Stearns Lending

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Stearns Lending, LLC
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryFinancial Services
Founded1989
FounderGlenn Stearns
HeadquartersLewisville, Texas,
U.S.
Key people
David Schneider, CEO
Steve Smith, President & CFO
Revenue$521.7 million (2014[1])
Number of employees
1,700 (2015[1])
Websitewww.stearns.com

Stearns Lending, LLC was an American wholesale, retail, and correspondent lender. Founded in 1989, it grew until it became the fifth-largest privately held lender in the US in 2013.[2][3][4] The company declared bankruptcy in 2019 and was acquired by Guaranteed Rate two years later.

History[edit]

Glenn Stearns, who founded the company in 1989,[1][2] was chief executive officer (CEO) until May 2012, when he named as his successor Brian Hale, former president and national production executive of MetLife Home Loans.[5]

In May 2017, David Schneider joined Stearns Lending as CEO and a member of its board of managers.[6]

Stearns appeared on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America in 2013, 2014, and 2015.[7][8] In August 2015, Stearns' parent company, Stearns Holdings, LLC, was purchased by The Blackstone Group.[1][7] In May 2016, the American Bankers Association added Stearns Lending to its list of endorsed lending services through the Corporation for American Banking.[9]

2019 bankruptcy[edit]

Stearns Lending performed poorly amid the rising interest rates of 2017 and 2018. In mid-2019, the company sought an agreement to restructure its debt with Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), which owned 67% of the $183 million in senior secured notes owed by Stearns. The effort failed,[10] and on July 9, 2019, Stearns Lending filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[10] On September 11, 2019, Stearns announced that it had reached an agreement with its largest noteholders under which the noteholders will support a plan of reorganization.[11]

In 2021, Chicago-based lender Guaranteed Rate bought Stearns for an undisclosed sum.[12] It which discontinued the Stearns brand a year later.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Jane Yu (August 21, 2015). "Stearns to Sell Majority Stake to Blackstone". Orange County Business Journal. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Bill Quinnan (January 21, 2013). "Hard Times Yield Opportunities for Stearns Lending". OC Register. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  3. ^ James Rufus Koren (November 30, 2015). "After subprime collapse, nonbank lenders again dominate riskier mortgages". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  4. ^ "Fast Growing Lender Adding Correspondent Program". Mortgage Stats. March 18, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  5. ^ Jane Yu (May 7, 2012). "Hale New CEO for Stearns Lending". Orange County Business Journal. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  6. ^ "Stearns Lending, LLC Announces CEO Transition". www.businesswire.com. 2017-05-15. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  7. ^ a b "Will Blackstone's (BX) Deal with Stearns Boost Growth". Zacks. August 24, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  8. ^ "Stearns Lending". Inc. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  9. ^ "ABA Endorses Stearns Lending's Fulfillment, Correspondent Services". ABA Banking Journal. May 9, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Stearns Lending files Chapter 11 bankruptcy after mortgage interest rate increases". USA Today. July 9, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  11. ^ "Restructuring Information". stearnsrestructuring.com/. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  12. ^ Kleimann, James (January 5, 2021). "Guaranteed Rate to acquire Stearns Lending".
  13. ^ "Guaranteed Rate closes Stearns wholesale channel". HousingWire. 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2022-05-07.


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