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Rocket Cos. President Bill Emerson will retire at the end of the year, the company announced. The longtime executive and CEO of Rocket Mortgage from 2002 to 2017 will retire but remain on the Board of Directors, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing this week. Emerson helped lead the lender and servicer through its enormous growth into an industry leader and its latest evolution as a financial technology player. "Bill is a champion of our culture and ISMs, helping shape the values that guide us," the company said in a statement, referring to Rocket's internal culture guidelines. "... We're deeply grateful for his impact and the legacy he continues to build."The statement described Emerson's career at Rocket, beginning 32 years as a mortgage banker when the business was known as Quicken Loans. He was interim CEO of Rocket Cos. from June to September 2023, and led the hiring of current CEO Varun Krishna, Emerson also was the vice chairman of parent company Rock Holdings from 2017 to 2023, and served in a leadership role at the Bedrock real estate development business from 2020 to 2023. There are currently no plans for someone to assume Bill's title as president of Rocket Cos., a spokesperson said.The lender grew into a household name during Emerson's tenure, while the CEO was a cheerleader for digital mortgage adoption. He notably defended Rocket's direct-to-consumer model, particularly after its Super Bowl commercial in 2015 when audiences were unfamiliar with emerging digital application processes. The departing president leaves the lender on strong footing, as it continually generates quarterly multi-billion dollar origination volume and frequent profits. Rocket has also spent heavily on artificial intelligence investments, which the company says led to a slightly reduced headcount this year at the 14,000-member business. The mortgage giant also closed its $1.75 billion acquisition of digital brokerage Redfin in July, and expects its blockbuster deal for Mr. Cooper to close in the fourth quarter this year. 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas' Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Thursday. Bloomberg News Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the central bank may soon adjust its monetary policy, potentially paving the way for a rate cut in September.In a highly anticipated Friday morning speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Powell said when he gave the same speech last year, interest rates were higher and the specter of inflation still very real. But he added that it might make sense for the Federal Open Market Committee to shift its focus to a softening labor market in light of weaker hiring statistics over the last few months. "Our policy rate is now 100 basis points closer to neutral than it was a year ago, and the stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance," said Powell. "Nonetheless, with policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance." Powell said that uncertainty is building in the labor market, particularly pointing to the July employment report, which revised the prior two months' reports downward to show an average monthly increase of only 35,000 jobs per month, as compared with an average of 168,000 jobs for the same period in 2024. The latest employment report showed that employers added just 73,000 jobs in July, falling short of the pace seen in recent months. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised down its May and June estimates by 258,000.While Powell said the employment picture in the United States remains strong overall, he said it is in a "curious kind of balance that results from a marked slowing in both the supply of and demand for workers.""This unusual situation suggests that downside risks to employment are rising. And if those risks materialize, they can do so quickly in the form of sharply higher layoffs and rising unemployment," Powell said. Regarding inflation, Powell said higher tariffs are starting to push up prices of goods, but added that there is a likelihood that the effect "will be relatively short lived.""We cannot take the stability of inflation expectations for granted," he said."Come what may, we will not allow a one-time increase in the price level to become an ongoing inflation problem."Powell's speech comes as the central bank has come under unprecedented and increasing pressure from the White House to lower interest rates. President Trump — who has long pilloried Powell from his social media accounts and mused about firing the Fed chair — has intensified his pressure campaign in recent months by suggesting that cost overruns related to a renovation project at the central bank headquarters could serve as grounds for Powell's termination. Trump, Senate Banking Committee chair Tim Scott, R-S.C. and several administration officials visited the Fed headquarters and Powell last month to investigate the overruns, leading to an awkward on-camera exchange between Trump and Powell about the costs of the renovations. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte this week also called for an investigation into Fed Gov. Lisa Cook — who was appointed to the board by former President Joe Biden — and whether she improperly claimed a secondary residence as a primary residence on her mortgage application.

