How VantageScore 4.0 is expanding opportunity in wholesale lending

Mortgage lenders and brokers are navigating an affordability-constrained market in which a borrower’s qualifying score can determine not only eligibility but also pricing, cash-to-close and purchasing power. UWM moved quickly to introduce VantageScore 4.0 through a new pilot, giving independent mortgage brokers an additional option for evaluating eligible borrowers. Desmond P. Smith, UWM’s chief growth officer, explains how the scoring option is creating new opportunities, where brokers and borrowers are seeing meaningful savings and why fast execution matters for the future of wholesale mortgage lending. Moving quickly to create broker advantage HousingWire: UWM was the first mortgage lender to launch VantageScore 4.0 after approval was granted. What allowed your team to move so quickly when others were still evaluating their approach? Desmond P. Smith: Everything we do at UWM starts with trying to give brokers a competitive advantage and we were able to move quickly because innovation is part of our culture. At UWM, we’re constantly evaluating ways to help brokers serve more borrowers, so when VantageScore 4.0 was approved, we weren’t starting from scratch. Our teams had already ...