U.S. Bank Home Mortgage Buys AssuraFirst

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank Home Mortgage has announced the acquisition of family-owned AssuraFirst Financial, Southfield, Mich., formerly known as Homestead Mortgage USA.The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. AssuraFirst has 140 employees and 15 retail branch offices in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Texas, and Arizona, U.S. Bank Home Mortgage said. AssuraFirst also operates a wholesale division out of Southfield. U.S. Bank Home Mortgage has retail, wholesale, and specialized mortgage lending in all 50 states, with "heavy emphasis" on the 24 states in which U.S. Bank has a retail banking presence, the company said. As a result of the acquisition, U.S. Bank said it expects to see an immediate 8% increase in volume and number of loan officers, and will enter new markets in Michigan, Texas, and Indiana. Dan Arrigoni, president of U.S. Bank Home Mortgage, said AssuraFirst's culture and philosophy are "very similar to ours, and there is very little overlap in our respective territories, which is why we are confident that this is a perfect fit." U.S. Bank Home Mortgage is part of U.S. Bancorp, which can be found on the Web at http://www.usbank.com.