Yet another former Fleet Mortgage executive has landed on his feet after a short time at the company.
David L. Molde, whom Fleet hired in late 1995 to head a brand new subprime mortgage lending division, has joined Molton, Allen & Williams Corp. He will be spearheading the Birmingham, Al.-based mortgage banker's new alternative lending department.
Mr. Molde quietly left Fleet late last year, because, he said, the company reneged on its commitment to subprime mortgage lending. "Fleet decided to go in a different direction," he said. "The job wasn't the same as it was when they brought me on."
Fleet Mortgage executives declined to comment.
In a late-1995 interview with American Banker, Jack Daly, then executive vice president Fleet Mortgage, said it was committed to starting a subprime mortgage lending program with Mr. Molde at the helm. The company had recently purchased Option One, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based subprime lender, to underwrite, securitize, and service these loans.
Mr. Daly has since left the company to form a consulting firm, and Fleet has announced that Option One is for sale.
During the same interview, Daly projected loan originations of $130 million in 1996 for the new subprime division. Figures on the amount of loans actually originated last year were not available.
Mr. Molde is projecting $35 million to $40 million in subprime loan originations for Molton, Allen & Williams in 1997, and over $100 million in 1998.
Molton, Allen & Williams made its first subprime home loans in February, Mr. Molde said. The company is placing dedicated originators who specialize in underwriting subprime loans in each of its 20 retail branches.
In addition, it will build several stand-alone subprime branch offices, and expand into wholesale and correspondent origination channels for these loans, he said.
Mr. Molde said that joining Molton, Allen & Williams appealed to him because he "enjoys creating something from scratch." Before his time with Fleet, he created Advanta Finance Corp., the subprime lending division of Advanta Corp., San Diego.
