Lower acquires shuttered Premier Nationwide Lending's branches

Lower brought onboard Premier Nationwide Lending's branches in December, around the same time it announced the acquisition of Thrive Mortgage. 

Premier employees ranging from loan officers to branch managers made the transition to Lower that month and throughout January, per the National Mortgage Licensing System. 

The actual number of employees that went over to Lower hasn't been confirmed. As of October 2023, Premier had about 151 employees in total. 

According to one former branch manager, the parent company of Premier, NTFN Inc., shuttered. Then the mortgage lender's branches were brought on board by Lower. 

Lower did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Premier Nationwide Lending, established in 2002, was based in Plano, Texas and had a footprint spread across the South, with branches in Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee. As of Feb. 29, Premier Nationwide Lending is not sponsoring any loan officers and has no active branches, NMLS shows.

Recently, Lower has been making strides to expand its footprint nationwide.

In December, it announced plans to acquire Thrive Mortgage and a month prior, Lower announced the addition of Universal Lending as a new division within its family of companies. Both retail and wholesale channels of Denver-based Universal were said to be moving over to Lower.

"The addition aligns with our expansion plans, adding over 60 loan officers and establishing a strong presence in both the Colorado and Montana markets," said Mike Baynes, Lower co-founder and managing director, addressing the acquisition of Universal in November 2023.

The mortgage shop's commitment to growth was also highlighted with the November 2023 appointment of a new chief growth officer, Amir Syed, who is tasked with growing Lower's market share through all its channels.

Lower operates in 46 states and the District of Columbia under several different brand names and originated about $1.88 billion in volume last year. The company currently sponsors 456 LOs, the NMLS shows.