Antonio White built his career in high-level Washington-related posts he held at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Treasury, Bank of America and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. But he got there through the work and connections he built growing up around Route 480 in Cleveland.That's why White is starting a business called 480 Advisors, which allows him to share his knowledge of government policy and finance with local leaders so that they can chart their own course in their communities."I am a first-generation college graduate. When I got to Washington I had all of these questions. I got the equivalent of master classes from the leaders I worked with. I always thought, 'What if I could bring this knowledge back to the people who need it?" White said.In the following interview, the former director of the FHFA's Office of Congressional Affairs and Communications, deputy assistant secretary in Treasury's Office of Community Engagement and policy executive at B of A shares more about his past and how it informs his future.His remarks have been edited for length and clarity.

Real estate investors own almost 900,000 vacant properties nationwide, a share greater than the number of empty homes across the rest of the housing market, Attom reports. The vacancy rate nationwide is steady in the third quarter compared to past years, according to the property analytics firm's latest study. The number of homes that have been abandoned during the foreclosure process, referred to as "zombie foreclosures," meanwhile ticked up compared to the second quarter and year-ago periods. "While there remain some markets with worryingly high rates of vacancies, as a whole it appears that the nation's buyers are quickly filling homes that become available," said Rob Barber, CEO of Attom, in a press release. Once-tight inventory is loosening up nationwide, although home buyers still face steep affordability hurdles. In all, there are 1,385,901 empty residential properties across the country, or 1.3% of all homes, Attom said. Among the 24.9 million dwellings owned by investors, 882,336, or 3.6% of them are vacant. Midwestern states had the largest shares of empty investor-owned homes, led by Indiana with 7.2%, while rural states had the least amount, with just 0.9% of such properties in New Hampshire. Investors who devoured larger shares of home purchases during the refinance boom remain optimistic about their prospects despite current economic uncertainty. They're still feeling some strain, including realizing smaller profits on fix-and-flip projects. Zombie properties inch up but remain minisculeOf the over 222,000 properties currently in a foreclosure process, 3.38%, or 7,519 are unoccupied. The rate is up slightly from the second quarter, and greater than the 3.14% of zombie properties last fall, according to Attom. Smaller Midwestern cities had the largest shares of zombie properties, led by Wichita, Kansas where 12.7% of homes facing foreclosure have been abandoned. Other midsized cities across the nation touted ultra-low rates of empty, foreclosed homes, including zero in Nashville, Tennessee. Most states where zombie properties grew the most annually still had under 100 such homes statewide.The zip code with the highest zombie foreclosure rate was 91001 in Los Angeles, where 80% of homes have been abandoned. That area includes a large portion of Altadena, where the Eaton Fire in January razed numerous city blocks. A foreclosure moratorium for certain government-backed loans in that area expired in July. 

The Community Home Lenders of America is calling for nonbank lender support as it emphasizes the importance of mortgage industry input in any federal decision-making regarding the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The group representing small and mid-sized independent mortgage banks made its wishes known in a letter this week to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, whose office oversees both government-sponsored enterprises. CHLA came up with suggestions it said best protected IMBs, particularly smaller lenders, and invited nonbanks to add their names to the letter. "We write as independent mortgage banks  — nonbank mortgage loan originators — to identify essential elements of a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exit from conservatorship," the letter began. "We do so in the wake of reports that the Trump Administration plans a public offering of these two entities later this year."Five recommendations from CHLACHLA listed key policies it said ought to remain in place in recommendations to the Trump administration for carving any future path out of conservatorship for the GSEs, highlighting the effectiveness of the status quo in some instances. Notably, it pushed back against consolidation. Recent talk surrounding the GSEs have moved beyond just a conservatorship exit or public listings to suggestions of a possible merger. "Fannie and Freddie should not be combined into a market monopoly. Further, the GSEs should operate under a utility model," CHLA underscored.  The group also said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must retain "critical" mortgage loan products that support its mission to provide affordable homeownership opportunities across class and communities. Lower revenue potential of such loans could lead the GSEs to discontinue offering them altogether, CHLA said.As the Federal Reserve's pullback from purchases of mortgage-backed securities has helped fuel higher interest rates, CHLA called for a post-conservatorship model that would have Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac make "temporary, opportunistic" MBS purchases to drive housing costs lower. In a push against any favoritism toward large banks that might emerge, CHLA also explicitly came out against awarding any GSE charters to Wall Street, saying "competition should be at the mortgage origination level — and not at the level where a GSE guarantee is granted to a handful of megalenders"Nor should preferential treatment be given through mechanisms like up-front risk sharing or granting a few megalenders access to the Common Securitization platform," the letter said. Earlier this summer, Pulte renamed the joint-venture secondary trading