Guarantee Rate Inc., one of the fastest growing mortgage bankers in the U.S., is in talks to buy Manhattan Mortgage, New York, a large brokerage shop that had close ties to Wells Fargo Co., according to industry officials who were briefed on the matter.
At deadline, telephone calls and emails to both firms had not been returned. The status of the talks is not known.
Melissa Cohn, who started Manhattan Mortgage in 1985 from her dining room table, was travelling in Chicago and could not be reached for comment. Guarantee was launched in June 2000 by Victor Ciardelli. The nonbank lender is based in Chicago.
Executives that have conducted business with Manhattan Mortgage said one of its wholesale funders was Wells Fargo & Co., which last month announced its intention to close the channel.
According to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report, Guarantee Rate ranks 21st among all residential originators. In the first quarter its fundings doubled to $2.5 billion.
