In a conversation with HousingWire’s Allison LaForgia, Onity Group Chair, President and CEO Glen Messina outlined the company’s transformation and the significance of rebranding PHH Mortgage to Onity Mortgage.
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#OnityMortgage #MortgageInnovation #CustomerExperience #DigitalTransformation
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00:04I'm Allison LaForgia with HousingWire, and today I'm sitting down with Glenn Messina,
00:10the chair, president, and CEO of Onity Group. Glenn, thank you so much for sitting down with
00:15me today. Thank you, Allison. It's great to be here and I appreciate the opportunity.
00:20Now, recently you had a really big announcement where PHH Mortgage officially changed its name
00:27to Onity Mortgage. Can you tell me what this rebrand means for your company?
00:33Absolutely. Allison, rebranding our mortgage business to Onity Mortgage is the super exciting
00:40milestone in our transformation journey. The process started about seven years ago with the
00:46goal of growing and expanding our business into a balanced and diversified mortgage originator and
00:52servicer. And as you know, we rebranded our parent company to Onity Group in 2024. The rebrand to Onity
01:02Mortgage aligns the entire company under the Onity brand with a common identity and purpose and vision,
01:09which is to deliver unparalleled performance and value for our customers. So, you know, this is
01:15not just a name change for us. It reflects the company we're transforming ourselves into, a growing
01:22technology-enabled, customer-centric originator and servicer. Glenn, talk to me a little bit about how Onity
01:29Mortgage has evolved since the transformation and the rebrand journey began.
01:36Yeah, Allison, it has been, I think, just a terrific journey with the team here. So, you know, at the
01:42start of
01:43our transformation, we were primarily a special servicer with large client concentrations, a shrinking
01:50portfolio, and very little negligible origination capabilities. Since then, we've rebuilt the business
01:57from the ground up into today what's a growing top 10 non-bank mortgage originator, servicer, and
02:03subservicer. Our origination segment was built essentially from scratch. Today, we have a multi-channel
02:10originations platform with multiple customer interfaces and, you know, capabilities with
02:16diverse products and services that span the mortgage lifecycle to meet our client's unique needs.
02:23In our servicing segment, we serve over 1.4 million consumers, over 4,000 investors, and over 100
02:29subservicing clients. We serve as forward, reverse, business purpose, residential, and small balance
02:36commercial mortgages. You know, one of the more exciting parts of our transformation journey is
02:41we modernized our technology platforms and implemented AI-driven applications enabled by
02:49our award-winning robotic process automation and technology innovation lab to enhance performance
02:55and competitiveness. And, you know, a few examples of the AI-driven enhancements we've made include
03:01deploying robotic process automation across more than 200 processes, which saves us roughly 85,000
03:10manual hours of work per month. Nearly 90% of our customer requests are now handled digitally,
03:18including 30,000 chatbot interactions monthly. And about 25 million documents are processed monthly
03:25through intelligent document recognition. So, you know, what we're doing from a technology perspective
03:31is making a huge impact on our business, especially in servicing, which is being recognized by the
03:38industry as a top performer. We're proud of the fact that for five consecutive years, we've been
03:44recognized by Fannie Mae and or Freddie Mac for top tier servicing performance, and we've achieved HUD's tier
03:51one servicing status as well five years consecutively. Our net promoter score, NPS, which is how we measure
03:58customer satisfaction. You know, the realtor is really strong. Our customer call center is rated at
04:05a 47 NPS. Subservicing client overall satisfaction is 61 NPS. Correspondent client satisfaction, 70 NPS.
04:14And retail lending, customer satisfaction is an 83 NPS. And, you know, these net promoter score levels
04:21are comparable to the likes of Amazon and Google and Apple, and really a testament to the advancements
04:28we're making and the tremendous dedication and commitment of our team.
