Guaranteed Rate denies toxic workplace accusations

A Chicago Tribune report describing a toxic work environment and instances of verbal and sexual harassment at Guaranteed Rate is a "hit piece," the lender says. 

The article published this past weekend said founder and CEO Victor Ciardelli yelled at and berated executives among other employees. Reporters also spoke to a former Guaranteed Rate loan officer who sued the company and two top performing LOs for gender and sexual harassment. The newspaper said it spoke to nearly 80 employees, reviewed internal company communications and lawsuits. 

A spokesperson for Guaranteed Rate shared a lengthy statement this week slamming the article, denying the article's allegations and suggesting it was fueled by accounts from disgruntled employees. 

"We provided the Chicago Tribune with a tremendous amount of information that debunked the story that was irresponsibly written," the statement read. 

The Chicago-based lender said it provided the Tribune with over 80 testimonials from former executives and women LOs describing their positive experiences at the company. Despite disagreeing with what was written, the company said it wants to "continue to improve."

The firm, one of the nation's top retail lenders, originated $31 billion in loan volume in 2022, according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. It has over 2,000 sponsored mortgage loan originators, Nationwide Multistate Licensing System data shows. The business has rolled out offerings including a 1% down payment loan and products to mitigate high housing costs. 

Guaranteed Rate has been entangled in several lawsuits. It recently filed a claim to claw back over $500,000 from a former vice president of mortgage lending, who according to an agreement allegedly owes the sum after leaving the company within a specified period. The lender filed hundreds of similar complaints against ex-workers last year, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

The company has been a plaintiff, and defendant, in theft of trade secrets cases. The Tribune also reported Guaranteed Rate settled six claims involving accusations of a hostile work environment, through arbitration, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state agencies; the company told the newspaper that at least one of those was resolved in the lender's favor.

Sources described a sexualized atmosphere at the company in which male LOs routinely harassed women. One former Chicago employee told the Tribune her manager encouraged her to text a selfie, flirt with and endure harassment from a customer until his loan closed. 

Former loan officer Megan McDermott is suing the company and two employees for 14 counts, including harassment and wage violations. Her hostile work environment claims stem from a lewd comment her supervisor made toward her in 2015, which her regional manager pressured her not to report. The boss' behavior continued through her employment. 

The lender allegedly refused to pay McDermott higher commissions, as she was entitled to as a top performer, and did not pay her outstanding sums after she resigned in 2022. McDermott is now a loan officer at CrossCountry Mortgage, and the lawsuit remains pending in a New Jersey state court. 

Guaranteed Rate in its response did not address the litigation. 

The company had nearly 10,000 employees at the height of the refinance boom, according to the Tribune. It purchased Stearns Holdings in January 2021, but shut down that wholesale operation the following year. It laid off thousands of employees as the market has slowed, with the newspaper reporting 3,871 workers at the firm as of April.