A leading full-service mortgage banking company with offices in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area has recently taken on a new name.
PR Mortgage & Investments and RICHMAC Funding recently rebranded to Merchants Capital. The comprehensive rebrand aims to elevate the company’s commitment to providing and servicing affordable, workforce and conventional multifamily housing with a focus on the Twin Cities market.
With its new name, Merchants Capital and its affiliates plan to remain leaders in multifamily affordable housing finance, offering all existing financial services, while “investing further in brand unity and expert support for its clients,” according to a press release about the rebrand.
“As the Merchants Capital brand continues to grow, we have an elevated focus to increase the affordable and workforce housing options available in Minnesota,” said Marsha Goff, executive vice president of Merchants Capital, based in the Saint Paul office. “Our ability to provide financing through our parent company, Merchants Bank, allows us to provide streamlined services to our customers in every multifamily space.”
The company Merchants Capital assures customers this rebrand will not affect any existing loans or delay any current or future loans in process, and multifamily lending will continue to be the core of the company’s business model.
Merchants Capital – which also has offices in New York City and Indianapolis, Indiana – employs more than 12 people in the Twin Cities and just debuted a newly renovated office space in January 2019 to allow for future growth. Additionally, Merchants Capital recently secured financing for the development of a $19.7 million affordable housing community in Rochester, Minnesota.
Dubbed Technology Park Apartments, the majority of the capital for the 164-unit affordable housing complex was provided by Freddie Mac, an accessible and affordable secondary mortgage lender. This development will help to ease the affordable housing gap, as Rochester was recently ranked one of the lowest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) nationally for housing affordability by Nationwide Economics. Merchants Bank provided the construction loan, with Freddie Mac providing a forward loan commitment for the permanent loan.
Forty percent of Technology Park Apartments will be priced affordably for individuals earning an annual income of $40,000, or 60 percent of the area’s annual median income (AMI). The Greater Minnesota Housing Fund contributed a total of $3.4 million in capital for the development of these units, which will cost renters an estimated $1,150 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.
An additional 35 percent of units will be set aside for individuals earning about $55,000 a year, 20 percent below Rochester’s AMI. The remaining units will be priced slightly below the current market value, about $200-300 less than similar apartments in the area.
In 2017, PR Mortgage & Investments acquired Saint Paul-based RICHMAC Funding, a national Freddie Mac Targeted Affordable Housing Seller/Servicer, Fannie Mae Multifamily Affordable Housing Lender, approved Federal Housing Administration (FHA) multifamily lender and Ginnie Mae issuer. RICHMAC Funding, now recognized under the Merchants Capital name, was sold by an affiliate of The Richman Group.
“We believe there are significant growth opportunities with additional borrowers and partners across the nation, including right here in Minnesota,” said Michael R. Dury, president of Merchants Capital. “Launching this modern, unified brand signals our intention to the market and positions Merchants Capital to meet these expansion targets.”
Merchants Capital is held by Merchants Bancorp, a bank holding company with a focus on FHA multifamily housing and healthcare facility financing and servicing; mortgage warehouse financing; retail and correspondent residential mortgage banking; agricultural lending; and traditional community banking. Merchants Bank continues to be recognized as one of the top performing banks nationally by S&P Market Intelligence.
Since its inception in 1990, Merchants Capital has originated and closed more than $11 billion in loans and now services in excess of $10 billion for Merchants Bank of Indiana and other investors. In 2017, the company closed more than $1.7 billion in new loans.
As of Sept. 30, 2018, Merchants Capital has generated $1.8 billion in new loan production nationwide.
