With the Fed likely to raise rates again this year and demand for non-QM products on the rise, Citadel is growing to meet the challenge
The non-prime market is growing by leaps and bounds – and that’s good news for non-prime lenders that can keep up with the market’s trends. By riding that wave, Citadel Servicing Corp. (CSC) has seen some remarkable growth recently, according to Will Fisher, senior vice president and national sales and marketing director.
“We’re growing like crazy. (Recently) we had another training class, and we had six new sales reps we brought on, so we’re growing quite substantially,” Fisher said. “We’re approaching 30 underwriters, and we also added another office in Lehi, Utah. That’s our fourth office – and there, we’re going to be hiring underwriters, account executives and transaction managers.”
Fisher said there was a simple reason for CSC’s rapid growth: “Demand. Demand for the product. We have account executives that are so busy they’re doing $6 million-plus a month.”
Current trends in the mortgage space have also helped CSC’s growth. The recent high-interest-rate environment is good for non-prime lenders, who help borrowers who otherwise might have a hard time finding a mortgage.
“We do fine when rates are low, but we do even better when rates increase,” Fisher said. “And all signs are pointing to another rate increase this year.”
In recent months, CSC has made a big push into correspondent lending – but all the company’s divisions are seeing the fruits of its labors.
“Our retail division is also growing shockingly fast,” Fisher said. “Not many people are purchasing these leads, but our team is focusing exclusively on non-prime borrowers. That’s keeping us very busy as well.”
