Citadel Servicing
Corporation (CSC), one of the country’s
largest non-QM lenders, is rebranding as Acra Lending (Acra). The
change is effective Monday.
“We are excited to rebrand our business as
Acra Lending to reflect the substantial time and resources we have dedicated to
internalizing customer feedback, fine tuning our financial and operating model,
and investing in the best people and technology,” Keith Lind, executive
chairman and president, said in a news release. “The goal of all these efforts
is to build upon our strong foundation to provide industry leading service and
programs to suit our customers’ needs.”
Then known as Citadel Servicing, the
company was acquired by HPS Investment Partners, LLC in February 2020 for an
undisclosed price.
When COVID-19 hit, the non-QM market
disappeared. Liquidity had dried up and bond investors, which underpin the
non-QM market, were running for the hills.
Citadel pressed pause on new originations.
Its competitors Angel
Oak Mortgage Solutions, New Rez Mortgage, Caliber Home Loans, Athas Capital Group, Carrington Mortgage Services and First Guaranty Mortgage Company all
halted issuing non-QM loans, which comprise roughly 5% of the overall mortgage
market.
Some non-QM lenders went out of business, while others laid off
huge numbers of staffers and reorganized their businesses. Today, the non-QM
market as a whole is returning to strength.
Citadel resumed non-QM lending in the
summer. Following a four month pause, Lind said CSC
boasted a “much stronger balance sheet, better technology on both the
origination and servicing side of the business, upgraded guidelines and
processes, and a diverse and experienced management team.”
Acra now has greater balance sheet and
origination capacity with over $700 million of new term and non-mark-to-market
warehouse facilities. The company will continue to invest in direct-to-consumer
and correspondent channel, Lind said.
“Citadel had grown so quickly in recent
years, and accordingly there were certain aspects of the businesses that stood
to benefit from investment so we could restart lending in the best position for
our company and our customers,” Lind said. “These investments were always part
of our plan, but this shutdown allowed us to really accelerate their
implementation and impact.”
Doug Perry, Citadel’s managing director of
wholesale and retail, said the
company expects to fine-tune its plan as the country recovers from the virus.
“Even though the sector paused for a short
period, the demand for non-QM programs is stronger than ever,” Perry said,
adding that real estate fundamentals have remained sound. “Whether that’s
securing the balance sheet of the company or making the origination process
more efficient for our brokers and consumers, practices will improve.”
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