Legislative Assembly Reso
Friday December 1, 12:00 pm ET
President Quentin Caruana Honored b
JANUARY 4, 2007
OCMETRO.COM THE BUSINESS LIFESTYLE WIRE)--Sage Credit Company a IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESSMAGAZINE Assembly Resolution honoring its President, Quentin Caruan TICKEROrange County California State Assembly 2006 Grant Writing
Awards & Honors
The event t dation Cen research, g seeking pro
The event w Rudy Berm Spitzer, Ass semblyman
Quentin Caruana, president of Sage Credit Co., and Assemblywomen Mimi Walters (District 73)
Quentin Caruana,rating for in the magazine’s December cover story... recently awarded the highest President of Sage Credit sound fiscal management from Charof Greenberg Company, andpremier charity The international law firmannounce that ity Navigator, America’s Assemblywoman pleased toWalters Taurig LLP is Mimi evaluator....First fromInsurance American Property & Ca- Steven Anapoell, shareholder in the OrDistrictrecently (Photo: ange County office of Greenberg Taurig 73. announced Business Wire). sualty Co.
that Jim Court, vice president and chief information officer, was named one of Insurance & Technology magazine’s Elite 8...Sage Credit Co. received a California State Legislature Assembly Resolution honoring its president, Quentin Caruana and Sage Credit Co. for its work in sponsoring the Orange County State Assembly 2006 Grant Writing Workshop...Crowell & Moring partner Steven Rice has been named a Pro Bono Angel by California LLP, has been selected to serve as a member of California’s Continuing Education of the Bar Business & Intellectual Property Law Advisory Committee for the 20072008 term...Karen Tejcka, administrator for Women and Children’s Health Care Services, Kaiser Permanente Orange County was honored at the 2006 Hospital Hero Awards in recognition of her outstanding service and commitment to patients.
The CHOC Foundation for Children was
Lawyer, one of only 16 attorneys honored
“We sincere ing this eve osity of Sag provided a w access gran their mission
“The Grant non-profit groups in Orange County to be more financially sol for our involvement and are honored to receive such tremen Credit Company. “I applaud the vision of the Orange County happen and hope it becomes the model for other such events About Sage Credit Company Sage Credit Company is based in Irvine, California and is a
ocregister.com
Friday, October 27, 2006
Gap between mortgage rates narrows
The trend is leading to diminished demand for adjustable-rate loans.
By MATHEW PADILLA The Orange County Register
The gap between a couple of key adjustable and fixed rates narrowed this week to the lowest level in more than three years, according to National Financial News Services. The trend is somewhat diminishing demand for adjustable-rate loans since fixed rates are nearly as attractive, brokers say. Some homeowners have already swapped their adjustable-rate loans for fixed ones since July, when fixed rates began falling. Paul Scheper, a broker with Loan Link Financial in Aliso Viejo, said some customers are passing over loans fixed for just seven to 10 years. They’re asking why get a fixed for seven to 10 “when I can get a plain old vanilla 30-year fixed for literally almost the same,” Scheper said. The gap between a 30-year fixed with a one-point fee and a one-year adjustable with two points fell to 1.67 percentage points. That’s the smallest gap since June 2003. The savings on the adjustable amounts to $1,060 a month based on an average $300,000 loan, said Quentin Caruana , head of Sage Credit Co. in Irvine. That amount might help a consumer qualify for an adjustable but not a fixed-rate loan, he said. Of course, that savings comes with some risk and is short-lived. Once the introductory rate adjusts, the monthly payment will increase. Both rates fell this week. The average rate on a 30-year fixed dipped to 6.064 percent with a one-point fee. Last week it was 6.120 percent. The average introductory rate on a one-year adjustable loan slipped to 4.397 percent with a fee of two points. Jeff Lazerson, president of brokerage Mortgage Grader in Laguna Niguel, said long-term rates likely will drop even more next year. A combo of slumping loan demand and abundant supply of investor cash to fund loans will push rates down, he said. He cited a recent forecast by the national Mortgage Bankers Association, which says nationwide loan volume will drop 14 percent next year to $2.1 trillion. He said volume is falling as homebuyers sit on the sidelines.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Mortgage companies running on talent
By MATHEW PADILLA The Orange County Register
Quentin Caruana is bucking the trend in the mortgage industry. He’s hiring.
