Rocket repositions as fintech platform
Detroit-based Rocket Cos. is positioning itself as a fintech platform, and aiming to become the country’s largest provider of purchase mortgages in 2022.
Rocket Cos. is the holding company for personal finance and consumer technology brands, which include Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes, Rocket Loans, Rocket Auto and Amrock.
They’ve set the bar high. Rocket plans to bypass Fargo to become the number one retail provider of purchase mortgages by mid-2024. They believe they can meet that goal because their technology gives them an edge, and the Rocket group can access consumers through multiple channels, including real estate agents, insurance agents, banks and credit unions.
Rocket Mortgage capitalized on the pandemic-induced record-low mortgage rates, funding more than double the company’s 2019 total as homeowners rushed to refinance in 2020. Purchase loans are less profitable than refinancing existing loans, yet Rocket posted its best quarter ever for the former during the three months ending September 30, 2021.
The company plans to grow its share of the mortgage market to 10 percent in 2022 by harnessing its collective power to access consumers through multiple channels. According to Credit Suisse analyst Tim Chiodo, “In many ways, Rocket is the original fintech company.”
Rocket Cos. CEO Jay Farner explains the group’s approach by saying that real fintech is about the backend platform – how they move data and information to drive efficiencies. For Rocket Cos., it means being able to process, underwrite and close mortgages for less than their competitors. That way they have more to spend on growing the business, through marketing etc.
