Quicken Loans

Quicken Loans
Formerly called
 Rock Financial (1985–1999)
Private
Industry Mortgage lending
Founded 1985 (1985) (as Rock Financial)
Founder
Headquarters One Campus Martius, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Products
Number of employees
 16,000 nationally
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 2012, it became the second largest overall retail lender in the U.S. (it is also the largest online retail mortgage lender).[1] 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.[2] Title Source and One Reverse Mortgage are also part of the Quicken Loans Family of Companies.[3] Quicken Loans closed $79 billion in home loan volume in 2015.[4]

History

Quicken Loans, originally Rock Financial, was founded in 1985 by Dan Gilbert, Ron Berman, Gary Gilbert and Lindsay Gross.[5] 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, and Quicken) 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.[6]

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.[2]

On November 12, 2007, Gilbert announced a development agreement with the city of Detroit to move the company headquarters downtown, consolidating suburban offices.[7] 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.[7] Quicken Loans moved into its downtown headquarters in August 2010. The initial move brought 1,700 employees to the city.[8]

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.[9]

In 2014, Quicken Loans has grown to be the 2nd largest mortgage lender in the United States, and remains the nation's largest online mortgage lender.[10] The company employs 16,000 people[11], with 12,000 now working in the city of Detroit.[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]

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]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Biggest Mortgage Lenders in 2012". Yahoo! Finance (Press release). MortgageDaily.com. 2013-02-25. Archived from the original on 2013-03-24. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  2. 1 2 "A new foundation". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  3. ↑ "Financial Services | Rock Ventures". www.rockventures.com. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  4. ↑ "Mortgage Daily 2015 Biggest Lender Ranking - Mortgage Daily ranking of originators and servicers | March 28, 2016 | Mortgage Daily". www.mortgagedaily.com. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  5. ↑ Segal, David (April 13, 2013). "A Missionary's Quest to Remake Motor City". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "The 400 richest Americans". Forbes Magazine. 2007-08-24. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
  7. 1 2 Howes, Daniel (November 12, 2007).Quicken moving to downtown Detroit.The Detroit News. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.
  8. ↑ Randolph, Ned (2 November 2011). "Detroit native Dan Gilbert bets big on the city's rebound". Reuters. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Wayland, Michael (11 October 2011). "Gilbert's glory: 1,500 Quicken Loans employees move to Detroit, help 'transform downtown'". mLive. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  10. ↑ Morris, Bill (18 October 2012). "Finally, a Downtown's Upswing". New York Times. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  11. ↑ "Fast Facts | Quicken Loans Pressroom". Quicken Loans Pressroom. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  12. ↑ "Rocket Mortgage propels record Quicken Loans growth". Crain's Detroit Business. 2017-03-06. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  13. ↑ "Gilbert: Housing slump hits Quicken". The Detroit News. 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  14. ↑ "Quicken lays off 250 in Mich., Ariz., Ohio". The Detroit News. 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  15. ↑ "Gilbert: Mortgage squeeze could be blessing for Quicken". The Detroit Free Press. 2007-08-16. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  16. ↑ Duggan, Daniel (March 17, 2011). "Dan Gilbert: Quicken's triumph in overtime trial "a victory for right over wrong"". Crains Detroit Business.
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