04:33Well, I have to congratulate you. I mean, those numbers really speak for themselves. And the year
04:38over year success is just absolutely impressive. And I'm going to ask you to pull the curtain a little
04:46bit so we can hear a little bit more about how Onity has seen success in implementing some of the
04:53the strategy that you just touched on. Yeah, Allison, you know, we're excited about how far
05:00we've come and the momentum we're creating in our business. And to give you a sense for
05:04the success we're having, as we stated on our fourth quarter earnings call, Onity delivered record
05:10performance in 2025. So, you know, on the origination side, 42% year-over-year growth in volume versus
05:17about 18% for the industry. We're delivering top tier recapture performance as compared to our peers
05:23in the ice reported averages. We increased our total servicing portfolio by about 9% year-over-year.
05:29That includes owned mortgage servicing rights growth and new subservicing client signings.
05:36We've expanded our use of AI and technologies, as we just spoke about. We've launched new products and
05:41services to expand growth opportunities and enhance the customer experience. That includes
05:47revised closed-end second mortgage products and a new suite of proprietary non-QM products known as
05:53FlexIQ. And I, you know, I believe the results were delivering reflect strong execution against the
06:00sound strategy of balance and diversification, prudent capital-like growth, industry-leading cost
06:06structure, top-tier operating performance, and dynamic asset management. You know, Alison, we're just not the
06:13same company from years past. We're better, we're stronger. And here, rebranding to Onity represents this
06:21change and the confidence we have in our future.
06:25Now, I want to touch on that a little bit more. Speaking of Onity, tell us where the Onity name
06:33actually
06:33came from.
06:35How, you know, the Onity name is really inspired by our mantra, and that mantra is, we're on it.
06:43And, you know, we, that phrase is used commonly in our business when, you know, somebody is asked to do
06:48something, they say, we're on it. So, you know, really, this is about building a brand around the
06:53customer with the promise of dependability, performance, and support. We also have a tagline,
07:00we get it done, which speaks to our commitment of delivering results and following through.
07:06We did a lot of research, interviews, focus groups, market analysis, and the one consistent
07:12theme we heard loud and clear is that customers, whether it be borrowers, business clients, or investors,
07:20you know, they want reliability and results. They want complex mortgage decisions made simple and free of
07:26frustration from their perspective. And, look, I couldn't be more proud of our team. We have a tremendous
07:33staff, I think it's the best team in the industry, and they, they get it, they understand our customers needs
07:39and
07:39what their expectations are. And, you know, to help instill the meaning of the Onity brand message within our
07:47culture, we use what we call three brand pillars. The first one is customer first. And that's all about being
07:54relentless and creating success for our customers. The second one is better together. And that's about
08:02the value of building partnerships and collaborations with our customers and inside the organization,
08:09and not necessarily focusing on everything as a transaction. And then lastly, is the phrase we say
08:17we do. And that's about delivering our promises every time. Again, just super proud of our employees and our
08:24culture in affecting this transformation for the company. We strive to deliver on our commitments
08:30and get it done for our customers, our partners and our shareholders. And that's really what we want
08:35our brand to be all about. What a fantastic name. What a fantastic strategy, unifying what you're intending
08:44to do and the execution that you've had. So I'm going to, I'm going to dig in a little bit
08:49more,
08:49Glenn. I'm going to ask you what the next year or so is going to look like for Onity.
08:56Allison, first and foremost, you know, we plan on continuing to build on the momentum we have from
09:03a financial and operational perspective. Our, our priorities for, for 2026 are to accelerate
09:10organic growth, deliver a differentiated operating performance and elevate the customer experience.
09:15And, you know, to achieve these priorities, our focus for 26 is pretty straightforward. It's all
09:21about investing where it matters most, simplifying where it makes sense and executing the discipline.
09:27From an investment perspective, we're primarily focused on organic growth because we believe it's
09:33more sustainable. However, we will evaluate M&A opportunities where it makes sense for us and where
09:39we think it can create value for our shareholders. We'll also continue to invest in technology to drive
09:45superior operating outcomes and improve the customer experience and reduce all in cost.
