PennyMac Financial Services Inc

The following description of our business should be read in conjunction with the information included elsewhere in this Report. This description contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ significantly from the projections and results discussed in the forward-looking statements due to the factors described under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Report. References in this Report to “we,” “our,” “us,” and the “Company” refer to PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (“PFSI”) and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Our Company

We are a specialty financial services firm with a comprehensive mortgage platform and integrated business primarily focused on the production and servicing of U.S. residential mortgage loans (activities which we refer to as mortgage banking) and the management of investments related to the U.S. mortgage market. We believe that our operating capabilities, specialized expertise, access to long-term investment capital, and our management’s experience across all aspects of the mortgage business will allow us to profitably grow these activities over time and capitalize on other related opportunities as they arise.

We operate and control all of the business and affairs and consolidate the financial results of Private National Mortgage Acceptance Company, LLC (“PNMAC”) and its subsidiaries described below:

We conduct our business in three segments: production, servicing (together, production and servicing comprise our mortgage banking activities) and investment management.

Following is a summary of our segments’ results:

Mortgage Banking

Loan Production

Our loan production segment sources new prime credit quality residential conventional and government-insured or guaranteed mortgage loans through three channels: correspondent production, consumer direct lending and broker direct lending as described below.

Correspondent Production

In correspondent production we manage, on behalf of PMT and for our own account, the purchase from non-affiliates of mortgage loans that have been underwritten to investor guidelines. Our correspondent loans historically have been directed to each entity based on the guarantor of the mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) created from the loans: our production focus has historically been on loans insured or guaranteed by the FHA, VA or USDA for sale into MBS guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, whereas PMT’s production focus has been on loans that can be sold into MBS guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. In 2022, we began to acquire certain loans for our own account that can be sold into MBS guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The mortgage loan production arrangement between us and PMT exists, in part, because PMT is not approved as an issuer of Ginnie Mae guaranteed MBS. As a result, PMT sells the government-insured or guaranteed loans that it purchases from correspondent sellers to us and we pay PMT a sourcing fee ranging from one to two basis points, based on the average number of calendar days that PMT holds loans before our purchase. We generally pool the government-insured or guaranteed loans into Ginnie Mae guaranteed MBS and then sell such MBS to institutional investors. We also purchase certain conventional loans from PMT under the same agreement.

In our correspondent production activities, for loans we source for our own account, we earn loan origination fees from the correspondent sellers, interest income on the loans during the time we hold such loans, gains or losses from the date we make a commitment to purchase the loans through the sale of these loans, and, in connection with such sales, we generally retain and recognize the fair value of the contractual rights to service the loans on behalf of the purchaser of the loans. These servicing contracts are referred to as mortgage servicing rights (“MSRs”).

In our loan fulfillment activities in support of PMT’s correspondent production activities and only for loans purchased for PMT’s account, we earn fulfillment fees and tax service fees. We may also serve as a correspondent seller of newly originated loans from our consumer direct and broker direct lending channels to PMT under a mortgage loan purchase agreement. When we sell loans to PMT, PMT obtains the MSRs relating to such loans. As such, our gains on sales of loans to PMT are primarily cash gains.

Consumer Direct Lending

Through our consumer direct lending channel, we originate mortgage loans on a national basis. Our consumer direct model relies on the Internet and call center-based staff to acquire and interact with customers across the country. We do not have a “brick and mortar” branch network.

In our consumer direct lending activities, we earn loan origination fees from the borrower, interest income during the time we hold the loan before sale, gains or losses from the date we make a commitment to fund the loan through the sale of these loans, and, in sales to entities other than to PMT, we retain and recognize the fair value of the associated MSRs. To the extent we refinance loans that we subservice for PMT where PMT owns the related MSRs, we are generally required to pay PMT a recapture fee.

Broker Direct Lending

In broker direct lending, we obtain loan application packages from nonaffiliated mortgage loan brokers, underwrite and fund the resulting loans for sale. In our broker direct lending activities, we earn origination fees and interest income, gains or losses from the date we make a commitment to fund the loan through the sale of these loans, and, in sales to entities other than PMT, we retain and recognize the fair value of the associated MSRs.

Our loan production activities are summarized below:

The effect of our loan production transactions with PMT on our financial statements are summarized below:

Loan Servicing

Our loan servicing segment performs loan administration, collection, and default management activities, including the collection and remittance of loan payments; responding to customer inquiries; providing accounting for principal and interest; holding custodial (impounded) funds for the payment of property taxes and insurance premiums; counseling delinquent borrowers; administering loss mitigation activities, including modification and forbearance programs; and supervising foreclosures and property dispositions.

