On this week’s episode of the Power House podcast: HousingWire President Diego Sanchez sits down Terry SchmidtCEO of the San Diego-based company Guild Mortgageto discuss the company’s recent acquisitions, reverse mortgages and the use of artificial intelligence for mortgage lenders.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To kick off the conversation, the duo dives into the details of Guild’s acquisition of a private mortgage rival Academy Mortgage in February 2024.
Sanchez: Earlier this year you bought Academy Mortgage, which was a major acquisition in the industry. How has this deal positioned your company for growth?
Schmidt: They brought 20% to 25% more volume to Guild, 1,000 employees and approximately 200 locations. So they have added significant market share to the Guild platform. We learn so much from them at the same time, and we always feel like it makes us a better company because we are really good listeners.
Sanchez: In 2023 you made another purchase of Cherry Creek Mortgage — a company with a reverse mortgage focus. Why was the reverse mortgage space interesting to you as Guild’s leader?
Schmidt: We always wanted to drive backwards. We are a retail channel and a full-service lender. We want to be able to offer every customer a tool for their aging lifestyle. We have this customer-for-life strategy where we want our customers to come to us at every stage of their life journey. And that reverse mortgage product is important if you want to grow older, retire and live longer.
Sanchez: How does Guild differentiate itself in the markets where you are trying to gain market share?
Schmidt: In addition to culture and branding, we have our own LOS and service platform. So we built our own technology. We also brought in Salesforceand we call it our Guild 360, where we’ve developed a semi-proprietary connection to Salesforce. So we’ve built a lot of integration with our LOS and our servicing platform to bring everything together for a loan officer.
The other thing that’s important is our coaching program. This coaching program is designed and managed by our own successful loan officers.
The conversation then turns to Guild’s use of artificial intelligence for its creation.
Sanchez: How does Guild integrate AI into the creation process?
Schmidt: This past year we just rolled out our Guild IQ and AI system. We have 500 loan programs and over twenty investors we sell to. We took all of that and started using AI for every type of search engine and for all the questions you have about all these loan products. You need to look at how to quickly contact the customer, be more accurate and create efficiencies throughout the production lifecycle. AI is a big part of that.
To end the conversation, Schmidt explores how Guild plans to grow in the housing market in 2025.
Schmidt: We will continue to grow because we are a growth company, No. 1. Second, we have always been a cash shop, so we have never relied on refinancing. We have a presence in local communities and local B2B partners, and our purchase loan numbers this year are averaging around 90%.
Traditionally, we have always been 10% above the sector in purchasing. I think this bodes well for us, but we can always gain more market share with refinances as that comes into play.
