AMRESCO Forms Strategic Home Equity Lending Alliance
DALLAS, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- AMRESCO, INC. (Nasdaq: AMMB) announced today that it has formed Finance America, LLC, a joint venture between its Home Equity Lending subsidiary, AMRESCO Residential Mortgage Corporation (ARMC), and Lehman ALI, Inc. A limited liability company, Finance America will originate, purchase, sell and securitize sub-prime residential and home equity loans.
This new venture provides AMRESCO with the ability to participate in the upside potential of Finance America. Importantly, it partners ARMC with an industry leader committed to the home equity sector and one that can provide various types of financing as well as a broad range of exit strategies.
Leading Finance America will be home equity lending veterans Brian L. Libman, formerly a managing director with Lehman Brothers, who will serve as chairman of the board and CEO, and Peter J. Levasseur, formerly president of ARMC, who will serve as president and chief operating officer. Together, Mr. Libman and Mr. Levasseur bring approximately 40 years of industry experience and talent to this promising new enterprise.
"This joint venture is ideal because both partners bring substantial expertise to the table," says Robert H. Lutz, Jr., chairman and CEO of AMRESCO. "Up until now, ARMC has been originating approximately $1.5 billion annually in home equity loans through wholesale and retail channels on a national basis. Operating in tandem, the two entities will provide the home equity sector with a powerful competitor."
This strategic move provides focused operating management for Finance America and allows AMRESCO to concentrate and focus on its core commercial businesses including asset management, commercial finance and commercial mortgage banking, and its residential refinancing business. |
