American Financial Resources (AFR) has announced that it completed the sale of 100% of the company to an investment group led by Proprietary Capital.  The transaction was previously announced in August, and the transaction was completed on Feb. 8.  AFR is a full-service mortgage banking company with direct, wholesale and correspondent lending divisions that offer products ranging from agency, non-agency, and government lending, with a niche in construction and manufactured home mortgage programs. Proprietary Capital is a fund manager based in Denver, providing an institutional platform for investors to gain exposure to the residential mortgage market and housing-related assets.

Better has announced the launch of Better Mortgage VA Loans, a fully digital VA loan program available to eligible veterans, service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and, in some cases, veterans’ spouses. The offering, available in all 50 states, allows qualified individuals to secure a primary residence mortgage for up to 100% of the purchase price with no downpayment requirement.

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A&D Mortgage has announced the appointment of Rebecca Chaney as its new general counsel. Chaney brings over 17 years of experience to her new role at A&D Mortgage, including previous roles as general counsel at Atlantic Coast Mortgage; senior vice president of mortgage regulatory compliance and administration at LenderSelect Mortgage Group; and senior executive vice president of legal affairs, regulatory compliance and administrative control at Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group. Her role will involve overseeing all legal, regulatory, and compliance aspects of A&D Mortgage’s operations. Chaney holds a juris doctor degree from The Catholic University of America.

Logan Finance Corporation has announced a pair of leadership additions: Sarah Gonzalez as chief operating officer (COO) and Ryan Rathert as chief of staff. Gonzalez, who will lead corporate strategy and national fulfillment as well as spearhead corporate initiatives, was previously at Panorama Mortgage, where she held the positions of president and COO. Prior to Panorama, she also served as COO at First Guaranty Mortgage Corp.; senior vice president of strategic business operations at Stearns Lending; and vice president of correspondent operations at Nationstar Mortgage. Rathert’s background includes eight years with Stearns Lending in a variety of positions, most recently as chief financial officer of Panorama and COO/CFO of the company’s wholesale mortgage channel. He was also previously production CFO an head of private label operations with Stearns Lending, Wells Fargo and Mr. Cooper.

Embrace Home Loans has promoted Buddy Hardiman from senior vice president of retail and direct sales to president. Hardiman, who is based in Middletown, Rhode Island, will oversee the company’s lending operations and fulfillment areas, as well as continue to head Embrace’s financial services division. He joined Embrace Home Loans in 2008 as a project manager, holding various roles before being promoted to vice president of sales strategy and recruiting in 2016 and senior vice president of retail and direct sales in 2019.

The Money Store has announced that Coleen Bogle has joined its team as chief marketing officer. Bogle has more than 15 years of experience leading marketing departments in the home financing industry, and in her new role, she will focus on enhancing the brand, expanding marketing services and attracting mortgage origination talent to the organization. Prior to joining The Money Store, Bogle served as the chief marketing officer at Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. for over eight years.

FirstFunding has announced the appointment of Matt Coles as national sales manager. Coles will lead the company’s sales strategy and operations, seeking to enhance the value FirstFunding delivers to existing customers and grow the sales team. Prior to joining FirstFunding, Coles led the sales organization at a national wholesale and correspondent lender.

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According to a statement from the company, Guild would rise from the 10^th largest nonbank retail mortgage lender to the eighth largest upon completion of the acquisition. The purchase would give Guild’s origination volume roughly a 25% boost, based on results from both companies through the third quarter of 2023.

Both Guild and Academy are licensed to originate loans in 49 states, as well as the District of Columbia.

“Guild and Academy share a commitment to the purchase mortgage market and believe in local sales and fulfillment that builds on our customers for life strategy,” said Terry Schmidt, CEO of Guild. “Our aligned core values attract employees dedicated to serving their communities and delivering on the promise of homeownership.”

Per Guild’s statement, Academy has about 200 branches, which will transition to the Guild brand and operate as a division within Guild.  More than 1,000 employees, including over 600 mortgage originators, will transition to Guild, including Academy CEO Adam Kessler, who will join the newly combined company’s senior leadership.

“Joining forces with Guild Mortgage will allow us to accelerate our collective desire to preserve and promote [our] vision as we work together to become the nation’s best independent mortgage lender,” said Kessler. “I’ve known Terry and the Guild team for a long time, and our common mission, vision, and values made it clear joining forces would be a win-win for both companies.”

