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Stearns Lending LLC, an independent mortgage bank headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., has announced it will acquire an equity interest in Certainty Home Loans LLC, an independent mortgage lender headquartered in Plano, Texas.
Under the terms of this agreement, Certainty's executive team will remain in place and its current ownership will continue to hold what the companies called “a significant share of the equity.” Certainty, which originated $1.4 billion in residential mortgages in 2017, had changed its name last October from WR Starkey Mortgage LLP and will continue to operate under its current brand.
"Certainty has a long track record of success and has a retail profile that is a strong complement to the existing Stearns retail platform," said David Schneider, CEO of Stearns Lending. "We believe that combining the retail platform of Certainty with Stearns' industry-leading technology, direct access to capital markets expertise, and operational excellence will produce tremendous synergies that benefit both companies. This structure leverages the experience Stearns has with its current joint venture business model which currently operates under ten different brands across the country."