Two New Jersey-based banks have reached a merger agreement. Ocean First Bank of North America Acquiring garden state home loan companywhich will become a new division of Regional Deposit Bank, house line Already learned.
Garden State President and CEO Justin DeJoseph announced the deal in a July 25 email to employees.
In messages reviewed by HousingWire, DeJoseph wrote that by becoming part of a larger organization, Garden State gained “a national lending platform, more resources, more career development opportunities and the ability to more comprehensively serve our clients , and beyond residential mortgages.
Garden State’s website and social media pages reflect the status of OceanFirst Bank NA Division
spokesman Ocean First Financial CorporationOceanFirst Bank’s parent company and DeJoseph did not respond to requests for comment.
As of Friday, Garden State had 34 sponsored loan officers and two active branches — one in Medford, New Jersey, and one in Maitland, Florida. National Multi-State Licensing System (NMLS).
The company was founded in 2011 as a mortgage broker and transitioned into a mortgage lender in 2017. Meanwhile, OceanFirst Bank, founded in 1902, had about 200 loan officers as of Friday, NMLS data showed.
Selling the company will allow Garden State to offer more products without changing processes, DeJoseph wrote in an email to employees.
DeJoseph also wrote that the deal does not change the company’s expansion plans. “We are actively recruiting operations and sales personnel to strengthen our team,” he said. “Our goal is to increase our sales year over year and double our headcount by the middle of next year. This will allow us to achieve our goal of sales of $2 billion in 2025.