platform operated by the GSEs from Common Securitization Solutions to U.S. Financial Technology. Furthermore, CHLA pointed to what it considered successful outcomes from decisions made during President Trump's first term and underscored the value of keeping related policies in place, including guarantee-fee parity among lenders and a competitive cash window. In 2020, CHLA led an initiative to turn an informal g-fee parity policy into a permanent requirement and pushed to keep such terms in place.The GSEs' exit from conservatorship exit could create a business environment leading to a return to practices favoring large lenders, it argued. "G-fee parity precludes one of the most pernicious pre-2008 housing crisis practices  — preferential pricing for large, reckless lenders," the letter stated. "A robust competitive cash window ensures that Fannie and Freddie purchase all qualified single-family loans from all approved seller-servicers, at rates that are competitive with lender securitizations."Potential hurdles to GSE changesWhile Director Pulte and President Trump have made strong public hints on social media and broadcast interviews of the changes they want to see, any of their suggested moves will receive heightened scrutiny for the effects on the housing market and the long-established mission of GSEs to provide liquidity for affordable homeownership. "The mission of a for-profit company is to fulfill the wants and needs of its shareholders through the board of directors. The mission of a government-sponsored enterprise is to comply with its mission. These are incredibly different things," said Mike Peretz, executive director of banking and payments at technology and management consultancy firm Capco. With private markets unlikely to prioritize today's home affordability challenges, "you need the GSEs more than ever," he added. Earlier this week Pulte posted a video spotlighting the proposed Great American Mortgage Corp. touted by the president, with the entity's banner strategically placed beneath logos of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  A merger of the GSEs would likely raise antitrust concerns, though, and many experts also see potential legal and political questions behind combining the two enterprises that have no clear answers yet.  "The complete lack of information on a major policy change/initiative introduces new unquantifiable risks for Fannie and Freddie, in our view," wrote Ed Groshans, senior policy and research analyst at Compass Point in a recent research note. "Our assessment is the risks cannot be analyzed or addressed until more information is provided by the Trump administration."

Lagging tech adoption and credit underwriting issues were likely contributors to loan quality worsening from a recent record-low rate, according to Aces Quality Management. The overall critical defect rate rose to 1.31% in the first quarter, shifting away from the fourth quarter's historical low of 1.16%, the company's latest report found. Defects rose in three of four underwriting categories, and more errors cropped up in refinances despite a drop in volume. "The modest rate pullback during the quarter did not produce corresponding quality improvements in [quality control] outcomes," the report stated.  Income and employment defects were the most cited errors, rising over 42% from the fourth quarter and making up 23% of all issues. Documentation-related issues rose while calculation and eligibility-related defects waned, according to Aces. The report speculated that the shift may reflect lagging adoption of tools such as Freddie Mac's Loan Product Advisor Choice and Fannie Mae's self-employment income calculator. Credit issues in underwriting also rose slightly and made up 12% of all critical defects in the first three months of the year. Documentation-related errors were again the culprit, as lenders may be struggling with missing or outdated credit reports, Aces said. The rising cost of credit reports could also be a factor, as lenders may be reducing the number of pulls per file. "Those strategies may lower upfront costs, but can lead to downstream quality issues if they result in incomplete or inaccurate documentation in the final loan file," the report said. Lenders today are making more money on each loan originated but are reckoning with, and arguing against the rising cost of credit reports. The defects from the first quarter were identified using Fannie Mae's defect taxonomy, or rather any aspect that makes a loan uninsurable or ineligible for sale. The errors don't necessarily represent instances of fraud, and a separate second quarter analysis found the share of loans with issues indicating fraud declining. Lender improvement in other underwriting areasOriginators also struggled to contain eligibility errors, which quadrupled from the end of 2024 to account for nearly 7% of all defects, Aces reported. Those issues regarded calculations of debt-to-income and loan-to-value ratios and determining product eligibility. Other underwriting fields however saw improvements, according to the study. Those include:Assets, making up a smaller 11.49% of critical defects because of broader adoption of automated verification methods; Legal, regulatory and compliance, accounting for 14.94% of errors as lenders corrected defects from past quarters; Appraisal, falling to 2.30% of all defects because of stability in valuation practices. How defects shifted for different products and purposesOnly loans backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture recorded a declining defect rate, despite an increase in volume. Errors in Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgages remained relatively flat, Aces said, while issues in conventional and Department of Veterans Affairs-backed loans ticked up.  The share of defects in purchase loans fell to start the year, despite an increase in volume. Higher interest rates to start the year kept refi demand muted, but errors in those transactions rose, Aces said. The pattern could be explained by lenders pushing to close refi deals in late 2024 and repricing some at higher rates in the first quarter. "The resulting time pressure may have contributed to an uptick in defects, particularly in documentation-heavy areas," the report said. 

