Shant Banosian, the nation’s No. 1 loan originator, has become Guaranteed Rate’s first loan officer to fund $1 billion in loan volume in one year. Over the course of his decade-long career, Banosian has generated more than $4 billion in funded loans.
Over the last five years, Shant has been Guaranteed Rate’s No. 1 loan officer nationwide, as well as the top producer in Massachusetts since 2013.
Banosian told HousingWire that the key to his success is his team, and focusing on what consumers need and want.
“It’s one of those cliches: you don’t want to just work in the business, you need to work on the business,” Banosian said. “We’re constantly working on our business and taking feedback from our clients trying to understand what it is that our clients and our partners want, how to constantly be forward-thinking in terms of staying ahead of the competition, and figuring out ways to be more efficient.”
Not only are Banosian and his team having a record-setting year, so is Guaranteed Rate, as it funded double the total loan volume compared to the same time last year. Just in August, the company locked down $12 billion in loan volume, breaking its record for one month.
Last year, Banosian closed $914 million in loans. He said that the goal for 2020 was to hit $1 billion, and will take it even further the remainder of this year into 2021.
And it couldn’t be done without the support of his friends, family and team, he said.
“This is certainly not something that I would have been able to accomplish on my own. It’s impossible to do a billion dollars by yourself, this is definitely a team effort,” Banosian said. “It’s something that shows that all the hard work, dedication, focus, execution, planning [and] preparation coming to fruition, so it’s a really, really good feeling. I’m a big believer in the team model and it’s I think it’s more fun to win as a team.”
With low rates and more people telecommuting, Banosian doesn’t see business slowing anytime soon.
“I think next year, it should shape up to be an even better year than this year,” Banosian said. “I think rates are going to remain low, and I think this market is going to stay very strong. I think next year is going to be a record year.”