FirstBank growing wholesale mortgage biz

FirstBank, one of Tennessee’s largest community banks, has agreed to buy the wholesale mortgage unit of a $3 billion Virginia-based holding company and will build its business-to-business lending operations around it.

Lexington-based FirstBank expects to close its deal with publicly traded StellarOne Corp. by the end of the year. It’s the latest in a series of growth moves for FirstBank Mortgage Partners, following on the acquisitions earlier this year of Crosstown Mortgage Group in Mt. Juliet and Henger Rast Mortgage Corp. in Birmingham. The unit also has this year opened an office in Green Hills.

StellarOne’s wholesale unit — which is based near Greenville, S.C. — had gross revenues of $2.3 million and gross profits of about $400,000 through the first nine months of this year. The South Carolina office will continue to be led by Mike Johnson and lift FirstBank Mortgage Partners' headcount from 95 to 115.

“This is a great merger of talent for both teams,” said Don Holsinger, president of FirstBank Mortgage Partners. “Mike’s leadership and dedicated staff fit our culture like a glove.”

FirstBank is the No. 15 deposit holder in Middle Tennessee and runs a dozen area offices. Its local operations account for almost a third of its total deposit base.