Stearns Lending, LLC was an American wholesale, retail, and correspondent lender. Founded in 1989, it grew until it became the fifth-largest privately held lender in the US in 2013. The company declared bankruptcy in 2019 and was acquired by

Guaranteed Rate Guaranteed Rate Companies, doing business as Rate, is an American residential mortgage company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2000 by Victor Ciardelli, the company had $55 billion in funded volume in 2022, down 25% since 2020. As ...

two years later.

History

Glenn Stearns Glenn Bryan Stearns (born 1963) is an American businessman and the founder of Stearns Lending. Stearns appeared in the Discovery Channel reality show ''Undercover Billionaire'', during which he founded Underdog BBQ in Erie, Pennsylvania. Ea ...

, who founded the company in 1989, was chief executive officer (CEO) until May 2012, when he named as his successor Brian Hale, former president and national production executive of

MetLife MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produ ...

Home Loans. In May 2017, David Schneider joined Stearns Lending as CEO and a member of its board of managers. Stearns appeared on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America in 2013, 2014, and 2015.In August 2015, Stearns' parent company, Stearns Holdings, LLC, was purchased by

The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter G. Peterson, Peter Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, who h ...

. In May 2016, the

American Bankers Association The American Bankers Association (ABA) is an American trade association for the U.S. banking industry, founded in 1875. They lobby for banks of all sizes and bank charters, including community banks, regional and money center banks, Federal s ...

added Stearns Lending to its list of endorsed lending services through the Corporation for American Banking.

2019 bankruptcy

Stearns Lending performed poorly amid the rising interest rates of 2017 and 2018. In mid-2019, the company sought an agreement to restructure its debt with

Pacific Investment Management Company Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (PIMCO) is an American investment management firm. While it has a specific focus on active fixed income management worldwide, it manages investments in many asset classes, including fixed income, equities ...

(PIMCO), which owned 67% of the $183 million in senior secured notes owed by Stearns. The effort failed, and on July 9, 2019, Stearns Lending filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

. On September 11, 2019, Stearns announced that it had reached an agreement with its largest noteholders under which the noteholders will support a plan of reorganization. In 2021, Guaranteed Rate, a Chicago-based lender, bought Stearns for an undisclosed sum, which discontinued the Stearns brand a year later.

References

1989 establishments in California American companies established in 1989 Mortgage lenders of the United States Companies based in Santa Ana, California Financial services companies based in California Financial services companies established in 1989 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 Blackstone Inc. companies 2015 mergers and acquisitions {{US-finance-company-stub