NAF in Talks to Acquire Draper & Kraper Residential Mortgage Arm

Mortgage lender New American Funding is nearing the acquisition of Chicago-based brokerage Draper & Kramer Mortgage Corporation.

Negotiations are in the late stages, and if the deal goes through, NAF would acquire the residential mortgage arm of Draper & Kramer, Housing Wire reported.

Draper & Kramer, which operates in property management and commercial finance, among other sectors, is seeking to exit the residential mortgage business. The firm had furloughs and cutbacks in early 2023, an anonymous sales employee told the outlet.

“Sentiment was that the business model wasn’t working in these times. The board didn’t have an interest in keeping a residential mortgage division,” the employee said.

There was no official company-wide announcement about the acquisition, but some salespeople had discussions with NAF executives about transitioning to the new company, the employee said. Specific details about compensation and bonuses were not provided during the talks.

Non-sales staff, including processors and underwriters, are expected to be offered jobs with NAF if the deal goes through.

Data from the National Multistate Licensing System indicates that if the acquisition is successful, the combined companies would have approximately 2,130 loan officers, including 1,884 from NAF and 251 from DKMC, the outlet reported.

NAF, founded in 2003, is a California-based mortgage lender that originated $7.4 billion in mortgages from January to September 2023. DKMC originated about $2 billion in mortgages last year, with conventional loans comprising 67 percent, and purchase loans making up 84 percent of the total.

The acquisition could reshape the landscape of the mortgage lending industry, bringing together the strengths of these two power players. Representatives from both companies have declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations.

—Quinn Donoghue