Out of three recent mortgage company acquisitions tracked by MortgageDaily.com, two were made by banks. The third acquisition was made by a company that claims to the biggest independent lender in Washington.
Family Choice Mortgage Corp. was acquired by Rockville Bank Mortgage Inc., a news release last month indicated. Family Choice, which originates residential first mortgages for sale in the secondary market, is reportedly licensed in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Rockville noted that the acquisition will provide cross-sell opportunities.
Family Choice President Jeffrey Lipes will transition to the new company, while Rockville Bank Executive Vice President Christopher E. Buchholz will oversee the mortgage operations.
“Their mortgage products complement our Rockville Bank’s product line as they specialize in Federal Housing Administration Loans, Veterans Administration loans, loans to first-time homebuyers, reverse mortgages and investor properties,” the Rockville, Conn.-based institution said of First Family.
Over in Raleigh, N.C., North State Bank announced last week that it agreed to acquire the mortgage operations of Affiliated Mortgage LLC, which is also based in Raleigh. The deal is projected to close next week, according to the announcement. After the transaction is done, the mortgage unit will operate as North State Bank Mortgage.
Affiliated was originally founded as a mortgage broker in 1994 as the in-house lender for Simpson Underwood Real Estate by Smedes York, Sam Simpson, and Speck Underwood, the statement said. Subsequently, the company began underwriting and funding loans. Loan production reportedly doubled at the company between 2008 and 2009.
Affiliated Managing Partner Ken Sykes will serve as president of the new unit.
A press release yesterday indicated that Kirkland, Wash.-based Cobalt Mortgage acquired Coulombe and Evered LLC — a mortgage broker based in Bellevue, Wash. The acquired firm was founded more than 10 years ago.
“This acquisition is part of Cobalt’s strategic plan to expand its market presence in Washington state,” Cobalt President Keith Tibbles said in the statement. “It’s this business strategy that has led Cobalt to become the state’s largest independent lender.”
