Deals have been negotiated, and some closed, to acquire residential lenders. In addition, capital investments have been made in some mortgage firms.
Assets from Cimarron Mortgage Capital were acquired on Oct. 21, 2016, by El Paso, Texas-based WestStar Bank, according to an announcement.
The residential construction and mortgage origination business, as well as its seven employees have become part of subsidiary WestStar Home Loans.
Redfin Mortgage has been formed by real estate brokerage Redfin, a Jan. 26 announcement indicated. The new venture will loan money to customers buying homes through the Dallas-based firm.
The mortgage lender will open for business in four major Texas markets. during the first half of this year. Fifteen-year veteran Jason Bateman will lead the mortgage business from Dallas.
“By integrating a lending operation with Redfin’s existing brokerage and title businesses, the company’s ultimate goal is an entirely digital process, with better service, a faster closing and lower fees,” the statement said.
A Jan. 24 statement said
Old Point Financial Corp. reached an agreement to purchase full ownership of Old Point Mortgage from Tidewater Mortgage Services Inc. The Hampton, Pennsylvania-based bank-holding company already owns 49 percent of the mortgage unit.
Tidewater is expected to convey its ownership to Old Point by May 1.
On Jan. 18, BorrowersFirst reported that it secured an additional $100 million in debt financing, bringing to $400 million the amount it has secured in capital.
The latest round of debt came from Waterfall Asset Management.
Austin, Texas-based BorrowersFirst, which
originates loans through Cross River Bank, will use the new capital to support its profitable growth by accelerating loan originations and expanding its balance sheet.
A news release last month indicated that $30 million in Series A financing has been raised by Better Mortgage. The New York-based company reported more than $5 billion in originations through Oct. 25, 2016, since launching earlier last year by reportedly cutting the time for the online lending process by half.
“Better [Mortgage] is succeeding where others have failed, particularly because they’re not just slapping a slick app or layer of technology onto an old system — they’ve deconstructed the mortgage process and re-engineered it for 2016,” an Oct. 25 statement said. “They bought a small California mortgage lender and had former Google and Spotify engineers completely transform the mortgage and refinance process.”
