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In an industry facing headwinds, Connecticut-headquartered mortgage servicer and lender Planet Home Lending<\/a><\/strong> stands out among its peers, reporting double-digit increases in mortgage origination volume while competitors struggle to hit last year\u2019s levels.<\/p>\n Planet Home Lending, founded in 2007, was the only firm among the country\u2019s top-10 lenders that generated more year-over-year origination volume in the first half of this year, according to data<\/a> from Inside Mortgage Finance<\/strong>. <\/p>\n The company originated $13.93 billion in the first half of this year, up 11.7% year over year. By contrast, America\u2019s top 50 mortgage lenders, on average saw origination volume drop more than 50% during the same period. <\/p>\n The company\u2019s strategy is to focus on acquisitions in both correspondent and retail channels, according to Michael Dubeck, CEO and president of parent company Planet Financial Group<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Planet\u2019s acquisition<\/a> of Homepoint<\/strong>\u2019s delegated correspondent business in 2022 helped boost market share in the correspondent channel, said Dubeck, in an interview with HousingWire. About 70% of the company\u2019s origination volume comes from the correspondent channel, the company said.<\/p>\n Dubeck stressed the complementary nature of the acquisition, allowing the company to extend its reach into new areas.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we had 450 sellers and they (Homepoint) had 450 sellers. About three quarters of the clients stayed with us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe’ve certainly seen some lenders fall by the wayside or exit the industry, but it’s really paid off here a year later,\u201d Dubeck said. <\/p>\n Planet Home Lending is the third-largest correspondent lender per IMF data \u2014 posting $6.2 billion in volume in that channel in Q1 2023. Its origination volume through the correspondent channel rose 20% from Q1 2022, making up for 7.2% market share in the channel. (PennyMac<\/strong> is the largest correspondent lender in America at 23.2% and AmeriHome<\/strong> Mortgage is a distant second at 9%.)<\/p>\n One boon for the company is the exit of a large market player. Planet Home Lending and other correspondent lenders are benefiting<\/a> from Wells Fargo<\/strong>‘s exit<\/a> from the correspondent channel in January, Dubeck said. <\/p>\n Margins have improved over the last six to eight weeks, with less pricing competition.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re seeing the banks under hugely increased regulatory scrutiny and capital requirements, and I think that’s all adding up to a better opportunity for correspondent lenders,\u201d Dubeck said.<\/p>\n Origination volume from the correspondent channel was $6.27 billion in Q1 2023, marginally down from Q4 2022\u2019s $6.54 billion, and up 20% from $5.22 billion in Q1 2022, according to the company\u2019s financial earnings release<\/a> in May. <\/p>\n Planet Home Lending is also getting ready to launch a new loan origination system for its correspondent channel, the result of a tech acquisition from a lender that was exiting the business. (Dubeck declined to name the lender due to a non-disclosure agreement.) <\/p>\n \u201cIt was a proprietary loan origination system developed by a correspondent lender. [We] closed on the deal earlier in the year and brought over some terrific developers that created the program,\u201d Dubeck said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re good in the correspondent channel [in terms of M&A activity] but there\u2019s plenty of opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n In June 2023, Planet Home Lending acquired<\/a> Platinum Home Mortgage Corporation,<\/strong> bringing over 20 branches. Planet has brick-and-mortar branches across 21 states with about 250 loan officers.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere volumes are falling off, we added branches and we added LOs. As a result, it\u2019s hugely complementary there in terms of footprint,\u201d Dubeck said. <\/p>\n Platinum helped the company grow its footprint on the West Coast, he added. <\/p>\n Saving borrowers\u2019 upfront costs through a temporary rate buydown<\/a> and focusing on homebuilder<\/a> strategies are key priorities for the company in the current environment.<\/p>\n \u201cI think one reason that LOs and branches are attracted [to Planet] is the breadth of our product base and our ability to respond to changing markets by adding or modifying products,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Planet Home Lending’s total servicing portfolio ended Q1 at $77.03 billion, up 5% from the end of 2022, according to the lender\u2019s financial earnings release<\/a> in May. <\/p>\n Total units rose to approximately 291,000 at the end of Q1 2023, increasing 3% from approximately 283,000 in Q4 2022. <\/p>\nAcquisitions in tech and retail\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Servicing portfolio<\/h2>\n