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The former head of loanDepot’s retail division, Dan Hanson, has been appointed to a newly created role as executive director of enterprise partnerships and acquisitions, the company announced Thursday.
Dan Hanson
Hanson joined loanDepot a decade ago when loanDepot acquired iMortgage in 2013. The deal helped LoanDepot, which launched in 2010 as a consumer direct lender, launch its in-market loan officer channel. After serving as iMortgage’s executive vice president, national production, Hanson became the head of loanDepot’s retail division in 2017.
In his new role, Hanson will be responsible for “developing new revenue-generating opportunities” through national referral relationships and acquisitions, and for expanding existing programs and partnerships outside of the joint venture channel. Those include an employer benefits program and loanDepot’s Lender Express offering for credit unions and other financial institutions.
Jeff Walsh
“Dan is an accomplished leader with a long history of nurturing strong industry relationships with builder partners, mortgage industry professionals, real estate firms and even competitors,” LDI Mortgage President Jeff Walsh said in a statement Thursday. “He is the right leader for this role, and we look forward to his success.”
LoanDepot’s joint ventures include NHC Mortgage (with with National HomeCorp), LGI Mortgage Solutions (with LGI Homes), Henlopen Mortgage (with Schell Brothers), BRP Mortgage (with Brookfield Residential), MTH Mortgage (Meritage Homes), MSC Mortgage (with Michael Saunders & Company), TRI Pointe Connect (with Tri Pointe Homes) and Day 1 Mortgage (with Century 21 Redwood Realty).
Like many other lenders, loanDepot has struggled to adapt to last year’s rapid runup in mortgage rates, which drastically curtailed its profitable refinancing business.
LoanDepot mortgage originations rebound
Source: loanDepot investor reports.
While the Irvine, California-based lender grew second quarter purchase loan originations by 30 percent from the first quarter, to $4.55 billion, that was less than half the business it did with homebuyers the previous spring. With refinancing volume also down 73 percent from a year ago, to $1.72 billion, total mortgage originations were down 61 percent from a year ago, to $6.27 billion.
Under a “Vision 2025” cost-cutting initiative launched by newly-installed CEO Frank Martell last year, loanDepot has been seeking to stem losses by downsizing its workforce, cutting more than 6,600 position in the last year and a half and leaving the company with 4,683 workers as of June 30.
“Through the execution of our Vision 2025 plan, we’ve done the hard work to ensure we can continue to address the impacts of the current market downturn and still invest in our platform,” Walsh said Friday. “This includes driving growth through accretive acquisitions, referral relationships and other strategic partnerships. Our scale, marketing prowess, industry-leading tech stack and strong cash reserves all position us well for the next chapter of our history, and Dan will play a critical role in driving our growth and success.”
LoanDepot hired a new chief financial officer, David Hayes, in June and parted ways with four executives hired by Martell’s predecessor, loanDepot founder Anthony Hsieh.
After handing over the CEO reins to Martell last year, Hsieh was ousted as executive chairman by loanDepot’s board of directors in February, which resulted in a proxy fight that ended in April when Hsieh got his wish to seat real estate veteran Steve Ozonian on the board.
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