Carrington Holding Company has entered into an agreement to acquire Reliance First Capital LLC from Tiptree Inc., a holding company that combines insurance operations with investment management expertise.
“Together with our existing retail recapture, wholesale and correspondent businesses, our agreement to acquire Reliance First Capital looks to add a direct-to-consumer channel, making our mortgage platform more balanced, more competitive and more resilient,” said Andrew Taffet, chief executive officer of The Carrington Companies.
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Melville, New York, Reliance is a fully-integrated direct-to-consumer mortgage origination platform serving homeowners nationwide. With 315 employees – including more than 150 loan officers and sales managers – in six call centers and a proprietary technology platform, Reliance originates approximately $1 billion in mortgages annually across FHA, VA, USDA, agency, non-agency/Non-QM and second-lien products. In addition, Reliance brings a servicing portfolio of more than 16,000 customers and $3 billion in unpaid principal balance, which will move onto Carrington’s platform once the transaction closes.
“At Reliance First Capital, we look forward to joining the Carrington platform,” said Hugh Miller, president and chief executive officer of Reliance First Capital. “Carrington’s broad mix of businesses will help us to continue to grow and execute our mission to help homeowners and prospective homeowners receive the right mortgage for their personal financial goals."
Carrington’s assessment of Reliance included recognition of the company’s proven origination history and credit performance across multiple market cycles, as well as its retail loan origination system featuring CRM, loan management, a pricing engine, workflow automation, compliance controls, field-level security and AI-powered functionality.
Reliance also possesses a substantial infrastructure and a direct-to-consumer model designed to support significant growth and top-tier mortgage servicing rights (MSR) recapture. The company’s financial profile exhibits a history of low leverage; a strong balance sheet supported by warehouse, MSR credit facilities and secondary marketing relationships; and respectable earnings growth.
“Our agreement with Tiptree to incorporate the employees and capabilities of Reliance First Capital into our family of companies is much more than an acquisition,” said Taffet. “It’s an important investment in the future of The Carrington Companies.”
