TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1345021
M R EP O RT | 5 MTECH "While 2020 was unusual and challenging, that didn't dampen the spirit of celebration for our 20th anniversary as a cooperative," said Brian A. Simon, President of Lenders One. "Working together with our growing alliance of members, we saw them achieve substantial successes through our existing and new programs. Looking ahead, we have several more initiatives and strategies planned. We're excited to help our members take their companies to the next level in 2021 and beyond." A Powerful Partnership CIVIC FINANCIAL SERVICES ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION BY PACWEST BANCORP. C ivic Financial Services, LLC, announced that Pacific Western Bank has purchased the company from Wedgewood, LLC. Based in Redondo Beach, Calif., CIVIC is one of the leading institu- tional private lenders in the U.S. specializing in originating resi- dential business-purpose loans (BPLs). Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. CIVIC was founded in 2014 through a partnership between Wedgewood and one of its sub- sidiaries, HMC Assets, to serve investors who did not fit within traditional real estate lending cri- teria. The company will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of PacWest Bancorp, while William J. Tessar will continue to serve as CIVIC's President. Since its inception, CIVIC has funded more than 10,000 loans to real estate investors for more than $4.4 billion. In 2020, the com- pany funded more than $1 billion amidst a pandemic that caused other private lenders to pause operations or exit the market. The company has also received several awards for being one of the best places to work in the financial industry. The acquisition advances Pacific Western Bank's strategy to expand its lending portfolio and diversify its revenue streams. "We believe there is growth and earning potential in the residential BPL space," Pacific Western Bank President and CEO Matt Wagner said. "This acquisition opens the door for us to grow in the private lending space with a proven market leader, creating value for both of our organizations. We are excited to welcome the talented CIVIC team to Pacific Western Bank." "As a part of PacWest Bancorp, CIVIC is poised to dominate our market more fiercely than ever before," Tessar said. "More importantly, PacWest Bancorp shares the values our company has been built upon as well as our vision and goals. With a strong capital base, we have the ability to continue to invest in scaling our infrastructure and operations and expand into new markets. CIVIC customers will continue to experience our outstanding service with an even broader array of competitive financing solutions to help them grow their businesses." Evercore acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Wedgewood in connection with the sale of CIVIC to Pacific Western Bank. An Investment Boost BLUE SAGE SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCES GOLDMAN SACHS FINANCING. B lue Sage Solutions, LLC, developers of the Blue Sage Digital Lending Platform, a browser-based, end- to-end mortgage lending system, announced that it has closed a financing round from Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, which focuses exclusively on investments in growth-stage and technology- driven companies. The investment is Blue Sage's first external round of funding since the company was founded by Carmine Cacciavillani, President and CEO. Blue Sage has been on a rapid growth trajectory, doubling rev- enues in 2020 from the previous year. The company's customers include independent mortgage bankers, credit unions, and lead- ing banks. "We created the Digital Lending Platform to provide lend- ers the most modern and com- prehensive solution in the market, allowing them to more efficiently close and fund thousands of loans while reducing compliance risk. We provide the only multichannel platform in the marketplace with a combined point-of-sale and loan origination system. We developed it from the ground up in the last five years," Cacciavillani said. "With Goldman Sachs as an investor, we continue to strengthen our balance sheet while gaining access to Goldman's incredible resources, industry relationships, and expertise in helping companies like ours to accelerate growth and scale to meet the needs of our customers and prospects," Cacciavillani said. Blue Sage will use the capital to continue investing in growth initiatives, including develop- ing additional features that will further strengthen its Digital Lending Platform. "Goldman Sachs also brings a deep un- derstanding of technology and operational expertise to assist in scaling our business," Cacciavillani said. "Goldman Sachs' expertise will contribute to executing our vision." Antoine Munfa, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, said, "We are very excited about our investment in Blue Sage Solutions. Blue Sage has a demonstrated track record of innovation and success. We have been extremely impressed by the team's depth of indus- try knowledge and the breadth of functionality and scalability of Blue Sage's Digital Lending Platform." Ashwin Gupta, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, added, "Lenders are increasingly demanding modern software that is easy to use and which increases productivity. Blue Sage does that and more. The company is poised for accelerated growth while already having achieved significant profitability." "Lenders are increasingly demanding modern software that is easy to use and which increases productivity." —Ashwin Gupta, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Growth Equity