Top Workplaces 2024
Editors' Picks
Arbor Financial Group
Santa Ana, California
arborfinancialgroup.net
Company Type: Brokerage/Bank
Employees: 333
As a hybrid mortgage brokerage and bank, Arbor Financial Group offers custom-tailored solutions to its borrowers. The company’s motto, “The Power of Choice,” is tied to the 150-plus investors that loan officers are able to choose from. Originators are also empowered by state-of-the-art technology and marketing tools.
Arbor’s culture is centered on creating an environment where employees thrive, clients feel valued and the community benefits from the company’s presence. Internal company events, including monthly breakfast and team-building meetings, are designed to build relationships and create a positive atmosphere.
In the past two years, Arbor has expanded its operations from 17 states to 33 and has nearly tripled its loan officer count to more than 200 professionals nationwide. It actively seeks to attract and retain employees from diverse backgrounds, cultures and experiences.
CrossCountry Mortgage
Cleveland
crosscountrymortgage.com
Company Type: Lender
Employees: 7,100
CrossCountry’s award-winning employee culture is fun and lighthearted but professional. It starts with clear core values and is maintained with regular employee feedback, focusing the company’s effort on what employees want and need.
Employees have access to extensive training and development opportunities, including the annual sales rally conference and marketing summit. The company encourages community engagement, and there’s a focus on philanthropy at the local and corporate levels.
CrossCountry employs more women than men, with standout women serving on origination teams and in executive roles.
An internal women’s network provides education and development opportunities. The company also recognizes the shifting demographics of consumers, with a new Hispanic homebuyers program to empower both Spanish-speaking clients and loan officers.
Capital Fund 1
Scottsdale, Arizona
capitalfund1.com
Company Type: Lender
Employees: 75
Capital Fund 1 is a private lender that operates in Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Tennessee and Georgia. Its loan products are designed for real estate investors and it has funded more than $3.5 billion in volume during its 13 years in business.
The company aims to revolutionize the fix-and-flip sector with asset-based financing that reduces time and friction for clients. Its customer service agents are available seven days a week. Its community engagement efforts include in-person events, investment stories on its YouTube channel and partnerships with local real estate professionals.
Among many career development initiatives, Capital Fund 1 offers robust cross-training for employees to gain a comprehensive understanding of various company functions. The company promotes from within whenever possible to ensure that high-performing employees are given the opportunities they deserve.
Enact Mortgage Insurance
Raleigh, North Carolina
enactmi.com
Company Type: Mortgage Insurance
Employees: 470
Enact helps people buy and keep homes. The company’s core values — excellence, improvement and connection — are evident throughout the culture. They’re further emphasized by the company’s commitment to philanthropy, volunteerism, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Enact offers competitive compensation and benefits, including a generous paid-leave policy, volunteer time off, tuition reimbursement, student loan repayment assistance, childcare subsidies and more. Employees use cutting-edge technology and have access to a range of training, development and mentorship programs.
DEI is implemented in various ways, such as the celebration of diverse holidays; support for local minority-owned businesses; nontraditional credit products that are more affordable and include manufactured homes; and the creation of a program that exposes students at historically Black colleges and universities to careers in the mortgage industry.
Grow Mortgage LLC
Charlotte
growmtg.com
Company Type: Brokerage
Employees: 22
Grow Mortgage touts that it opens the company bank account to employees each quarter, showing all income and expenses along with the road map for the coming quarter. The up-and-coming brokerage has been open for less than two years but reports immense growth.
Licensed in six states, Grow Mortgage has made a commitment to constant investment in its originators and technology. This includes coaching from some of the country’s top mortgage producers. All employees, from top to bottom, have the owner’s cellphone number. The owner engages in one-on-one meetings with everyone biweekly.
No one in leadership has private offices, instead rotating around different departments to understand on-the-ground struggles. Each week, employees share individual wins. In one recent week, the internal chat channel had 117 messages.
