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Evergreen Home Loans continues to expand beyond its roots as a regional independent mortgage bank, hiring Wells Fargo and Bank of America veteran Andrew Leff as head of national business development.
Leff, who’s also held senior leadership positions at JPMorgan Chase and U.S. Bank, will be responsible for expanding Evergreen’s footprint through partnership-driven growth strategies including builder and affinity relationships, the lender announced Monday.
Robert Lipston
“Andrew’s reputation in the industry speaks for itself,” Evergreen executive Robert Lipston said in a statement. “He brings the experience, strategic vision, and leadership we need as we continue to grow our national presence. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”
Based in Bellevue, Washington, Evergreen in January announced an expansion into five Southeastern states — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee — with former Guild Mortgage executive John Porath overseeing its operations in those states.
The cash offer pioneer in March announced its entry into the New Mexico market with branches in Albuquerque and Carlsbad under the leadership of Area Manager Barry Abt.
Launched in 2021, Evergreen’s CashUp program has grown into a suite of products that also includes a buy-before-you-sell product, “StepUp,” and a rate-lock product for sellers, “Lock and List.”
Evergreen has fueled growth through partnerships with real estate agents and builders, a strategy that Leff has extensive experience with.
Leff was head of business development programs at Wells Fargo, managing builder, corporate affinity, relocation and wealth management partnership channels. During a 10-year stint at Bank of America, Leff was instrumental in building and scaling the bank’s national builder and affinity platforms, Evergreen said.
Andrew Leff
“I truly admired Evergreen’s people-first culture and entrepreneurial spirit,” Leff said in a statement. “I’m excited to help build on that foundation by creating scalable, value-driven partnerships that support both the business and the communities we serve.”
Evergreen sponsors 227 mortgage loan originators who work out of 51 branch locations in nine states — Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington — according to records maintained by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System.
Evergreen Home Loans’ growing market presence
Evergreen Home Loans 2024 business by county. Source: iEmergent analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data.
Last year, Evergreen funded 4,791 mortgages totalling $1.92 billion, up 22 percent from 2023, according to an analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data by mortgage business intelligence provider iEmergent.
According to iEmergent data, purchase loans accounted for 85 percent of Evergreen’s business in 2024, most of which was done west of the Rocky Mountains, with a growing presence in Texas and Florida.
Evergreen on Monday was advertising 11 positions on its website, with openings for loan officers and funders, investor accounting manager and a branch marketing assistant.
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