We service loans both as the owner of MSRs and mortgage servicing liabilities (“MSLs”) and as the subservicer on behalf of PMT.

The UPB of our loan servicing portfolio is summarized below:

Our responsibilities and risks relating to loans we service in arrangements where we own the MSRs or MSLs differ from those where we act as subservicer for the owner of the servicing rights. As the owner of the servicing rights:

As the subservicer for the owner of servicing rights, we do not carry the related MSRs or MSLs on our balance sheet and therefore do not recognize or hedge changes in the fair value of MSRs or MSLs and are generally not responsible for financing the advance of corporate funds to protect the loan owners’ interest in the collateral securing such loans. As a result, the fees we earn from such arrangements are generally less on a per-loan basis than those we earn from holding MSRs and MSLs.

Following is a summary of our net loan servicing fees:

Investment Management

We are an investment manager through our subsidiary, PCM, which provides investment management services to PMT. We earn management fees as a percentage of PMT’s net assets and may earn incentive compensation based on PMT’s investment performance.

Following is a summary of our management fee revenue:

Our Business Strategies

Our business strategies include:

Consumer Direct Lending

We expect to grow our consumer direct lending business over time by leveraging our growing servicing portfolio through the recapture of existing customers for refinance and purchase-money loans as well as increasing our non-portfolio originations. As our servicing portfolio grows, we will have a greater number of leads to pursue, which we believe will lead to greater origination activity through our consumer direct business. As of December 31, 2023, we serviced 2.4 million loans. In 2023, 2022 and 2021, we funded $4.8 billion, $15.4 billion and $43.1 billion of mortgage loans, respectively, through our consumer direct lending channel as market interest rates increased and refinance volumes decreased. We believe that our national call center model and our technology will enable us to drive origination process efficiencies and best-in-class customer service.

Broker Direct Lending

According to Inside Mortgage Finance, the broker lending channel represented approximately 16% of U.S. residential mortgage originations in 2023. In 2023, 2022 and 2021, we funded $8.1 billion, $6.9 billion and $16.8 billion of mortgage loans, respectively, through our wholesale-broker channel, which is comprised of loans from both the broker segment as well as loans purchased through our non-delegated correspondent segment. We plan on growing our mortgage loan volume in this channel through the addition of new broker and non-delegated partner relationships, as well as expansion of existing relationships enabled by our leading broker technology platform.

Correspondent Lending

We expect to support our correspondent production market share by expanding the number and types of sellers from which we purchase loans. We also expect to increase the proportion of our sellers’ production volumes that we purchase as we continue to expand to the loan products and services we offer. We believe that we are well positioned to continue generating significant business in this channel based on our management expertise in the correspondent production business, our relationships with correspondent sellers, and our supporting systems and processes. In 2023, 2022 and 2021, we purchased $71.6 billion, $49.7 billion and $64.8 billion of mortgage loans, respectively, through our correspondent lending channel. In 2023, 2022, and 2021, we also fulfilled $14.9 billion, $37.1 billion and $110.0 billion of mortgage loans subject to fulfillment fees, respectively, for PMT.

Mortgage Loan Servicing

We expect to grow our servicing portfolio through loan production activities, as our correspondent production for our own account and consumer and broker direct lending add new servicing for owned MSRs, and correspondent conventional production for PMT’s account adds new subservicing. We or PMT may also grow our servicing portfolio through acquisitions. In 2023, our loan production totaled $99.4 billion in UPB. Our MSRs were backed by loans with UPBs totaling $370.2 billion as of December 31, 2023.

Expansion into New Markets and Products

We regularly evaluate opportunities to grow our business, including expansion into new markets and providing additional services to our customers directly or through external partnerships. We continue to develop new products to satisfy demand from customers in each of our production channels and respond to changing circumstances in the market for mortgage-related financing. For example, our recently introduced closed-end second lien mortgage loan is offered to certain borrowers and is secured by a second lien on the mortgaged property subordinate to the rights of the first lien mortgage holder as well as other potential senior liens.

U.S. Mortgage Market

The U.S. residential mortgage market is one of the largest financial markets in the world, with approximately $16.0 trillion of outstanding debt as of September 30, 2023. According to Inside Mortgage Finance, first lien mortgage loan origination volume was approximately $1.4 trillion in 2023. Many of the largest financial institutions, primarily banks which had historically held the majority of the market share in mortgage origination and servicing, have reduced their participation in the mortgage market creating opportunities for non-bank participants.

