Association CEO and president criticized senators' objection to Rocket's purchases of Redfin, Mr. Cooper
A group of Democratic senators joined independent Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday to ask federal regulators to explain their decision not to challenge Rocket’s recent acquisitions. On Thursday, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) president and CEO pushed back against their objection.
Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Mazie Hirono, and Tina Smith, as well as Sanders, sent a letter calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to reconsider their stance of Rocket’s purchases of Redfin and Mr. Cooper.
Bob Broeksmit, MBA CEO and president, addressed the letter Thursday during a panel of industry leaders at Equity Prime Mortgage’s The American Gift (TAG) event at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
“I was at a recent event where the moderator asked me a question about the combination of Rocket and Redfin and Mr. Cooper,” Broeksmit said. “This is really topical, because just today, some, let’s say, left-leaning senators, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, others like that, sending a note saying, ‘You’ve got to stop this merger. This is the end of the world, and there’ll be no more competition left in the mortgage business.’”
Broeksmit pushed back, saying that there would still be an overwhelming majority of loans that Rocket would not touch even after the merger.
“If this merger goes through, that combined entity will touch one in six borrowers,” he said. “That leaves five out of six for everyone else. And that concentration, compared to many other industries in this country, is pretty small.”
The letter sent by the senators said the merger would reduce choices in the industry, which would raise prices.
“These deals would combine the second-largest mortgage originator, the largest mortgage servicer, and the third-most-visited real estate brokerage website in the United States,” the senators noted in their letter.”
Gail Slater, DOJ assistant attorney general for the antitrust division, and Andrew Ferguson, FTC chairman, have stated they would not obstruct lawful mergers.
Redfin shareholders reportedly approved the $1.75 billion all-stock deal on Wednesday.
Remembering other mergers of the past
Having been in the industry for four decades, Broeksmit remembers other times when large companies were rumored to be taking over the entire industry.
“The reason I say all that is because there is still room,” Broeksmit said. “I’ve been at this for 40 years. I’ve been through multiple disruption events, and I’m probably the only one in the room who remembers that Sears owned Coldwell Banker Real Estate and Allstate Insurance.
“And this was supposed to be this vertically integrated behemoth that was going to take over the world. Well, we all know where that went.”
Rocket Companies is transforming homebuying with its $9.4B acquisition of Mr. Cooper Group and $1.75B offer for Redfin. CEO Varun Krishna aims to create a seamless homeownership experience from search to servicing.
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) April 1, 2025
https://t.co/pRLnoBoEoK
Sears acquired Coldwell Banker in 1981. Seven years later, it sold off Coldwell Banker’s commercial real estate unit and the rest in 1992. It created Allstate to sell auto insurance in 1931, but eventually spun that company off to its shareholders in November 1991.
Surviving other disruptions in the industry
Broeksmit has seen the mortgage industry go through several crisis periods in the last two decades alone.
One from the late 2010s was the fear that the mortgage process would borrow from Amazon's processes and one-stop-shop business model.
“I was there when we were all afraid of the ‘Amazonization’ of the mortgage business,” he said. “We were all sitting around in a conference moaning about all the compliance and regulation. I said that is a nuisance in our industry, but it prevents people like Amazon from coming in and dominating it.”
The next disruption the panel talked about was the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry. Both Rocket and UWM, among others, have introduced cutting-edge technology to find new ways to reach customers and make their mortgage process easier.
But whether it’s AI, mergers, or whatever might be next on the horizon, Broeksmit is confident the industry will roll on, and brokers will be at the forefront of driving the future of mortgages.
“I’m really sanguine about the future of this business and everybody’s role in it,” Broeksmit said. “Because you all can out-hustle, out-shoe leather, out-serve your competitors, and there’s going to be plenty of room for everybody.”
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