Guild to expand reverse division after acquiring Cherry Creek

Multi-channel mortgage lender Guild Mortgage (NYSE: GHLD), which earlier this week acquired Colorado-based Cherry Creek Mortgage, announced on Friday that the acquisition of Cherry Creek’s reverse mortgage division will help the lender expand its reverse mortgage offerings and capabilities.

Cherry Creek, which recently ranked No. 11 on the top national reverse mortgage lenders, will help Guild incorporate reverse mortgage products into its traditional mortgage lending platform. Guild’s existing retail mortgage team consists of an estimated 300 branches nationwide and will expand reverse mortgage product options across the country with its network.

For lenders looking for a way into the reverse mortgage business, Guild says it will offer “turnkey wholesale and correspondent solutions.”

“The combination of proprietary technology and the broad and established retail network gives Guild the opportunity to advance as a leading retail, wholesale and closed loan purchaser of reverse mortgages,” said Bruce Barnes, managing director of reverse mortgages for Guild Mortgage. “We believe having the ability to securitize and service the reverse mortgage product will continue to strengthen our offerings and help us to serve more borrowers nationwide.”

Guild Mortgage President Terry Schmidt said in a statement that the company is looking for ways to provide service to customers across a variety of life situations.

“The acquisition of Cherry Creek Mortgage and its reverse mortgage division continues to align with our customer-for-life strategy,”Schmidt said. “This new combination of resources enables us to expand our business to meet a growing market need.”

Cherry Creek expanded its reverse mortgage division in 2021 with the hiring of Barnes and industry veteran Jim Cory.

“Together, Jim and I have built several successful reverse mortgage platforms and have been responsible for funding billions of dollars in reverse mortgage production,” Barnes said at the time. “It is our plan to make the reverse mortgage division the best place to work and to become a leading lender in the reverse mortgage space.”

In a later interview, Barnes said that Cherry Creek’s existing reverse mortgage apparatus offered potential for its business growth efforts.

“Cherry Creek’s reverse mortgage division, but also the company as a whole, is a bit of a ‘unicorn opportunity,’” Barnes said in December 2021. “We have all of the state approvals, we have our Ginnie Mae ticket to be able to securitize, we have a robust operation already in production that’s happening today.”

According to RMI data, Cherry Creek generated 902 reverse mortgage endorsements, with 84% of that production coming from the retail channel of the business in the 12-month period ending in January 2023. In single-month rankings for January, Cherry Creek was the seventh-largest lender in the space.