09:52Regarding simplification, one example of how we're simplifying our business is the transition
09:57of a deeply delinquent subservicing portfolio back to the client, which will help us improve
10:04the performance characteristics of our overall servicing portfolio and allow us to focus our people on
10:11higher value, higher growth opportunities. And then, you know, lastly, regarding execution,
10:18I think our team has shown an incredible ability to execute our priorities and deliver results regardless
10:24of what's happening in the environment. And wow, this year is proving to be a dynamic and volatile
10:33environment given given what's happening in the geopolitical landscape. And, you know, right now, you know, I think you
10:40need to have the agility and resiliency to navigate volatility in the market. And we believe our team has
10:47demonstrated this ability on a number of occasions in the past, and we feel we can persevere in an unpredictable
10:53market. You know, part of that is because of our balanced business. And we believe our balanced business across
10:59originations and servicing enables us to perform through market cycles. And we like how we're positioned
11:06this year and the momentum we're coming into the year with.
11:10That's fantastic. I can't wait to watch the growth that you continue to have into 2026 and beyond.
11:16I'm going to get your thoughts on a slightly different topic, but one that is certainly in the news a
11:22lot these days.
11:23Given Onity Mortgage is a major servicer and subservicer, what are your thoughts on the recent acquisition announcements?
11:34Allison, it sure has been busy in the mortgage industry. And, you know, over the past couple of years,
11:42the number of subservicing platforms that have changed hands is really unprecedented.
11:49And, you know, it's been a big catalyst for subservicing growth opportunity.
11:53And if you go all the way back to the second quarter of 2023 through today,
11:59there were nine subservicers who changed hands or where there was a change in control transaction.
12:07You know, some of them, Mr. Cooper and Rushmore, you know, Two Harbors acquired Roundpoint,
12:12Rhythm acquired SLS, Mr. Cooper acquired Flagstar, then Sixth Street acquired SPS,
12:18and Rocket acquired Mr. Cooper, and Rhythm announced the, you know, the Valen operating systems deal,
12:25PFSI acquired SINLAR, and then CrossCountry most recently acquired Two Harbors.
12:30You know, it just seems like every quarter there's an announcement of a new deal.
12:35And yeah, anytime you have this kind of disruption in the marketplace, it creates opportunity.
12:41And change control transactions typically give subservicing clients a reason to rethink and
12:47explore their options and alternatives. And Allison, at the end of the day, that's good for us.
12:54It creates an opportunity to talk to new clients, to introduce them to Onity and what we can do.
13:00And, you know, that's helped us, you know, grow our subservicing business quite nicely.
13:05You know, we, you know, in 2025, we recorded total subservicing additions of $48 billion in
13:12servicing UPB. You know, we have another $28 billion of new boardings that we expect in the
13:19first half of this year. We've signed eight new clients up that are going to be boarding in the
13:24first half of 2026 and eight new contracts under negotiation. So, look, a lot of this
13:34disruption is certainly translating into opportunity for us. And we love the momentum that we have here.
13:39We feel great about our high performing technology enabled servicing platform and our ability to
13:45deliver differentiated performance for clients. And again, I believe this disruption that we're
13:50seeing as a result of acquisitions and change of control transactions really is a positive for
13:56Onity. So, I love how we're positioned for growth in this segment.
14:02Fantastic. And is there anything else you'd like to add that we didn't get to cover in this interview?
14:08Um, Allison, look, I've really enjoyed the opportunity to chat with you here today.
14:13You know, maybe just to sum up our conversation with perhaps three points. First, Onity Mortgage reflects
14:22a transformed organization. We are not the company we were from years past. We're stronger,
14:27we're better, we're a technology-enabled, customer-centric originator and servicer that's
14:33focused on delivering unparalleled value for our customers.
14:39Um, second, you know, our track record of strong execution is driving measurable results,
14:45and that includes record originations growth, top-tier recapture performance, expanded servicing
14:50scale, strong client and customer satisfaction, and continuing investments in new product and
14:56technology. And, you know, third and lastly, you know, look, we believe we're very well positioned for
15:02sustainable growth. We have a clear focus, um, on disciplined investments, simplification and
15:08execution. Allison, look, I'm just super proud of the team and how far we come. I feel great about
15:14our people and capabilities, and I'm excited about the future and, uh, appreciate so much the opportunity
15:20to, uh, share our thoughts about the company with you. Glenn, thank you so much for taking the time to
15:26sit down with me today. Congratulations again on Onity Mortgage, and I can't wait to see what's next for
15:32Onity Group. Thanks, Allison. Appreciate you.
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