In Brief: Top Mortgage Exec Plans Net Venture

Veteran mortgage executive Mark L. Korell is building an Internet venture in Denver with backing from T. Rowe Price.

Attempts to reach Mr. Korell for comment by press time were unsuccessful, but a spokeswoman for the Baltimore mutual fund powerhouse confirmed that it is "working with Mark on a potential Internet venture [in which] we would be an investor."

Mr. Korell is best known for heading up two of the nation's biggest mortgage companies. From 1986 to 1995 he was chief executive officer of GMAC Mortgage, the Horsham, Pa., unit of General Motors Corp. From 1995 to 1997 he was CEO of Norwest Mortgages in Des Moines, now named Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

After leaving Norwest in April 1997, Mr. Korell was considered a candidate to run then-ailing Fleet Mortgage in Columbia, S.C.

Instead, he landed the CEO post at IMX Mortgage Exchange in San Ramon, Calif., which operates a Web site on which lenders bid for loan applications placed on the site by brokers.

Mr. Korell ran IMX for a year, then in October 1998 became CEO of Finet.com Inc., an online lender also based in San Ramon.

Last December he announced that he was retiring from Finet to spend more quality time with his family and on charitable activities.

The Price spokeswoman declined to elaborate on what the company's plans for the venture might be. She confirmed that it would be in Denver. People familiar with Mr. Korell's plans said the venture would not have much to do with mortgages but is apparently targeted at consumers in their 40s and 50s.

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