What has AIME done for you?

She harkened to the time before the Great Recession. “Prior to 2008, brokers were originating 69% of all the loans that were done. Where did your loans go? The top five banks were the biggest wholesale channel providers, and when they closed their fists and said ‘we’re not doing wholesale anymore, so many brokers got out of the business, and it went to 8%. But what that 69% didn’t do well is wave the flag that they were out there representing the customer better than anybody else because they were giving the customer choice, they were bringing the choice to the table for them, they were shopping for them.”

In one collective voice, Gusmus said, AIME is now delivering that message. “Now we don’t have the top five banks controlling like 90% of the wholesale market. We have this smorgasbord – hundreds of companies. It’s great that we have UWM [United Wholesale Mortgage]; it’s great that we have HomePoint; it’s great that we have Flagstar; it’s great that we have Penny[Mac TPO]. It’s great that we have these bigger companies but it’s also great we have all these other micro kind of providers. When we all come to AIME, both the brokers and the providers, we’re all making an effort to be consumer-facing and Capitol Hill-facing saying ‘we do a better job for you, consumer. We’re working for you and, by the way, for a heck of a lot less money. We got legislated into less money in 2009, so we get paid less. We shop for you and do a better job.’ “

AIME has taken the mantle, broadcasting the role of the broker to the consumer: “AIME is bring that energy and that voice and that collaborative effort to represent everybody,” Gusmus said. “They have done so much and will do more. It’s the trajectory they’re on to bring the wholesale independent channel together we can be more powerful for our industry channel and continue to be more powerful for our customers. Because it was really bad for customers when the wholesale channel went from 69% to 8%.”