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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana-based Hallmark Home Mortgage is set to be acquired by one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp., Fairway announced Wednesday.
Fairway, which has dual headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin and Carrollton, Texas, said in a news release that it will acquire “significant assets” of Hallmark, which is licensed in 20 states. Hallmark will become a new division of Fairway, doing business as Hallmark Home Mortgage, Powered by Fairway.
The announcement did not provide financial terms, nor did it say when the deal is expected to close, but Hallmark’s website has already been rebranded under the new name.
A Hallmark representative declined to comment, saying the Fort Wayne-based company prefers to let the public announcement speak for itself.
Hallmark has branches in Indianapolis as well as Brownsburg, Plainfield, Columbus, Elkhart, Kendallville, Lafayette and South Bend. The company also has branches in Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
Fairway is a full-service mortgage lender which is licensed to do business in all 50 states.
The acquisition represents a reunion of sorts for the leaders of the two companies. Fairway founder and CEO Steve Jacobson and Hallmark founder and CEO Deborah Sturges previously worked together at Waterfield Financial, which is based in the northeast Indiana town of Roanoke.
Once the acquisition closes, Sturges will remain with the combined company as president of Hallmark Home Mortgage. Jacobson will remain Fairway’s CEO.
“This strategic decision brings Fairway’s expanded product portfolio, enhanced technology, and deep support resources into Hallmark’s orbit,” Sturges said in a prepared statement. “To reconnect with my former colleague Steve Jacobson is truly exciting. This partnership puts both companies in the best position to grow, innovate, and lead.”
According to financial analytics company Experian, Fairway was the nation’s fourth largest mortgage lender by volume in 2024, originating 82,985 mortgages with a combined value of $26 billion.
For context, the list’s top three mortgage lenders were Rocket Mortgage (288,558 originations), United Wholesale Mortgage (274,667 originations) and Bank of America (89,329 originations).
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