loanDepot Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
August 8, 2023

There are 8 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to LoanDepot's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. All participants have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session. Thank you. I would like now to turn the call over to Gerhard R.

Operator

Daly, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you operating and financial performance in future periods. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward looking statements, including but not limited to guidance to our pull through weighted rate lock volume, origination volume, pull through weighted gain on sale margin and expense trends. These statements are based on the company's current expectations and available information. Actual results for future periods may differ from these forward looking statements due to risks or other factors that are described in the Risk Factors section of our filings with the SEC. A webcast and a transcript of this call will be posted on the company's Investor Relations website at investors.

Speaker 1

Loandepot. And Chief Financial Officer, David Hayes, to provide an overview of our quarter as well as our financial and operational results, outlook and to answer your questions. We are also joined by our Chief Investment Officer, Jeff DeGuirean and LDEI Mortgage President, Jeff Walsh to help address any questions you might have after our prepared remarks. And with that, I'll turn things over to Frank to get us started. Frank?

Speaker 2

Thank you, Gerhard, and thank you all for joining us today. I look forward to sharing my perspective on market conditions and our results. Before I begin, I'd like to welcome David Hayes to the call. David brings a strong track record of financial and business leadership as well as deep mortgage industry knowledge to Loandepot. I know David well and look forward to partnering with him as we continue to execute our Vision 2025 plan.

Speaker 2

I also want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Pat Flanagan for his leadership and commitment to loanDepot. Pat helped shepherd the company from private to public ownership. And most recently, he helped the company address the critical challenges arising from the dramatic market downturn last We wish Pat the very best in his future endeavors. Despite the historic downturn in the housing market, I believe that our second quarter and first half results represent an objective marker of our progress on the strategic imperatives we laid out in our Vision 2025 As you may recall, Vision 2025, which was announced in July of 2022, has 4 pillars. Pillar 1 focuses on transforming our originations business to drive purchase money transactions with an expanded emphasis on purpose driven lending.

Speaker 2

Pillar 2 calls for aggressively rightsizing our cost structure in line with current and anticipated market conditions as well as internally set targets to achieve 1st quartile operating performance. Pillar 3 covers investing in profitable, growth generating initiatives and critical business operating platforms and processes to support operating leverage and best in class quality and delivery. And finally, Pillar 4 relates to optimizing our organization structure. The 2nd quarter was our 2nd consecutive quarter of strong sequential top line growth and margin expansion. At the same time, we continue to aggressively drive cost productivity and operating leverage.

Speaker 2

Our Q2 2023 revenues were up $64,000,000 or 31% sequentially from the 1st quarter, fueled primarily by higher purchase transaction volumes and gain on sale margins. Purchase transactions accounted for approximately 73% of all During the Q2, our costs increased by $16,000,000 or 5%. This growth was primarily driven by variable expenses associated with higher origination volumes. In a moment, David will go through our operating results, including our volume related expenses, Vision 2025 program costs and legal accruals attributable to the settlement of certain legacy litigation. If these expenses were to be excluded due to their non recurring nature, this would result in a 4% quarter over quarter reduction in our core operating expenses.

Speaker 2

Profitable growth together with our laser focus on productivity and operating leverage accounted for a $42,000,000 or 46% sequential reduction in our Q2 net loss. This follows a $66,000,000 reduction in our sequential quarterly net loss in the Q1. While we continue to work on resetting our cost structure to align with generation low unit volumes, We are also focused on the other pillars of Vision 2025, including our strategy to expand purpose driven lending that supports first time homebuyers and diverse communities. During 2022, Loandepot ranked as the country's 3rd largest Mortgage lender for all minorities. In addition to ranking 3rd overall for all minorities, Loandepot is also the number 3 lender serving Hispanics, The number 4 lender serving African Americans, the number 4 lender serving Native Americans and the number 6 lender serving Asian Americans.

Speaker 2

As we all know, homeownership is the bedrock of the American dream and plays a vital role in helping to build strong and stable communities. Further deepening our support for diverse and first time homebuyers is a critical component of our vision 2025. As a purpose driven lender, our team is passionate about making homeownership accessible and achievable for more families. Through our products, our people and our digital tools, we're working hard every day to create a more inclusive and sustainable path to homeownership. Our HELOC product, which provides our customers with a powerful option for achieving their financial goals, also demonstrated consistent growth with strong customer adoption during the quarter.

