Guild Holdings Company

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Guild Holdings Company third quarter 2021 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session with instructions to follow at that time. As a reminder, this call will be recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Michael Kim, Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Michael.

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that comments on this conference call may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding the company's expected operating and financial performance for future periods. These statements are based on the company's current expectations. Actual results for future periods may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to a number of risks or other factors that are described in greater detail under risk factors in GILDS Form 10-K and 10-Q and other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, today's remarks will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures, where appropriate, to the corresponding GAAP measures can be found in today's earnings release filed with the SEC as well as on GILD's Investor Relations website. Participating in the call today are Chief Executive Officer Marianne McGarry, President Terry Schmidt, and Chief Financial Officer Amber Kramer. Now, I'd like to turn the call over to Marianne McGarry. Marianne?

Thank you, Michael. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. As I've done in prior calls, I wanted to start by recognizing all Guild employees for their continued dedication and hard work. Their ambition, energy, and determination drive our continued success. As always, I'm joined by our President, Terry Schmidt, and our Chief Financial Officer, Amber Kramer, our Chief Operating Officer, David Nalen will join us for Q&A after our prepared remarks. I'm extremely pleased with our strong results for the third quarter. Key financial highlights included $10 billion of total funded originations, up 23% from the $8.2 billion in the second quarter, and still strong gain-on-sale margins. Through the first nine months of 2021, Year-to-date volumes continued to track meaningfully ahead of 2020 levels, reinforcing the strength and sustainability of our differentiated platform. Turning to our financial results, we generated adjusted net income of $77 million and adjusted earnings per share of $1.27 for the quarter. We remain well positioned as the mix of mortgage volumes continues to shift away from refinances in favor of purchase loans. Refinancing volumes across the industry are typically more volatile and are mostly a function of cyclical interest rates and spreads. Moreover, the refinance business is largely commoditized. In contrast, we compete on service and expertise at the local level, which has driven more consistent growth for Guild across market cycles. Our differentiated, purchase-focused business model separates us from the other lenders by providing a personalized and individualized experience to homebuyers. In fact, purchase loans accounted for 61% of our mortgage volumes in the third quarter compared to just 47% for the industry, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. And our market share within purchase lending increased in the third quarter of this year compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, according to data from CoreLogic. Focusing within the purchase channel, we believe we are well-positioned to continue to capture market share given our well-recognized brand, proprietary technology platform, and long-standing relationships with existing clients. Clients return to us and refer Gill to others year after year, which drives durable volumes and consistent returns across market cycles. and our recently closed acquisition of Residential Mortgage Services, or RMS, further enhances our purchase platform and geographic footprint. The next generation continues to want to buy homes, with growth in the numbers of young people reaching age 31, the average age when they change from renting to owning. We continue to be well-positioned for this growing market because of our focus on first-time home buyers and our growing number of loan officers and branches across the United States, with over 1,200 loan officers across 42 states after the RMS acquisition. Our loan officers in communities leverage their relationships across a network of realtors, builders, and other partners to tap into a recurring stream of loans with 97% of our business in the retail channel. Finally, from a financial perspective, we have managed through all kinds of market cycles and consistently delivered strong returns. Through the first three quarters of 2021, we generated a 38.5% return on equity. So with that, I'd like to turn it over to our president, Terry Schmidt. Terry?