NY Mortgage Co. to merge with First Security Financial

Real Estate Weekly, Jan 13, 1999

Steven B. Schnall, founder and president of New York Mortgage Corp. (NYMC), and Joseph V. Fierro, founder and President of First Security Financial Services (FSFS), have announced a merger between the two firms, creating a company with over $500 million in annual sales.

The new company is to be called The New York Mortgage Company LLC. Schnall, president of the newly merged entity, said "The successful expansion of NYMC was made possible through tireless focus on customer service." In addition to economies of scale, both companies stand to gain greater flexibility and wider markets through the merger. New York Mortgage Corp. be comes a mortgage banker, while First Security Financial Services gains a strong, dynamic retail sales force. The combined entity will serve on a national scale the entire gamut of mortgage applicants in both residential and commercial financing, and in retail as well as wholesale capacities.

As a mortgage broker, New York Mortgage Corp. has been a preferred mortgage company for a wide assortment of associations and major corporations, as well as for retail customers and real estate brokers, since its founding in 1991. NYMC, having first established itself as a residential mortgage leader, started to handle commercial loans a year ago. The firm's employees, a diverse group of individuals with backgrounds in real estate finance, law and accounting, represent an emerging breed of professional mortgage broker, coming to the profession with extensive training in banking and finance, while meeting high standards of customer service.

Fierro, who will be the Chief Operating Officer of the newly-formed company, said "This merger combines the strength of a direct lender with the origination and marketing skills of a mortgage broker."

New York Mortgage Corp., despite its name, reaches markets outside of New York with offices in Florida and New Jersey, in addition to being licensed in Connecticut, South Carolina and Georgia. It has more licenses pending in California, Pennsylvania and Illinois. NYMC also has an on-site office at the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company in Roseland, NJ. The brokerage recently created a division to handle B to D loans, and has projected a 57 percent increase over last year in the amount of loans originated in 1998.

Schnall founded the company after becoming a partner at IPI, a start-up Manhattan mortgage brokerage company, with in a year after starting his employment there. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Florida.

First Security Financial Services was founded in 1989 primarily to provide high-end residential mortgage financing for self-employed homeowners. Headquartered in New York City, FSFS maintains branch offices in New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania. FSFS holds mortgage banking licenses in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, florida, Indiana and Texas. In 1994, FSFS became a mortgage banker to accommodate a realignment of its customer base from a retail to wholesale provider of mortgages. The company has been able to access a constant flow of new mortgage originations, with over 300 approved third party originators. With a variety of niche products, this lender has been able to offer a varied menu of loan options to meet the individual needs of mortgage brokers throughout the country.