Banc One Mortgage Corp. has hired a vice president from Prudential Home Mortgage to further a push into the secondary market.
Jeffrey Smith joined the Indianapolis mortgage company Tuesday as executive vice president in charge of secondary marketing.
Mr. Smith was brought on board to accelerate an expansion into jumbo and other nonconforming loans, said Jeffrey Gaia, president of the Banc One Corp. unit.
"This is a chance for him to get on a train that is going in the right direction," Mr. Gaia said. The Prudential Insurance Company of America subsidiary is up for sale.
Mr. Smith will report to a former Pru colleague, chief operating officer Albert Will, who recommended him for the job.
Mr. Smith fills a spot vacated four months ago when Dennis St. Marie left to join KeyCorp Mortgage Inc., Williamsville, N.Y.
With Banc One, Mr. Smith is hitching his star to a smaller company but an ambitious one. His new employer ranked 27th among mortgage originators for the first six months of 1995, with $1.2 billion sold. Prudential's home mortgage unit was No. 3, with $5.7 billion sold.
As a servicer of residential mortgages, Banc One was No. 24 at June 30, with $20.2 billion of loans. Prudential ranked fifth, with $77.8 billion.
Mr. Smith plans to use his broad contacts in the mortgage industry to help Banc One sell more loans to investors. "We want to deliver virtually all we originate into the secondary market," Mr. Gaia said.
Instead of selling off jumbo and other nonconforming loans, the mortgage unit had traditionally placed most of the assets on the balance sheets of its corporate parent. The approach tied up capital, limiting the amount of mortgage lending Banc One could do.
Mr. Gaia said a shift began last year, when $2.4 billion worth of the company's $3 billion of originations was sold to outside investors, a move that freed up capital.