Speaker 2

Finally, as outlined in Pillar 4 of our Vision 2025 plan, we continue to make Significant strides towards optimizing our organization structure. During Q2, we promoted Darren Grailer as our Chief Accounting Officer and Alec Hansen as our Chief Marketing Officer. We also recruited talented executives, including David as our Chief Financial Officer And Melanie Graeber as our Chief Human Resources Officer. Finally, we consolidated our LBI Digital division under LBI Mortgage President, Jeff Walsh. Our entire leadership team is energized and committed to continuing to deliver improved financial performance and superior value for our customers and our shareholders.

Speaker 2

I want to conclude my prepared remarks today by thanking Team LoanDepot and our other key stakeholders for their support. Our markets remain challenging, no doubt, but I believe this is also a very important period of positive change and forward momentum for the company. I believe we're seeing the positive and tangible results of our continued focus on the 4 pillars of our Vision 2025 strategic plan. With over $700,000,000 in cash on hand, ongoing operating efficiency initiatives and consistently growing revenues exiting the first half, We believe we are increasingly well positioned to navigate through the present market downturn and emerge as a stronger and more valuable company. With that, I will now turn the call over to David, who will take us through the financial results in more detail.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Frank, and good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to join this very talented team at Loandepot. During the Q2, loan origination volume was $6,300,000,000 an increase of 27% from the Q1 of 2023. This was at the high end of the guidance we issued last quarter, which is between $4,500,000,000 $6,500,000,000 2nd quarter volume The $4,600,000,000 in purchase loan originations and $1,700,000,000 in refinanced loan originations, primarily cash out refinances. Our pull through weighted rate lock volume of $6,100,000,000 for the 2nd quarter contributed to total revenue of $272,000,000 which represented a 31% increase from the Q1.

Speaker 3

Rate lock volume also came in within guidance we issued last quarter of $5,500,000,000 to $7,500,000,000 The increase in revenue is primarily a result of higher loan origination income from an increase in pull through weighted rate lock volume and higher gain on sale margins. Our pull through weighted gain on sale margin for the Q2 came in at 285 basis points above the guidance we provided of 240 basis points to 280 basis points. Our higher gain on sale margin was primarily due to wider profit margins on our production, a shift in mix favoring more profitable FHA loans and a lower provision for loan losses. Turning now to our servicing portfolio. The unpaid principal balance of our servicing portfolio remained relatively consistent and $142,000,000,000 quarter over quarter.

Speaker 3

Servicing fee income decreased slightly from $119,000,000 in the Q1 of 2023 to $118,000,000 in the Q2 of 2023. During the quarter, we sold excess agency servicing Rights related to unpaid principal balances totaling $14,000,000,000 resulting in a gain of $7,700,000 This transaction allowed us to monetize a portion of the asset, while maintaining our direct servicing relationship with those customers. We hedge our servicing portfolio, so we do not record the full impact of the changes in fair value and the results of our operations. We believe this strategy protects against volatility in our earnings and liquidity. Our strategy for hedging the servicing portfolio is dynamic.

Speaker 3

We adjust our hedge positions in reaction to changing interest rate environments. We believe our servicing portfolio is well protected against potential rising defaults. As of June 30, the weighted average FICO was 7.36, the weighted average coupon was 3.3% and the weighted average LTV at origination was 71%. These characteristics contributed to a low delinquency rate with only 70 basis points of the portfolio more than 90 days past due at quarter end and should generate reliable ongoing revenue during these uncertain economic times. A major component of our Vision 2025 plan is to align our expense base with our expectations for a 2023 market size of $1,500,000,000,000 and create efficiencies to improve operating leverage and financial performance over time.

