Florida’s largest community bank, Amerant Bank, continues to grow the national footprint of its mortgage subsidiary, Amerant Mortgage, through acquisitions.
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Florida’s largest community bank, Amerant Bank, continues to grow the national footprint of its mortgage subsidiary, Amerant Mortgage, by acquiring F&B Financial Group in St. Louis, Missouri, to launch a Midwest hub.
Chris Fox, president of F&B Financial, will remain with Amerant Mortgage in a sales leadership role to continue growing the retail mortgage banking footprint, the companies said Thursday.
Tony Eelman
“For Amerant Mortgage, the Midwest was the perfect move, as it provides geographic diversity and an opportunity to partner with a well-respected market leader,” said Tony Eelman, president of Amerant Mortgage, in a statement.
Launched as a joint venture in 2021 with former City National Bank executives Howard Levine, Tony Eelman, Marshall Martin and Joe Keel, Amerant Mortgage is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Amerant Bancorp Inc.
Amerant Mortgage expanded its footprint in late 2021 with the $1 million acquisition of Boise, Idaho-based First Mortgage Company Inc., which provides nationwide support of Amerant’s mortgage clients and referral partners. Amerant Mortgage then hired a team of industry veterans to expand its wholesale lending channel.
Amerant Mortgage employs 43 mortgage loan officers, up from 27 in May 2022, according to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System. It also sponsors another five. Amerant Mortgage is licensed in Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
Amerant Bank, which operates 23 banking centers — 16 in South Florida and seven in the Houston…