NewRez to acquire Caliber in $1.7B deal Deal strengthens NewRez's retail footprint, bulks up its servicing biz

Didier Malagies • April 15, 2021

NeAcquisitions-hungry New Residential Investment Corp. (NewRez) has agreed to acquire multichannel lender Caliber Home Loans in a deal valued at $1.675 billion, the firms announced on Wednesday.


The agreement with NewRez, a publicly traded mortgage REIT, comes roughly six months after Lone Star Funds attempted to take Caliber public. Since the independent public offering fell apart, sources have told HousingWire that private equity owner Lone Star has been shopping for a buyer for Caliber.


News of late-stage talks between NewRez and Caliber were first reported by HousingWire in the LendingLife newsletter.


In a statement on Wednesday, NewRez said the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.


With the acquisition, NewRez is acquiring a heavy-hitter across multiple origination channels. Caliber originated $80 billion in mortgages in 2020. It also has a $153 billion servicing portfolio with roughly 630,000 customers as of Dec. 31, 2020. Caliber made $891 million in pre-tax income in 2020, with a return on equity of 53%.


The firm, led by former Citi Mortgage CEO Sanjiv Das, is best known for its distributed retail footprint. It also does a fair amount of business in correspondent and wholesale channels.


“We believe this is a terrific acquisition for our Company,” said Michael Nierenberg, head of New Residential. “Over the years, Caliber’s experienced team has built a differentiated purchase-focused originator with an impressive retail franchise and solid track record in customer retention. The combination of NewRez and Caliber’s platforms will create a premier financial services company with scale, talent, technologies and products to accelerate our mortgage company objectives and generate strong earnings for our shareholders. With this acquisition, we have significantly strengthened our capabilities to perform across interest rate environments.”

NewRez said the deal would allow the firm to grow and strengthen its earnings profile across different rate environments. It will also add Caliber’s customer-retention capabilities (it had a 54% recapture rate last year), a network of talented underwriters and back-office staff, plus a large servicing book.


The Caliber deal represents yet another big acquisition for Nierenberg’s real estate investment trust. In 2019, NewRez acquired Ditech‘s forward origination and servicing business for $1.2 billion. The company also acquired Shellpoint Partners (the parent of New Penn Financial) in 2018 for $190 million.

According to 2020 HMDA data, Caliber originated 228,633 single-family loans in 2020 with an origination volume of $70.6 billion. It ranked fifth in purchase loans.


For months, New Residential Investment Corp. has been considering an IPO for its New Rez mortgage division. The company is recovering from a difficult 2020. It posted a $1.6 billion loss due in the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to the Fed Reserve’s purchase program, which tanked the value of its mortgage-backed securities investments. Its mortgage business, NewRez LLC, originated 213,852 single-family loans worth $61.60 billion in 2020 in 2020, the company said. That ranked it the 16th-largest mortgage originator by volume in America, according to Inside Mortgage Finance.


If the deal goes through, it would be the third large-scale mortgage company acquisition in recent months. Guaranteed Rate acquired Stearns Lending in a private deal in early January and AmeriHome (which also failed to go public) was scooped up by Western Alliance for approximately $1 billion.


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Trigger leads bill advances to the House

By Didier Malagies • June 12, 2025
The federal bill that seeks to eliminate abusive trigger leads took a major step forward this week, advancing in the U.S. House of Representatives and reigniting hopes across the mortgage industry that it could soon become law. Yes, that's an important development for the mortgage and consumer protection landscape. The federal bill to eliminate abusive trigger leads recently advanced in the U.S. House of Representatives , which is a significant step toward potentially becoming law. Here’s what this means: 🔍 What Are Trigger Leads? When a consumer applies for a mortgage and a credit inquiry is made, credit bureaus can sell that information to other lenders. These are known as trigger leads . While legal, they often result in a flood of unsolicited calls or offers from competing lenders — many of which may be misleading or aggressive. 🏛️ About the Bill The legislation seeks to ban or strictly limit the use of trigger leads unless the consumer explicitly consents. It aims to: Protect consumers from confusing or predatory offers . Curb misleading solicitations that impersonate the original lender. Improve privacy and control over a borrower’s financial data. 🏠 Industry Reaction The mortgage industry and consumer advocacy groups have largely welcomed the move, arguing that trigger leads: Cause consumer confusion. Undermine trust in legitimate lenders. Lead to identity theft or fraud in some cases. 📅 What’s Next? The bill now moves to the Senate , where it will need to pass before reaching the President’s desk. Industry stakeholders are pushing for bipartisan support, noting the broad agreement on consumer protection. 

What are all the mortgage programs we offer

By Didier Malagies • June 9, 2025
We offer 2nd mortgages on primary, secondary, and investment properties we do purchases or refinances on Conventional, FHA, VA, and Non- Qm mortgages, We do Reverse Mortgages, Construction Permanent loans, FHA203k, and Conventional Renovation loans. Let me know how we can help you or someone you know tune in and learn at https://www.ddamortgage.com/blog Didier Malagies nmls#212566 dda mortgage nmls#324329

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By Didier Malagies • June 5, 2025
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