Speaker 3

Our total expenses for the Q2 of 2023 increased by $16,000,000 or 5% from the prior quarter. This was driven primarily by higher volume based commissions, Vision 2025 related expenses and legal expenses. Our volume related expenses consisting of commissions and direct origination expenses increased by $13,000,000 reflecting higher origination. Vision 2025 related charges totaled $7,000,000 including a $5,000,000 including $5,000,000 of personnel related expenses and $2,000,000 of lease and other asset impairment charges. Vision 2025 expenses incurred in the Q1 of 2023 totaled $3,000,000 During the Q2, we accrued $8,000,000 of legal Excluding volume related expenses, Vision 2025 related charges and a litigation settlement accrual, our adjusting operating expenses decreased by $10,000,000 compared to the Q1, reflecting the ongoing benefits of our efficiency improvements.

Speaker 3

Looking ahead to the Q3 volumes and margins, We expect origination volume of between $5,000,000,000 $7,000,000,000 We expect pull through weighted rate lock volume of between $5,500,000,000 $7,500,000,000 And we expect our 3rd quarter pull through weighted gain on sale margin to be between 245 and 285 basis points. The reduction in our gain on sale margin guidance for the 3rd quarter primarily reflects increased interest rates subsequent to the end of the second quarter, which adversely would impact loan margins. Going forward, we expect to continue to reduce expenses and narrow our losses, reflecting decreasing personnel related costs due to lower headcount, G and A and other corporate expenses. As we move forward in the second half of twenty twenty three, We plan to continue maintaining a strong liquidity position and aggressively reduce our costs. Importantly, We're also investing in critical operating platforms, which we will expect to deliver higher levels of automation and operating leverage and position us for additional growth and margin expansion in 2024.

Speaker 3

With that, we're ready to turn it back to the operator for Q and A. Operator?

Operator

Your first question comes from Doug Harter from Credit

Speaker 3

Suisse. Please go ahead. Thanks. I think I believe you guys

Speaker 4

Extended or refinanced one of your MSR lines during the Q2. Can you talk about Kind of the updated terms on that and what your MSR line maturities look like now?

Speaker 3

Yes. Hi, this is David Hayes. We did renew one of our MSR lines, but we don't disclose the specifics of that on the call. Those are proprietary negotiated deals.

Speaker 4

Okay. I guess, do you have a sense of What any near term maturities are or just in general, kind of was there any change in advance rates Kind of in that extension?

Speaker 3

Yes. Well, those will be issued in our 10 Q, the more specifics on that. But We did renew the line. We did expand some capacity. We renewed all lines that were in the quarter and we don't see any concerns about Upcoming renewals for the Q3.

Speaker 4

Okay. And then, I guess, At this point, how are you thinking about kind of additional MSR sales Versus kind of retaining and growing that portfolio, kind of what is the outlook for that?

Speaker 2

Yes, this is Frank. We look at the servicing portfolio as an Important asset for the company and an important base of earnings for the company. And so we have not been in the market selling A lot of assets off the portfolio. And if we do contemplating that, it will be more targeted And opportunistic, but in general, we would tell the servicing book quite steady and We'd like to do that and grow that portfolio as we go forward as part of the company's strategy.

Speaker 4

Okay. And then last one for me. What would be kind of the target level of cash that you would look to hold to feel comfortable running the business?

Speaker 3

Yes. This is David again. We continue to be focused on maintaining a very strong liquidity position. As you know, we drew down There are some balances and put on the balance sheet. I have a fortress balance sheet last year to navigate through these challenging markets.

Speaker 3

We do have target liquidity goals of maintaining at least 5% of our assets and liquidity. But for the time being, we're expecting to keep excess liquidity in the balance sheet.

Speaker 4

Great. Thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Kyle Joseph from Jefferies. Kyle, please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. Just looking at your guidance, it looks like you expect Similar volumes in 3q22, but as you mentioned on a lower headcount. Can you just Give us a sense for where the productivity gain is coming from?

Speaker 2

Yes. I don't know if we've talked about specifically on a headcount, but Yes, we do look at the market kind of being in line in the 3rd quarter as it was in the 2nd I think we're continuing to invest in productivity and operating leverage gains. A lot has gone into our And to the technology area as well as process redesign, which is part of Vision 2025. So we'll continue to see That type of a gain in terms of our ability to be more productive per loan generated. In addition, obviously, we are we have been reducing headcount.

