A Minnesota-based wholesale lender has sold off its production operations and appears to be winding down.
WinStar Mortgage Partners Inc. recently sold the assets and employees of its San Diego and Minneapolis production offices to American Sterling Bank, American Sterling spokesman Brannon Ogburn told MortgageDaily.com Friday afternoon. The Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based lender also acquired sales production teams in Chicago and Virginia but not the branches or assets.
The deal excluded WinStar’s Minneapolis headquarters operations, Ogburn noted.
Altogether, American Sterling gained 59 employees from WinStar, which closed about $139 million in loans per month, the spokesman added.
American Sterling has combined the regional production offices of WinStar into its existing mortgage operations, according to an announcement Tuesday on WinStar’s site.
“This change was a strategic decision for both companies to take advantage of their strengths in different areas and combine them to offer stronger products and services to their customers,” the announcement read.
WinStar was a privately-owned and capitalized wholesaler lender specializing in A and Alt-A loans, according to its Web site.
Although unsure, Ogburn said he believed WinStar had a skeleton crew remaining that was winding down the pipeline in Virginia and Chicago.
WinStar was not immediately available for comment.
WinStar was licensed in 42 states and did business with over 2,000 mortgage brokers, while attracting 15 percent of its volume from sister company and retail lender Summit Mortgage Corp. WinStar was originally the secondary marketing division of Summit prior to becoming a separate company. The wholesaler also had a division, which in December 2005 changed its name from Partner Loan Services to match that of WinStar’s, according to WinStar’s Web site.
“WinStar has truly appreciated your business in the past and our combined companies look forward to continue serving you and your borrowers in the future,” Tuesday’s announcement said.