Competition

The residential mortgage industry is characterized by high barriers to entry, including the necessity for approvals required to sell loans to and service loans for the Agencies, state licensing requirements for non-federally chartered banks, sophisticated infrastructure, technology, risk management, and processes required for successful operations, and financial capital requirements.

Given the diverse and specialized nature of our businesses, we do not believe we have a direct competitor for the totality of our business. We compete with a number of nationally-focused companies in each of our businesses.

In our loan production and servicing segments, we compete with large financial institutions, including the cash windows of the GSEs, and with other independent residential mortgage loan producers and servicers, such as Rocket Mortgage, Mr. Cooper and United Wholesale Mortgage.

In our loan production segment, we compete primarily on the basis of customer service, marketing penetration, customer network, product offerings, technical knowledge, manufacturing quality, speed of execution, and rates and fees.

In our servicing segment, we compete primarily on the basis of experience in the residential loan servicing business, quality and efficiency of execution and servicing performance.

In our investment management segment, we compete for capital with both traditional and alternative investment managers. We compete primarily on the basis of historical track record of risk-adjusted returns, experience of investment management team, the return profile of prospective investment opportunities and on the level of fees and expenses.

Seasonality/Cyclicality

The demand for loan originations is affected by consumer demand for home loans. Demand for home loans generally comes from the demand for loans made to finance the purchase of homes and the demand for loans made to refinance existing loans.

The demand for loans made to finance the purchase of homes is most significantly influenced by the overall strength of the economy, housing prices and availability and societal factors such as household formation and government support for homeownership.

The demand for loans made to refinance existing loans is most significantly influenced by movements in interest rates and, to a lesser extent, to changes in property values and employment.

Human Capital Resources

Our long-term growth and success is highly dependent upon our employees and our ability to maintain a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds, ideas and perspectives. As part of these efforts, we strive to offer competitive compensation and benefits, foster a community where everyone feels a greater sense of belonging and purpose, and provide employees with the opportunity to give back and make an impact in the communities where we live and serve.

We had approximately 3,900 domestic employees as of the end of fiscal year 2023. As of the end of fiscal year 2023, our workforce was 51.8% female and 48.2% male, and the ethnicity of our workforce was 44.3% White, 23.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Black or African American, 14.2% Asian and 4.1% other (which includes American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and “Two or More Races” as defined in our EE0-1 Report filed with the Department Labor).

Employee Retention and Development

We believe in attracting, developing and engaging the best talent, while providing a supportive work environment that prioritizes the health and safety of our employees. Talent development is a critical component of the employee experience and ensures that all employees have career growth opportunities, including establishing development networks and relationships and fostering continued growth and learning. Employees receive regular business and compliance training to help further enhance their career development objectives. We also actively manage enterprise-wide and divisional mentoring programs and have partnered with an external vendor to establish a comprehensive, fully integrated wellness program designed to enhance the productivity of our employees.

Compensation and Succession Planning

Our compensation programs are designed to motivate and reward employees who possess the necessary skills to support our business strategy and create long-term value for our stockholders. Employee compensation may include base salary, annual cash incentives, and long-term equity incentives, as well as life insurance and 401(k) plan matching contributions. We also offer a comprehensive selection of health and welfare benefits to our employees including emotional well-being support and paid parental leave programs. Succession planning is also critical to our operations and we have established ongoing evaluations of our leadership depth and succession capabilities.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe that building a diverse, equitable and inclusive, high-performing workforce where our employees bring varied perspectives and experiences to work every day creates a positive influence in our workplace, community and business operations. Our Board of Directors, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, Compensation Committee, and Risk Committee provide regular oversight of our corporate sustainability program, including our diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives.

We have also taken proactive measures to strategically and sustainably advance equity in the workplace through our Business Resource Groups (“BRG”), diversity initiatives, mentorship programs, and external partnerships with organizations such as the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America. We also established leadership goals and created customized initiatives that focus on our continued effort to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in management positions throughout our company and its business divisions.

As it relates to our inclusive culture, we established the following BRGs to emphasize career growth, networking, and learning opportunities for employees and allies with shared backgrounds and experiences: the BOLD BRG (for Black and African American employees and allies), the HOLA BRG (for Hispanic, Latino and Latinx employees and allies), the InspirASIAN BRG (for our Asian American and Pacific Islander employees and allies), the Pennymac PRIDE BRG (for our LGBTQIA employees and allies), the SERVE BRG (for our veteran and military family employees and allies), and the wEMRG BRG (for our women employees and allies). We also foster a more inclusive culture through a variety of initiatives, including corporate training, special events, community outreach and corporate philanthropy.

