changes in these entities or their current roles could be detrimental to our business.
We primarily originate loans eligible for sale to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and government insured or guaranteed loans, such as the FHA, the Veteran Affairs (“VA”) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) loans eligible for Ginnie Mae securities issuance.
In 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship and, as their conservator, controls and directs their operations. There is significant uncertainty regarding the future of the GSEs, including with respect to how long they will continue to be in existence, the extent of their roles in the market and what forms they will have, and whether they will be government agencies, government-sponsored agencies or private for-profit entities. Since they have been placed into conservatorship, many legislative and administrative plans for GSE reform have been put forth, but all have been met with resistance from various constituencies.
The extent and timing of any regulatory reform regarding the GSEs and the U.S. housing finance market, as well as any effect they may have on our business operations and financial results, are uncertain. It is not yet possible to determine whether such proposals will be enacted and, if so, when they will be enacted, what form any final legislation or policies might take or how proposals, legislation or policies may impact the MBS market and our business. Our inability to make the necessary adjustments to respond to these changing market conditions or loss of our approved seller/servicer status with the GSEs could have a material adverse effect on our mortgage origination operations and our mortgage servicing operations. If those agencies cease to exist, wind down, or otherwise significantly change their business operations or if we lose approvals with those agencies or our relationships with those agencies is otherwise adversely affected, we would need to seek alternative secondary market participants to acquire our mortgage loans at a volume sufficient to sustain our business. If such participants are not available or available on reasonably comparable economic terms, the above changes could have a material effect on our ability to profitably sell loans we originate that are securitized through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae.
Changes in the GSEs, FHA, VA, and USDA guidelines or GSE and Ginnie Mae guarantees could adversely affect our business.
We are required to follow specific guidelines and eligibility standards that impact the way we service and originate GSE and U.S. government agency loans, including guidelines and standards with respect to:
• credit standards for mortgage loans;
• our staffing levels and other servicing practices;
• the servicing and ancillary fees that we may charge;
• our modification standards and procedures;
• the amount of reimbursable and non-reimbursable advances that we may make; and
• the types of loan products that are eligible for sale or securitization.
These guidelines provide the GSEs and other government agencies with the ability to provide monetary incentives for loan servicers that perform well and to assess penalties for those that do not. At the direction of the FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have aligned their guidelines for servicing delinquent mortgages, which could result in monetary incentives for servicers that perform well and to assess compensatory penalties against servicers in connection with the failure to meet specified timelines relating to delinquent loans and foreclosure proceedings, and other breaches of servicing obligations. We generally cannot negotiate these terms with the agencies and they are subject to change at any time without our specific consent. A significant change in these guidelines, that decreases the fees we charge or requires us to expend additional resources to provide mortgage services, could decrease our revenues or increase our costs.
In addition, changes in the nature or extent of the guarantees provided by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, the USDA or the VA, or the insurance provided by the FHA, or coverage provided by private mortgage insurers, could also have broad adverse market implications. Any future increases in guarantee fees or changes to their structure or increases in the premiums borrowers are required to pay to the FHA or private mortgage insurers for insurance or to the VA or the USDA for
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guarantees could increase mortgage origination costs. These industry changes could negatively affect demand for our mortgage services and consequently our origination volume, which could be detrimental to our business.
To the extent that mortgage loans originated and sold by us do not comply with GSE, FHA or VA guidelines, we are required to repurchase or substitute mortgage loans or indemnify for losses related to our mortgage loans.
A significant majority of our mortgage loans are conforming loans sold to GSEs such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or insured by FHA or VA and sold into GNMA securities. In connection with such sales and insuring, we make representations and warranties to the GSE, FHA or VA that the mortgage loans conform to their respective standards. These standards include, among other items, compliance with origination guidelines, underwriting, appraisals, insurance and legal documents. In 2021, we launched a new program, UWM Appraisal Direct, in which we directly engage with appraisers rather than utilizing an appraisal management company. While we believe that this new program meets all of the GSE guidelines, there is a risk that the GSEs could decide that our implementation of this new process did not meet their standards.
If a mortgage loan does not comply with the representations and warranties that we made with respect to it at the time of our sale or insuring, we are required to repurchase the loan, replace it with a substitute loan and/or indemnify the applicable agency for losses. In the case of repurchases, we typically repurchase such loan and resell it into a non-conforming market at a discount to the repurchase price. As of December 31, 2022, we had accrued a $60.5 million reserve for repurchase and indemnification obligations. Actual repurchase and indemnification obligations could materially exceed the reserves recorded in our consolidated financial statements. Any significant repurchases, substitutions, indemnifications or premium recapture could be detrimental to our business.
Our business is dependent on our ability to maintain and expand our relationships with our clients, the Independent Mortgage Brokers.
Our clients are the Independent Mortgage Brokers who refer us mortgage loans to originate. Consequently, our results of operations are dependent, in large part, on our ability to maintain and expand our relationships with Independent Mortgage Brokers. If we are unable to attract Independent Mortgage Brokers to join our network and to provide a level of service such that our clients remain with the network or refer a greater number of their mortgage loans to us, our ability to originate loans will be significantly impaired. The willingness of Independent Mortgage Brokers to originate mortgage loans with us is dependent on (i) the rates that we are able to offer our clients’ borrowers for mortgage loans, (2) our customer service, and (3) compensation. In determining with whom to partner, Independent Mortgage Brokers are also focused on the technological services and platforms we can provide so that the Independent Mortgage Brokers can best attract and serve consumers. In early 2021, we adopted our “All-In” policy of requiring that Independent Mortgage Brokers that generate mortgage loans with us not generate business with certain other market participants. To the extent that a material number of our Independent Mortgage Brokers are unwilling to commit to such requirement, it could reduce the volume of mortgage loans that we are able to originate which could adversely affect our results of operations. In addition, the policy, which has generated significant publicity and a legal proceeding, could adversely affect our reputation or affect our ability to attract new Independent Mortgage Brokers. If our clients are dissatisfied with our services or platform or technological capabilities, or they cannot offer prospective borrowers competitive rates, we could lose a number of clients which would have a negative impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.
All of our mortgage loans are initiated by third parties, which exposes us to business, competitive and underwriting risks.
As a Wholesale Mortgage Lender, we market and originate mortgage loans exclusively through independent third-parties, comprised of Independent Mortgage Brokers. While we believe using Independent Mortgage Brokers best serves mortgage consumers, our reliance on third parties presents risks and challenges, including the following:
•Our business depends in large part on the marketing efforts of our clients and on our ability to offer loan products and services that meet the requirements of our clients and their borrowers. However, loan officers are not obligated to sell or promote our products and many sell or promote competitors’ loan products in addition to our products. Some of our competitors have higher financial strength ratings, offer a larger variety of products, and/or offer higher incentives than we do. Therefore, we may not be able to continue to attract and retain clients to originate loans for us. The failure or inability of our clients to successfully market our mortgage products could, in turn, have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
•Because of our focus exclusively on the wholesale channel, communication with borrowers is primarily made through loan officers employed by third parties. Consequently, we rely on our clients and their loan officers to
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provide us accurate information on behalf of borrowers, including financial statements and other financial information, for us to use in deciding whether to approve loans. If any of this information is intentionally or negligently misrepresented and such misrepresentation is not detected prior to loan funding, the fair value of the loan may be significantly lower than expected. Whether a misrepresentation is made by the borrower, the loan officer or one of our team members, we generally bear the risk of loss associated with the misrepresentation. Our controls and processes may not have detected or may not detect all misrepresented information in our loan originations. Likewise, our clients may also lack sufficient controls and processes. Any such misrepresented information could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
•Because borrowers rely on their loan officer through the entire mortgage process, and some borrowers do not differentiate between their loan officer (or the employer of the loan officer) and their mortgage lender, (i) developing brand recognition can be challenging and requires us to coordinate with our clients and (ii) poor customer service, customer complaints or negative word-of-mouth or publicity resulting from the performance of our clients could severely diminish consumer confidence in and use of our services. To maintain good customer relations, we must ensure that our clients provide prompt, accurate and differentiated customer service. Effective customer service requires significant personnel expense and investment in developing programs and technology infrastructure to help our clients carry out their functions. These expenses, if not managed properly, could significantly impact our profitability. Failure to properly manage our clients could compromise our ability to handle customer complaints effectively. If we do not handle borrower complaints effectively, our reputation and brand may suffer and we may lose our borrowers’ confidence which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and profitability.
•Growth in our market share is principally dependent on growth in the market share controlled by the wholesale channel. Independent Mortgage Brokers controlled 20.3% of mortgage loan originations in the U.S. as of December 31, 2022, while direct-to-consumer activity represented 79.7% of the loan originations in the U.S. as of that date (based on data released by IMF). Consequently, more competitors have focused on “direct-to-the-consumer” distribution models that market digital ease and technological efficiencies. Continued advancements or the perception of efficiency in “direct-to-the-consumer” distribution models may impact the overall market share controlled by our clients and make it more difficult for us to grow, or require us to establish relationships with more clients.
The conduct of the Independent Mortgage Brokers through whom we originate mortgage loans could subject us to fines or other penalties.
We depend exclusively on Independent Mortgage Brokers for our loan originations. These clients are subject to parallel and separate legal obligations. While these laws may not explicitly hold the originating lenders responsible for the legal violations of such entities, U.S. federal and state agencies increasingly have sought to impose such liability. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), through its use of a disparate impact theory under the Fair Housing Act, has held home loan lenders responsible for the pricing practices of third parties, alleging that the lender is directly responsible for the total fees and charges paid by the borrower even if the lender neither dictated what the third party could charge nor kept the money for its own account. See “—Regulatory agencies and consumer advocacy groups are becoming more aggressive in asserting claims that the practices of lenders and loan servicers result in a disparate impact on protected classes.” In addition, under the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (“TRID”) rule, we may be held responsible for improper disclosures made to borrowers by our clients. While we seek to use technology, such as our LOS, to monitor whether these clients and their loan officers are complying with their obligations, our ability to enforce such compliance is extremely limited. Consequently, we may be subject to claims for fines or other penalties based upon the conduct of our clients and their loan officers with whom we do business, which could have a material effect on our operating results and financial condition.
The mortgage industry can be very cyclical, with loan origination volumes varying materially based on macroeconomic conditions. If we are unable to effectively manage our team members during periods of volatility, it could adversely affect our current business operations and our growth.
The mortgage industry can be very cyclical, with loan origination volumes varying materially based on macroeconomic conditions. For example, in response to significant increases in interests rates, our loan origination volume in 2022 decreased by 44% and our number of team members decreased by 25% as compared to the prior year end. However, during 2021, our loan origination volume increased by 24% while our number of team members increased by 7%, as compared to the prior year end. Our ability to effectively manage significant increases and decreases in loan origination volume will depend on our ability to hire, integrate, train and retain highly-qualified personnel for all areas of our organization during these periods of changing volume. Any talent acquisition and retention challenges or mismanagement of our personnel needs in these
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situations could reduce our operating efficiency, increase our costs of operations and harm our overall financial condition. As the pool of qualified candidates has continued to be limited and there continues to be significant competition for talent, we may face challenges to hire and retain highly qualified personnel in changing environments. Additionally, we invest heavily in training our team members, which increases their value to competitors who may seek to recruit them. If we do not effectively manage our pool of team members in times of volatility, it could disrupt our business operations and have a negative impact on our long-term growth.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the actions taken by local, state and federal governments have and are expected to continue to adversely affect the national economy and the macroeconomic environment which could adversely affect our current operations and our ability to continue to grow.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on the national economy and the communities in which we operate. While the pandemic’s effect on the macroeconomic environment has yet to be fully determined and could continue for months or years, we expect that the pandemic and governmental programs created as a response to the pandemic will affect the core aspects of our business and the business of our clients, including the origination of mortgages, our servicing operations, our liquidity and our team members. Such effects, if they continue for a prolonged period, may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. These effects may be exacerbated should there be another wave of infections or if the pandemic otherwise intensifies.
Moreover, the FHFA establishes certain liquidity requirements for agency and Ginnie Mae loan servicers that are generally tied to the unpaid principal balance of loans serviced by such loan servicer for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, FHA and VA. To the extent that the percentage of seriously delinquent loans (“SDQ”), i.e., loans that are 90 days or more delinquent, exceeds defined thresholds, the liquidity requirements for loan servicers could increase materially. Exceeding such SDQ thresholds would result in substantially higher liquidity requirements, which could materially impact our results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, our business could be disrupted if we are unable to operate due to changing governmental restrictions such as travel bans and quarantines placed on our team members, other measures that ensure the protection of our team members’ health, measures aimed at maintaining our information technology infrastructure, or if an outbreak occurs in our headquarters that prevents us from operating.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the major purchasers in the bulk MSR secondary market experienced liquidity constraints; consequently, the liquidity of the bulk MSR market has been, and may continue to be, adversely affected. This market disruption may adversely affect our ability to sell MSRs and the pricing that we are able to achieve, which in turn could adversely affect our liquidity and reduce our margins. If we are unable to access sources of capital or liquidity as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial markets, our ability to maintain or grow our business could be limited.
We may not be able to detect or prevent cyberattacks and other data and security breaches, which could adversely affect our business and subject us to liability to third parties.
We are dependent on information technology networks and systems, particularly for our loan origination systems and other technology-driven platforms, designed to provide best-in-class service and experience for clients and to ensure adherence to regulatory compliance, operational governance, training and security. In the ordinary course of our business, we receive, process, retain and transmit proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data, including the public and non-public personal information of our team members, clients and loan applicants. Despite devoting significant time and resources to ensure the integrity of our information technology systems, we have not always been able to, and may not be able to in the future, anticipate or implement effective preventive measures against all security breaches or unauthorized access of our information technology systems or the information technology systems of third-party vendors that receive, process, retain and transmit electronic information on our behalf.
Cybersecurity risks for lenders have significantly increased in recent years, in part, because of the proliferation of new technologies, the use of the internet and telecommunications technologies to conduct financial transactions, and the increased sophistication and activities of computer hackers, organized crime, terrorists, and other external parties, including foreign state actors. We, our clients, borrowers and loan applicants, regulators and other third parties have been subject to, and are likely to continue to be the target of, cyberattacks and other security breaches. Security breaches, cyberattacks such as computer viruses, malicious or destructive code, phishing attacks, denial of service or information, acts of vandalism, natural disasters, fire, power loss, telecommunication failures, team member misconduct, human error and developments in computer intrusion capabilities
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could result in a compromise or breach of the technology that we or our third-party vendors use to collect, process, retain, transmit and protect the personal information and transaction data of our team members, clients, borrowers and loan applicants. Similar events outside of our control can also affect the demands we and our vendors may make to respond to any security breaches or similar disruptive events. We invest in industry-standard security technology designed to protect our data and business processes against risk of a data security breach and cyberattack. Our data security management program includes identity, trust, vulnerability and threat management business processes as well as the adoption of standard data protection policies. We measure our data security effectiveness through industry-accepted methods and remediate significant findings. The technology and other controls and processes designed to secure our team member, client, borrower and loan applicant information and to prevent, detect and remedy any unauthorized access to that information were designed to obtain reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that such information is secure and that any unauthorized access is identified and addressed appropriately. Such controls have not always detected, and may in the future fail to prevent or detect, unauthorized access to our team member, client, borrower and loan applicant information.
The techniques used to obtain unauthorized, improper or illegal access to our systems and those of our third-party vendors, our data, our team members’, clients’, borrowers’ and loan applicants’ data or to disable, degrade or sabotage service are constantly evolving, and have become increasingly complex and sophisticated. Furthermore, such techniques change frequently and are often not recognized or detected until after they have been launched. Therefore, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques and may not become aware of such a security breach in a timely manner, which could exacerbate any damage we experience. Security attacks can originate from a wide variety of sources, including third parties such as computer hackers, persons involved with organized crime or associated with external service providers, or foreign state or foreign state-supported actors. Those parties may also attempt to fraudulently induce team members, clients, borrowers and loan applicants or other users of our systems to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data or that of our team members, clients, borrowers and loan applicants. Our failure to detect or prevent a cyberattack or other data or security breach could adversely affect our business.
