In a recent LinkedIn post, Niemiec wrote: “Last week, Melinda Wilner, Chief Operating Officer at UWM responded to a journalist that questioned whether UWM’s philosophies and actions were reducing lender choice for America’s brokers.

Wilner replied, "I would say that’s wildly untrue, it’s competition that makes it more interesting. By the nature of wholesale, there has to be competition and there has to be other lenders–that’s what makes wholesale the best fit for the borrower.' Mark Twain famously said, 'Action speaks louder than words', but not nearly as often. let’s ignore Melinda’s high-minded words for a moment and focus on UWM’s actions over the past few years. After reviewing the facts, it’s clear that UWM represents a massive threat to America’s mortgage brokers and to their future independence."

Brokers shouldn’t be forced into choices that result in them, and their clients, having limited access to the best products and the best price available in the market. A broker’s lifeblood is choice and optionality... it's what makes them a broker.

"In the past few years, (UWM CEO Mat) Ishbia and UWM have reduced broker optionality by:

1. Contractually forcing their brokers to choose between Rocket Mortgage and UWM, removing those broker’s 2nd largest option (RKT PRO TPO). Ishbia did so by forcing brokers to sign a contract that mandates them to pay $50,000 or more if they dare to broker even one of their loans with Rocket.
2. Enforcing that same 'ultimatum' contract to eliminate a UWM broker from brokering to Fairway Independent Mortgage,which has taken away brokers 10th largest option
3. Engaging in a price war that had as its goal not to aid brokers, but to eliminate UWM’s competitors 

According to brokers who listened to a recent public sales broadcast, Ishbia said something to the effect that, every time a wholesale lender CEO emails me asking me when my Game On pricing will stop, I just add 30 more days.

Since these moves:

• Loan Depot, brokers 4th largestlending partner, exited wholesale
• Finance of America, brokers 6th largestlending partner, exited wholesale
• AmeriSave, brokers 9th largestlending partner, exited wholesale 

Ishbia has now, via contractual bullying and a price war designed to eliminate his competitors, eliminated the ability for UWM brokers to do business with 5 of the top 10 wholesale lenders in America. Now what? Many brokers are seeing a dramatic price increase from Ishbia and are feeling the pain of not having as many lenders to turn to.

But in one of Ishbia’s recent earnings calls, he said, 'And we continue to capture more market share, and not only position ourselves to win but dominate the future. We feel great about the decision we made. As I said before, we control the margins, we decided to lower margins strategically to grow the broker channel and help us continue to grow our market share.'

If Mat Ishbia and UWM were truly committed to the real kind of competition that benefits brokers and their clients, he wouldn’t use his lawyers to take away brokers options, and he wouldn’t celebrate the demise of other wholesale lenders… which only further reduces broker choice. 

Brokers are now asking themselves if eliminating UWM’s competition to gain further control of brokers is exactly what Ishbia is trying to do… and if his ultimate goal is to turn America’s independent mortgage brokers into his personal net branch loan officer network.

America’s brokers must not give up their independence to the whims of one man. A broker’s lifeblood is choice and optionality. The stakes are too high. The long-term viability of their companies and their livelihoods is on the line.” 

In a June interview, Mat Ishbia defended his Game-On pricing program, which dropped pricing 50 to 100 basis points across the board. He was quoted as saying “This strategic pricing move is two-fold; it takes the guesswork out of where a broker should place a loan and accelerates retail loan officers joining the wholesale channel as it further extends independent mortgage brokers’ advantage over retail,” he said. Yet that doesn’t seem to be what has happened. Rather than expanding, the wholesale channel seems to be contracting as top independent lenders close up their wholesale divisions. 

Trying to eliminate the competition and control your supply lines is a good strategy for any company. It just might not work well if you’re the supply line.