Flagstar Bancorp Inc. reports that it has closed its deal to acquire the residential mortgage delegated correspondent lending platform of Stearns Lending LLC, (Stearns), along with certain related assets.
Terms of the transaction, which was announced in early February, were not disclosed.
Stearns’ business consists of approximately 250 correspondent relationships accounting for more than $7 billion of agency and governmental residential mortgage loan production annually.
Stearns’ employees and subcontractors associated with the delegated business will transition to Flagstar.
In a release, Alessandro P. DiNello, president and CEO of Flagstar, says the acquisition “gives us a tremendous opportunity to expand our market share in the delegated space.”
“Throughout our analysis of the business, we have been impressed with the Stearns’ team’s approach to the correspondent channel, their focus on customer service and their commitment to sound risk management,” DiNello says. “We believe this team will be a strong cultural fit with the Flagstar team.”
Brian Hale, CEO for Stearns, adds, “When we decided to exit this business for strategic reasons, we had two key objectives: First, we wanted to ensure that our network of correspondent lenders – consisting of community banks, credit unions and builder-owned mortgage companies – was with a lender that would continue to serve them well. Equally important, we wanted to make sure that our employees were with a reputable, well-run organization. Flagstar certainly met both our criteria.”
With this acquisition, Flagstar becomes the fourth-largest correspondent mortgage loan originator in the U.S.