The occurrence of any of the foregoing events could subject us to increased costs, litigation, disputes, damages, and other liabilities. In addition, the foregoing events could result in violations of applicable privacy and other laws. If this information is inappropriately accessed and used by a third party or a team member for illegal purposes, such as identity theft, we may be responsible to the affected individuals for any losses they may have incurred as a result of such misappropriation. In such an instance, we may also be subject to regulatory action, investigation or liability to a governmental authority for fines or penalties associated with a lapse in the integrity and security of our team members’, clients’, borrowers’ and loan applicants’ information. We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against and remedy any potential or existing security breaches and their consequences. In addition, our remediation efforts may not be successful and we may not have adequate insurance to cover these losses. Furthermore, any publicized security problems affecting our businesses and/or those of such third parties may negatively impact the market perception of our products and discourage clients or borrowers from doing business with us.
Technology disruptions or failures, including a failure in our operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third parties with whom we do business, could disrupt our business, cause legal or reputational harm and adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
We are dependent on the secure, efficient, and uninterrupted operation of our technology infrastructure, including computer systems, related software applications and data centers, as well as those of certain third parties and affiliates. Our websites and computer/telecommunication networks must accommodate a high volume of traffic and deliver frequently updated information, the accuracy and timeliness of which is critical to our business. Our technology must be able to facilitate a loan application experience that equals or exceeds the experience provided by our competitors. We have or may in the future experience service disruptions and failures caused by system or software failure, fire, power loss, telecommunications failures, team member misconduct, human error, computer hackers, computer viruses and disabling devices, malicious or destructive code, denial of service or information, as well as natural disasters, health pandemics and other similar events and our disaster recovery planning may not be sufficient for all situations. The implementation of technology changes and upgrades to maintain current and integrate new technology systems may also cause service interruptions. Any such disruption could interrupt or delay our ability to provide services to our clients and could also impair the ability of third parties to provide critical services to our business.
Additionally, the technology and other controls and processes we have created to help us identify misrepresented information in our loan origination operations were designed to obtain reasonable, not absolute, assurance that such information is identified and addressed appropriately. Accordingly, such controls may not have detected, and may fail in the future to detect, all misrepresented information in our loan origination operations. If our operations are disrupted or otherwise negatively
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affected by a technology disruption or failure, this could result in client dissatisfaction and damage to our reputation and brand, and have a material impact on our business.
Loss of our key management could result in a material adverse effect on our business.
Our future success depends to a significant extent on the continued services of our senior management, including Mat Ishbia, our President and Chief Executive Officer. The experience of our senior management is a valuable asset to us and would be difficult to replace. The loss of the services of our President and Chief Executive Officer or other members of senior management could disrupt and have a detrimental effect on our business.
Our products rely on software and services from third-party vendors and if any of these services became unavailable or unreliable, it could adversely affect the quality and timeliness of our mortgage origination process.
In addition to our proprietary software, we license third-party software and depend on services from various third parties for use in our products. For example, we rely on third-party vendors for our online mortgage application services, to generate the documents required for closing the document, to generate flood certifications and to confirm employment. While there are other providers of these services in the market, any loss of the right to use any of the software or services could result in decreased functionality of our products until equivalent technology is either developed by us or, if available from another provider, is identified, obtained and integrated, which could adversely affect our reputation and our future financial condition and results of operations.
Furthermore, we remain responsible for ensuring our loans are originated in compliance with applicable laws. Despite our efforts to monitor such compliance, any errors or failures of such third-party vendors or their software to perform in the manner intended could result in loan defects potentially requiring repurchase. In addition, any errors or defects in or failures of the other software or services we rely on, whether maintained by us or by third parties, could result in errors or defects in our products or cause our products to fail, which could adversely affect our business and be costly to correct. Many of our third-party vendors attempt to impose limitations on their liability for such errors, defects or failures, and if enforceable, we may have additional liability to our clients, borrowers or other third parties that could harm our reputation and increase our operating costs. Any failure to do so could adversely affect our ability to deliver effective products to our clients, borrowers and loan applicants and adversely affect our business.
We rely on third party sub-servicers who service all the mortgage loans on which we hold MSRs, and our financial performance may be adversely affected by their inability to adequately perform their servicing functions.
We contract with third party sub-servicers for the servicing of the portion of the mortgage loans in our portfolio for which we retain MSRs. Although we use third-party servicers, we, as master servicer, retain primary responsibility to ensure these loans are serviced in accordance with the contractual and regulatory requirements.
Therefore, the failure of our sub-servicers to adequately perform their servicing obligations may subject us to liability for their improper acts or omissions and adversely affect our financial performance. Specifically, we may be adversely affected:
•if our sub-servicers breach their servicing obligations or are unable to perform their servicing obligations properly, which may subject us to damages or termination of the servicing rights, and cause us to lose loan servicing income and/or require us to indemnify an investor or securitization trustee against losses as a result of any such breach or failure;
•by regulatory actions taken against any of our sub-servicers, which may adversely affect their licensing and, as a result, their ability to perform their servicing obligations under GSE and U.S. government agency loans which require such licensing;
•by a default by any of our sub-servicers under their debt agreements, which may impact their access to capital to be able to perform their obligations;
•if any of our sub-servicers were to face adverse actions from the GSEs and are terminated as servicer under their agreements with the GSEs;
•if our sub-servicers fail to meet their obligations due to economic or other circumstances that are difficult to anticipate, including as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;
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•if as a result of poor performance by our sub-servicers, we experience greater than expected delinquencies and foreclosures on the mortgage loans being serviced, which could lead to liability from third party claims or adversely affect our ability to access the capital and secondary markets for our loan funding requirements;
•if any of our sub-servicers become subject to bankruptcy proceedings; or
•if one or more of our sub-servicers terminate their agreement with us.
We rely on two nationally-recognized sub-servicers to service all of our mortgage loans for which we have retained MSRs. This sub-servicer counterparty concentration subjects us to a potentially greater impact if any of the risks described above were to occur, and any delay in transferring servicing to a new sub-servicer could further adversely affect servicing performance and cause financial losses. Any of these risks could adversely affect our results of operations, including our loan servicing income and the cash flow generated by our MSR portfolio. Any of these risks may be further exacerbated to the extent we materially increase our MSR portfolio in the future.
We are required to make servicing advances that can be subject to delays in recovery or may not be recoverable in certain circumstances and could have a material adverse effect on our cash flows, business and financial condition.
During any period in which one of our borrowers is not making payments on a loan we service, we are required under most of our servicing agreements to advance our own funds to meet some combination of contractual principal and interest remittance requirements, pay property taxes and insurance premiums, legal expenses and other protective advances. We also advance funds to maintain, repair and market real estate properties. In certain situations, our contractual obligations may require us to make certain advances for which we may not be reimbursed. In addition, in the event a loan serviced by us defaults or becomes delinquent, or the mortgagee is allowed to enter into a forbearance, the repayment of advances may be delayed, which may adversely affect our liquidity. Any significant increase in required servicing advances or delinquent loan repurchases, could have an adverse impact on our cash flows, even if they are reimbursable.
With delinquent VA guaranteed loans, the VA guarantee may not make us whole on losses or advances we may have made on the loan. In addition, for certain loans sold to Ginnie Mae, we, as the servicer, have the unilateral right to repurchase any individual loan in a Ginnie Mae securitization pool if that loan meets defined criteria, including being delinquent for longer than 90 days. Once we have the unilateral right to repurchase the delinquent loan, we have effectively regained control over the loan and we must recognize the loan on our balance sheet and recognize a corresponding financial liability. Any significant increase in seriously delinquent Ginnie Mae loans could have an adverse impact on our balance sheet, as well as our borrowing covenants that are based on balance sheet ratios.
Servicers of mortgage loans are often times contractually bound to advance monthly payments to investors, insurers and taxing authorities regardless of whether the borrower actually makes those payments. While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued guidance limiting the number of payments a servicer must advance in the case of a forbearance, we expect that a borrower who has experienced a loss of employment or a reduction of income may not repay the forborne payments at the end of the forbearance period. Additionally, pursuant to the amended rules announced by the CFPB on June 28, 2021, we are now subject to new requirements on our ability to collect servicing related fees, such as late fees, and initiating foreclosure proceedings. The new rules implemented by the CFPB create additional procedures which servicers must follow, and the costs and administrative burden associated with complying with these regulations may have a material adverse effect on our cash flows, business, and financial condition. Even though delinquencies generate higher ancillary revenues, including late fees, it is unlikely that we will be able to collect such ancillary fees for delinquencies relating to the COVID-19 pandemic as the federal and state legislation and regulations as well as administrative enforcement response to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to evolve. Approximately 0.65% of our serviced loans are in forbearance as of December 31, 2022.
Much like what has occurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, government intervention also occurs periodically as a result of natural disasters or other events that cause widespread borrower harm. Similar challenges and risks to servicers, including us, will likely occur when such events transpire in the future.
We face intense competition that could adversely affect our business.
Competition in the mortgage lending space is intense. In addition, the mortgage business has experienced substantial consolidation. As we depend solely on third parties to deliver us mortgage loans, we may be at a competitive disadvantage to financial institutions or direct-to-consumer mortgage lenders that market to, and have a direct relationship with, the borrower. In addition, some of our competitors may have greater financial and other resources than we have (including access to capital) and may have locked in low borrowing costs which will provide a competitive advantage in a rising interest rate environment. Other of our competitors, such as financial institutions who originate mortgage loans using their own funds, may have more
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flexibility in holding loans. Additionally, we operate at a competitive disadvantage to U.S. federal banks and thrifts and their subsidiaries because they enjoy federal preemption and, as a result, conduct their business under relatively uniform U.S. federal rules and standards and are generally not subject to the laws of the states in which they do business (including state “predatory lending” laws). Unlike our federally chartered competitors, we are generally subject to all state and local laws applicable to lenders in each jurisdiction in which we originate and service loans. To compete effectively, we must have a very high level of operational, technological and managerial expertise, as well as access to capital at a competitive cost.
Competition in our industry can take many forms, including the variety of loan programs being made available, interest rates and fees charged for a loan, convenience in obtaining a loan, client service levels, the amount and term of a loan, as well as access to marketing and distribution channels, including Independent Mortgage Brokers that generate mortgage loan applications. Claims of collusion and other anti-competitive conduct have also become more common, and many financial institutions and lenders have been the subject of legal claims by regulatory agencies and consumers. For example, on March 4, 2021, we announced a new policy that we would no longer enter into new transactions with Independent Mortgage Brokers who also sold mortgage loans to two certain market participants, but still allowed these Independent Mortgage Brokers to engage with any of the more than 70 other mortgage loan originators or lenders. If our policy or any other actions were found to be anti-competitive or non-compliant with state or federal antitrust laws or other regulations it could result in state or federal governmental actions or private civil claims, including class actions, being brought against us. Such litigation would cause us to incur costs, fines and legal expenses in connection with these matters, regardless of any eventual ruling in our favor, and could also harm the reputation of our brand, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
The success and growth of our business will depend upon our ability to be a leader in technological innovation in our industry.
We operate in an industry experiencing rapid technological change and frequent product introductions. In order to succeed, we must lead our peers in designing, innovating and introducing new technology and product offerings. The process of developing new technologies and products is complex, and if we are unable to successfully innovate and continue to deliver a superior client experience, the demand for our products and services may decrease, we may lose market share and our growth and operations may be harmed.
The origination process is increasingly dependent on technology, and our business relies on our continued ability to process loan applications over the internet, accept electronic signatures, provide instant process status updates and other client- and loan applicant-expected conveniences. Our proprietary and exclusively licensed technology is integrated into all steps of the loan origination process, from the original submission, to the underwriting to the closing. Our dedication to incorporating technological advancements into our loan origination and servicing platforms requires significant financial and personnel resources. For example, we have, and will continue to, expend significant capital expenditures on our proprietary technology platforms. Maintaining and improving this technology will require significant capital expenditures.
To the extent we are dependent on any particular technology or technological solution, we may be harmed if such technology or technological solution (1) becomes non-compliant with existing industry standards, (2) fails to meet or exceed the capabilities of our competitors’ equivalent technologies or technological solutions, (3) becomes increasingly expensive to service, retain and update, (4) becomes subject to third-party claims of intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or other violation, or (5) malfunctions or functions in a way we did not anticipate or that results in loan defects potentially requiring repurchase. Additionally, new technologies and technological solutions are continually being released. As such, it is difficult to predict the problems we may encounter in improving our websites’ and other technologies’ functionality.
We could be adversely affected if we do not adequately obtain, maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights and may encounter disputes from time to time relating to our use of the intellectual property of third parties.
Our proprietary technology platforms and other proprietary rights are important to our success and our competitive position. We rely on intellectual property to protect our proprietary rights. Despite these measures, third parties may attempt to disclose, obtain, copy or use intellectual property rights owned or licensed by us and these measures may not prevent misappropriation, infringement, reverse engineering or other violation of intellectual property or proprietary rights owned or licensed by us. Furthermore, confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions can be difficult to enforce and, even if successfully enforced, may not be entirely effective. In addition, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into confidentiality agreements with all team members, partners, independent contractors or consultants that have or may have had access to our trade secrets and other proprietary information. Any issued or registered intellectual property rights owned by or licensed to us may be challenged, invalidated, held unenforceable or circumvented in litigation or other proceedings, and such intellectual
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property rights may be lost or no longer provide us meaningful competitive advantages. Third parties may also independently develop products, services and technology similar to or duplicative of our products and services.
Our success and ability to compete also depends in part on our ability to operate without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property or proprietary rights of third parties. We may encounter disputes from time to time concerning intellectual property rights of others, including our competitors, and we may not prevail in these disputes. Third parties may raise claims against us alleging an infringement, misappropriation or other violation of their intellectual property rights, including trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets or other intellectual property or proprietary rights. An assertion of an intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or other violation claim against us could result in adverse judgments, settlement on unfavorable terms or cause us to spend significant amounts to defend the claim, even if we ultimately prevail and we may have to pay significant money damages, lose significant revenues, be prohibited from using the relevant systems, processes, technologies or other intellectual property, cease offering certain products or services, or incur significant license, royalty or technology development expenses.
Fraud could result in significant financial losses and harm to our reputation.
We use automated underwriting engines from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to assist us in determining if a loan applicant is creditworthy, as well as other proprietary and third-party tools and safeguards to detect and prevent fraud. We are unable, however, to prevent every instance of fraud that may be engaged in by our clients, borrowers or team members, and any seller, real estate broker, notary, settlement agent, appraiser, title agent, or third-party originator that misrepresents facts about a loan, including the information contained in the loan application, property valuation, title information and employment and income stated on the loan application. If any of this information was intentionally or negligently misrepresented and such misrepresentation was not detected prior to the acquisition or closing of the loan, the value of the loan could be significantly lower than expected, resulting in a loan being approved in circumstances where it would not have been, had we been provided with accurate data. A loan subject to a material misrepresentation is typically unsalable or subject to repurchase if it is sold before detection of the misrepresentation. In addition, the persons and entities making a misrepresentation are often difficult to locate and it is often difficult to collect from them any monetary losses we have suffered.
High profile fraudulent activity also could negatively impact our brand and reputation, which could impact our business. In addition, significant increases in fraudulent activity could lead to regulatory intervention, which could increase our costs and also negatively impact our business.
Our counterparties may terminate our servicing rights, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenues.
The majority of the mortgage loans we service are serviced on behalf of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. These entities establish the base service fee to compensate us for servicing loans as well as the assessment of fines and penalties that may be imposed upon us for failing to meet servicing standards.
As is standard in the industry, under the terms of our master servicing agreements with the GSEs, the GSEs have the right to terminate us as servicer of the loans we service on their behalf at any time and also have the right to cause us to sell the MSRs to a third party. In addition, failure to comply with servicing standards could result in termination of our agreements with the GSEs with little or no notice and without any compensation. If any of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae were to terminate us as a servicer, or increase our costs related to such servicing by way of additional fees, fines or penalties, such changes could have a material adverse effect on the revenue we derive from servicing activity, as well as the value of the related MSRs. These agreements, and other servicing agreements under which we service mortgage loans for non-GSE loan purchasers, also require that we service in accordance with GSE servicing guidelines and contain financial covenants. If we were to have our servicing rights terminated on a material portion of our servicing portfolio, this could adversely affect our business.
If we cannot maintain our corporate culture, we could lose the innovation, collaboration and focus on the mission that contributes to our business.
