UWM CEO says Pulte, Turner providing leadership in those offices lacking from the prior administration
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director Bill Pulte and secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Scott Turner, received a ringing endorsement from UWM CEO Mat Ishbia during the company’s broker event, UWM LIVE! on Thursday.
Ishbia (pictured top) made the comments during a media roundtable before the first of two major announcements from the company on the second and final day of the event.
He praised Pulte for going out and speaking with companies to identify the issues lenders might be facing.
“The stuff with Director Pulte that I love is that you have a leader now leading the industry,” Ishbia told Mortgage Professional America. “The FHFA director is not just a director that sits there and takes inbound questions and meets with people once every two years, like previous situations.
“This person is like, ‘I’m out in front. I’m the chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and we’re going to help make the mortgage process better.’”
Ishbia believes Pulte and Turner are working to make things better for both lenders and consumers.
“I know he comes from President Trump, who says, ‘How do we make rates lower? How do we help more consumers?’ How to make housing stronger?’ Bill Pulte’s job is to make that happen, along with Scott Turner from HUD as well.”
Working to get fraud out of the industry
Pulte has discussed efforts to eliminate mortgage fraud from the industry. He announced a mortgage fraud tip line back in April, an effort Ishbia supports.
“I feel great about what he’s doing and what his focus is,” he said. “I don’t care what your industry is. Nobody wants fraud. People doing things the wrong way, get them out. I think Bill’s real point is, ‘I’m leading from the front. I’m going to make decisions that are going to help Fannie and Freddie, which then helps lenders, which helps consumers, and helps real estate.’”
Ishbia feels that the new leadership represents a major change from the directors installed by the previous administration.
“He’s going to be putting things in place, and he’s going to make a big impact in a positive way,” he said. “Compared to what we had the last four years? It’s a welcome, welcome change. I’m not a big political person, but what happened the last four years, politically and leadership-wise, in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mac, versus what’s happening now is night and day.”
Ishbia believes the leadership changes at FHFA and HUD combined with the hope of lower rates could lead to better times for brokers.
“It couldn’t be worse than it was before,” he said. “On top of that, rates were high over the last three and a half years. I’m assuming the next four years, rates will be a little bit lower, and with better leadership, should make affordability better for consumers, should make opportunities for lenders and people to do even more business and grow.”
While the Federal Reserve passed on a chance to cut rates at its most recent meeting, further rate cuts are still expected in the second half of 2025.
Pulte has led sweeping changes at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have drawn criticism from Democrats. They believe plans to privatize the two Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) could destabilize the housing market.
New CFPB plans likely won’t impact UWM
Ishbia notes that because UWM operates in all 50 states, plans for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to move more mortgage oversight to states won’t impact the company.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is preparing to rescind 67 policy and regulatory guidance documents, including several related to mortgage lending, credit reporting, and consumer complaint processes.https://t.co/O9LdG6QRHi
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) May 15, 2025
“We’ve had to follow Maine’s rules, and Delaware’s rules, and Michigan’s rules, and Indiana’s rules, and every single detail of how they want the disclosure dotted and crossed, and we also follow the CFPB rules,” Ishbia said. “We’re not changing any of the stuff we do, even though the CFPB is less focused on stuff. In four years, that might change.
“We’re going to do things exactly the same way. We have a huge compliance team. We’re not changing anything,” he said. “All we’re focused on is doing things the right way. Being the largest mortgage company in America, we have eyeballs on us every day. So, nothing's changing for us.”
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