Residential Finance Corp., Columbus, Ohio, has hired Daniel Jacobs, former 1st Metropolitan CEO, to head up its new retail branching operation, ProLending Network.
In an interview, Jacobs explained that since RFC entered the business in 1997, it has operated through two call centers, in Columbus and Tampa. It realized the direction of the business for the future is with the purchase market, and success was not easy without having a local presence. Thus it formed the branching operation.
It is "a slightly different twist" for Jacobs than what he did at 1st Metropolitan. His former firm had started as a mortgage brokerage operation; ProLending is a mortgage banking company, he noted.
The regulatory changes, particularly Dodd/Frank and the Federal Reserve loan originator compensation rules are game changers for the branching business, Jacobs continued. In the past branching operations were loose affiliations; the new operation is a true retail production network.
ProLending has compensation programs for branch managers who are also loan producers as well as for nonproducing managers. Both have been vetted during long discussions with legal counsel, Jacobs said.
As for Pro Mortgage Bankers Solutions, the industry employment consulting firm he recently launched, Jacobs said he would remain an owner and do some high level tasks. But his partner Adam Sidle will handle the day-to-day running of the firm.
