The origination assets of AmeriTrust Mortgage Corporation have moved to Union Home Mortgage, a Strongsville, Ohio independent mortgage banking company using the deal to expand in non-QM and wholesale lending. Origination assets are the operational backbone of a home loan business: the state licenses, processing systems, and personnel that carry a borrower from application to a closed loan. Union Home Mortgage announced the acquisition on July 21, 2026.
What non-QM lending covers
Non-QM stands for non-qualified mortgage. A qualified mortgage meets the federal documentation and underwriting criteria that make a loan eligible for purchase by government-sponsored enterprises, which opens it to the secondary market. Non-QM loans sit outside those criteria. Borrowers who use non-QM products include self-employed applicants whose tax returns understate income and real estate investors qualifying on a property's rental cash flow rather than personal wages. Because large banks tend to concentrate origination capacity on conventional programs, the non-QM segment draws independent lenders looking for less crowded ground.
How wholesale lending works
Wholesale lending separates two distinct parts of the mortgage process. A licensed mortgage broker handles the borrower relationship: gathering documents, advising on product options, and submitting the loan file. The wholesale lender provides the funding and runs the underwriting. For Union Home Mortgage, growing in wholesale means deepening a broker network rather than expanding a retail loan officer staff. Acquiring AmeriTrust's origination assets provides capacity that already exists, which is faster than building it from scratch.
The acquisition, announced July 21, 2026, gives Union Home Mortgage a path into both the non-QM and wholesale channels through a single transaction.