The mortgage industry is coming out of back-to-back amazing years, and while 2022 still holds great opportunity for the industry, it also signals a pivot point for market participants. In recognition of the transitions ahead, Pennymac is making changes to ensure that 2022 forms the foundation for long-term value for its wholesale partners.
Specifically, Pennymac is changing the name of its wholesale division from PennyMac Broker Direct to Pennymac TPO. To learn more about the intention behind the rebrand and Pennymac TPO’s plans for the future, HousingWire sat down with Senior Managing Director Kim Nichols to learn more.
HousingWire: Let’s dig into the name change. Why now, and why Pennymac TPO?
Kim Nichols: Pennymac has enjoyed a long track record of success. Through the years, we’ve grown into one of the most prominent and highly respected players in the mortgage space, and we want to use our success as a platform for our wholesale partners’ growth.
This is much more than a name change for the company. It’s a stake in the ground for our broker and non-delegated partners. We’re deepening our commitment in this channel to help them on their own journeys of greatness. As Pennymac TPO, we will extend our foundation of greatness to our partners, giving them the resources they need to grow, however, they want to grow.
HW: What resources can brokers and non-delegated lenders expect to see from Pennymac TPO in 2022?
KN: We’re making a major investment in our technology with POWER+. We’ve worked closely with our partners to understand what they need and have designed technology enhancements that will roll out in phases during 2022.
These new features will drive greater speed, efficiency and transparency into the loan process, ultimately creating a better experience for our broker partners and their clients. We are first pushing these enhancements into the broker segment with a later phase driving additional services and capabilities into the non-delegated correspondent segment.
HW: What more can you tell us about POWER+?
KN: We developed POWER+ by truly listening to the voice of our clients. We took two approaches. First, we had focus sessions with key partners and extracted detailed feedback from various users, including LO’s, processors and broker owners. In addition, we meticulously logged client feedback regarding challenges in the loan process. We also wanted to understand what aspects of our current technology and process our partners love.
One thing that truly resonated for us is how much our partners value our people. Having access to engaged, knowledgeable team members during any step of the process was a big differentiator.
The culmination of all of this is our new POWER+ technology. It’s not simply technology that powers our partnerships. It’s also People… people who communicate, people who care and are knowledgeable. People are the +!
We boiled their needs down to three main focus areas: speed, efficiency and communication.
HW: Let’s zoom out. From a bird’s-eye view, what do you hope these changes help your partners accomplish?
KN: It’s our job to make our partners look great in the eyes of their customers and referral partners. Let’s talk about purchase transactions. The emotions and anxiety in the homebuying process are amplified in a market where housing supply is very tight.
If a buyer fails on a contingency, there are multiple backup offers sitting there behind them and it might be several months before they can get into contract on that next home.
If we zoom out, we have to think about how we can enhance the experience since that is a reflection on our partners. What helps this process? It’s speed, efficiency and communication every step of the way. Our tech, workflow and people all have to be focused on those things.
HW: Can you discuss Pennymac’s commitment to servicing?
KN: Where the borrower is serviced matters. Quality of loan servicing is a direct reflection on the broker or lender who originated that loan. We’ve had brokers and non-delegated partners sign up with Pennymac for this very reason.. They know that we will maintain the same great service after closing that our partners delivered on the way to the closing table.
We retain servicing on all our loans. We are one of the few top wholesale lenders making a permanent capital investment in our servicing and now service over $500 billion.
Our partners appreciate the fact that we retain our servicing. It gives them peace of mind knowing that Pennymac will care for their clients after closing and that borrowers will not be subjected to the possibility of servicing transfers and the administrative burden associated with that experience – Resetting passwords, auto pay, escrow reconciliation and general familiarity with a servicer’s portal, etc.
Plus, for Pennymac-to-Pennymac refinances or purchases, we have the ability to net escrows for their customers, significantly reducing cash to close in many cases.
It’s about being great on every loan, for every customer, every day in every part of the process up through closing and beyond.
We know what solid and sustainable growth looks like, feels like, and how to extend it to our partners. Whichever way our partners want to grow, we want to help them chart the course, and give them the resources to make it happen.
Our partners have made us who we are. Now, we want to return the favor. We can’t wait to join them on their personal journeys of greatness.
