More to the point, 2022 started with a worryingly high inflation rate – 7%, the highest in almost 40 years, and up from last month’s 6.8%.
To rein in inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve now contemplates increasing interest rates by up to four times during the course of the year.
And with companies facing a more competitive market, the expectation is there’ll be lower profit margins and ‘industry consolidation’, a nice sounding euphemism used by industry when the economic outlook is uncertain and companies run into difficulties.
However, Phil Shoemaker (pictured), the president of originations at Homepoint, one of the largest wholesale lenders in the US, is under no illusions and did not pull any punches in an interview with MPA last week.
“It’s generally our collective belief at Homepoint that this is probably going to be one of the worst years, if not the worst, in mortgage banking.