A public offering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shares hinges on when Donald Trump decides the government can fetch the highest price, their regulator said Thursday.Trump "has not made any decision" on when one will occur, Bill Pulte told Maria Bartiromo on  Fox Business Network Thursday morning, when she asked whether one could happen near term given Trump's recent post depicting an offering for the Great American Mortgage Corporation in November.Trump has long been watching for the right timing for a Fannie-Freddie IPO since his first term, according to Pulte, who has rebranded FHFA as U.S. Federal Housing."He got approached to sell these companies for about $100 billion, if you can believe that, $150 billion today. That value is anywhere from $500 billion to $700 billion. I think it's going to $1 trillion, and potentially even higher," said Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.The $500 billion-plus range is in line with a recent Bloomberg report citing Trump administration thoughts on valuation sought. Based on the information at hand at the time of Trump's post, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysts had pegged the value as closer to half that amount."Everybody wanted to steal this company from the American taxpayers and President Trump deserves great credit for saying, 'No thank you, we are going to do what's in the best interest of people,'" Pulte added in his Fox interview Thursday.Pulte pointed to Fannie and Freddie's combined $7.8 trillion in assets and what he views as strong international demand for their shares, saying both factors could drive an "oversubscribed" offering.Interest rates and related policy could be a factorComments later in the interview suggest Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's reluctance to raise interest rates, which both Trump and Pulte have been critical of, could be a consideration in getting maximum value for Fannie and Freddie in the market.Low rates can be a mixed blessing for the mortgage industry and the GSEs. They can, for example, increase the enterprises' loan acquisitions and guarantee fee income but they also may reduce future opportunities to refinance and create new loans.Pulte said the fed funds rate should be "zero or 1% at the highest" as opposed to above 4%. Trump administration officials have signaled little interest in pursuing Fannie and Freddie reforms that could push mortgage rates higher.Powell, an independent policymaker speaking at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium this week, has been cautious about lowering the fed funds rate, citing concern it could exacerbate inflation in prices for many items consumers buy, including shelter.He also has said his role with respect to housing is limited given most mortgages are pegged to how longer-term bonds trade than the short-term rates the Fed controls.Pulte has taken issue with that stance given that Fed policy and its outlook still can exert considerable influence on mortgage rates. He told Bartiromo on Thursday there could be "damage to the housing market up to two years after he's gone" in reference to Powell.How a public offering would be structured still undeterminedAs far as what form a public offering could take, Pulte said that GSE reform is a priority for Trump, the housing regulator also said there hasn't been a call yet on what or if anything will be done."President Trump has exercised great judgment and he'll exercise, in my view, that same judgment in deciding whether or not to do something with Fannie and Freddie," Pulte said.

