Quicken Loan’s new lock policy for approved/CTC loans

I received this opinion note from a small mortgage banker in the West regarding Quicken Loan’s new policy of only locking approved/CTC Loans. “Rob, the big question here is who will be the next retail or wholesale lender to replicate QLMS’s new plan to lock loans once they are CTC (clear to close). Brokers and correspondents already price multiple investors and then lock with whoever has the best pricing. Try telling a broker or correspondent to substitute a loan, work conditions, get CTC, and then lock. The immediate response will be, ‘What if pricing is dramatically different?’ Just think of the fallout from clients who will walk away if/when pricing is worse. Think about the brokers who will double/triple submit loans and then ‘lock’ when they get CTC, only to then cancel out the files at the other lenders to which they’ve submitted files. Think about the operational costs and the nightmare that will unfold from the bottom up. Whoever at Quicken thought of this are not only setting up to lose thousands of borrowers who will shop, but more concerningly, brokers who will game the system to ensure that they don’t lose borrowers.”