Citi Combines First-Mortgage Ops

Citigroup has announced the combining of its first-mortgage businesses, St. Louis-based CitiMortgage and Dallas-based CitiFinancial Mortgage, under the CitiMortgage name.CitiMortgage previously handled prime residential mortgages through retail, wholesale, and correspondent channels, while CitiFinancial Mortgage specialized in nonprime residential mortgages. CitiMortgage will now originate both prime and nonprime mortgages, and its headquarters will remain in St. Louis. "This integration ... allows us to present a consistent face to the market, increase our national presence via greater distribution, and offer more complete solutions to customers," said Bill Beckmann, president of CitiMortgage. Citi said the move will allow it to adopt a "common, customer-focused business model"; migrate to an integrated computer infrastructure that will facilitate improved customer service; capitalize on expanding product lines and pricing; and leverage the distribution channels and strengths of both companies. The parent company can be found online at http://www.citigroup.com.