Real estate investment trust Two settled its long-running litigation with its former external manager Pine River for a one-time payment of $375 million.The dispute escalated in July 2020, when Pine River and affiliated entities dismissed a state court legal filing and instead pursued the case in federal court.At the same time, Two, the business name of Two Harbors Investment, accelerated its termination of the management agreement from the original expiration date in September of that year to Aug. 14. Two claimed it was removing Pine River for cause and thus did not have to pay a termination fee.The Pine River suit also accused Two of attempting to appropriate its intellectual property.On May 23, following the recommendations of a magistrate judge, the federal court ruled in favor of Pine River that Two did not have a basis to terminate the management agreement; all other requests for summary judgement on both sides were dismissed.At the time, Two took a $198.9 million contingency litigation expense, inclusive of a $139.8 million termination fee it believed it would owe Pine River. The charge impacted Two's second quarter results.The settlement addresses both points. The one-time cash payment to Pine River is due 30 days after the settlement agreement was signed, which was on Aug. 20.Two plans to use cash on hand as well as draw from its available borrowing capacity.The agreement also calls for Pine River to relinquish all ownership claims to any intellectual property involved."The resolution of this matter is an important development for our company that allows us to move forward with clarity and certainty of purpose," said Bill Greenberg, Two's president and CEO.Taking the settlement agreement into account, Two's common stock book value falls to $11.06 per share from $12.73 per share."We estimate that the decline in book value should result in pro forma leverage of approximately 7.8 times, which is well above the recent average of closer to 6.5 times, so we would assume some level of balance sheet reduction," a post-settlement report from Bose George of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said.In addition to announcing the settlement, Two, the parent of Roundpoint, said it sold $20 billion of mortgage servicing rights to an undisclosed buyer; the price was also not released. But it retained the servicing function on those MSRs, bringing Roundpoint's subservicing business to handling $31 billion of unpaid principal balance or approximately 138,000 loans.The MSR sale should support Two's liquidity and reduce its leverage, George said."The carrying [value] of the company's MSR was 5.9 times the 25.4 basis point servicing fee, suggesting a carrying value of approximately 1.5%," George said. "Assuming the same multiple on the sold MSR, the company should have generated roughly $300 million of cash (before netting out any asset-level financing)."

Mortgage rates were unchanged as the markets await what Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will say on Friday.At the same time, a 10-basis point rise in the 10-year Treasury between Aug. 13 and Aug 18 was partially reversed by two days later in anticipation of a speech possibly hinting at September Fed Funds Rate reduction.The 30-year fixed rate mortgage remained at 6.58% for the week of Aug. 21, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. For the same time last year, the 30-year FRM was at 6.46%. "Over the summer, rates have come down and purchase applications are outpacing 2024, though a number of homebuyers continue waiting on the sideline for rates to further decrease," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac chief economist, in a press release.Meanwhile, the 15-year FRM dropped 2 basis points week-to-week to 5.69%. This compares with 5.62% one year ago at this time."Mortgage rates show signs of easing below 6.5% as conviction strengthens for the Fed to cut rates in September, at the same time the 10-year [Treasury] has struggled to drop below 4.25% on decisively mixed inflation data," Eric Hagen of BTIG wrote in an Aug. 21 commentary which came out before the Freddie Mac data."We think originator profit margins have only some room to drop further to support lower mortgage rates, which clouds the outlook for primary mortgage rates to fall meaningfully below 6% absent the 10-year also crossing below 4%."At noon on Thursday, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.34%, up from Wednesday's close at 4.3%. But after Aug. 14, when the yield closed at 4.24%, it pushed up to 4.34% at the close on Aug. 18.Hagen noted the mortgage to Treasury spread remains in the area of 250 basis points versus the norm of 175-to-200 basis points. Primary and secondary market spreads also have room to tighten."But aside from seeing a more material drop in the 10-year, envisioning mortgage rates getting down into the mid-5's over the medium/longer-term may be most likely driven by the super-scaled originators bringing down origination costs through the application of technology," Hagen said.Zillow's rate tracker reported the 30-year FRM rose 6 basis points from last week's average to 6.73% as of 11 a.m. on Thursday.Lender Price data on the National Mortgage News website showed the 30-year FRM at 6.58% at the same time, versus 6.57% one week earlier.Going forward, the next market moving event will be tomorrow's speech by Powell at the symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said Kara Ng, Zillow Home Loans senior economist. Notwithstanding what happened this week, mortgage rates had been trending lower as of late, she noted in her commentary."With markets already pricing in strong odds of a September rate cut, any hint from Powell that the Fed is not ready to ease policy could spark a reversal in mortgage rates," Ng said.The Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Application Survey for the period ended Aug. 15 found the conforming 30-year FRM 1 basis point higher at 6.68%.Purchase applications were virtually flat with the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Unadjusted they were down 2% from the previous week but up 23% from one year ago.Volume for purchase loans was at its strongest pace in four weeks, Bob Broeksmit, MBA president and CEO said in a Thursday morning commentary."Housing affordability remains a challenge for many prospective homebuyers, but demand continues to be stronger than last year," Broeksmit said.Existing home sales grew 2% month-over-month and by 0.8% versus the previous year according to data released Thursday morning by the National Association of Realtors.Still, "Unless mortgage rates move lower and stay there, the housing market will remain slow and regionally uneven, with locked-in sellers and rising inventory limiting both appreciation and the pace of home sales," said Ruben Gonzalez, the chief economist at Keller Williams.While mortgage rates are lower than their recent peaks, it doesn't offer much relief to buyers, Gonzalez said. "Sellers are increasingly locked in not only by their low mortgage rates but also by their declining equity positions."On the other hand, "If mortgage rates continue to trend down in the coming months, building inventory may offer buyers more leverage and choice," Gonzalez said.