Homeowners Financial Group
Scottsdale, Arizona
homeownersfg.com
Company Type: Lender
Employees: 333
When you join Homeowners Financial Group, you become a “homie” — a part of the family. The company’s family philosophy is realized through an exceptional leadership team, a dedication to giving back, and an exceptional company culture that includes recognition, awards, opportunities for growth, employee appreciation events and more.
Innovative programs and technologies add value for loan officers. One example is the new My Mortgage Manager service, which provides active management of a client’s housing wealth at no cost.
Competitive compensation and benefits are available, including unique options like volunteer time off and a plethora of ancillary offerings. These include discounted home, auto and pet insurance; a legal plan; and a health boost package with discounted costs for alternative medicine.
Hartford Funding Ltd.
Woodbury, New York
hartfordfunding.com
Company: Lender
Employees: 71
Hartford Funding started as a mortgage lender in 1983 in a very different financial climate. The vision then and now remains the same: Help as many people as possible realize the dream of homeownership.
Implementing technology enables the company to remain lean while still having its bases covered. Ongoing training is provided both internally and externally on new products, guidelines and investors. Hartford hosts networking events for sales staff to generate more business. The company notes that everyone has a voice, pointing out that some of its best ideas came from a processor and an office manager.
Employees are regularly recognized on their birthdays and work anniversaries. Other perks include happy-hour and golf outings, season tickets for the New York Islanders hockey team, and sales contests to boost morale and camaraderie.
Nations Lending Corp.
Independence, Ohio
nationslending.com
Company Type: Lender
Employees: 728
Happy employees equal happy clients. That’s a concept that Nations Lending, based in Greater Cleveland, pursues in its mission of fulfilling borrower dreams “one family, one home, one community at a time.”
Top leadership entrench themselves in daily operations while taking time to knowing employees by name. Committees encourage co-workers to get to know each other better. Nations Lending is looking for new headquarters to better serve everyone in a remote- and hybrid-working world.
Employee appreciation is shown through birthday cards, callouts on work anniversaries and company parties. On-site workers enjoy cakes, cookies, food and ice cream trucks, and virtual events with prizes are also held. Top sales employees and branch managers are treated to a summit — a resort trip to celebrate the previous year’s successes.
NewDay USA
West Palm Beach, Florida
newdayusa.com
Company Type: Lender
Employees: 500
NewDay USA’s mission is centered on building the nation’s No. 1 military membership-based financial institution. The company assists active service members, veterans and their families in achieving homeownership and financial security. Its fintech-enabled business model is underpinned by a highly efficient customer acquisition platform.
The company’s core principles are veteran housing, education, leadership development and philanthropy. The NewDay USA Foundation has provided more than $10 million in college scholarships, benefiting more than 125 students, including 14 Gold Star children and 64 children of severely disabled veterans.
NewDay USA is committed to the success of its employees through an academy-style program that provides access to cutting-edge training, mentorship and career advancement opportunities. The company recognizes outstanding individual performance with the SOUL Award (selflessness, ownership, unity and larger purpose).
Nova Home Loans
Tucson, Arizona
novahomeloans.com
Company Type: Lender
Employees: 379
Even in a declining housing market, Nova Home Loans has continued to grow and expand. Nova has been in business for 43 years and is now licensed in 19 states. In 2023, the company opened four new locations in Oregon and Washington, bringing its total number of branches to 21, with additional offices in Arizona, Colorado, California and Nevada.
Nova Home Loans has helped thousands of people achieve homeownership each year. In 2021, that number was 24,184.
Last year, Nova launched an ambassador program in which a team member from each branch or department was nominated by their peers as a leader of employee engagement, helping to localize corporate engagement initiatives to fit their unique team. Quarterly town hall meetings and bimonthly “What’s Important Now” meetings aim to keep everyone connected.
NFM Lending
Linthicum, Maryland
nfmlending.com
Company Type: Lender
Employees: 1,050
Despite 25 years of experience and 100-plus branches in 49 states, NFM preserves a family-oriented, small-business feel, with an emphasis on giving back and being a part of something greater. The lender aims to have the best company culture not only in the mortgage industry but of any business in the country. It achieves this with a focus on work-life balance, a clear purpose and vision, regular encouragement and collaboration, and employee appreciation initiatives.