Community Involvement

We have a corporate philanthropy program that is governed by a philosophy of giving that prioritizes the support of causes and issues that are important in our local communities, and drives a culture of employee engagement and collaboration throughout our organization. We are committed to empowering our employees to be a positive influence in the communities where we live and serve, and believe that this commitment supports our efforts to attract and engage employees and improve retention.

Our philanthropy program consists of three key components: an employee matching gift program, a charitable grants program and a corporate sponsorship program. Our five philanthropic focus areas are: community development and equitable housing, financial literacy and economic inclusion, human and social services, health and medical research, and environmental sustainability.

We have established a separate donor advised fund to facilitate donations to various local and national charitable organizations and have provided funding to several charitable organizations located near our office sites and national organizations that support missions such as sustainable homeownership, mortgage and rental assistance, food insecurity, disaster recovery, family and child advocacy, and community empowerment. We also manage our environmental impact by focusing on improving our waste reduction, energy efficiency and water conservation.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Our business is subject to extensive federal, state and local regulation. The CFPB is responsible for ensuring consumers are provided with timely and understandable information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions, federal consumer financial laws are enforced and consumers are protected from unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices and from discrimination. Although the CFPB’s actions may improve consumer protection, such actions also have resulted in a meaningful increase in costs to consumers and financial services companies including mortgage originators and servicers.

Our loan production and loan servicing operations are subject to federal requirements and are regulated at the state level by state licensing authorities and administrative agencies. We, along with certain PNMAC employees who engage in regulated activities, must apply for licensing as a mortgage banker or lender, loan servicer and debt collector pursuant to applicable state law. These state licensing requirements typically require an application process, the payment of fees, background checks and administrative review.

Our servicing operations are licensed (or exempt or otherwise not required to be licensed) to service mortgage loans in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the United States Virgin Islands. Our consumer direct lending business is licensed to originate loans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

From time to time, we receive requests from states and Agencies and various investors for records, documents and information regarding our policies, procedures and practices regarding our loan production and loan servicing business activities, and undergo periodic examinations by federal and state regulatory agencies. We incur significant ongoing costs to comply with these licensing and examination requirements.

The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (the “SAFE Act”) requires all states to enact laws that require all individuals acting in the United States as mortgage loan originators to be individually licensed or registered if they intend to offer mortgage loan products. These licensing requirements include enrollment in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, application to state regulators for individual licenses and the completion of pre-licensing education, annual education and the successful completion of both national and state exams.

We must comply with a number of federal consumer protection laws, including, among others:

Many of these laws are further impacted by the SAFE Act and implementation of new rules by the CFPB.

Our senior management team has established a comprehensive compliance management system ("CMS") that is designed to ensure compliance with applicable mortgage origination and servicing laws and regulations. The components of our CMS include: (a) oversight by senior management and our Board of Directors to ensure that our compliance culture, guidance, and resources are appropriate; (b) a compliance program to ensure that our policies, training and monitoring activities are complete and comprehensive; (c) a complaint management program to ensure that consumer complaints are appropriately addressed and that any required actions are implemented on a timely basis; and (d) independent oversight to ensure that our CMS is functioning as designed.

An important component of the CMS is management’s Mortgage Regulatory Compliance Committee (“MRCC”). This committee oversees the CMS and supports our cultural initiatives that reinforce the importance of regulatory compliance. The MRCC also monitors changes in the internal and external environment, approves mortgage compliance policies, monitors compliance with those policies and ensures any required remediation is implemented on a timely basis. The MRCC has identified individuals throughout the organization to oversee specific areas of compliance. MRCC membership includes senior management from all areas of the Company impacted by mortgage compliance laws and regulations. The MRCC meets on a regular basis throughout the year.

Intellectual Property

We rely on a combination of trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, as well as confidentiality and contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technologies. We hold or have otherwise applied for various registered trademarks, including trademarks with respect to the name Pennymac and various additional designs and word marks relating to the Pennymac name. Depending upon the jurisdiction, trademarks generally are valid as long as they are in use and/or their registrations are properly maintained. We generally intend to renew our trademarks as they come up for renewal. Our other intellectual property includes proprietary know-how and technological innovations, such as our proprietary workflow-driven cloud-based servicing system, as well as proprietary pricing engines, loan-level analytics systems and other trade secrets that we have developed to maintain our competitive position.

Available Information

Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, including exhibits, proxy statements and amendments to those reports filed with or furnished to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are available free of charge through the investor relations section of our website atwww.pennymacfinancial.com as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such material with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding our filings at www.sec.gov. The above references to our website and the SEC’s website do not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on those websites and should not be considered part of this document.