Sept. 04--Chicago-based mortgage company Guaranteed Rate has added 75 loan officers to help its push into digital mortgages.
The nonbank lender hired the call center workers from Discover Home Loans, which in June announced plans to exit the traditional first mortgage business. Discover continues to make home equity loans.
The hires, based in Irvine, Calif., bring Guaranteed Rate's total number of loan officers to more than 1,100, according to CEO Victor Ciardelli III. "The timing was perfect for us," he said.
Ciardelli aims to make the business, formed in 2000, one of the top five mortgage companies in the nation by using technology to increase efficiency. It is currently the eighth largest mortgage lender in the U.S.
Its digital mortgage product, launched in June, allows borrowers who do not want or need human interaction to complete a mortgage application, undergo an automated credit check and secure underwriting online. Since then, the company said it has sold 4,400 digital mortgages, with a total value of more than $1.4 billion.
Ciardelli said the new workers will sell digital mortgages but some will also pursue leads for traditional mortgages.
kjanssen@tribpub.com