NFM loan officers have access to first-class technology and award-winning wellness initiatives. Training and development is always available.
NFM is forward-thinking and recently launched the Creator Collective, a social media division that produces educational and empowering content. The company also has clear diversity, equity and inclusion goals, both internally and externally.
Presto Home Loans
San Bruno, California
prestohomeloans.com
Company Type: Brokerage/Lender
Employees: 23
The mission at Presto Home Loans, which has been in business for seven years, is to empower individuals and families on the journey to homeownership. The company aspires to be a leader in innovation, exceptional service and unwavering commitment to clients.
Presto offers competitive commissions for its sales employees; opportunities for training, certification and career advancement; and company-sponsored originator presentations and other marketing tools to promote sales growth. From artificial intelligence in underwriting to electronic signatures that speed up closings, the company aims to deliver a hassle-free, personalized mortgage experience.
Presto has implemented inclusive hiring practices and offers diversity training in its efforts to embrace and celebrate differences. The brokerage has formal employee recognition programs, performance-based bonuses, flexible work arrangements and a number of team-building activities.
PrimeLending
Dallas
primelending.com
Company Type: Lender
Employees: 1,603
PrimeLending has a people-centric culture and a passionate team, with strong core values of honesty, integrity, agility and service. Originators have access to industry-leading products, including a 24-hour loan approval program, along with advanced automation and AI tools to smooth and streamline the mortgage process.
PrimeLending offers great benefits, including a tuition reimbursement program and paid volunteer time off. Employees enjoy award-winning coaching and development programs, regular live marketing calls that offer tips and tutorials, and annual awards programs to celebrate their achievements. With this support, PrimeLending loan officers have double the industry-average tenure.
The company is also dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion. Its multicultural lending advisory council has loan officer representatives from every production region who advise the executive leadership team.
Sun West Mortgage Co. Inc.
Buena Park, California
swmc.com
Company Type: Lender/Technology
Employees: 471
Sun West was founded in 1980 with a customer-first perspective aimed at making the mortgage process easy and stress-free. Today, the company services a multibillion-dollar loan portfolio and is licensed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Sun West’s core focus includes people, experience, technology and products. Its virtual assistant, Angel AI, is designed to revolutionize the time to closing through fast underwriting with no overlays. The company also utilizes blockchain technology and nonfungible tokens in its lending process.
The company’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is evident in the fact that women comprise 75% of the board of directors and more than 50% of the senior leadership team. Coaching and mentorship efforts work to provide individualized attention and guide employees toward empowerment.
Southern Bancorp
Little Rock, Arkansas
banksouthern.com
Company Type: Bank
Employees: 530
Southern Bancorp was founded with a focus on wealth building in communities of color. To fulfill this mission, the company wants to ensure that its culture embraces the core values of relationship, accountability, innovation, sustainability and empowerment throughout its organization.
Started with an initial investment of $10 million, Southern Bancorp has grown to become one of the largest community development organizations in the U.S. It serves as model for an entire industry of mission-focused businesses known as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).
In 2023, Southern Bancorp launched a large-scale expansion
of its capacities, increasing its mortgage team with a specific
focus on bridging the homeownership gaps experienced
within communities of color. Job perks include cash prizes,
all-expenses-paid vacations and a mortgage with a 1% rate after one year of employment.
Supreme Lending
Dallas
supremelending.com
Company Type: Lender
Employees: 1,271
With 24 years in business, Supreme Lending is driven by its commitment to deliver on five principles of customer service: welcoming, transparent, approachable, efficient and trustworthy. Across its 213 branches, the company supports many charitable and community organizations such as the Ronald McDonald House, Arms of Hope and Susan G. Komen.
Supreme Lending strives to be the perfect example of a large organization with a small company culture. It offers competitive compensation and benefits, flexible work-life balance and abundant career development opportunities.
Through the company’s on-demand digital training portal, employees have 24/7 access to instruction on processes, culture, general business strategies and best practices.
Top producers are recognized through the President’s Club,
which includes an all-expenses-paid trip to a tropical destination.