We believe that a critical component of our success is our corporate culture and our deep commitment to our mission. We believe this mission-based culture fosters innovation, encourages teamwork and cultivates creativity. Our mission defines our business philosophy as well as the emphasis that it places on our clients, our people and our culture and is consistently reinforced to and by our team members. As we have significantly increased our team members it may be harder to maintain our corporate culture. If we are unable to preserve our culture, this could negatively impact our future success, including our ability
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to attract and retain team members, encourage innovation and teamwork, and effectively focus on and pursue our mission and corporate objectives.
Substantially all of our operations are housed on one campus, and if the facilities are damaged or rendered inoperable by natural or man-made disasters, our business may be negatively impacted.
Substantially all of our operations are housed on one campus in Pontiac, Michigan. Our campus could be harmed or rendered inoperable by natural or man-made disasters, including earthquakes, fires, power shortages, telecommunications failures, water shortages, floods, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics, and other natural or man-made disasters, pandemics, epidemics, or other business interruptions. If due to such disaster a significant portion of our team members must work remotely for an extended period of time, our business may be negatively impacted. See “—If we cannot maintain our corporate culture, we could lose the innovation, collaboration and focus on the mission that contribute to our business.” In addition, it could be costly and time-consuming to repair or replace our campus.
In certain circumstances, Holdings LLC will be required to make distributions to us and SFS Corp. and the distributions that Holdings LLC will be required to make may be substantial and in excess of our tax liabilities and obligations under the tax receivable agreement. To the extent we do not distribute such excess cash, SFS Corp. would benefit from any value attributable to such cash balances as a result of their ownership of Class B common stock (or Class A common stock, as applicable) following an exchange of Holdings LLC Common Units and the stapled shares of Common Stock.
Holdings LLC is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, as such, will not be subject to any entity-level U.S. federal income tax. Instead, taxable income will be allocated to us and SFS Corp., as holders of membership interests in Holdings LLC (the “Holdings LLC Common Units”). Accordingly, we will incur income taxes on our allocable share of any net taxable income of Holdings LLC. Under the Holdings LLC Second Amended & Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement (the “Holdings LLC A&R Company Agreement”), Holdings LLC will generally be required from time to time to make pro rata distributions in cash to its equityholders, SFS Corp. and us, in amounts sufficient to cover the taxes on their allocable share of the taxable income of Holdings LLC. As a result of (i) potential non pro rata allocations of net taxable income allocable to us and SFS Corp., (ii) the lower tax rate applicable to corporations as compared to individuals and (iii) the favorable tax benefits that we anticipate receiving from (a) the exchange of Holdings LLC Common Units from SFS Corp. and (b) payments under the tax receivable agreement, we expect that these tax distributions will be in amounts that exceed our tax liabilities and obligations to make payments under the tax receivable agreement. Our Board of Directors will determine the appropriate uses for any excess cash so accumulated, which may include, among other uses, any potential dividends, stock buybacks, the payment obligations under the tax receivable agreement and the payment of other expenses. We will have no obligation to distribute such cash (or other available cash other than any declared dividend) to our stockholders. No adjustments to the exchange ratio for Holdings LLC Common Units and the stapled shares of Common Stock will be made as a result of (x) any cash distribution by Holdings LLC or (y) any cash that we retain and do not distribute to our stockholders, and in any event the ratio will remain one-to-one.
We are required to pay SFS Corp. for certain tax benefits we may claim, and the amounts we may pay could be significant.
We entered into a tax receivable agreement with SFS Corp. that provides for the payment by us to SFS Corp. (or its transferees or other assignees) of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) certain increases in tax basis resulting from exchanges of Holdings LLC Common Units; (ii) imputed interest deemed to be paid by us as a result of payments we make under the tax receivable agreement; (iii) certain increases in tax basis resulting from payments we make under the tax receivable agreement; and (iv) disproportionate allocations (if any) of tax benefits to us which arise from, among other things, the sale of certain assets such as MSRs as a result of section 704(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) (the tax attributes in clauses “(i)” through “(iv)” collectively referred to as the “Covered Tax Attributes”). The tax receivable agreement will make certain simplifying assumptions regarding the determination of the cash savings that we realize or are deemed to realize from the Covered Tax Attributes, which may result in payments pursuant to the tax receivable agreement in excess of those that would result if such assumptions were not made.
The actual tax benefit, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including, among others, the timing of exchanges by or purchases from SFS Corp., the price of our Class A common stock at the time of the exchanges or purchases, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable, the amount and timing of the taxable income we generate in the future and the tax rate then applicable, and the portion of our payments under the tax receivable agreement constituting imputed interest.
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Future payments under the tax receivable agreement could be substantial. The payments under the tax receivable agreement are not conditioned upon SFS Corp.’s continued ownership of us.
We are not required to make a payment of the 85% applicable tax savings to SFS Corp. unless and until at least one of the payment conditions has been satisfied (the “Payment Conditions”). One condition is a requirement that we have received a tax opinion that provides that the applicable assets of Holdings LLC giving rise to the payment are “more likely than not” amortizable (the “Indemnifiable Condition”). If we determine that none of the Payment Conditions have been satisfied with respect to all or a portion of such applicable tax savings, we will pay such applicable tax savings (or portion thereof) at the time we reasonably determine a Payment Condition has been satisfied.
If we make a payment and the applicable tax savings are subsequently disallowed, we may deposit future payments due under the tax receivable agreement in an escrow account up to an amount necessary to cover 85% of the estimated additional taxes due by us as a result of the disallowance until such time as there has been a conclusive determination as to the validity of the disallowance. Upon a conclusive determination of the validity of the disallowance, we may recover from the escrow account any excess payments paid to SFS Corp. (or its transferees or assignees), and to the extent the amounts in the escrow account are insufficient, we may net any additional excess payments paid to SFS Corp. (or its transferees or assignees) against future payments that would otherwise be made under the tax receivable agreement. In addition, if we make a payment pursuant to the satisfaction of the Indemnifiable Condition and the applicable tax savings are subsequently disallowed, SFS Corp. will be required to indemnify us for 85% of the taxes and any additional losses attributable to the disallowance. At our election, SFS Corp. may satisfy all or a portion of this indemnity by transferring Holdings LLC Common Units held by it. There is no guarantee that SFS Corp. will hold Holdings LLC Common Units with a value sufficient to satisfy this indemnity or that the escrow account will hold sufficient funds to cover the cost of any disallowed tax savings. We could make payments to SFS Corp. under the tax receivable agreement that are greater than our actual cash tax savings and may not be able to recoup those payments, which could negatively impact our liquidity.
In addition, the tax receivable agreement will provide that in the case of a change in control of UWMC or a material breach of our obligations under the tax receivable agreement, we will be required to make a payment to SFS Corp. in an amount equal to the present value of future payments (calculated using a discount rate equal to the lesser of 6.50% or LIBOR plus 100 basis points, which may differ from our, or a potential acquirer’s, then-current cost of capital) under the tax receivable agreement, which payment would be based on certain assumptions, including those relating to our future taxable income. For additional discussion of LIBOR, see “—Risks Related to our Financing—We are exposed to risk relating to the transition from LIBOR and the volatility of LIBOR or any replacement reference rate, which can result in higher than market interest rates and may have a detrimental effect on our business.” In these situations, our obligations under the tax receivable agreement could have a substantial negative impact on our, or a potential acquirer’s, liquidity and could have the effect of delaying, deferring, modifying or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes of control. These provisions of the tax receivable agreement may result in situations where SFS Corp. has interests that differ from or are in addition to those of our other stockholders. In addition, we could be required to make payments under the tax receivable agreement that are substantial, significantly in advance of any potential actual realization of such further tax benefits, and in excess of our, or a potential acquirer’s, actual cash savings in income tax.
Decisions we make in the course of running our business, such as with respect to mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes in control, may influence the timing and amount of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. For example, the earlier disposition of assets following an exchange or purchase of Holdings LLC Common Units (along with the stapled shares of Class D common stock or Class C common stock) may accelerate payments under the tax receivable agreement and increase the present value of such payments, and the disposition of assets before such an exchange or purchase may increase the tax liability of SFS Corp. (or its direct or indirect owners) without giving rise to any rights to receive payments under the tax receivable agreement. Such effects may result in differences or conflicts of interest between the interests of SFS Corp. and the interests of other stockholders.
Finally, because we are a holding company with no operations of our own, our ability to make payments under the tax receivable agreement is dependent on the ability of our subsidiaries to make distributions to us. Our debt agreements restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to make distributions to us, which could affect our ability to make payments under the tax receivable agreement. To the extent that we are unable to make payments under the tax receivable agreement as a result of restrictions in our debt agreements, such payments will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid, which could negatively impact our results of operations and could also affect our liquidity in periods in which such payments are made.
Risks Related to our Financing
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We rely on our warehouse facilities, structured as repurchase agreements, to finance our loan originations. These instruments are short-term and subject us to various risks different from other types of credit facilities.
We fund a vast majority of the mortgage loans we originate through borrowings under our short-term warehouse facilities and funds generated by our operations. Our ability to fund our loan originations may be impacted by our ability to secure further such borrowings on acceptable terms. Our warehouse facilities typically renew annually, although as of December 31, 2022, three of our facilities ($4.0 billion in available credit) had a two year renewal term. However, as of December 31, 2022, all but $401.0 million of our warehouse facilities were uncommitted and can be terminated by the applicable lender at any time. Our warehouse facilities are generally structured in the form of repurchase agreements. We currently leverage and, to the extent available, intend to continue to leverage the mortgage loans we originate with borrowings under these repurchase agreements. When we enter into repurchase agreements, we sell mortgage loans to other lenders, which are the repurchase agreement counterparties, and receive cash from these lenders. These lenders are obligated to resell the same assets back to us at the end of the term of the transaction, which typically ranges from 30 to 90 days, but which may have terms of up to 364 days or longer. These repurchase agreements subject us to various risks:
•The warehouse facilities subject us to counterparty risk. The amount of cash that we receive from a lender when we initially sell the mortgage loans to that lender is less than the fair value of those loans (this difference is referred to as the “haircut”). If the lender defaults on its obligation to resell the loans back to us, we could incur a loss on the transaction equal to the amount of the haircut (assuming that there was no change in the fair value of the loans, which the lenders are generally permitted to revalue to reflect current market conditions).
•We incur losses on a repurchase transaction if the value of the underlying loans has declined as of the end of the transaction term (including as a result of a lender counterparty revaluing the loans), as we would have to repurchase the loans for their initial value but would receive loans worth less than that amount if the loans have not be effectively hedged.
•If we default on one of our obligations under a repurchase transaction, the lender will be able to terminate the transaction and cease entering into any other repurchase transactions with us. Our repurchase agreements also typically contain cross default provisions, so that if a default occurs under any one agreement, the lenders under our other agreements could also declare a default. If a default occurs under any of our repurchase agreements and the lenders terminate one or more of our repurchase agreements, we may need to enter into replacement agreements with different lenders.
•If the market value of the loans pledged or sold by us under a repurchase agreement borrowing to a counterparty lender declines, the lender may initiate a margin call and require us to either post additional collateral to cover such decrease or repay a portion of the outstanding borrowing. We may not have the funds available to do so, and we may be required to liquidate assets at a disadvantageous time to avoid a default, which could cause us to incur further losses and limit our ability to leverage our assets. If we are unable to satisfy a margin call, our counterparty may accelerate repayment of our indebtedness, increase interest rates, liquidate the collateral (which may result in significant losses to it) or terminate our ability to borrow. Such a situation would likely result in a rapid deterioration of our financial condition and possibly necessitate a filing for bankruptcy protection. A rapidly rising interest rate environment may increase the likelihood of additional margin calls that could adversely impact our liquidity.
Our warehouse lenders also may revise their eligibility requirements for the types of assets they are willing to finance or the terms of such financings, based on, among other factors, the regulatory environment and their management of perceived risk, particularly with respect to assignee liability. Moreover, the amount of financing we receive under our warehouse facilities will be directly related to the lenders’ valuation of our assets that cover the outstanding borrowings.
Our use of this short-term financing exposes us to the risk that our lenders may respond to market conditions by making it more difficult for us to renew or replace on a continuous basis our maturing short-term warehouse facility borrowings. If we are not able to renew our then existing warehouse facilities or arrange for new financing on terms acceptable to us, or if we default on our covenants or are otherwise unable to access funds under this type of financing, we may have to curtail our loan origination activities and/or dispose of assets.
We depend on our ability to sell loans in the secondary market to a limited number of investors and to the GSEs, and to securitize our loans into MBS. If our ability to sell or securitize mortgage loans is impaired, we may not be able to originate mortgage loans, and if the GSEs and Ginnie Mae become less competitive, it could affect our volume and margins.
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Substantially all of our loan originations are sold into the secondary market. We securitize loans into MBS through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. Loans originated outside of the guidelines of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the FHA, USDA, or VA (for loans securitized with Ginnie Mae), such as jumbo loans are sold individually or in bulk to private investors, through mortgage conduits and through our own private label securitizations into MBS. GSE-eligible products are also sold through private label securitization transactions, in certain situations, such as when the GSE’s limit the volume of certain products they will purchase.
The gain recognized from producing and subsequent sales in the secondary market represents a significant portion of our revenues and net earnings. A decrease in the prices paid to us upon sale of our loans could be detrimental to our business, as we are dependent on the cash generated from such sales to fund our future loan closings and repay borrowings under our warehouse facilities. If it is not possible or economical for us to complete the sale or securitization of certain of our mortgage loans, we may lack liquidity to continue to fund such loans and our revenues and margins on new loan originations could be materially and negatively impacted.
The severity of the impact would be most significant to the extent we were unable to sell conforming home loans to the GSEs or securitize such loans pursuant to the GSEs and government agency-sponsored programs. We also derive other material financial benefits from these relationships, including the assumption of credit risk on securitized loans in exchange for our payment of guarantee fees and the ability to avoid certain loan inventory finance costs through streamlined loan funding and sale procedures, which benefits we would lose if we were unable to complete the sale or securitization of our loans.
We sell those loans that we originate that are non-GSE products, such as jumbo mortgage loans, or for which the GSEs may have imposed limitations, directly to either private investors or into the market through private label securitizations. These non-GSE sales typically take longer to execute which can increase the amount of time that a mortgage loan is on our books, which exposes us to additional market risk and increased liquidity requirements. Furthermore, the availability and pricing of these alternative distribution markets can fluctuate materially and external macroeconomic factors could result in reduced demand or pricing for our non-GSE products. For example, in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic many private and non-GSE investors significantly reduced their demand, as a result we had certain non-GSE products in our portfolio longer than anticipated and were unable to continue to originate jumbo loans due to liquidity constraints. If such a market shift were to occur again, we may need to change our business model to accommodate such shifts and our origination volume, margins and liquidity would likely be adversely affected.
The value of our MSRs can fluctuate significantly and these changes in value, or inaccuracies in the estimates of their value, could adversely affect our financial condition.
The value of our MSRs is based on the cash flows projected to result from the right to service of the related mortgage loans and continually fluctuates due to a number of factors. The primary factor driving the value of MSRs is interest rates, which impact the likelihood of loan prepayments through refinancing. In periods of rising interest rates, the fair value of the MSRs generally increases as prepayment expectations decrease, consequently extending the average estimated life of the MSRs resulting in expected increases in cash flows. In a declining interest rate environment, the fair value of MSRs generally decreases as prepayment expectations increase consequently truncating the average estimated life of the MSRs resulting in expected decreases in cash flows. Other market conditions also affect the number of loans that are refinanced and thus no longer result in cash flows, and the number of loans that become delinquent.
A substantial portion of our assets are measured at fair value, and if our estimates with respect to the determination of the fair value of those assets prove to be incorrect, we may be required to write down the value of such assets, which could adversely affect our earnings, financial condition and liquidity.
We measure the fair value of our mortgage loans, derivatives and MSRs on a recurring basis. Fair value determinations require many assumptions, especially to the extent there are not active markets for identical assets. For example, we generally estimate the fair value of loans based on quoted market prices for securities backed by similar types of loans. If quoted market prices are not available, fair value is estimated based on other relevant factors, including dealer price quotations and prices available for similar instruments, to approximate the amounts that would be received from a third party. In addition, the fair value of interest rate lock commitments, or IRLCs, are measured based upon the difference between the current fair value of similar loans (as determined generally for mortgages at fair value) and the price at which we have committed to originate the loans, subject to the pull-through factor. Further, MSRs do not trade in an active market with readily observable prices and, therefore, their fair value is determined using a valuation model that calculates the present value of estimated net future cash flows, using estimates of prepayment speeds, discount rate, cost to service, float earnings, contractual servicing fee income and ancillary income, and late fees. If our estimates of fair value prove to be incorrect, we may be required to write down the value of such assets, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
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Our outstanding Warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our outstanding Warrants could have an adverse effect on our financial results and thus may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.
