Embrace Home Loans Expands Partnerships With Amalgamated Bank Deal

Rhode Island–based mortgage lender Embrace Home Loans has struck a deal to provide residential mortgage financing to customers of Amalgamated Bank. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

This marks the second partnership Embrace has announced in recent months. In September, the lender disclosed a deal with OceanFirst Bank, which exited the mortgage origination business, citing increased concentration among large-scale wholesale mortgage companies and financial technology firms.

Under the agreement, Embrace will originate and service loans for Amalgamated Bank through an exclusive platform. Amalgamated Bank is a New York-based, full-service commercial bank and chartered trust company with five branches across New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, as well as a commercial office in Boston. The bank is owned by Amalgamated Financial Corp.

Embrace will offer a proprietary program that certifies a property’s value and provides sellers with a $10,000 backup cash guarantee, making a homebuyer’s bid more attractive than a cash offer. The lender will also make available a program that certifies the value of a subject home, allowing the appraisal contingency to be waived.

Dennis Hardiman, founder and CEO of Embrace Home Loans, said the deal includes experienced local loan officers to ensure that “Amalgamated Bank’s customers continue to receive professional, dependable service.”

Founded in 1983, Embrace produced $1.96 billion in loan volume over the past 12 months through 166 sponsored loan officers and 37 branches, according to data from mortgage platform RETR and the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS). 

As part of its agreement with OceanFirst, Embrace expanded its presence in New Jersey by hiring the bank’s former mortgage professionals, opening additional locations, and investing in local processing, underwriting and sales support.