Mr. Cooper can finish what Homepoint started and seek damages from a small lender over a repurchase request, a federal judge has ruled.The massive lender and servicer which purchased Home Point Financial in August 2023 did not indicate in court filings nor a statement whether it would pursue the lingering case against Pennsylvania-based Amres Corp. Homepoint, as other lenders have done, sued eight correspondent partners for failing to repurchase loans totaling $4.6 million. Most of those cases settled for undisclosed terms, according to a National Mortgage News review of federal court records. Some of those agreements came long after Mr. Cooper completed its nine-figure acquisition of the lender that blossomed and withered over the course of the refinance boom.The Amres complaint focused on a Freddie Mac repurchase request in 2022, involving a $500,000 loan at a Florida condominium hotel which was mired in a lawsuit over alleged construction defects. Both of those factors violated Freddie Mac guidelines, court filings stated.Homepoint said it was forced to repurchase the loan, and argued that Amres failed to cure the issue in violation of a correspondent agreement it signed in 2018. Counsel for Homepoint claims Amres in 2023 also reneged on an agreed-upon $80,000 settlement. Amres in January filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing Homepoint lacked standing because it ceased to exist. U.S. District Court Judge Robert White denied that motion last week and found Homepoint, or Mr. Cooper as successor-in-interest, had standing to sue."Ultimately, when Mr. Cooper absorbed Homepoint, Homepoint's claim became another asset, like Homepoint's loans or its office buildings," wrote White. Amres recorded $185 million in loan origination volume last year and over $500 million in 2022 when the loan in question was made, according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. A spokesperson and attorney for Mr. Cooper declined to comment this week, while an attorney and executive for Amres didn't reply to requests for comment. Homepoint closed out correspondent disputes amid shutdownThe former wholesale and correspondent shop reached settlements with six correspondent partners it accused of failing to repurchase loans. Those cases were: AHL Funding, over two loans totaling $751,999, dismissed in MayContinental Mortgage Bankers, over one loan for $663,984, dismissed in 2024Fidelity Direct, over one loan for $297,069, dismissed in December 2023Lending 3, over two loans totaling $523,630, dismissed in July 2023Loan Factory, over one loan for $248,872.12, dismissed in August 2023Patriot Lending, over one loan for $218,991.75, dismissed in October 2023A federal court in 2023 also granted Homepoint default judgment in a case against Trans United Financial Services for three loans totaling $1.6 million. The court also allowed Homepoint to garnish funds from the lender's Wells Fargo bank account. Nationwide Multistate Licensing System records indicate the Tustin, California-based Trans United stopped originating loans in 2023. Mr. Cooper paid $324 million for Homepoint in May 2023, a month after the company sold its wholesale business to The Loan Store. Home Point Capital, the lender's parent company, was founded in 2014 and made its Wall Street debut in 2021 with huge production numbers. The company was one of several to go out of business when interest rates began their climb in 2022 and 2023. Although it generated almost $900 million in loan volume in the first three months of 2023, the company posted a $133.8 million net loss in that final quarter as a public company.Mr. Cooper meanwhile has posted large profits in recent quarters and is awaiting the closing of a massive acquisition by Rocket Cos.