“This transaction represents two like-minded organizations joining forces to continue to grow stronger together,” Schmidt added. “Each acquisition we’ve completed has brought new talent to Guild, making us a better company. We’re excited to extend a warm welcome to our new Academy teammates and build on their talent with the support of Guild behind them.”

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The bank, which saw Moody’s Investors Service lower its credit grade to junk status, suffered a drop of 70% in its stock price before recovering toward the end of the week. The recent troubles for NYCB began when the bank announced on Jan. 31 that it suffered a surprise loss of $252 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The bank had notched a $172 million profit for the same period in 2022. It also reported $552 million in losses from bad commercial real estate loans. The hobbled bank slashed its quarterly dividend from $.17 per share to $.05 per share.

This might be just the beginning of tough times for NYCB, however. The bank’s poor performance was being blamed on the acquisition last year of $40 billion of assets from Signature Bank, which was among the three banks that failed early last year. Those failures set off alarm bells that the banking sector was in danger due to an increasing number of commercial real estate defaults.

NYCB is in the process of merging with Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., which operates 420 branches throughout the country, with an emphasis on the Northeast and Midwest. The acquisition of Signature Bank and merger with Flagstar makes the combined company one of the largest regional banks in the country, with more than $100 billion in assets. NYCB plans to start operating under the Flagstar name later this month.

There are worries that the troubles facing NYCB could spread to other top regional banks also holding loans for commercial real estate, including office buildings and retail properties, which could sour in the coming months and potentially create a repeat of last spring’s bank crisis.

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Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions has announced the launch of the Angel Oak Bank Statement Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) solution, allowing self-employed homeowners to tap into their home equity while retaining their first mortgage. This offering, which qualifies borrowers based on trailing 12- or 24-month bank statements, provides a line of credit with no restrictions on usage, similar to traditional HELOC offerings. Borrowers can qualify for this product with owner-occupied homes, second homes or investment properties.

Evergreen Home Loans has announced its expansion into Montana, with three new locations in Billings, Bozeman and Helena.

Redfin has announced Sign & Save, touted by the company as “a new way for consumers to get a better deal in real estate.” Homebuyers who sign up to work with a Redfin agent before a second tour can get a refund of 0.25-0.5% of the purchase price at closing. For example, an eligible homebuyer purchasing a $500,000 home will save $1,250. For a $2 million home, eligible Sign & Save customers will get a $10,000 refund.

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A&D Mortgage has announced the hiring of Tommy Williams, Betsy Marvin and Lori Welton as account executives. Williams joins A&D from Citizens, where he served as a wholesale account executive; prior to Citizens, he held roles at Guaranty Home Mortgage Corporation and Franklin American Mortgage Company. Marvin, a senior account executive from Citizens, brings two decades of experience, including roles in underwriting and sales. Welton was previously a senior account executive at Citizens.

Angel Oak has welcomed six new account executives: Brenton Boulware, Suzie De Leon, Jessica Irwin, Glen Murphy, Mike Tackett and Lisa Lee. The six will serve Northern California, North Carolina, Utah, Indiana and Rhode Island.

Rutledge Claims Management (RCM) has announced that Aubrey Gilmore has been promoted from chief operations officer to president. In her new role, Gilmore will oversee RCM’s core services and drive strategic decisions, ensuring client satisfaction and the company’s reputation for excellence in the hazard insurance claims sector. Gilmore has a degree in communications and media studies from Rutgers University.

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NAF, based in the Los Angeles Area, had a servicing portfolio of more than 255,000 loans, representing some $67.2 billion, before its purchase of DKMC, per a statement from the company. DKMC had been the home lending subsidiary of prominent property and financial services company Draper and Kramer, Inc., based in Chicago. Established in 1893, Draper and Kramer has the distinction of holding the country’s oldest active Federal Housing Administration license, according to a press release.

Assets involved in the transaction include DKMC’s single-family mortgage operation and personnel, with DKMC being rebranded as part of the New American Funding umbrella. According to NAF, “a majority” of DKMC’s loan originators, as well as operations and support staff, will be brought into the NAF fold. The move also enables New American “to fill existing open roles in various departments with experienced personnel from DKMC.”

