Shrinking margins in the retail space are pushing loan officers to chart their own path in the wholesale channel.

The correspondent share of mortgage originations shrank in 2025, with retail picking up most of the slack. Both channels remained well ahead of the wholesale channel. (Includes six data tables.)

The wholesale lender’s goals include increasing brand awareness, geographic expansion and improving service levels.

Brokers are feeling optimistic about 2026, due in part to the expansion of non-qualified mortgage offerings.

Correspondents upped their share significantly in the government-insured market, while brokers took a bigger bite of nonconforming lending.

Among the three origination channels, only broker production increased during the third quarter. The broker share of originations neared 20% again during the quarter. (Includes six data tables.)

loanDepot has accused West Capital Lending of stealing its leads, misclassifying loan originators and tying LO compensation to loan revenue.

Katie Sweeney denied allegations from the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts that she steered sponsorships and contracts away from the trade group for personal gain.

The retail share of first-lien originations bounced back above 50% in the second quarter. Still, in the first half of the year, third-party originations increased at a faster pace on an annual basis than retail lending. (Includes six data tables.)

American Pride Bank’s wholesale unit this week launched a non-qualified mortgage portfolio product suite.