Market Street to Buy 14 Guaranty Branches

Market Street Mortgage, Clearwater, Fla., has announced an agreement to acquire 14 residential production offices from Guaranty Residential Lending Inc., a mortgage lending subsidiary of Temple-Inland Inc. based in Austin, Texas.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Market Street also reported that it had previously acquired five Guaranty offices in Arizona, Arkansas, and Texas for an undisclosed amount, and that those offices began operating under the Market Street brand on Dec. 6. The 14 offices covered by the latest agreement are located in Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Randall C. Johnson, chief executive officer of Market Street, said the transaction is part of a strategic plan to further diversify the company's retail mortgage operations by expanding its presence in "desirable" mortgage markets around the country. Market Street said the 19 Guaranty offices involved in the two deals originated more than $875 million in mortgage loans in 2003. Market Street, a wholly owned subsidiary of NetBank Inc., can be found online at http://www.marketstreetmortgage.com.