New beginnings for seasoned warehouse lending executive

The mortgage warehouse lending space is welcoming a new player while watching another participant disappear. 

Virginia-based Primis Bank on Wednesday unveiled its new Warehouse Lending Division, helmed by division President Drey Roberts. The team has secured over 40 new clients nationwide for the division's non-commercial real estate loans and commercial deposits, according to a press release. 

"Having met a dozen or so of their clients in person and seeing how fast we have on-boarded them from application to real funding, I am convinced that we can move the needle on profitability and operating results," said Dennis Zember, Primis Bank CEO, in a press release. 

The $4 billion asset Primis is also a home loan originator. Its Primis Mortgage Company recorded almost $600 million in volume in 2023, and today reports 117 sponsored loan originators for 15 licensed states, according to public databases. It claimed in February it was the first depository home lender, besides independent mortgage banks, to adopt the FICO 10-T credit score. 

Roberts comes over from Independent Bank, where he was a senior vice president and national sales manager on that company's mortgage warehouse team. In that post, Roberts oversaw an average of over $1 billion in monthly loan balances and large commercial deposits, Primis said, referring to Independent only as a large regional bank. 

The publicly-traded Independent Bank recently made a "strategic decision" to shutter its warehouse operations, according to a third quarter earnings report last week. The $19 billion asset Independent, headquartered outside of Dallas, said the move should result in increased capital and liquidity. It's in the midst of a merger with Florida-based SouthState bank. 

The depository intends to cease funding during this fourth quarter. Independent reported average mortgage warehouse purchase loans of $517.3 million for the recent period, a slight quarterly decrease but a 26% increase from the year ago period. The bank's earnings also rebounded from a small net loss in the second quarter, to an eight-figure profit in the recent period. 

According to public records, the Texas bank's home lending operations had 421 registered loan originators and reported $637 million in loan volume last year. 

Independent CEO David Brooks told American Banker in May, the company, a serial acquirer, decided to be acquired by SouthState to beef up its technology, and stay on a growth path amid interest rate volatility and heightened regulatory scrutiny. 

The mortgage warehouse lending space has seen some fluctuation, as major player Flagstar Financial said it would pull back, and Comerica completely exited the business. Meanwhile, Canada-based Bank of Nova Scotia in August tapped a JPMorgan Chase executive to lead its new warehouse lending here in the U.S.