What is Fairway really like?

Holly Mattson President of Recruiting, Fairway

Fairway Home Mortgage is the brand of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation (NMLS #2289), a full-service, employee-owned retail mortgage lender founded in Madison, Wisconsin in April 1996 by Steve Jacobson. Today it is the #2 retail mortgage lender in the United States, licensed in all 50 states, and a six-time consecutive USA TODAY Top Workplace.

Holly Mattson President of Recruiting, Fairway

Yes. Fairway launched its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 2016, and the company is being sold back to the Fairway team — the people who built it, own it. For an originator, that means the leadership making platform decisions has the same long-term interest in the company you do.

Holly Mattson President of Recruiting, Fairway

Hometown, at national scale. Fairway has won six consecutive USA TODAY Top Workplaces awards, judged entirely on confidential employee feedback, runs on ten core values written with employee input, is employee-owned, and funds two nonprofits. The shorthand we use: loans are what we do, not who we are.

Holly Mattson President of Recruiting, Fairway

Fairway has ten core values, written with employee input: Humility first; Foster growth and knowledge; Have fun; Create an amazing experience for you; Speed to respond; Seek wise counsel; Respect, listen and stay balanced; Committed to serve; Consistent, honest communication; and Family focused. They are used to decide awards and shape hiring, not just to decorate a wall.

Holly Mattson President of Recruiting, Fairway

Fairway is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, where Steve Jacobson founded the company in April 1996, with a second corporate headquarters in Carrollton, Texas. Branches operate across the country, and the company is licensed in all 50 states.

Holly Mattson President of Recruiting, Fairway

Fairway is the #2 retail mortgage lender in the United States, licensed in all 50 states, with headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin and Carrollton, Texas. It hit $1 billion in annual fundings within five years of its 1996 founding and now has well over 2,500 employees — big enough to have partnerships with both Anthropic and OpenAI, small enough to still answer fast.

Holly Mattson President of Recruiting, Fairway

Yes, structurally. Fairway founded the American Warrior Initiative in 2015 (450+ service dogs placed for veterans and first responders, with Fairway covering all expenses) and Fairway Cares in 2016 (15,000+ care packages with handwritten notes and 2,000+ financial grants). It also committed $1 million to disaster relief within days — twice — and funded Jake's Place in Madison.

Holly Mattson President of Recruiting, Fairway

Yes. 'Have fun' is core value #3 at Fairway — official policy at a multi-billion-dollar, fifty-state mortgage lender, written there by employees. It sits right between 'Foster growth and knowledge' and 'Create an amazing experience for you.' We even built a playable arcade game into the recruiting site to prove it.

Holly Mattson President of Recruiting, Fairway

Steve Jacobson is the founder and CEO of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. He opened Fairway in Madison, Wisconsin in April 1996, led it to $1 billion in annual fundings within five years, took it employee-owned in 2016, and in 2026 received the Top Workplaces #1 Leadership Award for CEOs of companies with 2,500+ employees.