SouthStar originates $6 billion in fiscal year 2005MortgagePress.comSouthStar origination
SouthStar Funding, an Atlanta-based non-conforming wholesale
lender, achieved record origination volume in fiscal year 2005,
which ended Nov. 31. The lender's volume grew by more than 40
percent year over year to $6 billion in mortgage loans originated
in fiscal year 2005.
"SouthStar Funding was founded with a focus on providing
superior service and competitive products, and 2005 has really
shown the value of that philosophy," said Brian Smith, executive
vice president of SouthStar Funding. "In a year when the industry
as a whole saw origination volume decrease, interest rates rise and
margins shrink, the SouthStar Funding team stepped up and operated
more efficiently and expanded our offerings to the nationwide
broker community. Thanks to the hard work of our employees across
the country, we are primed to grow our market share even further in
2006."
SouthStar Funding executives point to the lender's two newest
mortgage products as catalysts for its growth. Simple Score,
released in April, simplifies the qualifying of borrowers by basing
credit decisions almost entirely on the borrower's middle FICO
score. Simple Score's aggressive pricing and high loan-to-value
(LTV) allowances enable brokers to replace complicated matrices
with one product. As a result of its simple qualifying and
aggressive pricing, borrowers with higher than average FICO scores
have embraced this mortgage product and made it SouthStar Funding's
most popular offering.
The Choice Option ARM, released in March, provides flexible
payment options for borrowers who want the lowest monthly payments
and the ability to manage their cash flow. With features unique to
the market, including the ability to borrow up to 100 percent
combined LTV and to combine this product with a home equity
mortgage as part of a combination loan, the Choice Option ARM has
been SouthStar Funding's second most popular product, this
year.
"Today's borrowers expect lenders and brokers to offer creative
solutions to their financial challenges, regardless of credit
history, documentation status or down payment," said Mike Fierman,
executive vice president of SouthStar Funding. "At SouthStar
Funding, we focus on developing mortgage products that enable our
nationwide broker network to meet the needs of every borrower, and
Simple Score and Choice Option ARM are our two most recent success
stories. We will continue to focus on developing new and creative
solutions to meet the needs of today's borrower."
In addition to achieving record origination volume in 2005,
SouthStar Funding also created its correspondent lending group. A
combination of its correspondent partnership division and loan
acquisition group, the new group offers flexible options to
correspondents and caters to the special needs of community and
regional banks, credit unions, mid-size mortgage lenders and
homebuilders. The lender also launched its partnership division in
2005, creating a group specifically focused on providing
exceptional products, service and pricing to large corporate
accounts. Additionally, SouthStar University was launched, creating
an internal training program and facility aimed at introducing new
employees to the lender's service-focused culture and providing
continuous improvement for all its employees, nationwide.
SouthStar Funding also received recognition from two major
publications in 2005. The lender ranked second in the Atlanta
Business Chronicle's yearly A+ Employer Awards, which ranks the top
employers in Atlanta. The ranking marked the third consecutive year
on the list, having won it in 2004 and placing fourteenth in 2003.
Additionally, Inc. magazine named SouthStar Funding to its Inc. 500
list of the fastest growing private companies in the United States.
The company placed 429th on the list. Of the Inc. 500 companies,
SouthStar Funding ranked 39th in total revenue and only 33
companies experienced faster growth and had higher revenues than
the lender.
For more information, visit www.southstar.com.
