Plano mortgage lender lays off 428 employees, citing ‘adverse market conditions’

Plano-based First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. laid off the majority of its staff on Friday.

The mortgage lender terminated 428 of its 565 employees who work for its Plano office, according to a notice the company provided to the Texas Workforce Commission. Some of those employees work remotely from out of state, according to the letter.

The notice said the layoffs were caused by “significant operating losses and cash flow challenges due to unforeseen historical adverse market conditions for the mortgage lending industry, including unanticipated market volatility.”

Additionally, the notice said recent efforts to obtain funding that could have prevented the layoff have been unsuccessful.

First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. was founded in 1987. It acquired Charlotte-based Goodmortgage.com in 2016 and moved its headquarters to Plano in 2019, according to its website.

Earlier in June, the company announced a new second lien program for homeowners who wanted to access the equity in their homes without disrupting their rate.

HousingWire reported that First Guaranty stopped accepting mortgage applications, citing two former employees who reportedly said the lender has “essentially shuttered.”

Investment management firm PIMCO bought a large stake in the mortgage lender in 2015, according to Inside Mortgage Finance.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said last week that it laid off 1,000 employees as rising mortgage rates have driven down demand for home loans.