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After rolling out a more inclusive mortgage underwriting process and getting into home equity lending earlier this year, Dallas-based PrimeLending has a new head of growth: former Benchmark Mortgage CEO Brian McKinney.
McKinney has nearly three decades of experience in the mortgage industry, spending the last 13 years at Benchmark Mortgage, a national lender based in Plano, Texas.
Stepping into a newly-created role at PrimeLending — executive vice president, growth and strategic development — McKinney will be expected to “optimize business practices and explore new revenue opportunities with the ultimate goal of driving company growth,” the company said Tuesday.
Steve Thompson
“Brian is a tremendous addition to our team, bringing an incredible track record of success building top-performing business lines in the mortgage industry,” PrimeLending President and CEO Steve Thompson said in a statement. “Brian shares our commitment to excellence — we don’t settle for average — and I’m excited to see the positive impact that Brian will have on the future of PrimeLending.”
Brian McKinney
As a subsidiary of PlainsCapital Bank — which is, in turn, owned by Hilltop Holdings, Inc. — PrimeLending “is backed by a well-funded and supportive owner, providing unmatched stability and resources,” McKinney said in a statement. “I look forward to helping drive the next chapter of this proven organization.”
Benchmark Mortgage, a “doing business name” of Ark-La-Tex Financial Services LLC, sponsors 331 mortgage loan originators working out of 83 branch locations, according to records maintained by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS). Ark-La-Tex Financial Services originated $4.52 billion in loans last year, according to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau database.
PrimeLending is about twice as big although, like many mortgage lenders, it’s scaled down considerably in recent years as rising mortgage rates curbed demand for mortgages — particularly refinancing.
PrimeLending’s refi boom and bust
Source: Hilltop Holdings annual reports.
PrimeLending staffed up in 2020 and 2021 to meet growing demand, with annual originations swelling to nearly $23 billion in those years. By the end of 2021, PrimeLending employed about 2,700 workers, including 1,300 mortgage loan originators.
But refinancing accounted for 42 percent of PrimeLending’s 2020 loan volume. As mortgage rates began to rise and the refinancing boom fizzled, PrimeLending slimmed down.
PrimeLending saw regional sales director Bret Head defect to rival First Community Mortgage near the end of 2022, along with branch managers in Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Indianapolis.
In 2023, originations shrank to $8.24 billion, with 93 percent of those loans taken out by homebuyers. PrimeLending ended the year with a staff of approximately 1,560 people — a 42 percent reduction in headcount over two years.
During the first six months of 2024, PrimeLending originated 12,849 mortgages totaling $4.06 billion, down 3 percent from the same period in 2023, parent company Hilltop Holdings disclosed in its second quarter earnings report.
The largest share of that business was in Texas ($1.29 billion), followed by California ($316 million), South Carolina ($224 million), Missouri ($183 million), Florida ($165 million), New York ($153 million), Arizona ($128 million), Ohio ($119 million), Washington ($112 million) and North Carolina ($92 million).
PrimeLending now employs 784 mortgage loan originators working out of 167 branch locations and sponsors an additional 56, according to NMLS records. Licensed in 24 states and Washington, D.C., PrimeLending’s other trade names include Loanplicity and Housed Home Loans.
In May, PrimeLending announced the opening of a new production hub in Plano, Texas, consolidating the operations of four Dallas-based branches employing 47 loan originators at a shared location.
The next month PrimeLending began offering home equity loans, which it markets for debt consolidation, home improvements, tuition, medical debt and other unplanned expenses.
In July, PrimeLending began offering Loan Lift, a new mortgage underwriting process aimed at expanding the pool of eligible borrowers by taking into account factors — like consistent rent payments, shared bill payments and positive cash flow from Venmo or Zelle transactions — that are “not always captured by standard underwriting systems,” the company said.
PrimeLending’s purchase loan originations are boosted by its participation in joint ventures with homebuilders. Through PrimeLending Ventures Management LLC, PrimeLending owns a majority stake in Highland Home Loans, an affiliated business arrangement (ABA) with Texas builder Highland Homes.
During the first half of 2024, affiliated businesses generated 15 percent of PrimeLending’s mortgages orginations, a share the company expects to maintain for the rest of the year.
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