A few other mortgage entrepreneurs are expanding in an industry rocked by layoffs and slumping demand for home loans.
He and a few other entrepreneurs are expanding in an industry rocked by layoffs and slumping demand for home loans. That could be welcome news for Orange County’s housing market and economy. Both have grown along with the mortgage industry and both are losing steam. Mortgage companies have cut about 1,800 jobs in the county so far this year, state filings show. But Caruana’s Sage Credit Co. in Irvine hired most of its 600 employees and added 32 of its 34 offices in the county this year alone. Caruana, 31, incorporated Sage in December 2003 and spent most of the time since then getting licensed in all 50 states. Today’s turbulent market is a “great opportunity to hire quality, talented people at lesser cost,” he said. In addition to Sage Credit, Stearns Lending of Santa Ana is adding employees and two other start-ups are preparing to join the lending market. One of the new entrants is the work of William Templeton, the former head of The Money Store, who says now is the right time to start a mortgage business. Declining loan volume across the industry makes it an easy time to find talented employees, executives said. Total mortgage volume in the U.S. is expected to drop 18 percent this year, according to a forecast by the Mortgage Bankers Association. As Sage’s president, Caruana built his business by persuading independent mortgage brokers with their own facilities to become employees. Sage is a mortgage brokerage and funds about a third of its loans. Sage also hired people who left or were fired from Ameriquest Mortgage, New Century Financial and ECC Capital, Caruana said. Stearns Lending has added about 50 workers this year for a total of 350, said founder Glenn Stearns, 42. He said his company is benefiting from a focus on borrowers with good credit or credit ratings a little short of perfect. Companies like Ameriquest and New Century, which cater to borrowers with spotty credit, known as sub-prime, are getting hammered by a drop in investor confidence, he said. They sell their loans as bonds to investors. More sub-prime borrowers are missing loan payments as the housing market cools, Stearns said. As a result, investors are paying less for such loans. “We never went where most of these lenders went,” Stearns said. “While we didn’t pick up huge profits, now we are not suffering.” Stearns’ borrowers are making their loan payments, which makes buyers of his loans happy, said Doc Baldwin, of Inglewood, Colo.-based mortgage consultant Richey May Baldwin. Stearns hired Baldwin last year to review its operations for the benefit of investors. Lenders made easy money over the past five years, Baldwin said. Amid a tougher market today, some have dropped their standards, he said. “It’s a dog fight out there,” Baldwin said. “It’s nasty and it’s going to get worse.” Don Currie said he is forming a mortgage company after leaving Impac Mortgage Holdings of Newport Beach earlier this year. Currie, 44, a former senior vice president with Impac, decided to got on his own and will launch HighTechLending in Newport Beach in September. He’ll be leasing space from Impac, which is vacating offices to move to a new building in Irvine. Impac will also be the major buyer of his loans, Currie said. Although other lenders are merging in a bid for cost efficiencies, Currie believes it doesn’t always work that way. Larger companies have more fixed costs – office space is a good example – and are slower to adjust to a decline in demand, he said. The bigger guys “can’t pull tentacles in fast enough,” Currie said. Sub-prime lenders, for example, need to earn a premium of 1.5 to 2 percent on each loan to recoup costs, he said. He say’s he’ll need a 1 point premium at the most. “There’s kind of an opportunity for people to start up companies more tied in to today’s market,” Currie said. “There is a tremendous amount of talent that has poured into the street. You are able to pick up a lot of talent at a more reasonable cost.” Currie said he’ll start with 20 employees. Templeton, who headed The Money Store until it was sold in 1998 for $2.2 billion, also said he’s getting back into the sub-prime business. Templeton, 56, said he’s forming a company, mum’s the word on a name, in the county and plans to hire about 150 workers. He said lenders got so focused on volume they forgot the first principle of the business: A borrower’s ability to repay a mortgage. And companies have been paying “obscene” commissions to account executives, he said. “You have a culture of people who expect to be paid handsomely for a product that is not profitable,” Templeton said. DEMAND: Quentin Caruana, president of Sage Credit in Irvine, says he’s hired most of his 600 workers this year, when most mortgage firms had layoffs.
