DETROIT — A story published Wednesday by Bloomberg depicts United Wholesale Mortgage Holdings Corp.'s workplace culture as hostile, with allegations of sexual harassment, drug use and racial disparities.
Bloomberg says it interviewed more than two dozen people who worked in recent years at the Pontiac, Michigan, mortgage giant led by billionaire businessman Mat Ishbia. Most of the UWM workers requested anonymity.
The almost 2,500-word report doesn't allege any malfeasant actions by Ishbia, who Bloomberg says wasn't made available for the article. But the employees said some underwriting managers treated Black workers differently from White ones; that unwelcome sexual remarks were frequent among sales staff; that employees shared anecdotes of use of cocaine in the headquarters' stairwells and bathrooms, at a client event and at parties hosted by executives at casinos, restaurants and hotels in the Detroit area.
UWM, in response, called the portrayal of the culture at the lender "false and misleading."
"UWM has been completely transparent with Bloomberg, giving them hours of on-the-record interviews with UWM team members and executives, detailed answers to dozens of questions, and a personal tour of our (more than 1 million) square-foot campus," said Sarah DeCiantis, UWM's chief marketing officer, in a statement.
"We are disappointed that, in the face of the overwhelming and detailed evidence of the real culture at UWM, Bloomberg chose to paint a sensationalized caricature of our company's workplace environment. UWM has operated for almost 40 years and has employed close to 20,000 team members, and we are proud of our people, our accomplishments, and our culture. Our record speaks for itself."
The report comes as UWM seeks to grow its workforce as the spring home-buying season begins; the mortgage lender announced on Wednesday a conventional loan product that allows homebuyers a 1% down payment. The lender is holding a walk-in hiring event on Saturday as it looks to fill 500 entry-level and more experienced positions in information technology, underwriting, sales, marketing and human resources.
UWM, in the third quarter of last year, surpassed crosstown rival Rocket Mortgage as the country's largest mortgage originator. But refinances and home sales from rising interest rates have hit the industry across the board. Although Ishbia has committed to no layoffs, the company has attributed a workforce reduction from more than 8,000 employees to about 6,000 over the course of a year to attrition.
The company frequently trumpets its culture where employees typically are required to work daily from its office, which has a basketball court, gym, doctor's office and cafeteria options, including Starbucks and a replica of Birmingham's Hunter House Hamburgers. The company was named to Fortune's list of best workplaces for Millennials in 2020 before going public in 2021.
In addition to the interviews, Bloomberg cites a complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board in 2021 that UWM settled with back pay. Two Black employees said they were threatened with termination after complaining about wages and hours. UWM told Bloomberg the firing was for poor performance and "worsening negative attitude," and it settled "to avoid the expense of litigating a dispute."
Bloomberg also reported police records showed that during a five-week period in the fall of 2021, UWM security called local police twice to report cocaine found on campus, including dropping a "dime bag" in a stairwell. UWM told Bloomberg it doesn't tolerate drug use, race-based discrimination or sexual harassment and that security hasn't witnessed any drug sales.
