Find where your mortgage operation can earn more, spend less, and reduce risk.
A Profitability and Best Practices Review looks at your whole mortgage operation and compares it with what the best lenders do. It works for independent mortgage bankers and for banks and credit unions with a mortgage division.
- Advising lenders since
- 2003
- Mortgage companies served
- 600+
- Banks and thrifts served
- 120+
- Reviews a year
- 40 to 60
The gap between the top and bottom 20% of lenders
In the second quarter of 2026, the top 20% of mortgage lenders averaged net production income of 122 basis points. The bottom 20% averaged a loss of 76 basis points.
Both groups faced the same market and the same rates. On $1 billion of annual volume, a gap of 198 basis points is worth about $19.8 million a year.
Even in the fourth quarter of 2022, when the average lender lost 99 basis points, the top 20% averaged a profit of 78 basis points.
See the numbers
| Quarter | Top 20% | All lenders | Bottom 20% | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 122 | 25 | (76) | 198 |
| Q4 2022 | 78 | (99) | (268) | 346 |
A Profitability and Best Practices Review shows where your company sits and what the top performers do differently.
What we review
- Profitability on a whole-company and channel basis
- Secondary marketing and hedging
- Operations productivity, staffing, and turn times
- Servicing and customer retention
- Management reporting and the numbers leadership actually sees
- Compliance, controls, and systems, scaled to your priorities
How it works
- 1A call about your goals and the areas that matter most to you.
- 2An information request covering financials, production, and operations.
- 3An on-site visit with your leadership and department heads.
- 4A written review and a meeting with management to walk through the recommendations.
Talk with us about what you need.
A 30-minute call is the fastest way to see whether we are a fit. No cost, no obligation.
What you receive
- A full written review with prioritized recommendations
- A FOCIS Review of the operation that also supports Fannie Mae's internal audit requirement
- A summary version your warehouse lenders can use, prepared with your approval, at no added charge
Why Garrett, McAuley
- One review serves owners and warehouse lenders and supports agency audit requirements
- Benchmarks drawn from 40 to 60 reviews a year
- Practical recommendations, not just findings
Who you will work with
Joe Garrett
Co-Founder & Principal
Joe Garrett has worked in banking and mortgage banking since 1977, mostly in FDIC-insured and OCC-regulated banks. He served on the boards of four banking institutions and as Chairman and CEO of two of them.
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Michael D. McAuley
Co-Founder & Principal
Michael D. McAuley became a commercial banker in 1984, specializing in mortgage warehouse lending and commercial lending. He managed the warehouse lending business for Washington Mutual and JPMorgan Chase, and he has helped commercial banks set up, assess, and improve their warehouse lending operations.
LinkedIn
Steve Stone
Managing Director
Steve Stone has spent his career in independent mortgage banking, as an entrepreneur and as a senior operating executive. He founded and later sold an independent mortgage banking company, and he has managed loan production, servicing, secondary marketing, MSR strategy, and technology.
LinkedIn
Common questions
- Is this for banks or independent mortgage bankers?
- Both. We review bank and credit union mortgage divisions as well as independent mortgage bankers.
- What does the FOCIS Review add?
- A FOCIS Review works like a safety-and-soundness exam of the mortgage operation. Warehouse lenders use it as an independent view of the company, and it supports Fannie Mae's internal audit requirement.
- Do you visit on site?
- Yes. We build the review around an on-site visit to your offices.
- How is this different from an internal audit?
- An internal audit tests controls and compliance. A profitability review looks for ways to make more money and run more efficiently. The FOCIS Review included here can serve as the initial review of an internal audit program.
- How long does the review take?
- The on-site visit takes one or two days. We deliver the written review a few weeks later and walk through it with your team.