{"id":3888,"date":"2023-02-08T23:10:09","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T23:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frankbuysphilly.com\/inside-american-pacific-mortgages-quest-for-expansion\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T23:10:09","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T23:10:09","slug":"inside-american-pacific-mortgages-quest-for-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frankbuysphilly.com\/inside-american-pacific-mortgages-quest-for-expansion\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside American Pacific Mortgage\u2019s quest for expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
Mortgage rates are on a declining trend, but don\u2019t be fooled \u2013 the industry\u2019s efforts to rightsize from a pandemic boom will continue through 2023. Up to 30% of the 1,000 largest independent mortgage banks will disappear by the end of this year, either through sales, mergers, or failures amid still-high inflation and rising interest rates, according to projections by the M&A advisory firm Sterling Point Advisors.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n But <\/strong>American Pacific Mortgage<\/strong><\/a> (<\/strong>APM), <\/strong>a California-based retail lender <\/strong>of about 3,600 employees and 1,500 mortgage loan originators, is undeterred by the depressing outlook. Rather, APM sees it as an opportunity to expand geographically beyond its major California market to the Midwest and the Southeast.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2022 alone, APM acquired<\/a> 11 branches from Arizona-based Sunstreet Lending<\/strong><\/a> and Sunstreet, 25 branches from the Minnesota retail lender Lend Smart Mortgage<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>and 51 branches<\/a> from Amerifirst Financial Inc.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n The lender also brought over 45 former retail branches from Finance of America Companies Inc.<\/strong> (FoA) months after it shut down its forward mortgage segment. However, Bill Lowman, CEO of APM, said the number of branches may have gone up from when it was first reported, as it includes secondary branches or additional license locations.<\/p>\n All in all, 900 employees joined the company, from the four deals APM completed last year, including 540 LOs,\u00a0Lowman said in an interview with HousingWire<\/strong>.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean APM survived 2022 unscathed, however.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did have a few layoffs throughout the year,\u201d Lowman said, declining to mention specific numbers. <\/p>\n The lender saw production drop about 42% in 2022 to $13.8 billion due to the interest rate environment and the refi business going away, much like every other lender, the executive said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe industry volume, I think, is going to end up being down about 50%. So from that regard, we feel like we outperformed the market,\u201d Lowman said. <\/p>\n When asked how the firm gets leads on potential deals, Lowman said it helps that other lenders know that APM is aggregating volume and interested in acquisition. <\/p>\nGetting leads for potential deals<\/h2>\n