After nearly two years of being out of the wholesale lending business, the mortgage subsidiary of Ally Financial Inc. is opening up a mortgage broker channel.
At the height of the financial crisis in September 2008 Ally, then operating GMAC Financial Services, announced that it would stop originating through its wholesale unit, Homecomings Financial LLC. The move was part of a restructuring that involved the elimination of 5,000 jobs.
At the time, the company noted that the moves were made “to further optimize the mortgage business as the downturn in the credit and mortgage markets persists.”
But the lender is now returning to the broker business.
“We are entering the wholesale arena,” a spokesman said in a statement today to MortgageDaily.com.
He explained that the move will be “a measured roll-out in limited markets.”
Brokers will have access to all of the programs that are available through other lending channels, including jumbo mortgages.
Steve Gilcrest has been hired as senior vice president of wholesale lending to lead the division.
Gilcrest previously headed national operations for GreenPoint Mortgage Funding Inc.
It’s the second time GMAC has recently tapped a former GreenPoint executive.
Former GreenPoint president and chief executive officer Steven M. Abreu was hired as president of GMAC Mortgage Operations on Oct. 1, 2009.