NAF already has more than 200 locations across the country, but the purchase bolsters its footprint on the East Coast and in the Midwest, where DKMC has a strong presence.

“We are thrilled to welcome Draper and Kramer’s mortgage division to NAF. Their reputation as one of the best mortgage companies in the nation aligns perfectly with our mission to provide top-notch service to our clients. This acquisition is a testament to our focus on growth while helping our customers achieve their dreams,” said Rick Arvielo, co-founder and CEO of NAF.

“As a company, we are always looking for ways to expand and improve our services,” Arvielo continued. “This strategic move will allow us to expand our footprint and better serve clients in the Midwest and East Coast regions. We are also excited to welcome the talented loan originators and support staff from Draper and Kramer, who will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our team.”

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BlackFin has announced the launch of MAX, a new business intelligence software solution for the lending industry. According to the company specialized proprietary lending artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms in the software “will now, instantly, provide the executive leadership at lenders with precise business decision recommendations so they can immediately start to maximize revenue, productivity, and efficiency.”

A&D Mortgage has announced that it has obtained licenses to originate loans in Arkansas and Mississippi.

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The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) has announced the appointment of Jonathon Haddad as chairman and CEO. Haddad is joining the AIME staff immediately as CEO and will assume the chairman role on April 1. A 10-year mortgage veteran, Haddad transitioned from the retail channel, formerly serving as vice president at Quicken Loans, to the broker channel in 2020 as the owner of Next Door Lending.

Carrington Mortgage Services (CMS) has added Samuel Bjelac, who returns to CMS as senior vice president, national sales, third-party origination (TPO). Bjelac previously served as divisional vice president of the CMS Wholesale Lending team and also has experience as executive vice president of national sales at Sprout Mortgage, while also leading the third-party origination teams at CoreVest Finance and LendingOne.

Click n’ Close has announced Sean Drake has joined the organization’s TPO sales team as an account executive. In his previous position, Drake was a regional branch manager for Paramount Residential Mortgage Group. His background also includes leadership positions at Caliber Home Loans, Home Savings of America, Reunion Mortgage, Aegis Mortgage, American Brokers Conduit and American Mortgage Network. 

MountainOne has announced that Jay Bianchi is joining the residential lending team as associate vice president, community mortgage lending specialist. Reporting directly to the head of residential lending, Bianchi will work out of the Berkshires and serve as a member of the Bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) committee. Bianchi’s primary job responsibilities will include promoting the Bank’s overall CRA efforts through customer outreach, assisting potential borrowers with residential mortgages in underserved areas, enhancing community engagement through a series of financial literacy programs, and partnering with federal, state, and local affordable housing organizations on down-payment-assistance programs.

Sagent has appointed Chris Marshall as executive chairman, effective immediately. Marshall first joined Sagent’s board of directors in 2022 as part of a multi-year agreement with Mr. Cooper Group, where he has served as vice chairman and president.

Ranieri Solutions has announced the appointment of Rob Lux as its CEO. In his new role, Lux will spearhead the company’s efforts for its cloud-native servicing platform. Previously, he was senior vice president and chief operating officer at Cenlar.

Polly has announced the appointment of Troy Coggiola as chief operating officer. As COO, Coggiola will lead Polly’s product, implementation, support, and design teams as the company continues to scale. Coggiola brings over 25 years of mortgage technology and enterprise software experience to this role, having most recently served as chief product officer for Accela. Prior to Accela, Coggiola spent 12 years leading product and technology initiatives at ICE Mortgage Technology, rounding out his time there as SVP of Product Management.

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Anchor Loans has announced the launch of its new third-party originator (TPO) channel. The new channel will provide the clients of loan brokers and originators with a suite of residential business purpose loan products, including bridge, fix and flip, ground-up construction, and rental investor loans with debt service coverage ratio (DSCR).

Armed Forces Bank and Vector have teamed up to help make the homebuying process easier for Vector employees. The new “Operation Homeward” program at Armed Forces Bank will provide a preferred mortgage lender program for anyone who works for the Vector family of businesses.

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has announced that it will sunset the name of its consumer-facing website, FindAMortgageBroker.com, and replace it with Mortgage Matchup. Mortgage Matchup will continue to be a consumer-facing website geared toward homebuyers and real estate agents, and will offer both educational material around the homebuying and refinancing processes, along with a searchable database of independent mortgage brokers near them.

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