Pennymac Financial Services named longtime industry veteran Jerry Halbrook as its new chief mortgage innovation officer.
Halbrook, who announced his new position via LinkedIn on Monday, brings more than 25 years of experience in mortgages. The company didn’t provide comment regarding Halbrook’s hire.
The executive was most recently chief executive officer at mortgage marketing firm Volly. Before that he served as president of origination technologies at Black Knight. He also had a stint as chief information officer of mortgage and home equity lending at Bank of America.
Pennymac’s hiring of a new chief mortgage innovation officer coincides with a higher-rate environment in which lenders are struggling to stay profitable.
The California-based lender delivered a $129 million profit in the second quarter due to the strength of its servicing portfolio. Pennymac’s servicing segment generated $167.6 million in pre-tax income in the second quarter, down from $225.2 million in the previous quarter.
Its total loan acquisitions and originations came in at $26.7 billion in the second quarter, down 20% from the previous quarter. To cut expenses, Pennymac had at least three rounds of layoffs this year. In March, May and July, the lender issued pink slips to more than 470 employees including loan officers, analysts and managers in back office operations, according to WARN notices.
The company estimates its market share in the consumer direct channel was 1.4% in 2021, compared to 2.3% in the broker channel and 16.8% in correspondent production, where it is the market leader. In loan servicing, it controlled roughly 4.1% of the market in the second quarter.
