Guild Mortgage finalizing a deal to go private via a $1.3 billion acquisition by Bayview Asset Management piqued the attention of some recruiters.
Inquiries to Guild's originator talent are coming in, the firm's originators and industry stakeholders claim.
"I can confirm the phone is ringing off the hook with recruiters," Geoff Black, originator at Guild, wrote in a LinkedIn post discussing the matter. "The news broke and it was like a trigger lead. A little off-putting to be honest."Another Guild branch manager also noted that "calls have ramped up," which he called "annoying," but "a part of the business."
San Diego-based Guild Mortgage is a purchase-heavy shop, which may be why their employees are in high demand. About 88% of the firm's volume came from purchases in the first quarter of 2025, much higher than the 71% average for lenders,
The mortgage lender, which was founded in 1960, has over 2,700 sponsored loan officers, per the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System.
Prior to opting to sell, Guild Mortgage was pushing to expand its market share nationwide, by organically hiring employees and acquiring
Why some mortgage recruiters see opportunity
One recruiter who is currently moving a group of Guild originators to a competitor noted the firm made a few decisions following the announcement that it would be acquired that could affect the pace at which LOs leave the company.
The recruiter pointed out that Guild selectively offered stay-on-bonuses to a very specific number of originators and not all. It is a practice implemented often by other firms, but one that can be costly, they added.
"As a retention strategy, don't give selective bonuses. People don't want to be picked over their friends," they said."That's a tragic mistake."
Guild has also allegedly refused to improve pricing, the recruiter claims.Both of those things have created a promising landscape for recruiters to exploit anxiety about the sale.
Though recruiting calls have poured in, the volume of outreach has varied, according to a number of Guild employees contacted.
Doug Wall, a Guild originator, noted that the pace of recruiter outreach "has been overblown for sure."
"People are starting to more fully understand the big upside to this acquisition, and therefore understand that there is no real reason for any loan officer to leave Guild because of it," Wall added.
Regarding the stay-on-bonus, Greg Sher, managing director at NFM Lending, mentioned in a recent post that one of the terms that was shared with him by a Guild employee "called for a retention in the neighborhood of 40 basis points on the last 12 months production."
"A much larger percentage to be paid 6 months after the deal closed, plus a three year clawback. I'm told terms differ, depending on production levels (naturally)," Sher's post said.
Guild Mortgage did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Originators at Guild taking a wait-and-see approach
Overall, Guild employees have expressed a positive outlook on the pending acquisition, expected to
Dede Stoner, a Montana-based branch manager, noted the merger will give Guild "access [to] more products and more capital, creating the opportunity to serve more customers." "Most importantly, Guild will still be Guild," she said in a written statement. "We will operate as an independent company strategically aligned with our new sister company Lakeview. I have full trust in Guild's decisions and being able to help clients with their home loans in the same capacity or better."
Sources interviewed say Guild decided to merge with Bayview not out of financial strife, but because it sees potential to grow and operate without the headwinds of being a publicly traded company.Guild will retain independent operations in the acquisition but also partner closely with Bayview affiliate Lakeview Loan Servicing, according to the two companies' agreement.
"I give a lot of credit to Terry for making smart conservative moves," said Black. "The current implication is existing LO's will eventually have access to leads generated from the gigantic servicing base from Bayview. What LO doesn't want to hear that!"
"At the same time, the more 'company generated' leads enter the picture, the more the LO can get diminished - lower comp. Less freedom. Who knows how it will shake out," the LO added.
The proposed transaction could be part of a broader trend of growing integration between lenders and servicers, as exemplified by
