Foothill Ranch-based loanDepot Inc. (NYSE: LDI), the nation’s second-largest non-bank mortgage lender, announced founder and Chief Executive Anthony Hsieh has been named executive chairman.
Frank Martell, the former CEO of Corelogic Inc., an Irvine-based provider of real estate data that was taken private last year in a proxy battle, has been named the new CEO and president and appointed to the board of directors.
As executive chairman, Hsieh will guide company strategy while maintaining his position as chairman of the board and the company’s largest shareholder. As president and CEO of loanDepot, Martell will drive daily operations and lead the company’s multi-channel mortgage origination model, as well as the mello business unit that houses the ancillary product and service groups, including mellohome, melloinsurance, and mellotitle (CUSA / ACT). The company’s executive management team will report to Martell.
“Frank’s appointment complements our existing management stack, and I believe that adding a transformative chief executive of his caliber will allow us to efficiently focus on our north star: serving customers the way they wish to be served across the entirety of their homeownership experience,” Hsieh said in a statement.
After the company went public in February a year ago, the shares rose more than $30.
Since then, the shares have steadily fallen as the increase in interest rates has dampened sales, which analysts forecast are expected to slump 36% to $2.4 billion this year.
Shares are down 9.7% to $3.07 and a $951 million market cap since yesterday’s announcement.
