Wells Fargo to Withdraw from Mortgage Marketing Services Agreements
July 30, 2015
Wells Fargo announced it will withdraw from mortgage marketing services and desk rental agreements with real estate firms, builders and certain other referral sources.
The decision is effective Aug. 1 and the wind down will occur over the following 90 days. The lender said termination of the marketing services agreements is not expected to have a material impact on mortgage production.
The CFPB has not issued any official guidance on MSAs and did not issue a press release following the announcement by Wells Fargo, but Samuel Gilford provided this comment from the bureau: "Wells Fargo's decision to exit all marketing services agreements is an important step for the mortgage industry towards ensuring compliance with the RESPA statute and freeing up more choices for consumers.”
According to a release, Wells said the decision was made as a result of increasing uncertainty surrounding regulatory oversight of these types of arrangements.
“Real estate firms and builders always have been—and will continue to be—very important to Wells Fargo’s retail mortgage operations, and we are exploring a number of new options for enhancing and strengthening those relationships over the long term,” said Franklin Codel, executive vice president for mortgage production at the company. “Because we value our strong relationships with real estate professionals and builders, the decision to exit these marketing services agreements was difficult, but we are taking this action to ensure that we continue to conduct our business in a way that represents the best interests of all of our customers and clients. We believe the best way to earn the relationship with real estate firms and builders is through timely, dependable service delivered by the best team in the business.”
Prospect Mortgage also announced plans to discontinue MSAs by the end of the third quarter.
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