Veteran mortgage executive Bill Dallas has left his position as president of Finance of America Mortgage amid larger changes to the Texas-based nonbank lender’s C-Suite and business lines.
Dallas, a seasoned entrepreneur, joined FoA Mortgage four years ago after selling one of his companies to Finance of America Companies, the Blackstone Group-controlled parent company. Dallas will be retained as an independent advisor to the CEO for one year, a spokesperson for FoA told HousingWire.
Dallas did not immediately return requests for comment. His exit was first reported by Inside Mortgage Finance.
This is the second major C-Suite change to hit FOA in recent months.
In early February, the lender announced that Patti Cook, Finance of America Companies’ CEO, will retire as soon as the company finds a successor. Cook will remain on the board of directors until the annual meeting of stockholders.
During her period as CEO, the company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2021, after merging with the blank-check company Replay Acquisition Corp.
How brokers can help today’s unique borrower
Today, more borrowers are self-employed, work remotely and have multiple streams of income. For brokers, working with these borrowers can be complicated because they require unique processes. HousingWire recently spoke with Bill Dallas, President of Finance of America Mortgage, to discuss how brokers can leverage technology to accommodate today’s average homebuyer.
Presented by: Finance of America
According to the spokesperson, these changes are part of the company’s strategic priority to optimize the mortgage business, which, like many of its competitors, has suffered from a downtown in revenue and gain-on-sale margins amid climbing rates.
“These changes will allow us to maintain our ability to benefit from expected growth in the purchase and non-agency market, streamline our business lines, and further our transformation to a customer-centric company,” the spokesperson said.
Amid a tough environment for forward mortgage lending, Finance of America is betting on specialty finance & services products – reverse mortgages, investor loans, commercial loans – which are expected to deliver most of the return this year.
Last year, the lender funded $35.6 billion in mortgages, up 9% compared to 2020, which executives attributed partly due to successes with its reverse and commercial businesses. However, in the fourth quarter, the total volume was $8.79 billion, down 10% year-over-year and 2% quarter-over-quarter.
“We have taken steps to position our mortgage business for dramatically reduced refinance volume, while still maintaining our ability to benefit from expected growth in the purchase and nonagency markets,” Cook said during a conference call with analysts.
On paper, the company posted a $1.17 billion loss in 2021, which was largely due to an impairment of goodwill and intangible assets. The action was needed to align its book value with supportable control premium, due to a sustained decline in the stock price, FoA executives said. The adjusted net income, which excludes the impairment, was $308 million in 2021, down 28% year-over-year.
In the fourth quarter, the company had a $1.33 billion loss on paper due to the impairment, compared to a $50 million profit in the prior quarter and a $152 million profit in the same quarter of 2020. The adjusted net income was $70 million, a 7% decline quarter-over-quarter and down 43% year-over-year.
