The Best Mortgage Companies to Work For in 2024

While in service industries like mortgage lending a lot of attention is paid to providing a strong customer experience, many of this year's Best Mortgage Companies to Work For put an emphasis on employee engagement. That is important especially after issues around profitability and capacity resulted in massive consolidation during 2023 and to this day. Those conditions contributed to just 33 companies appearing on this year's listing, as opposed to 48 for 2023. In speaking with several companies on the list, as well as reviewing some survey responses from the lenders themselves, engagement is what helped them to power through what many consider to be an all-time bad year for home lending.

READ MORE: The Best Mortgage Companies to Work For in 2024

Ginnie Mae adds cyber security notification requirement

Ginnie Mae is directing all issuers to report cybersecurity incidents promptly when they occur and noted that it's more broadly reviewing its protocols in this area. The government mortgage-backed securities guarantor said in an all-participants memorandum that it needs incidents reported within 48 hours and has specific instructions for subservicers, who must report when a concern affects one or more of their clients. Ginnie has set up an email for notification at [email protected]. Issuers must provide the time and date of the concern, a summary based on the most current information known and a designated point of contact prepared for follow-up inquiries.

Loan Factory accused of violating privacy rights of LOs in suit

Loan Factory is being accused of violating state privacy laws by using images of loan officers not affiliated with the company on its website. By doing so, the mortgage brokerage created the illusion that certain brokers were part of the organization, which drove traffic to Loan Factory's page and resulted in business, the suit filed in California said. The proposed class action, filed by Derek Daniel Bobadilla, a mortgage broker, accuses Loan Factory of including his name, photograph, likeness and personal information in its "Find a Loan Officer" page. This created an "unfair and fraudulent" impression that Bobadilla was associated with the organization, when in reality he was not, the lawsuit said.?

Rocket, Academy Mortgage undergo headcount corrections

Both Rocket Mortgage and Academy Mortgage, the latter of which will soon to be acquired by Guild Mortgage, revealed headcount reductions recently.? Rocket Mortgage, one of the biggest retail lenders in the nation, saw its workforce shrink by about 20%, or 3,800 employees, from 2022 to the end of 2023, the company revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 29. Academy, which will be integrated as a division of Guild by the end of March, let go of 250 employees, a WARN notice filed in Utah Feb. 28 shows.?

Servicers say data breach legal filing is too revealing

Bayview Asset Management and its servicing subsidiaries filed an objection February 28 in federal court, the latest turn in a case centering on a data breach. Dozens of plaintiffs want to enforce a bevy of cybersecurity measures at the firms, while also receiving damages, for the hack in late 2021, which compromised the sensitive data of over 5 million consumers. A judge in December gutted all but one of their claims. A proposed amended complaint, filed by plaintiffs in January, reveals more details around the cyber attack and Bayview's response.?

Sign up here to receive the National Mortgage News complete newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily.