While some executives fear a slowdown or worse, a recession, loanDepot LLC is going full steam ahead.
The Foothill Ranch-based company, one of the nation’s largest mortgage originators, plans to add about 1,300 jobs by the end of the year.
“More and more customers are in need of a refi,” loanDepot Chief Operating Officer Tammy Richards told the Business Journal.
“Because the rates have gone down, they are looking to reduce their rates. Many homes have appreciated in value and customers [are] looking to take some of the equity out.”
Exactly how many jobs will be added in Orange County hasn’t yet been determined, she said. Out of its roughly 6,000 employee count, the company employs about 2,500 locally at its Foothill Ranch headquarters and its Irvine technology center.
JPMorgan in early June raised the probability of a U.S. recession in the second half of this year from 25% to 40%.
“We are not seeing a slowdown in the economy,” said Chief Accounting Officer Nicole Carrillo, who was previously chief financial officer at Irvine-based Opus Bank.
“While there are many takes on where the economy is going, we are seeing seasonality, as well as that extra push” from lower interest rates, Carrillo said.
The Federal Reserve signaled earlier this year it won’t increase rates and may instead reduce them. The average 30-year fixed mortgage for mortgages above $484,350 has declined from 5% at the end of last year to 4% or lower as of June 26, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.
Quicken Loans Inc., the biggest nonbank lender and a major competitor of loanDepot, was on pace to have its best June ever, the Wall Street Journal reported.
1,000 Loan Officers
LoanDepot has funded about $181 billion in loans since its founding in 2010 by Anthony Hsieh. It generated an estimated $1.3 billion in sales last year.
In 2018, the mortgage industry slowed as the Federal Reserve boosted rates.
LoanDepot was the 10th-largest first lien mortgage originator last year with $33 billion, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, a newsletter that tracks the industry. While loanDepot was down 6.2% from 2017, it still outperformed the market, which fell 9.9% to $1.63 trillion in originations.
LoanDepot plans to add about 1,000 loan officers to its five Direct Lending national campus locations in Orange County, Scottsdale, Dallas, Detroit, and Nashville. It also plans on adding another nearly 300 at its more than 200 local retail branch locations. Other new hires will be integrated into the company’s joint venture and wholesale channels or in corporate infrastructure roles.
An important source of many of the company’s new Direct Lending loan officers will be from its training program called Accelerated Career in Effective Sales. It offers entry-level candidates seeking a career in financial services, the opportunity for paid mortgage apprenticeships. The company is currently scaling this program and accepting 450 candidates.
In addition, the company is expanding hiring in its DirectFlex program, where employees can work the number of hours that suits them.
“It’s an Uber-like model where the originator can turn themselves on to the volume or off the volume,” Richards said. “The flexibility comes when they’re able to work on their own time.
