1 in 5 Loan Officers From 2021 Have Left the Business: What That Means for Your Mortgage
According to RETR, there were 287,728 producing loan officers in 2021, the peak year on record. By 2025, that number had fallen to 226,155. That's 61,573 fewer producing loan officers, a 21.4% drop, or about 1 in 5. So far in 2026, year to date, the count stands at 205,037, though that figure represents a partial year and isn't directly comparable to a full year's total.
If you financed a home purchase or refinance anytime in the last several years, this number is worth pausing on. It means there's a real chance the loan officer who helped you might no longer be licensed, no longer at the company you worked with, or simply out of the mortgage business entirely.
Why This Matters If You Already Have a Mortgage
Most homeowners assume their loan officer is a resource they can go back to. Got a question about your escrow account? Wondering if a change in your finances affects your loan? Curious whether refinancing makes sense down the road? Normally, that's who you'd call.
But if your original loan officer has left the industry, that relationship is gone, and you may not even know it. Your mortgage doesn't stop existing just because the person who originated it did. It gets serviced, sometimes sold to a different company, and life moves on. Without someone actively watching your file, small issues can sit unnoticed longer than they should, and opportunities that could benefit you might pass by unnoticed.
What the Numbers Tell Us
Looking at the broader picture from RETR's data: 2019 had 240,786 producing loan officers, 2020 saw 262,554, and 2021 peaked at 287,728. Then the decline began. 2022 dropped to 283,641, 2023 fell further to 234,809, and 2024 settled at 220,581. By 2025, the total was 226,155. That's a sustained, multi-year contraction in the number of people actively originating loans, not a single bad year.
What drove that decline isn't something anyone can say for certain about any one person. Loan officers may have changed careers, moved to different roles, or let their licenses lapse for any number of reasons. The point isn't to speculate about why. It's to recognize that the odds are real: if you financed in the last several years, there's a meaningful chance the person on your file isn't professionally active anymore.
One Thing You Can Check This Week
Here's something simple and free you can do right now. Go to NMLS Consumer Access, the public license lookup tool, and search for the name of the loan officer who handled your mortgage. It takes a couple of minutes. You'll be able to see whether their license is still active, and if so, where.
If you find they're no longer listed as active, that doesn't mean anything went wrong with your loan. It just means nobody from that original relationship is currently keeping an eye on it for you.
What To Do If Your Loan Officer Is Gone
If your search turns up an inactive license, or you simply can't remember who handled your loan in the first place, it's worth having someone take a fresh look at where things stand. A loan review isn't about pressuring you into a refinance or promising a lower rate. It's about understanding your current loan, your options, and whether anything is worth revisiting.
I'm Jason Sharon, a licensed mortgage broker with Home Loans Inc. If you'd like a free loan review, or just want a second set of eyes on your mortgage, call or text me. I'm here to help you find the path forward, whatever that looks like for your situation.
Equal Housing Opportunity.