Bay Equity Expands Its Broker-to-Banker Transition Program Across Western U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Aug 31, 2011) - Bay Equity Home Loans, one of the San Francisco area's most respected and successful mortgage lending institutions, is initiating an aggressive effort to expand its roster of branch offices by encouraging mortgage brokers to transition into the mortgage financing industry.

Veteran mortgage broker and banker Dave Hardin, Director of Retail Operations for Bay Equity, has been charged with overseeing the growth and marketing of Bay Equity's current team of retail branches across the Western United States.

"Dave Hardin has built an exceptionally successful 25-year career as a mortgage broker and banker," said Casey McGovern, Managing Director in charge of production for Bay Equity. "He has proven himself as a sound financial leader. Dave knows how to grow business, and under his leadership we anticipate strong and consistent growth in our retail branches."

McGovern and the Bay Equity executive management team chose Hardin because of his strong background in both mortgage brokerage and banking and his extensive network of business relationships and contacts. As a convert himself from brokering to banking, Hardin can help other brokers understand how successful they can be with a banking platform.

In addition to his role with Bay Equity, Hardin also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Mortgage, which he founded in 2003. Covenant is one of a dozen mortgage brokerage firms to move into a banking relationship with Bay Equity in recent years to take advantage of the bank's well-capitalized corporate infrastructure, offer more products and services, and better navigate the recent changes in federal regulations governing the mortgage industry.

"I'm excited to join Casey McGovern and the management team at Bay Equity," Hardin said. "They have done an outstanding job building a solid business model in a challenging economy. As a veteran of the mortgage brokerage industry I understand the benefits of transitioning from being a mortgage broker to banking -- and in light of new federal financial regulations the time to make that switch has never been better."

Prior to launching Covenant Mortgage Hardin spent a decade at Hawthorne Financial where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer for Hawthorne Savings and President and CEO of HFS Financial Services. Hardin is also a member of the board of Pacific Premier Bank.

At Hawthorne Financial, Hardin's responsibilities included income property, construction, residential, community and commercial lending. He also was involved in marketing, appraisal, loan servicing, and was a member of the executive loan committee.

Bay Equity is a family-owned, full-service wholesale and retail mortgage lending institution. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with operations centers in San Francisco and Pleasanton, California and more than a dozen retail branch offices. Founded in June 2007, Bay Equity has funded 7,000+ home loans totaling $2 billion and has grown to 150+ employees. www.bayeq.com