United Wholesale Mortgage Inc., the mortgage lending firm led by Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury owner Mat Ishbia, suspended its quarterly dividend and reported about $452 million in losses for the second quarter of 2026.
The net loss in the second quarter follows a net income of about $170 million in the first quarter.
United Wholesale Mortgage is one of the largest mortgage lenders in the country.
The earnings announcement came the same day the company announced a $2.05 billion capital partnership with Oaktree Capital Management. According to a company announcement, the partnership was created to “fortify UWM’s balance sheet and position the company for continued long-term success.” The proceeds will primarily be used to repay existing debt.
The dividend was suspended to “prioritize debt reduction and balance-sheet strength,” according to the announcement.
During the company’s second quarter earnings call on Aug. 6, Ishbia said the deal includes a $1.5 billion commitment from Oaktree and a $550 million commitment from himself.
Ishbia said he originally considered investing the entire amount himself but felt Oaktree was the appropriate strategic partner.
“We're excited about the partnership and what it's going to do for our business long term,” Ishbia said. “And that's what we always think about is how do we dominate long term.”
Nicole Roberts, a spokesperson for UWM, said the partnership will help propel the company's growth.
"Suggesting that our partnership with Oaktree creates financial challenges is either deliberately misleading or reflects a misunderstanding of basic finance," she said in a statement. "The mortgage industry has been through five years of challenges and UWM has been, and will continue to be, the clear industry leader. Because of the strength of our company we are able to bring in Oaktree to leverage their capital and mortgage expertise to continue our growth. Bringing on a strategic partner right now allows us to continue our singular focus of being the biggest and best mortgage company in America."
The losses for UWM are unrelated to Ishbia's ownership of the Suns and Mercury, she said.
"Trying to use this deal to suggest Mat’s financial situation with UWM or the Phoenix Suns is threatened is clearly ignoring the facts," she said. "As part of the deal, Mat is choosing to personally commit multiple hundreds of millions of dollars into UWM alongside Oaktree. Furthermore, Mat is finalizing an agreement to buy out the remaining Suns and Mercury shareholders bringing the Ishbia family’s total ownership to almost 99% of the teams."
In the earnings call, Ishbia addressed the failed acquisition of Two Harbors Investment Corp. In late 2025, the companies announced the $1.3 billion, all-stock acquisition. However, in March 2026, Two Harbors announced it was instead entering into a merger agreement with CrossCountry Mortgage.
CrossCountry agreed in March 2026 to pay $25.4 million to terminate the deal between UWM and Two Harbors.
UWM is suing Two Harbors over the deal, seeking more than $500 million in a lawsuit filed in the District Court of Maryland that alleges breach of contract and fraud.
“It definitely was unfortunate how it happened,” Ishbia said in the earnings call. “And you'll see some litigation and some things that they did inappropriately, and we'll go through that process when that time comes.”
In a news release, Two Harbors called the suit “baseless.”
“TWO's previously released concerns regarding UWMC's intent and/or ability to close any transaction with TWO has now been thoroughly vindicated,” Two Harbors said in a news release. “The loss highlights the dire condition of UWMC's balance sheet, liquidity and also casts doubt on its risk management and other governance practices.”
Ishbia called the deal with Oaktree a “much better partnership” than the proposed Two Harbors transaction.
Corina Vanek covers development for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X @CorinaVanek.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ishbia's mortgage company posts $452 million loss, suspends dividend
