Quicken Loans

Quicken Loans
Formerly
 Rock Financial (1985–1999)
Private
Industry Mortgage lending
Founded 1985 (1985) (as Rock Financial)
Founder
Headquarters One Campus Martius, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Key people
 Jay Farner (CEO)[1]
Products
Number of employees
 24,000 nationally
Parent Rock Holdings Inc.
Website www.quickenloans.com

Quicken Loans Inc., is a mortgage lending company headquartered in the One Campus Martius building in the heart of the financial district of downtown Detroit, Michigan. In January 2018, the company became the largest overall retail lender in the U.S. (it is also the largest online retail mortgage lender).[2] Unlike other large mortgage lenders that depend on deposits, Quicken Loans relies on wholesale funding to make its loans and uses online applications rather than a branch system.[3] Title Source and One Reverse Mortgage are also part of the Quicken Loans Family of Companies.[4] The company closed more than $400 billion of mortgage volume across all 50 states from 2013 through 2017.[5]

History

Quicken Loans, originally Rock Financial, was founded in 1985 by Dan Gilbert, Gary Gilbert,[6] and Lindsay Gross.[7][8] In July 1987 the name was changed to Rock Financial Corp.

As RFC grew so did the head count, hitting 50 employees in August 1991. In May 1998, Gilbert took Rock Financial public, launching an IPO underwritten by Bear Stearns and Prudential Securities.

In December 1999, Intuit Inc. (makers of QuickBooks, TurboTax, Quicken, and an online lending platform QuickenMortgage) purchased Rock Financial Corp. for $532M. The company was renamed Quicken Loans. In June 2002, Dan Gilbert led a small group of private investors in purchasing the Quicken Loans subsidiary back from Intuit for $64M.[9]

The company started to change course in the late 1990s, shifting from a traditional mortgage provider to an online-focused lender. Traditionally, the home mortgage business in America has been fragmented due to varying regulations in each state and locality. Gilbert challenged this orthodoxy, however, by offering loan applications online that were reviewed by experts versed in the regulations of each region but who were located in a central headquarters.[3]

On November 12, 2007, Gilbert announced a development agreement with the city of Detroit to move the company headquarters downtown, consolidating suburban offices.[10] The construction sites reserved for development by the agreement included the location of the former Statler Hotel on Grand Circus Park and the former Hudson's location.[10] Quicken Loans moved into its downtown headquarters in August 2010. The initial move brought 1,700 employees to the city.[11]

Since 2009, Quicken has leased office space in the Compuware building facing Campus Martius Park in Detroit. The company also houses its employees in Downtown Detroit's First National Building, The Qube, Chrysler House, One Woodward Avenue, and 1001 Woodward, all owned by Quicken Loans' parent company, Rock Ventures.[12]

In the spring of 2008, Rock Holdings entered the reverse mortgage market with the acquisition of One Reverse Mortgage.

The company saw a small drop in employment levels following the 2008 financial crisis.[13][14]

In August 2007, the entire mortgage industry faced a crisis in obtaining new credit from banking institutions and hedge funds. In response, Quicken Loans discontinued:[15]

  • Second mortgages
  • Home equity lines of credit (HELOC)
  • Alt-A products
  • Deferred interest loans

In 2004, Quicken Loans became a defendant in a class action lawsuit. This was filed against the company on behalf of employees who had worked as loan consultants for any Quicken office within the past three years. The claimants alleged that Quicken violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay the plaintiffs overtime for working beyond a 40-hour work week. Quicken Loans denied these claims, and said it is not aware of any such violations of the FLSA. On March 17, 2011, a federal jury found in favor of Quicken Loans, ending the seven-year-old lawsuit. The decision means that Quicken Loans is not obligated to pay overtime payments to the plaintiffs.[16]

In 2014, Quicken Loans grew to be the 2nd largest mortgage lender in the United States, and remains the nation's largest online mortgage lender.[17] The company employs 24,000 people nationwide, with approximately 17,000 now working in the city of Detroit, making it Detroit’s largest employer, minority employer, and taxpayer.[18] [19]

In 2016, Quicken Loans launched Rocket Mortgage, one of the first fully online mortgage lenders.[20]

In January 2018, Quicken Loans became the nation's largest mortgage lender.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.quickenloans.com/press-room/leader/jay-farner/
  2. ↑ Pender, Kathleen (2018-02-01). "Quicken Loans tops Wells Fargo to become No. 1 in retail home loans". San Francisco Chronicle.
  3. 1 2 "A new foundation". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Financial Services | Rock Ventures". www.rockventures.com. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Quicken Loans, the Nation's Largest Mortgage Lender, Among FORTUNE's Top-15 Best Places to Work in America | Quicken Loans Pressroom". Quicken Loans Pressroom. 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  6. ↑ Segal, David (April 13, 2013). "A Missionary's Quest to Remake Motor City". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Emily Slosberg set to run for father's seat in 2018". Sun-Sentinel. May 11, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  8. ↑ Peters, Sarah (February 16, 2017). "Growth, transparency, economics dominate Gardens candidate forum". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  9. ↑ "The 400 richest Americans". Forbes Magazine. August 24, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
  10. 1 2 Howes, Daniel (November 12, 2007).Quicken moving to downtown Detroit.The Detroit News. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.
  11. ↑ Randolph, Ned (November 2, 2011). "Detroit native Dan Gilbert bets big on the city's rebound". Reuters. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  12. ↑ Wayland, Michael (October 11, 2011). "Gilbert's glory: 1,500 Quicken Loans employees move to Detroit, help 'transform downtown'". mLive. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Gilbert: Housing slump hits Quicken". The Detroit News. October 15, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
  14. ↑ "Quicken lays off 250 in Mich., Ariz., Ohio". The Detroit News. June 20, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Gilbert: Mortgage squeeze could be blessing for Quicken". The Detroit Free Press. August 16, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2007.
  16. ↑ Duggan, Daniel (March 17, 2011). "Dan Gilbert: Quicken's triumph in overtime trial "a victory for right over wrong"". Crains Detroit Business.
  17. ↑ Morris, Bill (October 18, 2012). "Finally, a Downtown's Upswing". New York Times. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Rock Ventures on the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies List". Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  19. ↑ King, R.J. (September 5, 2017). "Quicken Loans Family of Companies Surpasses 17K Employees in Detroit, More to Come". D Business. D Business. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  20. ↑ Swanson, Brena (November 24, 2015). "Game changer? Quicken Loans takes mortgage lending fully digital". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Quicken Loans becomes largest U.S. mortgage lender". Detroit News. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
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