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April 2023 ยป thefivestar.com 19 April 2023 I N D U S T R Y U P D A T E GUILD MORTGAGE EXPANDS REVERSE DIVISION THROUGH ACQUISITION OF CHERRY CREEK G uild Mortgage has announced the addition of an experienced reverse mortgage leadership team to expand its reverse mortgage division through its recent acquisition of Cherry Creek Mortgage. Based in Colorado, Cherry Creek is a privately-held top 10 reverse mortgage lender, as ranked by Reverse Mortgage Insight. Through the acquisition of Cherry Creek, Guild Mortgage will integrate reverse mort- gages into its traditional mortgage platform. The division will use Guild's existing na- tionwide retail team in nearly 300 branches to expand reverse mortgage offerings. The company will offer turnkey wholesale and correspondent solutions to other lenders wanting to enter the reverse mortgage space. "The combination of proprietary technol- ogy and the broad and established retail net- work gives Guild the opportunity to advance as a leading retail, wholesale, and closed loan purchaser of reverse mortgages," said Bruce Barnes, Managing Director of Reverse Mortgages for Guild Mortgage, who joined the company from Cherry Creek. "We believe having the ability to securitize and service the reverse mortgage product will continue to strengthen our offerings and help us to serve more borrowers nationwide." For the trailing 12 months ended Febru- ary, Cherry Creek Mortgage was the nation's 10th most active originator of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), according to Reverse Mortgage Insight. For 2023, it ranks eighth among program participants to date. According to the Urban Institute, the number of Americans ages 65 and older will more than double over the next 40 years, reaching 80 million in 2040. The number of adults ages 85 and older will nearly quadru- ple between 2000 and 2040. "The acquisition of Cherry Creek Mortgage and its reverse mortgage division continues to align with our customer for life strategy," Guild Mortgage President Terry Schmidt said. "This new combination of resources enables us to expand our business to meet a growing market need." Cherry Creek, a company co-founded by Jeff May in Greenwood Village, Colorado in 1987, had 68 branches in 45 states at the time of the sale and will become its own division of Guild, headed by May. With the acquisi- tion, Guild now has more than 300 branches and 4,000 employees in 49 states. "We continue to look for potential new partners with strong local teams, a history of growth, and community commitments," said Mary Ann McGarry, Guild Mortgage's CEO. "Cherry Creek has grown steadily over the years and shown a dedication to giving back that parallels ours, with an executive team and loan officers who are active in every mar- ket. Guild has a longstanding admiration for Cherry Creek's approach to business and its accomplishments, and we feel confident our two companies will be able to take advantage of our synergies in each market and do even more for our customers, together." FINANCE OF AMERICA REVERSE RENEWS SUBSERVICING RELATIONSHIP WITH CELINK C elink, a reverse mortgage subservicer, has executed a multiyear subservic- ing contract renewal with Finance of America Reverse, a leader in the reverse mortgage industry. Finance of America Reverse has utilized Celink as its reverse mortgage subservicer since 2011, and this renewal will further extend the relationship between the two companies for years to come. "Celink looks forward to continuing this decade-long relationship with Finance of America Reverse," Celink CEO Marion McDougall said. "With this renewal, we are extending our partnership and joint focus to- ward making industrywide improvements for the reverse mortgage product and providing excellent service for seniors." As a retirement solutions company and part of the Finance of America Companies family of companies, Finance of America Re- verse offers products and services designed to help older Americans include home equity in their retirement plans. With operations in both Austin, Texas, 80 M According to the Urban Institute, the number of Americans ages 65 and older will more than double over the next 40 years, reaching 80 million in 2040.