As described in this Annual Report, we account for our outstanding Warrants as liabilities at fair value on the balance sheet. The Warrants are subject to remeasurement at each balance sheet date and any change in fair value is recognized as a component of earnings in each period for which our earnings are reported. We will continue to adjust the liability for changes in fair value until the earlier of exercise or expiration of the Warrants. The volatility introduced by changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on our quarterly and annual financial results.
Our hedging strategies may not be successful in mitigating our risks associated with changes in interest rates.
Our profitability is directly affected by changes in interest rates. The market value of closed mortgage loans and interest rate locks generally change along with interest rates. The value of such assets moves opposite of interest rate changes. For example, as interest rates rise, the value of existing mortgage assets falls.
We employ various economic hedging strategies to mitigate the interest rate and the anticipated loan financing probability or “pull-through risk” inherent in such mortgage assets. Our use of these hedge instruments may expose us to counterparty risk as they are not traded on regulated exchanges or guaranteed by an exchange or our clearinghouse and, consequently, there may not be the same level of protections with respect to margin requirements and positions and other requirements designed to protect both us and our counterparties. Furthermore, the enforceability of agreements underlying hedging transactions may depend on compliance with applicable statutory, commodity and other regulatory requirements and, depending on the domicile of the counterparty, applicable international requirements. Consequently, if a counterparty fails to perform under a derivative agreement we could incur a significant loss.
Our hedge instruments are accounted for as free-standing derivatives and are included on our consolidated balance sheet at fair value. Our operating results could be negatively affected because the losses on the hedge instruments we enter into may not be offset by a change in the fair value of the related asset or liability.
Our hedging strategies also require us to provide cash margin to our hedging counterparties from time to time. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) requires us to provide daily cash margin to (or receive daily cash margin from, depending on the daily value of related instrument) our hedging counterparties from time to time. The collection of daily margins between us and our hedging counterparties could, under certain market conditions, adversely affect our short-term liquidity and cash-on-hand. Additionally, our hedge instruments may expose us to counterparty risk—the possibility that a loss may occur from the failure of another party to perform in accordance with the terms of the contract, which loss exceeds the value of existing collateral, if any.
Our hedging activities in the future may include entering into interest rate swaps, caps and floors, options to purchase these items, purchasing or selling U.S. Treasury securities, and/or other tools and strategies. These hedging decisions will be determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time and may differ from our current hedging strategy. These hedging strategies may be less effective than our current hedging strategies in mitigating the risks described above, which could be detrimental to our business and financial condition.
Our rights under our repurchase agreements may be subject to the effects of bankruptcy laws in the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of us or our lenders under the repurchase agreements, which may allow our lenders to repudiate our repurchase agreements.
In the event of insolvency or bankruptcy, repurchase agreements normally qualify for special treatment under the U.S. bankruptcy code, the effect of which, among other things, would be to allow the lender under the applicable repurchase agreement to avoid the automatic stay provisions of the U.S. bankruptcy code and to foreclose on the collateral agreement without delay. In the event of the insolvency or bankruptcy of a lender during the term of a repurchase agreement, the lender may be permitted, under applicable insolvency laws, to repudiate the contract, and our claim against the lender for damages may be treated simply as an unsecured creditor. In addition, if the lender is a broker or dealer subject to the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970, or an insured depository institution subject to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, our ability to exercise our rights to recover our securities under a repurchase agreement or to be compensated for any damages resulting from the lender’s insolvency may be further limited by those statutes. These claims would be subject to significant delay and, if and when received, may be substantially less than the damages we actually incur.
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Our financing arrangements contain, and the government agencies impose, certain financial and restrictive covenants that limit our ability to operate our business and a default under such agreements or requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.
Our warehouse facilities contain, and our other current or future debt agreements may contain, covenants imposing operating and financial restrictions on our business, including requirements to maintain a certain minimum tangible net worth, minimum liquidity, maximum total debt or liabilities to net worth ratio, profitability requirements, litigation judgment thresholds, and other customary debt covenants. We are also subject to minimum financial eligibility requirements established by the FHA, VA, GSEs and Ginnie Mae, including net worth, capital ratio and/or liquidity criteria in order to set a minimum level of capital needed to adequately absorb potential losses and a minimum amount of liquidity needed to service such agency mortgage loans and MBS and cover the associated financial obligations and risks, and these minimum requirements will be increased in 2023 and 2024 upon the effectiveness of new rules adopted by the GSEs and Ginnie Mae. In addition, the indentures governing our 2025 Senior Notes, 2029 Senior Notes, and 2027 Senior Notes contain covenants imposing operating and financial restrictions on our business. As a result, we may not be able to leverage our assets as fully as we would choose, which could reduce our return on equity, and could significantly impede us from growing our business and place us at a competitive disadvantage in relation to federally chartered banks and certain other financial institutions.
A breach of the covenants under our warehouse facilities, Senior Notes, or other debt agreements can result in an event of default under these facilities and as such allow the lenders to pursue certain remedies. In addition, each of these facilities includes cross default or cross acceleration provisions that could result in most, if not all, facilities terminating if an event of default or acceleration of maturity occurs under any facility. To the extent that the minimum financial requirements imposed by the agencies are not met, the agencies may suspend or terminate our agency approvals or agreements, which could cause us to cross default under our warehouse facilities arrangements, could have an adversely effect on our ability to access these markets and could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and future growth.
In addition, the covenants and restrictions in our warehouse facilities, indentures governing our Senior Notes, and other debt agreements may restrict our ability to, among other things:
•make certain investments;
•declare or pay dividends on capital stock;
•redeem or purchase capital stock and certain debt obligations;
•incur liens;
•enter into transactions with affiliates;
•enter into certain agreements restricting our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends;
•incur indebtedness; and
•consolidate, merge, make acquisitions and sell assets.
These restrictions may interfere with our ability to obtain financings or to engage in other business activities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. In addition, if we are unable to meet or maintain the necessary covenant requirements or satisfy, or obtain waivers for, the continuing covenants, we may lose the ability to borrow under all of our financing facilities, which could be detrimental to our business.
Risks Related to our Regulatory Environment
We operate in a heavily regulated industry, and our mortgage loan origination and servicing activities expose us to risks of noncompliance with an increasing and inconsistent body of complex laws and regulations at the U.S. federal, state and local levels.
Due to the heavily regulated nature of the mortgage industry, we and our clients are required to comply with a wide array of U.S. federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations that concern, among other things, the manner in which we conduct our loan origination and servicing businesses and the fees that we may charge, and the collection, use, retention, protection, disclosure, transfer and other processing of personal information by us and our clients. Governmental authorities and various U.S. federal and state agencies have broad oversight and supervisory authority over our business.
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Because we originate mortgage loans and provide servicing activities nationwide, we must be licensed in all relevant jurisdictions that require licensure and comply with each such jurisdiction’s respective laws and regulations, as well as with judicial and administrative decisions applicable to us. Such licensing requirements also generally require the submission of information regarding any person who has 10% or more of the combined voting power of our outstanding equity interests. In addition, we and our clients are currently subject to a variety of, and may in the future become subject to additional U.S. federal, state and local laws that are continuously evolving and developing, including, but not limited to, laws on advertising, as well as privacy laws, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”), the CAN-SPAM Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act and the Colorado Privacy Act. We expect more states to enact legislation similar to the CCPA and CPRA, which provide consumers with privacy rights such as the right to request deletion of their data, the right to receive data on record for them and the right to know what categories of data (generally) are maintained about them, and increases the privacy and security obligations of entities handling certain personal information of such consumers. These regulations directly impact our business and require ongoing compliance, monitoring and internal and external audits as they continue to evolve, and may result in ever-increasing public scrutiny and escalating levels of enforcement and sanctions. Subsequent changes to data protection and privacy laws could also impact how we process personal information, and therefore limit the effectiveness of our products or services or our ability to operate or expand our business, including limiting strategic partnerships that may involve the sharing of personal information. Additionally, the interpretation of such data protection and privacy laws is rapidly evolving, making implementation and enforcement, and thus compliance requirements, ambiguous, uncertain, and potentially inconsistent. Although we make reasonable efforts to comply with all applicable data protection laws and regulations, our interpretations and such measures may have been or may prove to be insufficient or incorrect.
We and our clients must also comply with a number of federal, state and local consumer financial services, laws and regulations including, among others, the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Housing Act, the TCPA, the GLBA, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Homeowners Protection Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the SAFE Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, the TRID rules, the Dodd-Frank Act, the Appraisal Independence Rule, the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. federal and state laws prohibiting unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices, and state foreclosure laws. These laws and regulations apply to loan origination, home appraisal, marketing, use of credit reports, safeguarding of non-public, personally identifiable information about borrowers, foreclosure and claims handling, investment of and interest payments on escrow balances and escrow payment features, and mandate certain disclosures and notices to borrowers. The Appraisal Independence Rule requires that there be a separation of duties to ensure no conflicts of interest. In 2021, we launched a new program, UWM Appraisal Direct, in which we directly engage appraisers rather than utilizing an appraisal management company. While we believe that this new program meets all of the regulatory and legal requirements, there is a risk that a regulatory agency could decide that our program does not meet all of the regulatory and legal requirements or that the new process could expose us to additional liability.
In particular, various federal, state and local laws have been enacted that are designed to discourage predatory lending and servicing practices. The Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (“HOEPA”) prohibits inclusion of certain provisions in residential loans that have mortgage rates or origination costs in excess of prescribed levels and requires that borrowers be given certain disclosures prior to origination. Some states have enacted, or may enact, similar laws or regulations, which in some cases impose restrictions and requirements greater than those in HOEPA. In addition, under the anti-predatory lending laws of some states, the origination of certain residential loans, including loans that are not classified as “high cost” loans under applicable law, must satisfy a net tangible benefits test with respect to the related borrower. This test may be highly subjective and open to interpretation. As a result, a court may determine that a residential loan, for example, does not meet the test even if the related originator reasonably believed that the test was satisfied. Our failure to comply with these laws, or the failure of residential loan originators or servicers to comply with these laws, to the extent any of their residential loans are or become part of our mortgage-related assets, could subject us, as an originator or a servicer, as applicable, or, in the case of acquired loans, as an assignee or purchaser, to monetary penalties and could result in the borrowers rescinding the affected loans. Lawsuits have been brought in various states making claims against originators, servicers, assignees and purchasers of high cost loans for violations of state law. Named defendants in these cases have included numerous participants within the secondary mortgage market. If our loans are found to have been originated in violation of predatory or abusive lending laws, we could be subject to lawsuits or governmental actions, or could be fined or incur losses.
Both the scope of the laws, rules and regulations and the intensity of the regulatory oversight to which our business is subject continue to increase over time. Regulatory enforcement and fines have also increased across the financial services sector. We expect that our business and that of our clients will remain subject to extensive regulation and supervision. These regulatory changes could result in an increase in our regulatory compliance burden and associated costs and place restrictions on our origination and servicing operations. Our failure to comply with applicable U.S. federal, state and local consumer protection and data privacy laws could lead to:
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•loss of our licenses and approvals to engage in our servicing and lending businesses;
•damage to our reputation in the industry;
•governmental investigations and enforcement actions;
•administrative fines and penalties and litigation;
•civil and criminal liability, including class action lawsuits;
•increased costs of doing business;
•diminished ability to sell loans that we originate or purchase, requirements to sell such loans at a discount compared to other loans or repurchase or address indemnification claims from purchasers of such loans, including the GSEs;
•reduced payments by borrowers;
•modification of the original terms of mortgage loans;
•permanent forgiveness of debt;
•delays in the foreclosure process;
•increased servicing advances;
•inability to raise capital; and
•inability to execute on our business strategy, including our growth plans.
As these U.S. federal, state and local laws evolve, it may be more difficult for us to identify these developments comprehensively, to interpret changes accurately and to train our team members effectively with respect to these laws and regulations. These difficulties potentially increase our exposure to the risks of noncompliance with these laws and regulations, which could be detrimental to our business. In addition, our failure to comply with these laws, regulations and rules may result in reduced payments by borrowers, modification of the original terms of loans, permanent forgiveness of debt, delays in the foreclosure process, increased servicing advances, litigation, enforcement actions, and repurchase and indemnification obligations. A failure to adequately supervise our clients, service providers and vendors, including outside foreclosure counsel, may also have these negative results.
The laws and regulations applicable to us are subject to administrative or judicial interpretation, but some of these laws and regulations have been enacted only recently and may not yet have been interpreted or may be interpreted infrequently. Ambiguities in applicable laws and regulations may leave uncertainty with respect to permitted or restricted conduct and may make compliance with laws, and risk assessment decisions with respect to compliance with laws difficult and uncertain. In addition, ambiguities make it difficult, in certain circumstances, to determine if, and how, compliance violations may be cured. The adoption by industry participants of different interpretations of these statutes and regulations has added uncertainty and complexity to compliance. If we are deemed to have violated applicable statutes or regulations, it could result in regulatory investigations, state or federal governmental actions or private civil claims, including class actions, being brought against us. Such litigation would cause us to incur costs, fines and legal expenses in connection with these matters, regardless of any eventual ruling in our favor, and could also harm the reputation of our brand, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
To resolve issues raised in examinations or other governmental actions, we may be required to take various corrective actions, including changing certain business practices, making refunds or taking other actions that could be financially or competitively detrimental to us. We expect to continue to incur costs to comply with governmental regulations. In addition, certain legislative actions and judicial decisions can give rise to the initiation of lawsuits against us for activities we conducted in the past. Furthermore, provisions in our mortgage loan documentation, including but not limited to the mortgage and promissory notes we use in loan originations, could be construed as unenforceable by a court. We have been, and expect to continue to be, subject to regulatory enforcement actions and private causes of action from time to time with respect to our compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
The recent influx of new laws, regulations, and other directives adopted in response to the recent COVID-19 pandemic exemplifies the ever-changing and increasingly complex regulatory landscape we operate in. While some regulatory reactions to COVID-19 relaxed certain compliance obligations, the forbearance requirements imposed on mortgages servicers in the recently passed CARES Act added new regulatory responsibilities. The GSEs and the FHFA, Ginnie Mae, the U.S. Department
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of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), various investors and others have also issued guidance relating to COVID-19. Future regulatory scrutiny and enforcement resulting from COVID-19 is unknown.
Although we have compliance management systems and procedures to comply with these legal and regulatory requirements, we cannot assure you that more restrictive laws and regulations will not be adopted in the future, or that governmental bodies or courts will not interpret existing laws or regulations in a more restrictive manner, which could render our current business practices non-compliant or which could make compliance more difficult or expensive. Any of these, or other, changes in laws or regulations could have a detrimental effect on our business.
The CFPB continues to be active in its monitoring of the loan origination and servicing sectors, and its recently issued rules and heightened examination and enforcement scrutiny increase our regulatory compliance burden and associated costs.
We are subject to the regulatory, supervisory and enforcement authority of the CFPB, which has oversight of federal and state non-depository lending and servicing institutions, including residential mortgage originators and loan servicers. With the change in Presidential Administrations and, in turn, CFPB leadership, the CFPB is heightening its examination and enforcement scrutiny of the consumer finance, including mortgage, industry. The CFPB has rulemaking authority with respect to most of the federal consumer protection laws applicable to mortgage lenders and servicers, including TILA and RESPA and the FDCPA. The CFPB has issued a number of regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act relating to loan origination and servicing activities, including ability-to-repay, “Qualified Mortgage” standards and other origination standards and practices as well as guidance addressing relationships with brokers, communication with borrowers, secondary market transactions, servicing requirements that address, among other things, periodic billing statements, certain notices and acknowledgments, prompt crediting of borrowers’ accounts for payments received, additional notice, review and timing requirements with respect to delinquent borrowers, loss mitigation, prompt investigation of complaints by borrowers, and lender-placed insurance notices. These regulations and guidance may adversely impact our ability or the cost to develop new products which respond to market conditions, subject us to additional requirements under the ECOA, for example with respect to valuations, including appraisals and automated valuation models, may subject us to additional rules and potential liability arising from our role as an originator, lender or loan servicer and potentially increase our lender liability, vendor management risk or other risks.
For example, the CFPB has iteratively adopted rules over the course of several years regarding mortgage servicing practices that has required us to make modifications and enhancements to our mortgage servicing processes and systems. In 2021, the CFPB issued a final rule amending RESPA Regulation X to provide additional protections relating to loss mitigation and foreclosures to mortgage borrowers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a supervisory bulletin 2021-02 warning that companies “unable to adequately manage loss mitigation can expect the Bureau to take enforcement or supervisory action to address violations under Regulation X, CFPA, or other authorities.” The intersection of the CFPB’s mortgage servicing rules and COVID-19 continues to evolve and poses new challenges to the servicing industry.
Beyond these mortgage-specific initiatives, the CFPB is generally increasing its scrutiny of fee-based business models
and so-called “junk fees," fair lending and servicing, and potential misuse of consumer data – all of which could subject players in the mortgage industry to additional rules or supervisory or enforcement scrutiny.
Pursuant to its supervisory authority, the CFPB has conducted routine examinations of our business and will conduct
future examinations. The CFPB’s examinations have increased, and will likely continue to increase, our administrative and compliance costs. They could also greatly influence the availability and cost of residential mortgage credit and increase servicing costs and risks. These increased costs of compliance, the effect of CFPB rules on the lending and loan servicing industries, and any failure in our ability, or our clients’ ability, to comply with new rules could be detrimental to our business. The CFPB also issued guidelines on sending examiners to banks and other institutions that service and/or originate mortgages to assess whether consumers’ interests are protected. The CFPB has conducted routine examinations of our business and will conduct future examinations.
The CFPB has broad enforcement powers, and continues to use them aggressively to police mortgage lenders and servicers as well as other players in the mortgage ecosystem. Our failure to comply with the federal consumer protection laws, rules and regulations to which we are subject, whether actual or alleged, could expose us to investigations, enforcement actions or potential litigation liabilities.
In addition, the occurrence of one or more of the foregoing events or a determination by any court or regulatory agency that our policies and procedures do not comply with applicable law could impact our business operations. For example, if the violation is related to our servicing operations it could lead to a transfer of our servicing responsibilities, increased delinquencies on mortgage loans we service or any combination of these events. Such a determination could also require us to
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modify our servicing standards. The expense of complying with new or modified servicing standards may be substantial. Any such changes or revisions may have a material impact on our servicing operations, which could be detrimental to our business.
We are required to hold various agency approvals in order to conduct our business and there is no assurance that we will be able to obtain or maintain those agency approvals or that changes in agency guidelines will not materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We are required to hold certain agency approvals in order to sell mortgage loans to GSEs and service such mortgage loans on their behalf. Our failure to satisfy the various requirements necessary to obtain and maintain such agency approvals over time would restrict our direct business activities and could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We are also required to follow specific guidelines that impact the way that we originate and service such agency loans. A significant change in these guidelines that has the effect of decreasing the fees we charge or requiring us to expend additional resources in providing mortgage services could decrease our revenues or increase our costs, which would also adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
In addition, the FHFA has directed the GSEs to align their guidelines for servicing delinquent mortgages and assess compensatory penalties against servicers in connection with the failure to meet specified timelines relating to delinquent loans and foreclosure proceedings, and other breaches of servicing obligations. Our failure to operate efficiently and effectively within the prevailing regulatory framework and in accordance with the applicable origination and servicing guidelines and/or the loss of our seller/servicer license approval or approved issuer status with the agencies could result in our failure to benefit from available monetary incentives and/or expose us to monetary penalties and curtailments, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
The executive, legislative and regulatory reaction to COVID-19, including the passage of the CARES Act, poses evolving compliance obligations on our business, and we may experience unfavorable changes in or failure to comply with existing or future regulations and laws adopted in response to COVID-19.
Due to the unprecedented pause of major sectors of the U.S. economy from COVID-19, numerous states and the federal government adopted measures requiring mortgage servicers to work with consumers negatively impacted by COVID-19. The CARES Act imposes several new compliance obligations on our mortgage servicing activities, including, but not limited to mandatory forbearance offerings, altered credit reporting obligations, and moratoriums on foreclosure actions and late fee assessments. Many states have taken similar measures to provide mortgage payment and other relief to consumers, which create additional complexity around our mortgage servicing compliance activities.
With the urgency to help consumers, the expedient passage of the CARES Act increases the likelihood of unintended consequences from the legislation. For example, certain provisions of the CARES Act are subject to interpretation given the existing ambiguities in the legislation, which creates class action and other litigation risk.
Although much of the executive, legislative and regulatory actions stemming from COVID-19 are servicing-centric, regulators are adjusting compliance obligations impacting our mortgage origination activities. Many states have adopted temporary measures allowing for otherwise prohibited remote mortgage loan origination activities. While these temporary measures allow us to continue to do business remotely, they impose notice, procedural, and other compliance obligations on our origination activity. As jurisdictions begin to roll back COVID-19 related measures, inconsistencies in the modification of regulations could also impose notice, procedural, and other compliance obligations on our origination activity.
Federal, state, and local executive, legislative and regulatory responses to COVID-19 are still evolving, not consistent in scope or application, and subject to change without advance notice. Such efforts may impose additional compliance obligations, which may negatively impact our mortgage origination and servicing business. Any additional legal or regulatory responses to COVID-19 may unfavorably restrict our business, our established business practices, and otherwise raise our compliance costs.
The state regulatory agencies, GSEs and others continue to be active in their supervision of the loan origination and servicing sectors and the results of these examinations may be detrimental to our business.
State attorneys general, state licensing regulators, and state and local consumer financial protection offices have authority to examine us and/or investigate consumer complaints and to commence investigations and other formal and informal proceedings regarding our operations and activities. In addition, the GSEs and the FHFA, Ginnie Mae, the FTC, HUD, various
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investors, non-agency securitization trustees and others subject us to periodic reviews and audits. A determination of our failure to comply with applicable law could lead to enforcement action, administrative fines and penalties, or other administrative action.
If we do not obtain and maintain the appropriate state licenses, we will not be allowed to originate or service loans in some states, which would adversely affect our operations.
Our operations are subject to regulation, supervision and licensing under various federal, state and local statutes, ordinances and regulations. In most states in which we operate, a regulatory agency regulates and enforces laws relating to mortgage lenders and mortgage loan servicing companies such as us. In most states, we are subject to periodic examination by state regulatory authorities. Some states in which we operate require special licensing or provide extensive regulation of our business.
As part of licensing requirements, we are typically required to designate individual licensees of record. We cannot ensure that we are, and will always remain, in full compliance with all state licensing laws and regulations, and we may be subject to fines or penalties, including license revocation, for any non-compliance. If we lose a license or are otherwise found to be in violation of a law or regulation, our business operations in that state may be suspended until we obtain the license or otherwise remedy the compliance issue.
We may not be able to maintain all requisite licenses and permits, and the failure to satisfy those and other regulatory requirements could restrict our ability to originate, purchase, sell or service loans. In addition, our failure to satisfy any such requirements relating to servicing of loans could result in a default under our servicing agreements and have a material adverse effect on our operations. Those states that currently do not provide extensive regulation of our business may later choose to do so, and if such states so act, we may not be able to obtain or maintain all requisite licenses and permits. The failure to satisfy those and other regulatory requirements could limit our ability to originate, purchase, sell or service loans in a certain state, or could result in a default under our financing and servicing agreements and have a material adverse effect on our operations. Furthermore, the adoption of additional, or the revision of existing, rules and regulations could have a detrimental effect on our business.
If new laws and regulations lengthen foreclosure times or introduce new regulatory requirements regarding foreclosure procedures, our operating costs could increase and we could be subject to regulatory action.
When a mortgage loan we service is in foreclosure, we are generally required to continue to advance delinquent principal and interest to the securitization trust and to make advances for delinquent taxes and insurance and foreclosure costs and the upkeep of vacant property in foreclosure to the extent that we determine that such amounts are recoverable. These servicing advances are generally recovered when the delinquency is resolved. Regulatory actions that lengthen the foreclosure process will increase the amount of servicing advances that we are required to make, lengthen the time it takes for us to be reimbursed for such advances and increase the costs incurred during the foreclosure process.
The CARES Act paused all foreclosures from March 18, 2020 until May 17, 2020. Many state governors issued orders, directives, guidance or recommendations halting foreclosure activity including evictions. As noted above, in 2021, the CFPB finalized amendments to RESPA, Regulation X and issued guidance focused on supporting the housing market’s smooth and orderly transition to post-pandemic operation and implementing a bar on certain new foreclosure filings until December 31, 2021. These regulatory actions and similar responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that may be passed in the future could increase our operating costs and negatively impact our liquidity, as they may extend the period for which we are required to make advances for delinquent principal and interest, taxes and insurance, and could delay our ability to seek reimbursement from the investor to recoup some or all of the advances.
Increased regulatory scrutiny and new laws and procedures could cause us to adopt additional compliance measures and incur additional compliance costs in connection with our foreclosure processes. We may incur legal and other costs responding to regulatory inquiries or any allegation that we improperly foreclosed on a borrower. We could also suffer reputational damage and could be fined or otherwise penalized if we are found to have breached regulatory requirements.
Our servicing policies and procedures are subject to examination by our regulators, and the results of these examinations may be detrimental to our business.
As a loan servicer, we are examined for compliance with U.S. federal, state and local laws, rules and guidelines by numerous regulatory agencies. It is possible that any of these regulators will inquire about our servicing practices, policies or
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procedures and require us to revise them in the future. The occurrence of one or more of the foregoing events or a determination by any court or regulatory agency that our servicing policies and procedures do not comply with applicable law could lead to penalties and fines, changes to our servicing practices and standards, transfer of our servicing responsibilities, increased delinquencies on mortgage loans we service or any combination of these events.
Regulatory agencies and consumer advocacy groups are becoming more aggressive in asserting claims that the practices of lenders and loan servicers violate anti-discrimination laws.
Antidiscrimination statutes, such as the FHA and the ECOA, prohibit creditors from discriminating against loan applicants and borrowers based on certain characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, sex, religion and national origin. States have analogous anti-discrimination laws that extend protections beyond the protected classes under federal law, extending protections, for example, to gender identity. Various federal regulatory agencies and departments, including the DOJ and CFPB, take the position that these laws apply not only to intentional discrimination, but also to neutral practices that have a disparate impact on a group that shares a characteristic that a creditor may not consider in making credit decisions (i.e., creditor or servicing practices that have a disproportionate negative effect on a protected class of individuals).
These regulatory agencies, as well as consumer advocacy groups and plaintiffs’ attorneys, are focusing greater attention on “disparate impact” claims. The U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed that the “disparate impact” theory applies to cases brought under the FHA, while emphasizing that a causal relationship must be shown between a specific policy of the defendant and a discriminatory result that is not justified by a legitimate, non-discriminatory business objective of the defendant. Although it is still unclear whether disparate impact theory applies under the ECOA, regulatory agencies and private plaintiffs can be expected to continue to apply it to both the FHA and the ECOA in the context of home loan lending and servicing. Application of disparate impact theory to our activities exposes us to significant administrative burdens and risks potential liability for noncompliance.
Furthermore, many industry observers believe that the “ability to repay” rule issued by the CFPB, will have the unintended consequence of having a disparate impact on protected classes. Specifically, it is possible that lenders that make only qualified mortgages may be exposed to discrimination claims under a disparate impact theory.
Beyond exposure to potential fair lending or servicing claims under disparate impact theory, lenders face increasing regulatory, enforcement and litigation risk under the FHA and ECOA from claims of “redlining” and “reverse redlining.” Redlining is the practice of denying a creditworthy applicant a loan for housing in a certain neighborhood even though the applicant may be otherwise qualified. Reverse redlining is targeting an applicant in a certain neighborhood for a higher cost products or services. In late 2021, the DOJ launched a “combating redlining initiative” and partnership with other federal and state agencies, including the CFPB, to police these practices, making clear they are a high priority across the financial services regulatory ecosystem.
The Biden Administration, in June 2021, also formed an interagency task force to address concerns around improper bias in home appraisals. The CFPB, HUD and FHFA all have been clear that policing such bias and working to develop new guidance for industry as to how it can reduce human discretion in the home appraisal and valuation process are key agency priorities in 2022. Such efforts could result in a change in our appraisal practices or expose us to liability under the FHA or ECOA.
In addition to reputational harm, violations of the ECOA and the FHA can result in actual damages, punitive damages, injunctive or equitable relief, attorneys’ fees and civil money penalties.
From time to time, we are subject to various legal actions that if decided adversely, could be detrimental to our business.
From time to time, we are named as a defendant in legal proceedings alleging improper lending, servicing or marketing practices, abusive loan terms and fees, disclosure violations, quiet title actions, improper foreclosure practices, violations of consumer protection, securities or other laws, breach of contract and other related matters. In addition, we have grown our number of team members materially in recent years and have increased our profile in the community and nationally. As a result, the number of lawsuits against us regarding alleged violation of employment laws, including wage and hour, and other employment issues, has and may continue to increase. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of collective and class actions with respect to employment matters against employers generally. Coupled with the expansion of social media platforms and similar devices that allow individuals access to a broad audience, these claims, whether or not they have merit, could result in reputational risk, negative publicity, out-of-pockets costs and distraction to our management team.
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We are subject to various consumer protection regulatory regimes which expose us to liability directly from consumers.
We operate in an industry that is highly sensitive to consumer protection, and we and our clients are subject to numerous local, state and federal laws that are continuously changing. Remediation for non-compliance with these laws can be costly and significant fines may be incurred. We are routinely involved in consumer complaints, regulatory actions and legal proceedings in the ordinary course of our business and may become subject to class action suits alleging non-compliance with these laws. If we were to become involved in a lengthy litigation, we could incur substantial costs and our resources and the attention of management could be diverted from our business. We are also routinely involved in state regulatory audits and examinations, and occasionally involved in other governmental proceedings arising in connection with our respective businesses. Negative public opinion can result from our actual or alleged conduct in any number of activities. Negative public opinion can also result from actions taken by government regulators and community organizations in response to our activities, from consumer complaints, including in the CFPB complaints database, and from media coverage, whether accurate or not. Any of these types of matters could cause us to incur costs, loss of business, fines and legal expenses, regardless of any eventual ruling in our favor, and could also harm the reputation of our brand, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Associated with Our Corporate Structure and Common Stock
We are controlled by SFS Corp., whose interests may conflict with our interests and the interests of other stockholders.
SFS Corp. holds all of our issued and outstanding Class D common stock, which has ten votes per share, and controls approximately 79% of the combined voting power of our Common Stock (our Class A common stock, Class B common stock, Class C common stock and Class D common stock collectively, the “Common Stock”) (based on the Voting Limitation). Without the Voting Limitation, SFS Corp. would have 99% of the combined voting power of our capital stock. As long as SFS Corp. owns at least 10% of the outstanding Common Stock, SFS Corp. will have the ability to determine all corporate actions requiring stockholder approval, including the election and removal of directors and the size of our Board, any amendment to our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or the approval of any merger or other significant corporate transaction, including a sale of substantially all of our assets. This could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control or otherwise discouraging a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of us, which could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline or prevent stockholders from realizing a premium over the market price for our Class A common stock. SFS Corp.’s interests may conflict with our interests as a company or the interests of our other stockholders.
Resales of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock or shares issuable upon Holdings LLC Unit Exchanges, exercise of Warrants or in connection with the Earn-Out could depress the market price of our Class A common stock or result in dilution.
As of February 24, 2023, there were 93,101,971 shares of our Class A common stock outstanding. In addition, (1) 1,502,069,787 shares of Class A common stock (or approximately 1,592,831,471 shares of Class A common stock if the full amount of the Earn-Out Shares is earned) may be issued to SFS Corp. or its transferees or assignees in connection with future Holdings LLC Unit Exchanges and (2) 15,874,987 shares may be issued upon exercise of our outstanding Warrants with a strike price of $11.50 per share. Currently, all of the shares of Class A common stock outstanding are freely tradable. In addition, we have the obligation to register for resale, at any time, all of the Shares of Class A Common Stock issuable to SFS Corp. upon Holdings LLC Unit Exchanges, of which 500 million shares have been currently registered. Shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of our Warrants or in connection with the Earn-Out or upon Holdings LLC Unit Exchanges may result in dilution to the then existing holders of our Class A common stock and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Such sales of shares of Class A common stock or the perception that such sales may occur could depress the market price of our Class A common stock.
