YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Memphis, Tenn-based First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) sold its approximately 250 mortgage production offices and origination and servicing operations outside Tennessee to MetLife Bank, N.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of New York-based MetLife Inc., which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “MET.”
Included in the transaction were approximately $380 million in total assets, including servicing rights related to $19 billion of first-lien mortgage loans (all FNMA-conforming) and $300 million of custodial deposits related to assets sold, according to a First Horizon news release. Securities and Exchange Commission filings estimate the sale price at $383 million.
“The completion of the sale of our mortgage business outside Tennessee allows us to refocus on our core businesses of regional banking and capital markets,” said First Horizon CEO Bryan Jordan in the release. According to Springfield Business Journal’s 2007 Book of Lists, First Horizon’s Springfield office opened in 1994. That year, the office reported mortgage volume of $81 million. The company did not provide information for the 2008 Book of Lists.
David Hammarstrom, media relations director for MetLife Bank, said that because MetLife’s overall goal is to help its customers manage their assets, the First Horizons acquisition is a natural complement to the company.
The company, however, knew the time was right to enter the mortgage lending arena.
“We had a program in place for a couple of years that was what they call a private-label (lending) program,” Hammarstrom said, noting that through that endeavor, MetLife offered access to home loans, but it didn’t actually make the loans.
“That was our beta test getting into the marketplace. We had that for a few years and saw that (mortgage lending) was a natural fit for MetLife’s brand,” he added. “By doing an acquisition, you immediately build economies of scale. You immediately build market share … and the platforms you need to run the business, which otherwise could take years to build up.”
Hammarstrom said there are no staffing changes planned in Springfield, where there currently are 11 employees.
MetLife shares closed Sept. 9 at $56.05 compared to a 52-week range of $47.73 to $71.23.
First Horizon shares closed Sept. 9 at $11.50 compared to a 52-week range of $4.52 to $31.25.[[In-content Ad]]
Descriptors of “community builder” and “business titan” were used in recent days by Springfield leaders to document the life of Sam F. Hamra, a longtime Queen City businessperson whose influence stretched across multiple industries for decades.