According to HousingWire, Benchmark Mortgage has decided to shut down Eleven Mortgage, its wholesale and correspondent lending division. The company is making this strategic move so it can concentrate its leadership, capital, and resources entirely on its retail mortgage business instead of trying to operate both channels simultaneously.
The CEO of Benchmark Mortgage explained that this decision is deliberate rather than reactive. He characterized it as choosing where the company wants to compete and win, saying that by streamlining operations and focusing on their retail organization, they can sharpen their focus and direct their energy toward the people and business segment where they believe they have the strongest opportunity.
Benchmark did acknowledge the impact this decision will have on the employees who have worked in and supported the wholesale and correspondent division. The company recognized their contributions and said their efforts are respected, though the announcement was made to the team during a company call.
HousingWire reported that according to RETR data from mid-September, the wholesale lending activity at Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, which is Benchmark's parent company, showed over two thousand loans and nearly nine hundred million dollars in volume year to date. The company's overall lending across all divisions totaled over six thousand loans with more than two billion dollars in total volume for the year.
What I'm seeing locally here in the Bay Area and across the East Bay is that consolidation moves like this continue to reshape the mortgage lending landscape. When lenders make the decision to pull back from wholesale operations and focus only on retail, it can affect the ecosystem that smaller brokers like us rely on for partnerships and lending options. It's another reminder that we need to maintain strong relationships with multiple lenders and stay adaptable as the industry continues to evolve.