As a “controlled company” within the meaning of NYSE listing rules, we qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. We have the opportunity to elect any of the exemptions afforded a controlled company.
Because SFS Corp. controls more than a majority of our total voting power, we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of NYSE listing rules. Under NYSE rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by another person or group of persons acting together is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with the following NYSE rules regarding corporate governance:
•the requirement that a majority of our Board of directors consist of independent directors;
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•the requirement that compensation of our executive officers be determined by a majority of the independent directors of the Board or a compensation committee comprised solely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
•the requirement that director nominees be selected, or recommended for the Board’s selection, either by a majority of the independent directors of the Board or a nominating committee comprised solely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.
Three of our nine directors are independent directors and our Board has an independent audit committee. However, our Board does not have a majority of independent directors, or a compensation committee comprised of solely independent directors or a nominating committee. Rather, actions with respect to executive compensation will be taken by the compensation committee on which Mr. Mat Ishbia sits, and compensation decisions with respect to Mr. Ishbia’s compensation will be taken by a special subcommittee, and director nominations will be made by our full Board. Our Board has determined that Kelly Czubak, Isiah Thomas and Robert Verdun are “independent directors,” as defined in the NYSE listing rules and applicable SEC rules.
We may experience volatility in the trading price of our shares due to fluctuations in our quarterly operating results or other factors.
Significant fluctuations in the price of our securities could contribute to the loss of all or part of your investment. Since the consummation of our Business Combination, trading in the shares of our Class A common stock has been extremely volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, the valuation ascribed to us and our Class A common may not be indicative of the price of that will prevail in the trading market in the future. Any of the factors in this Annual Report could have a material adverse effect on your investment in our securities and our securities may trade at prices significantly below the price you paid for them. In such circumstances, the trading price of our securities may not recover and may experience a further decline.
In addition, broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our securities irrespective of our operating performance. The stock market in general and NYSE have experienced price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the particular companies affected. In addition, the trading prices of companies that were formerly special purpose acquisition companies have, and may continue to, experience volatility unrelated to the operating performance of the specific company. The trading prices and valuations of these stocks, and of our securities, may not be predictable. A loss of investor confidence in the market for the stocks of other companies that investors perceive to be similar to our business could depress our stock price regardless of our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations. A decline in the market price of our securities also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future.
In the past, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources, and could also require us to make substantial payments to satisfy judgments or to settle litigation.
Anti-takeover provisions contained in our Charter and Amended and Restated Bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.
Our Charter contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together, these provisions may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities. These provisions include:
•a capital structure where holders of Class B common stock and holders of Class D common stock each have ten votes per share of Class B common stock and Class D common stock (as compared with holders of Class A common stock and holders of Class C common stock, who each have one vote per share of Class A common stock and Class C common stock, respectively) and consequently have a greater ability to control the outcome of matters requiring stockholder approval, even when the holders of Class B common stock and Class D common stock own significantly less than a majority of the outstanding shares of Common Stock;
•no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect candidates to serve as a director of our Board;
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•a classified Board with three-year staggered terms, which could delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of our Board;
•the requirement that, at any time from and after the Voting Rights Threshold Date, directors elected by the stockholders generally entitled to vote may be removed from our Board solely for cause;
•the exclusive right of our Board, from and after the Voting Rights Threshold Date, to fill newly created directorships and vacancies with respect to directors elected by the stockholders generally entitled to vote, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our Board;
•the prohibition on stockholder action by written consent from and after the Voting Rights Threshold Date, which forces stockholder action from and after the Voting Rights Threshold Date to be taken at an annual or special meeting of stockholders;
• the requirement that special meetings of stockholders may only be called by the Chairperson of our Board, our Chief Executive Officer or our Board, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors;
• the requirement that, from and after the Voting Rights Threshold Date, amendments to certain provisions of our Charter and amendments to the Amended and Restated Bylaws must be approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least seventy-five percent (75%) in voting power of our then outstanding shares generally entitled to vote;
• our authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock and Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, are available for future issuances without stockholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans; the existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved shares of Common Stock and Preferred Stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise;
• advance notice procedures set forth in the Amended and Restated Bylaws that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our Board or to propose other matters to be acted upon at a meeting of stockholders, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us; and
• an exclusive forum provision which provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, (i) any derivative action brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, or employee of ours to our business or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), our Charter or the Amended and Restated Bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware, in each case, will be required to be filed in either (x) the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Oakland County, Michigan (or, if the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Oakland County, Michigan lacks jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, then another state court of the State of Michigan, or if no state court of the State of Michigan has jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, then the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan) or (y) the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, then the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, or, if the Superior Court of the State of Delaware lacks jurisdiction then the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware).
Our Charter contains a provision renouncing our interest and expectancy in certain corporate opportunities.
Our Charter provides that we have no interests or expectancy in, or being offered an opportunity to participate in any corporate opportunity, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, with respect to any lines of business or business activity or business venture conducted by any UWM Related Persons as of the date of the filing of our Charter with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware or received by, presented to or originated by UWM Related Persons after the date of the filing of our Charter with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware in such UWM Related Person’s capacity as a UWM Related Person (and not in his, her or its capacity as a director, officer or employee of ours), in each case, other than any corporate opportunity with respect to residential mortgage lending. These provisions of our Charter create the possibility that a corporate opportunity of ours may be used for the benefit of the UWM Related Persons.
The provision of our Charter requiring exclusive forum in the state courts in the State of Michigan or the State of Delaware for certain types of lawsuits may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
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Our Charter requires that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, (i) any derivative action brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, or employee of our business to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our Charter or Amended and Restated Bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware, in each case, to be filed in either (x) the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Oakland County, Michigan (or, if the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Oakland County, Michigan lacks jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, then another state court of the State of Michigan, or if no state court of the State of Michigan has jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, then the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan) or (y) the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, then the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, or, if the Superior Court of the State of Delaware lacks jurisdiction then the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware). The exclusive forum provision described above does not apply to actions arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder, and Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Although we believe these exclusive forum provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law, the exclusive forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Further, in the event a court finds the exclusive forum provision contained in our Charter to be unenforceable or inapplicable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
General Risk Factors
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately determine our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, our stockholders could lose confidence in our financial results, which could harm our business and the market value of our common stock.
Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud. We may in the future discover areas of our internal controls that need improvement. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) requires that we evaluate and report on our internal control over financial reporting. We cannot be certain that we will be successful in maintaining adequate control over our financial reporting and financial processes. Furthermore, as we rapidly grow our businesses, our internal controls will become more complex, and we will require significantly more resources to ensure our internal controls remain effective. Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires our auditors to formally attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.
If we cannot maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, or our independent registered public accounting firm cannot provide an unqualified attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investor confidence and, in turn, the market price of our common stock could decline. Additionally, the existence of any material weakness or significant deficiency could require management to devote significant time and incur significant expense to remediate any such material weakness or significant deficiency, and management may not be able to remediate any such material weakness or significant deficiency in a timely manner, or at all. Accordingly, our failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in misstatements of our financial results or restatements of our financial statements or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. at the federal, state and local levels. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:
•changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
•expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances;
•tax effects of stock-based compensation;
•changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations thereof;
•increases in UWMC's ownership of Holdings LLC resulting from Holdings LLC Unit Exchanges; or
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•lower than anticipated future earnings in jurisdictions where we have lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated future earnings in jurisdictions where we have higher statutory tax rates.
In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by taxing authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Item 1b. Unresolved Staff Comments
None
Item 2. Properties
Our corporate headquarters, located in Pontiac, Michigan, is comprised of five separately leased buildings with approximately 1.4 million square feet of occupied space, that house substantially all of our operations. In addition, we have two land leases, one providing parking space for our team members and the other an outdoor food court pavilion. We lease the space from entities controlled by Mat Ishbia, our CEO and Jeff Ishbia, a director and our founder. We believe that our corporate headquarters is suitable and adequate to meet the needs of our business.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
We operate in a heavily regulated industry that is highly sensitive to consumer protection, and we are subject to numerous federal, state and local laws. We are routinely involved in consumer complaints, regulatory actions and legal proceedings in the ordinary course of our business. We are also routinely involved in state regulatory audits and examinations, and occasionally involved in other governmental proceedings arising in connection with our respective business. The resolution of these matters, including the matters specifically described below, is not currently expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial position, financial performance or cash flows.
On April 23, 2021, a complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against the Company and Mat Ishbia, individually by The Okavage Group, LLC ("Okavage") on behalf of itself and all other mortgage brokers who are, or have been clients of UWM and either Fairway Independent Mortgage or Rocket Pro TPO. After the Company and Mat Ishbia filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, Okavage filed a motion for leave to amend its complaint on August 2, 2021, and on August 3, 2021, the Court granted Okavage's motion and ordered the clerk to file Plaintiff’s First Amended Class Action Complaint with its corresponding attachments. In its amended complaint, Okavage dropped the Company as a defendant and added UWM as a defendant. Okavage purports to represent the same set of mortgage brokers as in its original complaint and alleges that UWM’s new policy to no longer enter into new transactions with Independent Mortgage Brokers who also sold mortgage loans to these two market participants amounted to anticompetitive conduct under federal and Florida antitrust laws. Okavage seeks class certification, treble damages, attorneys’ fees and injunctive relief. We filed a renewed motion to dismiss on September 7, 2021. On July 27, 2022, the magistrate judge assigned to consider our motion to dismiss recommended that the amended complaint be dismissed in its entirety without prejudice. In response, Okavage filed a second amended class action complaint on November 8, 2022. On December 14, 2022, UWM and its CEO filed a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint, and that motion remains pending.
On February 3, 2022, UWM filed a complaint against America’s Moneyline, Inc. (“AML”), a former client, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief. The complaint alleges that AML breached the parties’ wholesale broker agreement by submitting mortgage loans and mortgage loan applications to certain select retail lenders. On February 25, 2022, AML filed its answer to the complaint and included certain counterclaims, including fraud and misrepresentation, against UWM. UWM filed a motion to dismiss AML’s counterclaims, and on December 12, 2022, the court granted UWM’s motion in large part, dismissing all of AML’s counterclaims except for its declaratory judgment claim. The case remains pending.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
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PART I
Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Price and Ticker Symbol
Our Class A common stock and Warrants are currently listed on the NYSE under the symbols "UWMC" and "UWMCWS," respectively. The closing price of the Class A common stock and Warrants as of February 24, 2023 was $4.19 and $0.17, respectively.
Holders
As of February 24, 2023, there were 45 holders of record of our Class A common stock and 3 holders of record of our Warrants. Such numbers do not include beneficial owners holding our securities through nominee names. There is no public market for our Class B common stock, Class C common stock, or Class D common stock.
Dividend Policy
We initiated a quarterly dividend on shares of our Class A common stock in the first quarter of 2021. The dividend amount is reviewed each quarter and declared by our Board of Directors quarterly based on a number of factors, including, among other things, our earnings, our financial condition, growth outlook, the capital required to support ongoing growth opportunities and compliance with other internal and external requirements. In connection with the declaration of a dividend on our shares of Class A common stock, the Board, in its capacity as the Manager of Holdings LLC (UWMC's consolidated subsidiary and UWM's direct parent), is required pursuant to the terms of the Holdings LLC Second Amended and Restated Operating Agreement, to determine whether to (a) make distributions from Holdings LLC to only UWMC, as the owner of the Class A Units of Holdings LLC with the proportional amount due to SFS Corp. as the owner of the Class B Units of Holdings LLC, being distributed upon the sooner to occur of (i) the Board making a determination to do so or (ii) the date on which Class B Units of Holdings LLC are converted into shares of Class B common stock of UWMC or (b) make proportional and simultaneous distributions from Holdings LLC to both UWMC, as the owner of the Class A Units of Holdings LLC and to SFS Corp. as the owner of the Class B Units of Holdings LLC.
Share Repurchase Program
On May 9, 2021, the Company's Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to $300.0 million in aggregate value of the Company’s Class A common stock effective May 11, 2021. The share repurchase program authorizes the Company to repurchase shares of the Company’s Class A common stock from time to time, in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions, at management's discretion based on market and business conditions, applicable legal and regulatory requirements as well as other factors. Shares purchased will be retired. The new plan will expire on May 11, 2023 unless otherwise modified or terminated by the Company's Board of Directors at any time in the Company's sole discretion.
There were no repurchases of the Company's shares of its outstanding Class A common stock during the year ended December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2022, the remaining amount authorized under the share repurchase program was $218.4 million.
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Performance Graph
The graph below compares the cumulative total return for our common stock for the period from the closing of the Business Combination transaction on January 21, 2021 through December 31, 2022 with the comparable cumulative returns of two indices: the Russell 2000 Index and the Dow Jones US Mortgage Finance Index, which is an industry index comprised of mortgage financing companies. The graph assumes $100 invested on January 21, 2021 and reflects the cumulative total return on that investment, including the reinvestment of all dividends where applicable, through December 31, 2022.
Item 6. Reserved
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Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other information included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”). This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” in this report and in Part I. Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Business Overview
We are the largest overall residential mortgage lender in the U.S., despite originating mortgage loans exclusively through the wholesale channel. With a culture of continuous innovation of technology and enhanced client experience, we lead our market by building upon our proprietary and exclusively licensed technology platforms, superior service and focused partnership with the independent mortgage broker community. We originate primarily conforming and government loans across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For the last eight years, including the year ended December 31, 2022, we have also been the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the U.S. by closed loan volume, with approximately 38% market share of the wholesale channel for the year ended December 31, 2022 (based on the most recent data released by Inside Mortgage Finance).
Our mortgage origination business derives revenue from originating, processing and underwriting primarily Government-sponsored enterprises ("GSE") conforming mortgage loans, along with FHA, USDA and VA mortgage loans, which are subsequently pooled and sold in the secondary market. During the second quarter of 2021, we began selling pools of originated mortgage loans through private label securitization transactions, although there have been no loan sales through our private label securitization transactions in 2022. The mortgage origination process generally begins with a borrower entering into an IRLC with us that is arranged by an independent mortgage advisor, pursuant to which we have committed to enter into a mortgage at specified interest rates and terms within a specified period of time with a borrower who has applied for a loan and met certain credit and underwriting criteria. As we have committed to providing a mortgage loan at a specific interest rate, we hedge that risk by selling forward-settling mortgage-backed securities and FLSCs in the To Be Announced ("TBA") market. When the mortgage loan is closed, we fund the loan with approximately 2-3%, on average, of our own funds and the remainder with funds drawn under one of our warehouse facilities (except when we opt to "self-warehouse" in which case we use our cash to fund the entire loan). As of December 31, 2022, the self-warehouse amount was $181.3 million, and our daily average self-warehouse balances were $185.1 million and $184.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. At that point, the mortgage loan is legally owned by our warehouse facility lender and is subject to our repurchase right (other than when we self-warehouse). When we have identified a pool of mortgage loans to sell to the agencies, non-governmental entities, or through our private label securitization transactions, we repurchase loans not already owned by us from our warehouse lender and sell the pool of mortgage loans into the secondary market, but in most instances retain the mortgage servicing rights, or MSRs, associated with those loans. We retain MSRs for a period of time depending on business and liquidity considerations. When we sell MSRs, we typically sell them in the bulk MSR secondary market.
Our unique model, focusing exclusively on the wholesale channel, results in what we believe to be complete alignment with our clients and superior customer service arising from our investments in people and technology that has driven demand for our services from our clients.
New Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Effective
See Note 1 – Organization, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the consolidated financial statements for details of recently issued accounting pronouncements and their expected impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.
Components of Revenue
We generate revenue from the following three components of the loan origination business: (i) loan production income, (ii) loan servicing income, and (iii) interest income.
