Fortes Financial secures National City Mortgage wholesale divisionMortgagePress.comFortes Financial, National City Mortgage Corporation, Mortgage Search and Acquisition,
Fortes Financial Inc. has completed the assumption of five
regional wholesale offices formerly belonging to National City
Mortgage Corporation. The offices are located in San Diego, Dallas,
Chicago, Fredrick Md. and Atlanta. Dallas-based Mortgage Search
& Acquisition (MSA) played an integral role in the
transaction.
Fortes Financial Inc. was founded in August of 2007 by Peter J.
Levasseur, president and CEO, and Janice M. Ibey, executive vice
president and COO, with the backing of a private equity firm.
Shortly after its inception, Fortes began executing its strategy to
capitalize on opportunities arising from a market in disarray. In
the first quarter of 2008, they acquired the assets of a retail
mortgage banking platform, originating both forward and reverse
mortgages and subsequently assuming control of National City
Mortgage's wholesale origination operation. Fortes currently has
over 400 employees.
National City's wholesale division closed $17 billion in 2007
before announcing plans to exit wholesale lending at the end of the
same year.
MSA's President Tami Coffey commented, "Fortes engaged us to
identify potential retail or wholesale groups that fit within their
corporate profile; we felt that the National City team was a
quality, productive entity that would work well under the Fortes
umbrella." With offices in Dallas and Reno, MSA specializes within
the mortgage banking and financial services industry, offering
executive recruiting and Acquisition services to its national
client base.
"This is a significant milestone for Fortes," commented
Levasseur. "We have grown the company through recent investments
into the retail and reverse mortgage sectors and feel that the
addition of a high quality wholesale division such as the National
City team represents, will help us ascertain not only
diversification but also the ability to acquire a substantial
market share offering endless upward opportunity going
forward."
For more information, visit www.msarecruiting.com or www.forteswholesale.com.
