CrossCountry Adds Team From Family First Funding

CrossCountry Mortgage (CCM), one of the nation’s largest retail mortgage lenders, recently announced it has added a top New Jersey-based loan originator and his team.

Christopher Keelin, who is based in Rockaway, N.J., and his team of more than 80 employees joined CCM from Family First Funding LLC. According to CCM, Keelin and his team have produced annual loan volume of more than $750 million. Now a regional vice president for CCM, Keelin previously served as northeast senior vice president for Family First.

Family First Funding did not reply to a request for comment.

CCM said Keelin has a reputation as a top lender in North Jersey, in addition to serving markets in Florida and Georgia, CCM said.

In 2022, Keelin ranked third in New Jersey and 18th nationwide with $322 million in volume, according to Scotsman Guide. He also ranked first in New Jersey and 18th nationally with 855 loans closed. 

CCM did not identify nor provide titles for any of the other 80 employees who joined its company.

"We are thrilled to join CrossCountry Mortgage and to be aligned with one of the top mortgage lenders in the nation," Keelin said. "CCM’s commitment to providing best-in-class services and financial solutions to their clients is something that aligns with our values, and we are excited for the opportunities this move will bring."

Based in Cleveland, CCM has more than 7,000 employees operating nearly 600 branches in all 50 states. 

Family First Funding is a direct mortgage lender based in Toms River, N.J.. In addition to New Jersey, it serves customers in Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia.

CCM's addition of a team from Family First follows a similar move announced last month by San Francisco-based Guild Mortgage. In April, Guild added 40 employees and created a new district by hiring a team that was let go by Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.

CrossCountry adding a large team all at once is also noteworthy because the company is involved in two different lawsuits over “poaching” of employees. In May, Caliber Home Loans sued CCM, accusing it of raiding 18 branches in six states for 80 employees who were responsible for more than $2.3 billion in annual loan originations.

In October 2021, Guild Mortgage filed a lawsuit alleging that CCM conspired with three Guild employees to persuade other Guild employees to “misappropriate nearly all of Guild’s Kirkland, Washington branch, including dozens of employees [and] massive amounts of confidential business and client information.” In the complaint, Guild also claimed these employees conspired to divert loans in process at Guild to be closed at CrossCountry instead.

A spokesperson for CCM said Tuesday that the company does not comment on pending litigation.