Minneapolis-based Luminate Bank has acquired select assets of First State Mortgage Services, the companies announced Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal represents an expansion of the bank’s mortgage presence across the Midwest and central U.S. Many members of Illinois-based First State Mortgage’s team, led by CEO and president Rene Shaffer, will join Luminate Bank.
Luminate originated about $2.2 billion year to date, according to mortgage tech platform InGenius. First State’s production reached $132 million in the same period, the data shows.
New Jersey, Minnesota and Florida are the main production states for Luminate, while First State’s volume this year has been concentrated in California, Texas and Florida. The companies said the seller holds the No. 1 market share position in Bloomington, Illinois.
First State now sits inside a national bank licensed in all 50 states. The incoming team will plug into Luminate’s mortgage platform, including products such as construction loans, non-QM offerings, reverse mortgages and broader banking services.
As of Thursday, according to data from the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), Luminate has 418 registered mortgage loan officers while First State has 35.
Eric Lovins, co-founder and president of mortgage lending at Luminate Bank, said in the announcement that the organizations “share the same fundamental values.” Shaffer added that “the mortgage process represents a unique opportunity to support clients through some of the most meaningful and stressful financial transactions of their lives.”
Jeff Young, executive vice president of secondary at First State, whose father founded Mortgage Services Illinois — the lender that later became First State — will join Luminate as well.
Luminate Home Loans, a subsidiary of the bank operating since 1998, announced in December 2022 that it would transition the NEO Home Loans team, which had more than 200 members, to its structure. The team was previously part of Celebrity Home Loans.
But in 2024, Luminate decided to shutter thedivision. The company said the reason was to “focus on integrating mortgage lending into its core banking services to better serve clients and build long-term financial relationships.” The group is now partnered with AI-focused mortgage lender Better.com.
