Guild Mortgage buys First Centennial Mortgage

Guild Mortgage is continuing its acquisition streak, announcing Monday the purchase of a medium-sized mortgage shop based out of Illinois.

The addition of First Centennial Mortgage will give Guild a stronger foothold in the Midwest, they said. The price tag of the transaction was not disclosed.

"In today's market, good companies are coming together to do great things where the whole is stronger than the sum of its parts," said Terry Schmidt, CEO of Guild in a press release. "First Centennial has high-performing local teams with a history of steady growth, and the Guild platform should allow them to accelerate growth and supercharge the good work they are already doing."

First Centennial Mortgage, founded by brothers Steven and David McCormick in 1995, is family-owned and licensed in over 15 states. The mortgage shop sponsors over 150 loan officers, per the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System. It was not disclosed whether all employees from First Centennial will transition to Guild and what the transitional timeline is.

Steven McCormick, president of First Centennial Mortgage, pointed out the similarities his company shares with Guild, specifically its focus on "retail, local sales and operational fulfillment."

"Guild's customer for life approach has long been practiced by all of us here at First Centennial," said McCormick in a written statement. "For 28 years we have successfully navigated the ever-changing mortgage industry, never wavering on our commitment to customer service. Joining forces with Guild empowers our teams to continue to thrive and to help build, together, what is sure to be the best platform to serve both our borrowers and associates into the future."

In recent months Guild has been on a buying spree, purchasing other retail-centric companies including reverse mortgage lender Cherry Creek Mortgage, Legacy Mortgage and Inlanta Mortgage. It also brought on eight branches from Fairway Independent Mortgage in March, adding to its ballooning headcount of over 2,000 sponsored loan officers.

The mortgage shop has made its near-term intentions of acquiring other mortgage lenders clear, with executives noting in Guild's most recent earnings call that they are hyper-focused on the expansion of their footprint. 

"Broader industry challenges persist due to higher interest rates, and limited home inventory, which is putting pressure on production volume and industry margin, however, the Guild brand within the mortgage industry is stronger than it's ever been," said Schmidt during the company's second quarter earnings call.

Guild's strong balance sheet and liquidity position, buoyed by its servicing portfolio, has helped to keep it profitable, despite a challenging origination environment.

In the second quarter, Guild's net income was $36.9 million, up from a net loss of $37.2 million in the previous quarter. The lender's net revenue more than doubled, increasing to $236.8 million from the $103.9 million the lender reported in the first quarter of 2023.