Loan production income. Loan production income includes all components related to the origination and sale of mortgage loans, including:
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• primary gain, which represents the premium we may receive in excess of the loan principal amount adjusted for previous fair value adjustments, and certain fees charged by investors upon sale of loans into the secondary market. When the mortgage loan is sold into the secondary market, any difference between the proceeds received and the current fair value of the loan is recognized in current period earnings;
• loan origination fees we charge to originate a loan, which generally represent flat, per-loan fee amounts;
• provision for representation and warranty obligations, which represent the reserves initially established for our estimated liabilities associated with the potential repurchase or indemnity of purchasers of loans previously sold due to representation and warranty claims by investors. Included within these reserves are amounts for estimated liabilities for requirements to repay a portion of any premium received from investors on the sale of certain loans if such loans are repaid in their entirety within a specified time period after the sale of the loans;
• the change in fair value of IRLCs, FLSCs and recorded loans on the balance sheet, due to changes in estimated fair value, driven primarily by interest rates but also influenced by other assumptions; and
•capitalization of MSRs, representing the estimated fair value of newly originated MSRs when loans are sold and the associated servicing rights are retained.
Compensation earned by our clients, Independent Mortgage Brokers, is included in the cost of the loans we originate, and therefore netted within loan production income.
Loan servicing income. Loan servicing income consists of the contractual fees earned for servicing the loans and includes ancillary revenue such as late fees and modification incentives. Loan servicing income is recorded upon collection of payments from borrowers.
Interest income. Interest income represents interest earned on mortgage loans at fair value.
Components of Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses include salaries, commissions and benefits, direct loan production costs, marketing, travel and entertainment, depreciation and amortization, servicing costs, general and administrative (including professional services, occupancy and equipment), interest expense, and other expense/(income) (primarily related to the increase or decrease, respectively, in the fair value of the liability for the Public and Private Warrants, the increase or decrease, respectively, in the Tax Receivable Agreement liability, and the decrease or increase, respectively, in the fair value of retained investment securities).
Years Ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 Summary
For the year ended December 31, 2022, we originated $127.3 billion in residential mortgage loans, which was a decrease of $99.2 billion, or 44%, from the year ended December 31, 2021. We generated $931.9 million of net income during the year ended December 31, 2022, which was a decrease of $636.5 million, or 40.6%, compared to net income of $1.57 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021. Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $282.4 million as compared to $1.42 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021. Refer to the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section below for a detailed discussion of how we define and calculate Adjusted EBITDA.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we originated $226.5 billion in residential mortgage loans, which was an increase of $44.0 billion, or 24%, from the year ended December 31, 2020. We generated $1.57 billion of net income during the year ended December 31, 2021, which was a decrease of $1.81 billion, or 53.6%, compared to net income of $3.38 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020. Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $1.42 billion as compared to $3.45 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020. Refer to the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section below for a detailed discussion of how we define and calculate Adjusted EBITDA.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To provide investors with information in addition to our results as determined by U.S. GAAP, we disclose Adjusted EBITDA as a non-GAAP measure, which our management believes provides useful information on our performance to investors. This measure is not a measurement of our financial performance under U.S. GAAP, and it may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure reported by other companies. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and it should not
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be considered in isolation or as an alternative to revenue, net income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before interest expense on non-funding debt, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, the change in fair value of MSRs due to valuation inputs or assumptions (for periods subsequent to the election of the fair value method accounting for MSRs - see Note 1 to the
consolidated financial statements), and the impairment or recovery of MSRs (for periods prior to the election of the fair value
method of accounting for MSRs), the impact of non-cash deferred compensation expense, the change in fair value of the Public and Private Warrants, the change in the Tax Receivable Agreement liability, and the change in fair value of retained investment securities. We exclude the change in the Tax Receivable Agreement liability, the change in fair value of the Public and Private Warrants, the change in fair value of retained investment securities, and the change in fair value of MSRs due to valuation inputs or assumptions, or impairment or recovery of MSRs prior to the election of the fair value method of accounting for
MSRs, as these represent non-cash, non-realized adjustments to our earnings, which is not indicative of our performance or results of operations. Adjusted EBITDA includes interest expense on funding facilities, which are recorded as a component of interest expense, as these expenses are a direct operating expense driven by loan origination volume. By contrast, interest expense on non-funding debt is a function of our capital structure and is therefore excluded from Adjusted EBITDA. Non-funding debt includes the Company's senior notes, lines of credit, borrowings against investment securities, equipment notes payable, and finance leases.
We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our operating performance, and it is one of the measures used by our management for planning and forecasting future periods. We believe the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA is relevant and useful for investors because it allows investors to view results in a manner similar to the method used by our management and may make it easier to compare our results with other companies that have different financing and capital structures.
The following table presents a reconciliation of net income, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, to Adjusted EBITDA:
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 931,858 | $ | 1,568,400 | $ | 3,382,510 | ||||||||||||||
| Interest expense on non-funding debt | 132,647 | 86,086 | 28,062 | |||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 2,811 | 9,841 | 2,450 | |||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 45,235 | 35,098 | 16,820 | |||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 7,545 | 6,467 | — | |||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of MSRs due to valuation inputs or assumptions (1) | (868,803) | (286,348) | — | |||||||||||||||||
(Recovery)/Impairment of MSRs (2) | — | — | 19,584 | |||||||||||||||||
Deferred compensation, net(3) | 7,370 | 21,900 | 4,665 | |||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of Public and Private Warrants (4) | (7,683) | (36,105) | — | |||||||||||||||||
Change in Tax Receivable Agreement liability (5) | 3,200 | 11,937 | — | |||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of investment securities (6) | 28,222 | 1,061 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 282,402 | $ | 1,418,337 | $ | 3,454,091 | ||||||||||||||
(1)Reflects the change ((increase)/decrease) in fair value of MSRs due to changes in valuation inputs or assumptions, including discount rates and prepayment speed assumptions, primarily due to changes in market interest rates. Refer to Note 5 - Mortgage Servicing Rights to the consolidated financial statements.
(2)Reflects temporary impairments recorded as a valuation allowance against the value of MSRs, and corresponding
subsequent recoveries.
(3)Reflects management incentive bonuses under our long-term incentive plan that are accrued when earned, net of cash payments.
(4)Reflects the change (increase/(decrease)) in the fair value of the Public and Private Warrants.
(5)Reflects the change (increase/(decrease)) in the Tax Receivable Agreement liability. Refer to Note 1 - Organization, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the consolidated financial statements for additional information related to the Tax Receivable Agreement.
(6)Reflects the change (decrease/(increase)) in the fair value of the retained investment securities.
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Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Loan production income | $ | 981,988 | $ | 2,585,807 | $ | 4,551,415 | ||||||||||||||
| Loan servicing income | 792,072 | 638,738 | 288,304 | |||||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of mortgage servicing rights | 284,104 | (587,813) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Gain on sale of mortgage servicing rights | — | 1,791 | (62,285) | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 314,462 | 331,770 | 161,160 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue, net | 2,372,626 | 2,970,293 | 4,938,594 | |||||||||||||||||
| Expenses | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Salaries, commissions and benefits | 552,886 | 697,680 | 552,143 | |||||||||||||||||
| Direct loan production costs | 90,369 | 72,952 | 54,459 | |||||||||||||||||
| Marketing, travel, and entertainment | 74,168 | 62,472 | 20,367 | |||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 45,235 | 35,098 | 16,820 | |||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 179,549 | 133,334 | 98,856 | |||||||||||||||||
| Servicing costs | 166,024 | 108,967 | 70,835 | |||||||||||||||||
| Amortization, impairment and pay-offs of mortgage servicing rights | — | — | 573,118 | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | 305,987 | 304,656 | 167,036 | |||||||||||||||||
| Other expense/(income) | 23,739 | (23,107) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Total expenses | 1,437,957 | 1,392,052 | 1,553,634 | |||||||||||||||||
| Earnings before income taxes | 934,669 | 1,578,241 | 3,384,960 | |||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 2,811 | 9,841 | 2,450 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income | 931,858 | 1,568,400 | 3,382,510 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income attributable to non-controlling interest | 890,143 | 1,469,955 | N/A | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income attributable to UWM Holdings Corporation | $ | 41,715 | $ | 98,445 | N/A | |||||||||||||||
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Loan production income
The table below provides details of the composition of our loan production for each of the periods presented:
| Loan Production Data: | For the year ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| Loan origination volume by type | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Purchase: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Conventional | $ | 62,274,030 | $ | 63,026,794 | $ | 33,717,939 | ||||||||||||||
| Government | 23,773,422 | 14,833,808 | 8,619,874 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jumbo and other | 4,782,879 | 9,395,143 | 583,299 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total purchase | $ | 90,830,331 | $ | 87,255,745 | $ | 42,921,112 | ||||||||||||||
| Refinance: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Conventional | $ | 27,059,252 | $ | 120,152,065 | $ | 119,807,647 | ||||||||||||||
| Government | 7,834,636 | 12,034,583 | 18,921,473 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jumbo and other | 1,561,242 | 7,061,299 | 897,409 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total refinance | 36,455,130 | 139,247,947 | 139,626,529 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total loan origination volume | $ | 127,285,461 | $ | 226,503,692 | $ | 182,547,641 | ||||||||||||||
| Portfolio metrics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Average loan amount | $ | 365 | $ | 346 | $ | 325 | ||||||||||||||
| Weighted average loan-to-value ratio | 79.67 | % | 71.68 | % | 71.01 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Weighted average credit score | 738 | 750 | 758 | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted average note rate | 4.82 | % | 2.90 | % | 3.01 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Percentage of loans sold | ||||||||||||||||||||
| To GSEs | 94 | % | 90 | % | 99 | % | ||||||||||||||
| To other counterparties | 6 | % | 10 | % | 1 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Servicing-retained | 97 | % | 99 | % | 100 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Servicing-released | 3 | % | 1 | % | — | % | ||||||||||||||
The components of loan production income for the periods presented were as follows:
| For the year ended December 31, | Change | Change % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary gain (loss) | $ | (1,479,762) | $ | (244,134) | $ | (1,235,628) | 506.1 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Loan origination fees | 278,594 | 477,759 | (199,165) | (41.7) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for representation and warranty obligations | (30,416) | (45,301) | 14,885 | (32.9) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Capitalization of MSRs | 2,213,572 | 2,397,483 | (183,911) | (7.7) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Loan production income | $ | 981,988 | $ | 2,585,807 | $ | (1,603,819) | (62.0) | % | |||||||||||||||
Gain margin(1) | 0.77 | % | 1.14 | % | (0.37) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| For the year ended December 31, | Change | Change % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary gain (loss) | $ | (244,134) | $ | 2,291,731 | $ | (2,535,865) | (110.7) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Loan origination fees | 477,759 | 399,996 | 77,763 | 19.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for representation and warranty obligations | (45,301) | (36,510) | (8,791) | 24.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Capitalization of MSRs | 2,397,483 | 1,896,198 | 501,285 | 26.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Loan production income | $ | 2,585,807 | $ | 4,551,415 | $ | (1,965,608) | (43.2) | % | |||||||||||||||
Gain margin(1) | 1.14 | % | 2.49 | % | (1.35) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| (1) Represents total loan production income divided by total loan origination volume for the applicable period. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Loan production income was $982.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $1.60 billion, or 62.0%, as compared to $2.59 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease in loan production income was
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primarily driven by a decrease in loan production volume, along with a decrease of 37 basis points in gain margin, from 114 basis points for the year ended December 31, 2021 to 77 basis points for the same period in 2022. Loan production volume declined $99.2 billion, or 44%, from $226.5 billion to $127.3 billion during the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the same period in 2021, primarily due to lower refinance volume as a result of the higher primary mortgage interest rate environment during 2022, partially offset by an increase in purchase volume despite the higher interest rate environment and an overall decline in purchase volume for the industry. The decrease in gain margin from the prior year period was primarily due to an increase in primary loss due to the increasing interest rate and the competitive mortgage pricing environments in 2022, impacted by a pricing initiative launched by UWM in the second half of 2022 aimed at long-term growth of the wholesale channel and our market share. Management believes that the pricing initiative has been successful, as evidenced by the Company becoming the largest residential mortgage lender in the country for the second half of 2022 and the increased market share of the wholesale channel.
Loan production income was $2.59 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021, a decrease of $1.97 billion, or 43.2%, as compared to $4.55 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in loan production income was primarily driven by a decrease of 135 basis points in gain margin, from 249 basis points during the year ended December 31, 2020 to 114 basis points for the same period in 2021. The decrease in gain margin was due to a decline in the primary/secondary mortgage interest rate spread, driven by a rising interest rate environment in 2021 as well as increased marketplace competition. The effects of the decrease in gain margin were partially offset by an increase of $44.0 billion, or 24%, in loan production volume (from $182.5 billion to $226.5 billion) during the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020.
Loan servicing income and Servicing costs
The table below summarizes loan servicing income and costs for each of the periods presented (servicing costs include amounts paid to sub-servicers and other direct costs of servicing, but exclude the costs of team members that oversee UWM's servicing operations):
| For the year ended December 31, | Change $ | Change % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contractual servicing fees | $ | 781,109 | $ | 632,276 | $ | 148,833 | 23.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Late, ancillary and other fees | 10,963 | 6,462 | 4,501 | 69.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Loan servicing income | $ | 792,072 | $ | 638,738 | $ | 153,334 | 24.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Servicing costs | 166,024 | 108,967 | 57,057 | 52.4 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| For the year ended December 31, | Change $ | Change % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contractual servicing fees | $ | 632,276 | $ | 284,257 | $ | 348,019 | 122.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Late, ancillary and other fees | 6,462 | 4,047 | 2,415 | 59.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Loan servicing income | $ | 638,738 | $ | 288,304 | $ | 350,434 | 121.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Servicing costs | 108,967 | 70,835 | 38,132 | 53.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| Average UPB of loans serviced | $ | 309,141,653 | $ | 256,130,021 | $ | 121,467,440 | ||||||||||||||
| Average number of loans serviced | 961,140 | 821,406 | 387,791 | |||||||||||||||||
Loan servicing income was $792.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $153.3 million, or 24.0%, as compared to $638.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in loan servicing income during the year ended December 31, 2022 was primarily driven by the increased average servicing portfolio.
Servicing costs increased $57.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from the year ended December 31, 2021 as a result of the increase in the average servicing portfolio and Ginnie Mae loan loss mitigation expenses in 2022.
Loan servicing income was $638.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $350.4 million, or 121.6%, as compared to $288.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in loan servicing income during
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the year ended December 31, 2021 was driven by the growing servicing portfolio as a result of the additional origination volume, offset slightly by one bulk sale of MSRs in 2021 (total UPB of $22.7 billion).
Servicing costs increased $38.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the same period in prior year due to the increase in the servicing portfolio, partially offset by gains in 2021 from the repurchase, modification and re-delivery of Ginnie Mae loans eligible for repurchase.
For the periods presented below, our loan servicing portfolio consisted of the following:
| ($ in thousands) | December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||||
| UPB of loans serviced | 312,454,025 | 319,807,457 | |||||||||
| Number of loans serviced | 967,050 | 1,017,027 | |||||||||
| MSR portfolio delinquency count (60+ days) as % of total | 0.85 | % | 0.81 | % | |||||||
| Weighted average note rate | 3.64 | % | 2.94 | % | |||||||
| Weighted average service fee | 0.2862 | % | 0.2624 | % | |||||||
Change in Fair Value of Mortgage Servicing Rights
The change in fair value of MSRs was a net increase of $284.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared with a net decrease of $587.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The change in fair value for the year ended December 31, 2022 was primarily attributable to an increase in fair value of approximately $868.8 million due to changes in valuation inputs/assumptions, mainly as a result of higher interest rates, partially offset by a decline in fair value of approximately $556.9 million due to realization of cash flows and decay (including loans paid in full) and approximately $27.8 million of net reserves and transaction costs for bulk MSR sales. The net decrease in fair value for the year ended December 31, 2021 of approximately $587.8 million was attributable to declines of approximately $859.3 million due to realization of cash flows and decay (including loans paid in full) and approximately $14.9 million of net reserves and transaction costs for bulk MSR sales, offset by an increase of approximately $286.3 million resulting from changes in valuation inputs/assumptions, such as changes in interest rates.
