Mutual of Omaha Bank on Monday completed its purchase of Synergy One Lending, Inc., cementing its entrance into the reverse mortgage marketplace.
The two parties received regulatory approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency earlier this month, Mutual of Omaha Bank said Tuesday, with the transaction formally closing on July 16. The terms of the deal, first announced in May, remain undisclosed.
“This acquisition brings together two organizations that complement each other strategically and culturally,” Mutual of Omaha Bank CEO Jeff Schmid said in a statement announcing the closing. “By combining our collective strengths, Mutual of Omaha Bank and Synergy One will be able to serve more customers who are in the market for a traditional or reverse mortgage.”
Synergy One will continue to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of its new Omaha, Neb.-based parent, maintaining its offices in San Diego and existing Retirement Funding Solutions brand name.
Mutual of Omaha Mortgage president Terry Connealy will oversee the entity going forward, telling RMD in May that the company would take an “agnostic” approach toward recommending reverse or forward mortgages to its clients.
“If a reverse mortgage is the best solution for that borrower, we’ve got that in our product lineup, but if it’s a traditional forward mortgage, that’s an option going forward as well,” he said.
Some of those forward options could include home equity lines of credit, Connealy told RMD.
“Just having the full product suite is really an advantage — product diversification so that you can fit that customer’s needs, no matter what it is,” he said. “It’s not just a reverse mortgage — oftentimes that might be the right solution, but many times it’s not right.”
Synergy One sat at number six overall in Reverse Market Insight’s most recent ranking of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage lenders, with 1,229 loans through the end of June.
Written by Alex Spanko
