FirstBank Mortgage Joins The Mortgage Collaborative; Becomes First Specialty Reverse Mortgage Lender in Network

FirstBank Mortgage’s reverse mortgage department has announced a new partnership with The Mortgage Collaborative, the nation’s only independent mortgage cooperative. Out of more than 120 lenders within the Collaborative’s network, FirstBank Mortgage is the first lender specializing in home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) loans.

“At FirstBank, we are committed to helping others get to a better place. Our leadership team is excited about the newly formed partnership with The Mortgage Collaborative,” said Rob Henger, SVP, Director of Mortgage Banking for FirstBank. “I am confident that our reverse mortgage department will become a trusted advocate for any member who wants high-touch assistance in reverse mortgage third-party origination.”

The reverse mortgage department has joined The Mortgage Collaborative as a preferred partner, a relationship that allows FirstBank Mortgage to serve as a third-party HECM lender for financial institutions within The Mortgage Collaborative network.

“FirstBank’s experience and its level of customer service and underwriting will provide the highest level of customer satisfaction to members of The Mortgage Collaborative,” said Rich Swerbinsky, chief operating officer for The Mortgage Collaborative. “Working with FirstBank as a highly engaged member of The Mortgage Collaborative and adding its senior lending division to our preferred partner network was a natural fit.”

FirstBank Mortgage is an FHA-approved HECM lender and has been providing HECM loans to FirstBank Mortgage customers for eight years. Its senior lending division is the No. 1-ranked FDIC bank in HECM lending and the 11th largest lender overall.

About FirstBank Mortgage

FirstBank Mortgage is a division of FirstBank, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of FB Financial Corporation (NYSE: FBK). FirstBank was founded in 1906 in Scotts Hill, Tenn., and is the third largest Tennessee-headquartered bank. Based in Nashville, Tenn., FirstBank Mortgage operates offices throughout the Southeast, and has grown from a $100 million originator in 2010 to $4.6 billion in production for 2016. FirstBank Mortgage provides services nationwide in five mortgage divisions: Retail Lending, Wholesale Lending, Correspondent Lending, ConsumerDirect Online Lending and Reverse Mortgage.

About The Mortgage Collaborative

Based in San Diego, The Mortgage Collaborative was founded in 2013 to empower mortgage lenders across the country with better financial execution, reduced costs, enhanced expertise and improved compliance, and to help its members access the dynamic and changing consumer base in America. The association is managed by its founding members: John Robbins, CMB; David Kittle, CMB; Gary Acosta, CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP); and Jim Park, former chairman of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA). Robbins and Kittle are former chairmen of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA).