In this week’s episode of the Power House podcast, HousingWire The president Diego Sanchez sitting down Terry SchmidtSan Diego-based CEO Guild Mortgageto discuss the company’s recent acquisitions, reverse mortgages and the use of credit originators.
This interview is edited for length and clarity. To start the conversation, the duo goes into the details of Guild’s acquisition of rival retail mortgage. Academy Mortgage in February 2024.
Sanchez: Earlier this year, it acquired Academy Mortgage, which was the largest acquisition in the space. How did that deal position your company to grow?
Schmidt: They brought 20% to 25% more volume to the Guild, 1,000 employees and about 200 branches. Therefore, they increased the market share significantly in the Guild area. We learn a lot at the same time from them, and we always feel like it makes us a better company because we are really good listeners.
Sanchez: In 2023, he made another discovery of Cherry Creek Mortgage – a reverse mortgage company. Why did the reverse mortgage area interest you as a Guild Leader?
Schmidt: We have always wanted to retreat. We are a one-stop, full-service lender. We want to be able to provide a tool to any customer in the aging process. We have this customer lifetime strategy where we want our customers to come to us every step of their life journey. And that reverse mortgage product is important if you want to age in place, retire and stay in your home for a long time.
Sanchez: How does Guild differentiate itself from the markets you are trying to gain share in?
Schmidt: Besides culture and advertising, we have a proprietary LOS and service platform. So, we built our own technology. We imported again Salesforceand we call it our Guild 360, where we have developed a limited interaction with Salesforce. Therefore, we have built multiple integrations with our LOS and our servicing platform to integrate the loan officer for you.
Another important factor is our training program. This training program is designed and run by our successful loan officers.
Next, the discussion turns to the Guild’s use of artificial intelligence for innovation.
Sanchez: How does the Guild integrate AI into its startup process?
Schmidt: This past year, we recently launched our Guild IQ and AI program. We have 500 loan programs and over a dozen investors that we sell to. We brought all of that and started using AI on any type of search engine and queries you have on all these loan products. You have to look at how you can get back to the customer faster, be more accurate and create efficiencies as you go through the production life cycle. AI is a big part of that.
To conclude the discussion, Schmidt examines how the Guild plans to grow in the real estate market in 2025.
Schmidt: We will continue to grow because we are a growing company, No. 1. Second, we have always been a cash-flow store, so we have never relied on capital improvements. We have a presence in local communities, local B2B partners, and our purchase loan numbers this year were around 90%.
Traditionally, we’ve always been 10% higher than the stock market industry. I think that’s good for us, but we can always get more shares from refinancing once it’s up and running.
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