Interest income and Interest expense
For the periods presented below, interest income and the components of and total interest expense were as follows:
| ($ in thousands) | December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 314,462 | $ | 331,770 | $ | 161,160 | |||||||||||
| Less: Interest expense on funding facilities | 173,340 | 218,570 | 138,974 | ||||||||||||||
| Net interest income | $ | 141,122 | $ | 113,200 | $ | 22,186 | |||||||||||
| Interest expense on non-funding debt | $ | 132,647 | $ | 86,086 | $ | 28,062 | |||||||||||
| Total interest expense | 305,987 | 304,656 | 167,036 | ||||||||||||||
Net interest income (interest income less interest expense on funding facilities) was $141.1 million for the year December 31, 2022, an increase of $27.9 million, or 25%, as compared to $113.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This increase was primarily driven by a decrease in interest expense on funding facilities, due to lower average warehouse borrowing balances (due to lower production volume in 2022) and higher escrow credits provided by warehouse lenders, offset by higher interest rates on warehouse facilities (all of which are based on variable interest rate benchmarks plus a spread). Interest income decreased by a lesser amount due to decreases in the average balances of mortgage loans at fair value (due to lower production volume in 2022), offset by higher average note rates on loans at fair value.
Interest expense on non-funding debt was $132.6 million for the year December 31, 2022, an increase from $86.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, due to additional interest in 2022 on the $700.0 million of 2029 Senior Notes issued in April 2021, and the $500.0 million of 2027 Senior Notes issued in November 2021, as well as interest on borrowings on the the MSR Facility established at the end of the third quarter of 2022.
Net interest income was $113.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $91.0 million as compared to $22.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase was primarily driven by increased interest
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income due to increased loan production and longer loan hold times for certain loans during the fourth quarter, which increased our average balances of loans at fair value, partially offset by a slight decline in average loan interest rates. This was partially offset by higher interest expense on warehouse facilities resulting from increased loan production and longer loan hold times during 2021.
Interest expense on non-funding debt was $86.1 million for the year December 31, 2021, an increase from $28.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to additional interest in 2021 on the $800.0 million of 2025 Senior Notes issued in November of 2020, $700.0 million of 2029 Senior Notes issued in April 2021, and $500.0 million of 2027 Senior Notes issued in November 2021, offset slightly by lower interest on the operating lines of credit which were paid off and terminated in early 2021.
Other expenses
Other expenses (excluding servicing costs and interest expense, explained above) for the periods presented were as follows:
| For the year ended December 31, | Change $ | Change % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salaries, commissions and benefits | $ | 552,886 | $ | 697,680 | $ | (144,794) | (20.8) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Direct loan production costs | 90,369 | 72,952 | 17,417 | 23.9 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Marketing, travel, and entertainment | 74,168 | 62,472 | 11,696 | 18.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 45,235 | 35,098 | 10,137 | 28.9 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 179,549 | 133,334 | 46,215 | 34.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Other expense/(income) | 23,739 | (23,107) | 46,846 | (202.7) | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Other expenses | $ | 965,946 | $ | 978,429 | $ | (12,483) | (1.3) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| For the year ended December 31, | Change $ | Change % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salaries, commissions and benefits | $ | 697,680 | $ | 552,143 | $ | 145,537 | 26.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Direct loan production costs | 72,952 | 54,459 | 18,493 | 34.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Marketing, travel, and entertainment | 62,472 | 20,367 | 42,105 | 206.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 35,098 | 16,820 | 18,278 | 108.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 133,334 | 98,856 | 34,478 | 34.9 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization, impairment and pay-offs of mortgage servicing rights | — | 573,118 | (573,118) | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Other (income)/expense | (23,107) | — | (23,107) | — | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Other expenses | $ | 978,429 | $ | 1,315,763 | $ | (337,334) | (25.6) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
Other expenses were $965.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $12.5 million, or 1.3%, as compared to $978.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease in other expenses was primarily due to a decrease in salaries, commissions and benefits of $144.8 million, or 20.8%, due to decreases in incentive compensation (primarily bonuses and commissions) attributable to decreased loan production and a decrease in the average number of team members. The decrease salaries, commissions and benefits was partially offset by an increase in other expense of $46.8 million, primarily due to decline in fair value of retained investment securities and a smaller decline in the fair value of the Public and Private Warrants. Additionally, general and administrative expenses increased $46.2 million, primarily as a result of a reduction of a contingency reserve which was recorded in the year ended December 31, 2021, and an increase in the representations and warranties reserve recorded in the year ended December 31, 2022 resulting from changes in estimates. Direct loan production costs increased $17.4 million primarily due to a change in presentation whereby certain loan origination fees are being presented on a gross basis (within loan production income and direct loan production costs) beginning in the fourth quarter of 2021, offset by a decrease in production volume. Marketing, travel and entertainment expenses increased $11.7 million due to increased broker promotions, advertising and brand marketing costs.
Other expenses were $978.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, a decrease of $337.3 million, or 25.6%, as compared to $1.32 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020. Effective January 1, 2021, we made an election to account for all classes of MSRs using the fair value method. Under this new accounting policy for MSRs, the change in fair value of MSRs is reported as part of total revenue, net, and MSRs are no longer amortized and subject to periodic impairment testing. Therefore, there is no similar amount recorded for the amortization, impairment and pay-offs of MSRs for the year ended
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December 31, 2021, as compared to amortization, impairment and pay-offs of MSRs of $573.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Excluding the $573.1 million of amortization, impairment and pay-offs of MSRs in 2020, total other expenses increased by $235.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to an increase in salaries, commissions and benefits of $145.5 million, or 26.4%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the prior year, primarily due to an increase in the average number of team members to support our growth and increased loan production in 2021. Marketing, travel and entertainment increased $42.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the same period in the prior year, which was primarily attributable to increased advertising costs and brand marketing. In addition, the Company recorded $23.1 million of other income for the year ended December 31, 2021 which represents a $36.1 million decrease in the fair value of the liability for the Public and Private Warrants from the closing date of the business combination transaction through December 31, 2021, partially offset by an increase of $11.9 million in the Tax Receivable Agreement liability resulting from sales of MSRs and the valuation of certain intangible assets for tax purposes in connection with the business combination transaction, and a $1.1 million decrease in the fair value of the retained investment securities.
Income Taxes
We recorded a $2.8 million provision for income taxes during the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to a provision for income taxes of $9.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the same period in 2021, was primarily due to the decrease in pre-tax income attributable to the Company. The increase in the provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, was primarily due to the change in the Company's tax status upon completion of the business combination transaction. The variations between the Company’s effective tax rate and the U.S. statutory rate in 2022 and 2021 are primarily due to the portion (approximately 94%) of the Company’s earnings attributable to non-controlling interests, and the fact that the Company's interest in Holdings LLC was acquired as part of the business combination transaction on January 21, 2021. The effective tax rate calculation for 2021 includes income only from January 21, 2021 to December 31, 2021, which represents the period in which the Company had an ownership interest in Holdings LLC.
Net income
Net income was $931.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $636.5 million or 40.6%, as compared to $1.57 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease in net income was primarily the result of a decrease in total revenue, net of $597.7 million, and an increase in total expenses (including income taxes) of $38.9 million, as further described above.
Net income was $1.57 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021, a decrease of $1.81 billion or 53.6%, as compared to $3.38 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily the result of the decrease in total revenue, net of $1.97 billion, partially offset by a decrease in total expenses of $161.6 million, as further described above.
Net income attributable to the Company of $41.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 reflects the net income of UWM attributable to the Company due to its approximate 6% ownership interest in Holdings LLC for this period. Net income attributable to the Company of $98.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 reflects the net income of UWM attributable to the Company due to its approximate 6% ownership interest in Holdings LLC for the period from January 21, 2021 through December 31, 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
Historically, our primary sources of liquidity have included:
•borrowings including under our warehouse facilities and other financing facilities;
•cash flow from operations and investing activities, including:
◦sale or securitization of loans into the secondary market;
◦loan origination fees;
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◦servicing fee income;
◦interest income on mortgage loans; and
◦sale of MSRs.
Historically, our primary uses of funds have included:
•origination of loans;
•retention of MSRs from our loan sales;
•payment of interest expense;
•payment of operating expenses; and
•dividends on, and repurchases of, our Class A common stock and distributions to SFS Corp.
We are also subject to contingencies which may have a significant impact on the use of our cash.
To originate and aggregate loans for sale or securitization into the secondary market, we use our own working capital and borrow or obtain funding on a short-term basis primarily through uncommitted and committed warehouse facilities that we have established with large global banks, regional or specialized banks and certain agencies.
We continually evaluate our capital structure and capital resources to optimize our leverage and profitability and take advantage of market opportunities. As part of such evaluation, we regularly review our levels of indebtedness and available equity, our strategic investments, including technology and growth of the wholesale channel, the availability or desirability of growth through the acquisition of other companies or other mortgage portfolios, the repurchase or redemption of our outstanding indebtedness, or repurchases of our common stock or common stock derivatives.
Recent Developments
In accordance with the National Housing Act (NHA), as amended by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the FHA and FHFA are required to annually set single family forward mortgage loan limits based on median house prices. To allow our Independent Mortgage Brokers to provide borrowers with higher loan amounts with better pricing, in anticipation of the increase for 2023, we raised the loan limits on conforming loans that we originate to $715,000 effective September 7, 2022. We adopted a similar strategy in 2021 with respect to the increased loan limits for 2022. As a result of our early adoption of the higher loan size limits, we held conforming loans originated with principal balances between $625,000 (the 2022 cap) and $715,000 through January 2023 when these loans were sold to the GSEs. As a result of this strategy, our outstanding loan balances and the amounts outstanding under our warehouse lines materially increased through the fourth quarter of 2022 (as they did in the fourth quarter of 2021). However, these balances and amounts returned to more normalized levels when the loans accumulated during the fourth quarters of 2022 and 2021 were sold to the GSEs in early 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Loan Funding Facilities
Warehouse facilities
Our warehouse facilities, which are our primary loan funding facilities used to fund the origination of our mortgage loans, are primarily in the form of master repurchase agreements. Loans financed under these facilities are generally financed, on average, at approximately 97% to 98% of the principal balance of the loan, which requires us to fund the remaining 2-3% of the unpaid principal balance from cash generated from our operations. Once closed, the underlying residential mortgage loan is pledged as collateral for the borrowing or advance that was made under these loan funding facilities. In most cases, the loans we originate will remain in one of our warehouse facilities for less than one month, until the loans are pooled and sold. During the time we hold the loans pending sale, we earn interest income from the borrower on the underlying mortgage loan note. This income is partially offset by the interest and fees we have to pay under the warehouse facilities. Interest rates under the warehouse facilities are typically based on a reference interest rate benchmark plus a spread. As of December 31, 2022, eleven of our warehouse facility agreements had been amended to change the reference interest rate from LIBOR to variants of SOFR or other alternative index. We expect the remaining warehouse facilities to transition from LIBOR to a different reference interest rate at some point in 2023 due to the pending discontinuation of LIBOR.
When we sell or securitize a pool of loans, the proceeds we receive from the sale or securitization of the loans are used to pay back the amounts we owe on the warehouse facilities. The remaining funds received then become available to be re-
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advanced to originate additional loans. We are dependent on the cash generated from the sale or securitization of loans to fund future loans and repay borrowings under our warehouse facilities. Delays or failures to sell or securitize loans in the secondary market could have an adverse effect on our liquidity position.
From a cash flow perspective, the vast majority of cash received from mortgage originations occurs at the point the loans are sold or securitized into the secondary market. The vast majority of servicing fee income relates to the retained servicing fee on the loans, where cash is received monthly over the life of the loan and is typically a product of the borrowers’ current unpaid principal balance multiplied by the weighted average service fee. For a given mortgage loan, servicing revenue from the retained servicing fee declines over time as the principal balance of the loan is reduced.
The amount of financing advanced to us under our warehouse facilities, as determined by agreed upon advance rates, may be less than the stated advance rate depending, in part, on the fair value of the mortgage loans securing the financings and premium we pay the broker. Each of our warehouse facilities allows the bank extending the advances to evaluate regularly the market value of the underlying loans that are serving as collateral. If a bank determines that the value of the collateral has decreased, the bank can require us to provide additional collateral (e.g., initiate a margin call) or reduce the amount outstanding with respect to the corresponding loan. Our inability to satisfy the request could result in the termination of the facility and, depending on the terms of our agreements, possibly result in a default being declared under our other warehouse facilities.
Warehouse lenders generally conduct daily evaluations of the adequacy of the underlying collateral for the warehouse loans based on the fair value of the mortgage loans. As the loans are generally financed at 97% to 98% of principal balance and our loans are typically outstanding on warehouse lines for short periods (e.g., less than one month), significant increases in market interest rates would be required for us to experience margin calls or requirements to reduce the amount outstanding with respect to the corresponding loan from a majority of our warehouse lenders. Four of our warehouse lines advance based on the fair value of the loans, rather than principal balance. For those lines, we exchange collateral for modest changes in value. As of December 31, 2022, there were no outstanding exchanges of collateral.
The amount owed and outstanding on our warehouse facilities fluctuates based on our origination volume, the amount of time it takes us to sell the loans we originate, our cash on hand, and our ability to obtain additional financing. From time to time, we will increase or decrease the size of the lines to reflect anticipated increases or decreases in volume, strategies regarding the timing of sales of mortgages to the GSEs or secondary markets and costs associated with not utilizing the lines. We reserve the right to arrange for the early payment of outstanding loans and advances from time to time. As we accumulate loans, a significant portion of our total warehouse facilities may be utilized to fund loans.
The table below reflects the current line amounts of our principal warehouse facilities and the amounts advanced against those lines as of December 31, 2022:
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| Facility Type | Collateral | Line Amount as of December 31, 20221 | Date of Initial Agreement With Warehouse Lender | Current Agreement Expiration Date | Total Advanced Against Line as of December 31, 2022 (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MRA Funding: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $400 Million2 | 8/21/2012 | 1/18/2023 | $ | 188,607 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $500 Million3 | 3/7/2019 | 3/22/2023 | 236,462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $500 Million | 4/23/2021 | 4/23/2023 | 185,502 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $150 Million | 2/29/2012 | 5/23/2023 | 142,570 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $3.0 Billion | 5/9/2019 | 7/28/2023 | 2,239,591 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $700 Million | 7/24/2020 | 8/30/2023 | 642,544 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $200 Million | 3/30/2018 | 9/6/2023 | 170,478 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $200 Million | 10/30/2020 | 9/26/2023 | 97,216 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $300 Million | 8/19/2016 | 11/8/2023 | 235,804 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $250 Million | 2/26/2016 | 12/21/2023 | 193,023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $1.0 Billion | 7/10/2012 | 1/8/2024 | 521,440 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $2.5 Billion3 | 12/31/2014 | 2/21/2024 | 1,588,787 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Early Funding: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $600 Million (ASAP+ - see below) | No expiration | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master Repurchase Agreement | Mortgage Loans | $750 Million (EF - see below) | No expiration | 1,968 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $ | 6,443,992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 An aggregate of $401.0 million of these line amounts is committed as of December 31, 2022.
2 This warehouse line of credit agreement expired pursuant to its terms subsequent to December 31, 2022.
3 Represents the current agreement expiration date pursuant to an amendment entered into subsequent to December 31, 2022.
Early Funding Programs
We are an approved lender for loan early funding facilities with Fannie Mae through its As Soon As Pooled Plus (“ASAP+”) program and Freddie Mac through its Early Funding (“EF”) program. As an approved lender for these early funding programs, we enter into an agreement to deliver closed and funded one-to-four family residential mortgage loans, each secured by related mortgages and deeds of trust, and receive funding in exchange for such mortgage loans in some cases before the lender has grouped them into pools to be securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. All such mortgage loans must adhere to a set of eligibility criteria to be acceptable. As of December 31, 2022, no amount was outstanding through the ASAP+ program and $2.0 million was outstanding under the EF program.
Covenants
Our warehouse facilities generally require us to comply with certain operating and financial covenants and the availability of funds under these facilities is subject to, among other conditions, our continued compliance with these covenants. These financial covenants include, but are not limited to, maintaining (i) a certain minimum tangible net worth, (ii) minimum liquidity, (iii) a maximum ratio of total liabilities or total debt to tangible net worth, and (iv) pre-tax net income requirements. A breach of these covenants can result in an event of default under these facilities and as such would allow the lenders to pursue certain remedies. In addition, each of these facilities, as well as our unsecured lines of credit, includes cross default or cross acceleration provisions that could result in all facilities terminating if an event of default or acceleration of maturity occurs under any facility. We were in compliance with all covenants under these facilities as of December 31, 2022.
Other Financing Facilities
Senior Notes
On November 3, 2020, our consolidated subsidiary, UWM, issued $800.0 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due November 15, 2025 (the “2025 Senior Notes”). The 2025 Senior Notes accrue int