Guild has purchased Legacy Mortgage, a small residential lender and servicer, in line with its goal to
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Legacy is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has 13 branches in three other states: Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. The publicly traded Guild Mortgage is a servicer, has over 250 branches and lends through both those retail offices and correspondent business relationships with other financial institutions.
"This acquisition is part of the company's continued plan to grow both in existing markets and by entering new ones with selective acquisitions of like-minded lenders," said Mary Ann McGarry, CEO of the San Diego-based Guild Mortgage, in a press release.
Jack Thompson, Legacy Mortgage's co-owner, CEO and president, said the acquisition will allow his team to offer a broader range of loan products that extends to those insured or guaranteed by government agencies like the Federal Housing Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those agencies back loans with the aim of giving lower-income borrowers more access to homeownership.
"By joining Guild, the Legacy Mortgage team can offer borrowers a broader range of purchase and refinance loan options, including FHA, VA, USDA, down payment assistance programs and other specialized loan programs," Thompson said in the press release. "Clients will also benefit from access to new digital and customer relationship tools."
Thompson has headed Legacy since 2006 and the company's origins go back to 1960.
Lenders that weathered the Great Recession in the latter half of the 2000s can be attractive acquisition targets because they have experience enduring through a wave of consolidation somewhat like the one the mortgage industry is currently undergoing.
The announcement of Legacy's acquisition follows not long after
Some analysts have speculated that Guild itself