Speaker 2

And we expect that to continue, given the market uncertainty and but we expect that to be funded largely through productivity Gains through the through both process and technology platforms. As you may recall, we had a couple of Pretty large investments that we're making despite the choppiness of the market in our LOS platform and in our underwriting areas as well that We think we'll have significant productivity gains when they come online in 2024.

Speaker 5

Yes. Got it. And then with Kind of the better origination outlook just me and obviously that factors into your expense outlook. But, you know, is there are there any more is there any more wood to chop in terms of Expenses and which kind of line items would those be in specifically?

Speaker 2

Yes. I think Dave talked about in his prepared remarks, I think we look at corporate overhead, obviously, Some of the G and A areas, marketing and really in both in the operational part of the company as well as Sales as we get more productive and we improve our tools and our base platform. So I think it's pretty broad based. Obviously, we have to react. It's a very uncertain market, but we have to react to that and address Address challenges as they come along.

Speaker 2

But I think by and large, we have most of those reduction programs in flight And our I'd expect that the trends you're seeing in the Q2 versus the Q1 to continue It is the Q3 and beyond.

Speaker 5

Great. Thanks very much for answering my questions.

Operator

Your next question comes from Kevin Barker from Piper Sandler. Kevin, please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Great. Thanks for taking my questions. So I wanted to follow-up on some of the questions from Doug regarding the MSR. I noticed it's as a percent of your overall equity, it's Roughly 2 and a half times, which is about twice as high as it was pre-twenty 22. Is there any target that you have Regarding the size of the MSR relative to your equity base or another way to think about it is, is there Do you think about your MSR relative to your origination channel or manage it to a certain size relative to how much you think you can produce within the origination channel?

Speaker 6

Thank you.

Speaker 2

Yes. I'll let Jeff DeGarian answer. But obviously, one of our Advantages, we believe, is we have a very effective recapture mechanism off of our servicing portfolio, which is Very meaningful for the economics of the company. As it relates to target sizes, etcetera, as I mentioned earlier, We want to build the servicing book intelligently as we go forward. And so we're kind of managing to that overall strategy.

Speaker 2

The pace in which we do that is kind of varies depending on the quarterly conditions we're faced with the market. But in general, we've been able to hold the portfolio steady. And as I said, I think that's something that we want to actually Expanded a bit as we go forward. But again, we have to pace it with the market conditions, which are needless to say pretty fluid right now With the rate environment we're dealing with and trying to figure out where that's all going for the balance of this year certainly. So Jeff, I don't know if you want to add anything for this to answer this to my answer.

Speaker 1

Yes, Frank, I think you covered it well. I mean, you can see the portfolio has been pretty steady at this level and that's by design and we continue to refine The composition of the portfolio, so that it works well with the origination platform and what we're trying to achieve overall with Touching our customers and providing incremental products or refinance opportunities to them.

Speaker 6

Okay, great. And then In addition to the efficiency strategies, have you done anything structurally or to drive maybe better margins, Particularly around, how you compensate loan officers or how you think about The structural impact or the structural compensation that you look at for loan officers, particularly on the direct to consumer or even the call center operations in order to like really drive higher margins within the direct to consumer channel? Thank you.

Speaker 7

Yes. This is Jeff Walsh. I mean, we're always evaluating the compensation As a percentage of the total revenue and try to maintain kind of responsible percentage there. We also shift our business focus away from

Speaker 2

unprofitable markets and products, shifted

Speaker 7

more into the government space and some other Type of products that yield more and a higher percentage of revenue against commission, but commissions are largely industry driven and influenced by the industry as a whole, but I think we do a pretty good job of managing, like say, a responsible percentage of compensation to overall revenue.

Speaker 6

Okay. Great. Thanks for taking my questions.

Operator

There are no more questions. I'll turn the call back over to Frank Martell for closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Yes. Thanks everybody for joining us today and some really good questions. I think that The company delivered in a very tough market in the Q2. I really appreciate the efforts of the entire team to do that. I also want to just thank our stakeholders for their support.

Speaker 2

I couldn't do without you guys. And we look forward to continue to progress and deliver more value for our customers, our team members, partners and our shareholders as we go forward. So with that, thanks everybody.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

Speaker 2

Thanks everybody.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

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loanDepot Q2 2023
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