NEXA Lending has brought on a high-profile VA lending advocate to scale its national footprint, naming Christopher Griffith executive vice president of VA growth and strategy.
In the newly created role, Griffith will lead national growth and strategy for VA lending, including talent development, production expansion, and the development of scalable systems aimed at strengthening NEXA’s position in VA origination.
VA loans, backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, remain a key channel for eligible service members and veterans.
Griffith, founder of Vetted VA and a longtime voice pushing for higher standards in VA lending, said the move reflects a decision to expand his impact across the broker channel.
“I was at a point where I was deciding whether I was done with this industry,” Griffith said. “And I realized I’m not done because I still want to have an impact.”
He framed the opportunity in familiar terms: execution and preparation.
“In a battle, the Marine with the most tools in their toolbox, and the highest proficiency with each of those tools, wins the fight,” Griffith told National Mortgage Professional. “In VA mortgage origination, the VA originator at NEXA has the largest toolbox — and training will ensure the highest proficiency and capability with those tools.”
NEXA Lending CEO Mike Kortas said the hire aligns with the company’s push to elevate standards across the broker channel.
“Veterans deserve more than a transaction,” said Kortas. “They deserve professionals who understand them, advocate for them, and fight to get it right.”
“He’s going to be building out a ton of training and support to help NEXA MLOs better serve the military, not just in financing, but in life,” Kortas shared with NMP.
From Tech Platform To Broker Platform
Griffith’s move also marks a notable shift. He previously co-founded and led Be My Neighbor, a veteran-founded mortgage brokerage that was acquired by reAlpha Tech Corp. in 2024.
The deal brought mortgage origination into reAlpha’s AI-powered, commission-free homebuying platform, part of a broader push to vertically integrate real estate and financing services.
Now, Griffith is returning to the broker channel with a focus on long-term growth rather than just monthly production.
“NEXA is a platform for entrepreneurial-minded originators who want to grow more than just their pipeline this month,” Griffith said. “The best time to seize the day is when you wake up. Most originators wake up to Groundhog Day — running on the hamster wheel of, ‘What do I have closing this month?’”
“Originators at NEXA do not have that problem,” he added. “They are in the fight for the long haul with sustainability.”
Scaling Standards In VA Lending
The strategy builds on a segment where NEXA is already outperforming the broader market.
According to MODEX data, NEXA Lending produced $8.22 billion across 23,806 loans in 2025. Of that, $942.69 million — or 2,305 loans — were VA loans, representing 11.5% of its total production.
By comparison, VA lending accounted for just 5.9% of overall mortgage production industrywide, with $207.17 billion across 498,336 loans out of $14.13 trillion in total volume.
That means NEXA’s VA concentration is nearly double the market average, a gap the company is now looking to widen.
Griffith has built a reputation advocating for accountability and borrower-first practices, particularly for veterans navigating the VA loan process — work that has extended beyond his own production through Vetted VA, including a 2025 partnership with Rocket Pro to expand education and certification efforts.
“Stop focusing on the transaction. Start focusing on the person,” Griffith said. “Stop selling. Start teaching.”
At NEXA, he will focus on expanding VA production while building systems and training designed to improve consistency across originators.
“We’ll be supporting the entire Vetted VA program both within NEXA and beyond, but the goal is to build the strongest group of VA loan officers this industry has ever seen,” Kortas said.
Kortas said the company views VA lending as a segment where better execution, not just pricing, can differentiate brokers.
“We’re not here to be average,” Kortas said. “We’re here to lead, innovate, and give loan officers every possible advantage to serve their clients at the highest level.”
Why It Matters
For mortgage professionals, the move underscores continued investment in specialization, particularly in VA lending, where borrower education and loan officer expertise remain uneven across the industry.
Griffith said raising the bar will require originators to embrace accountability and commit to serving veterans at a higher level.
“They will serve all those eligible for a VA loan better than any company in the nation,” he said.
With Griffith now leading VA growth and strategy, and with an already outsized share of VA production, NEXA is positioning itself to expand its influence in one of the most competitive and often underserved segments of the mortgage market.
“Nobody deserves to own the American Dream more than a veteran,” Kortas said.