FINANCE
Press Release Source: Sage Credit Company
Sage Credit Company Becomes Diamond Sponsor for Orange County California State Assembly 2006 Grant Writing Workshop
Friday September 22, 11:00 am ET
Grant Writing Workshop Receives a $10,000 Donation from Sage Credit Company
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 2006--Sage Credit Company announced today that it became the Diamond Sponsor for the Orange County California State Assembly 2006 Grant Writing Workshop. The event will take place on September 29th and will be directed by the Foundation Center of New York City. The free event will offer training on grant research, grant writing, fundraising, and many other aspects of the grant seeking process. Source: Sage Credit Company
The event is being hosted by Assemblywoman Mimi Walters, Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher, Assemblyman Bob Huff and Assemblyman Van Tran. “We sincerely appreciate Sage Credit Company’s generous donation,” said Assemblywoman Mimi Walters. “Through the generosity of Sage Credit Company, the Orange County Assembly members can provide a workshop to train non profits with the skills necessary to better access grant money so they can focus less on fundraising and more on their mission to the community.” “The Grant Writing Workshop is a great opportunity to train countless non-profit groups in Orange County to be more financially solid. We think the benefits will be significant throughout the county,” said Quentin Caruana, President of Sage Credit Company. “I applaud the vision of the Orange County California State Assembly to make such a worthwhile event happen and hope it becomes the model for other such events,” said Caruana. About Sage Credit Company
Sage Credit Company is based in Irvine, California and is a rapidly emerging mortgage banking company. The company is licensed in all 50 states with expansion plans for authority to do business in Mexico and Canada. Sage Credit Company has a network of 40 retail offices nationwide providing a wide range of products including equity loans, refinancing, debt consolidation, and home improvement loans. Sage Credit Company conducts both mortgage lending and banking activities utilizing Wall Street conduits. As President, Quentin Caruana oversees all facets of the company’s operation. The company is located in the Irvine Spectrum at 8001 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 200. For more information, visit www.sagecreditcompany.com. About the Foundation Center The Foundation Center is based in New York City and is the foremost leader for grant training programs in the United States. The Center’s programs are specifically designed for grant seekers who want to enhance their understanding of the grant process and various aspects of funding research.
From left to right: Quentin Caruana (President, Sage Credit Company), Assemblywoman Mimi Walters, Cherstyn Monson (Director of Government Affairs, Sage Credit Company). (Photo: Business Wire)
Contact: Blank and Associates Hank Blank, 949-300-3266 hankblank@aol.com
Source: Sage Credit Company
www.ocbj.com
VOL. 30 NO. 1 • JANUARY 1-7, 2007
PEOPLE
REAL ESTATE
Hirings, promotions and other moves at local businesses
Compiled by Christina Hur
David Jacobson joined the Irvine office of Fifield Cos. as vice president of sales and marketing. Jacobson previously was senior vice president of marketing and sales for the SaresRegis Group in Irvine. LendingTree Loans in Irvine promoted Mike Nguyen to director of sales in the equity lending division and Jess Smith to director of sales for first mortgage loans. The company also hired Suzanne Brown as director of sales recruiting and David Norris as vice president of corporate quality. Brea-based ResMae Mortgage Corp. appointed Jeffrey Beckwith as executive vice president of capital markets and John Stumpf as senior vice president, managing director and partner of CBA Receivables LLC. Stumpf previously was vice president of finance and treasurer for Anaheim’s DDi Corp.
Henderson
Carroll
Sage Credit Co. in Irvine named Lisa Henderson as director of human resources and added Michael Carroll as general counsel. Henderson is also a member of the executive management team. Carroll previously was senior counsel of Aames Investment Corp.
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
MARKETPLACE
SATURDAY, NOV. 25, 2006
SAGE EXECUTIVE: Kyle Kamrooz will oversee employees at Sage Credit Mortgage’s 40 branches.
Sage Credit hires relationship manager
Sage Credit Mortgage Co. in Irvine announced Friday that it has hired Kyle Kamrooz as relationship manager. Kamrooz will oversee employees at Sage’ 40 branches throughout the country. s He comes to Sage from Avrek Financial Corp. in Santa Ana where he was vice president of operations and production.