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Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. will expand its presence in the Midwest with a deal to acquire “significant assets” of Indiana-based Hallmark Home Mortgage.
Hallmark will operate as a new division of Fairway, with CEO and founder Deborah Sturges joining Fairway with the title of president, Hallmark Home Mortgage, the companies announced Wednesday.
Deborah Sturges
“This strategic decision brings Fairway’s expanded product portfolio, enhanced technology, and deep support resources into Hallmark’s orbit,” Sturges said in a statement.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Steve Jacobson
“Deborah and I worked together at Waterfield [Financial Corp.] decades ago and have remained industry acquaintances ever since,” Fairway founder and CEO Steve Jacobson said, in a statement. “Our shared values and our trust in each other make this partnership a natural fit. Our shared vision will make us even stronger together.”
Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Hallmark Home Mortgage is licensed in 18 states, sponsoring 45 mortgage loan originators who work out of 19 branch locations, according to Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) data.
In 2022, Hallmark hired former Finance of America divisional manager Marc Wadman to spearhead the lender’s expansion into Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas.
Hallmark mortgage originations by county
Source: iEmergent analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data.
Hallmark originated $591 million in mortgages last year, with most of that business in Indiana ($399 million), Texas ($88 million) and Missouri ($38 million), according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data tracked by iEmergent. Of the 2,640 loans Hallmark originated in 2024, 95 percent were purchase loans taken out by homebuyers
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Fairway is licensed in all 50 states and sponsors 2,474 mortgage loan originators working out of 604 branch offices, according to NMLS data.
Fairway originated $23.7 billion in loans last year — 91 percent of them purchase loans — making the company the sixth-largest provider of loans to homebuyers, according to iEmergent data.
Fairway’s other trade names include 62PLUSHOMEBUYER.COM, CG HomeLoanPartners, Corporate Lending Group, MortgageBanc, Northpoint Mortgage and The Mortgage Reel. Fairway also owns the domain home.com, which redirects to the company’s homepage.
Last year, Fairway agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations by federal regulators that the company engaged in redlining in the metro Birmingham, Alabama, market, which it entered in 2009 with the acquisition of MortgageBanc.
Fairway denied wrongdoing, saying regulators “did not identify any evidence of redlining or other discrimination,” and accused the government of acting in “bad faith” by characterizing Fairway’s actions as intentional, willful and reckless.
“Fairway vigorously defended itself against the government agencies’ allegations and continues to deny that the company engaged in any discriminatory behavior,” Fairway said in a statement in October.
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