Atlanta-based Equity Loans just launched a correspondent lending channel to fill a void in today's lending market.
"As the new qualified mortgage rules are finalized at the beginning of next year and compliance regulations become increasingly strict, our partnerships are more important than ever," said Kunjan Patel, CEO of Equity Loans.
"Our expansion into the correspondent and wholesale channels will not only be crucial to expand Equity Loans’ footprint, but to help our partners grow in a new market environment," the CEO added.
As HousingWire previously reported, Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist and vice president, said, "For the first time since 2000, we're going to see the mortgage market dominated by purchase activity as the refinance share drops below 50%."
As a result, Brian Gillespie, vice president of Equity Loans' third-party origination production channel, said becoming a correspondent lender gives the firm some relief and allows them to be more competitive in their pricing structure.
"What we are seeing in the industry is that a lot of the other established companies are becoming pickier in who they are doing business with in terms of size," Gillespie said. "We feel this is a good opportunity for a company like us to come in and fill a void left by some of the more established lenders."
In order to support the new division, the lender hired Gillespie and Greg Nolte as vice president of the TPO production channel, bringing over 37 years of combined industry experience.
"We are confident that Brian and Greg’s deep knowledge and expertise of the wholesale and correspondent industry will successfully support our expansion and we are looking forward to having them join the Equity Loans team," Patel said.
Currently, Equity Loans operates in 33 states and recently launched into the wholesale market in June 2013.
