Guild Mortgage picked up eight California branches from Fairway Independent Mortgage in March, adding to its
Forty former Fairway team members have transitioned to Guild, including processors, transaction coordinators and loan officers, the San Diego-based lender said in a statement Thursday.
The newly added branches, which service customers in Auburn, Corvallis, Folsom, Gardnerville, Riverside, Santa Rosa, Vacaville and Yuba City, will be overseen by John Lowe, a former division manager at Fairway.
Mike Ferreira, Guild's regional vice president in California, dubbed the transition of these branches to Guild as a "mini acquisition."
"We welcome John Lowe and his team and are gratified they selected Guild to continue to serve their customers and meet the needs of new homebuyers," said Ferreira in a written statement. "While this was an organic move for the team, the size and annual production of this group – coming in at more than $350 million – is equal to that of a mini acquisition."
Fairway also reportedly gave up a number of its branches in Colorado, Wyoming and Washington in March, though Guild has not confirmed if it is taking them on.
Guild, which now has over 4,000 employees and 300 branches, has been in growth mode. In the past five months, the home lender has absorbed
Since 2007, Guild has made 10 acquisitions, six of which were completed prior to its October 2020 initial public offering.
And from the looks of it, there are plans to continue expanding. In March, leadership at the company said that it is on the lookout for "potential new partners with strong local teams, a history of growth and community commitments."
Guild Holdings, parent of the San Diego-based mortgage lender, posted a $15 million net loss in the fourth quarter, amounting to a decrease of 25 cents per share. Though full-year net income increased by 15.8% to $328.6 million compared to $283.8 for 2021.
"Our model is built around a retail strategy, which focuses on servicing the loans that we originate," CEO Mary Ann McGarry said during Guild's earnings call. "By focusing on the purchase business, we see more consistency across interest rate cycles. And by originating our service volume, we believe our earnings are more durable and sustainable in all market cycles."
McGarry, who has been head of Guild since 2007, will step back from
