NEXA Lending Acquires UMortgage, Adding $2 Billion in Annual Production

NEXA Lending Acquires UMortgage, Adding More Than $2 Billion in Annual Mortgage Volume

NEXA Lending has acquired UMortgage, adding more than $2 billion in annual mortgage production and bringing UMortgage founder and CEO Anthony Casa into NEXA’s leadership ranks.

NEXA announced the acquisition on Aug. 24, saying Casa will become an executive partner while UMortgage gains access to NEXA’s technology, lender relationships and national infrastructure. UMortgage has roughly 275 team members, according to the company announcement.

Financial terms were not disclosed. HousingWire reported that the transaction was structured as an asset purchase rather than a stock acquisition and that the agreement had been signed and funds transferred before the public announcement.

The combination gives NEXA additional scale in the independent mortgage channel at a time when operating costs, compliance requirements and technology investments are increasing the advantages available to larger platforms.

Deal adds roughly $2 billion in production

NEXA said UMortgage generates more than $2 billion in annual mortgage volume.

More granular data cited by HousingWire puts UMortgage at 246 loan officers and $2.05 billion of originations during the preceding 12 months. Using data from mortgage analytics provider RETR, the publication reported that the acquisition would bring NEXA to approximately 4,047 loan officers and $14.15 billion in annual production.

UMortgage, founded in 2020 and based in Philadelphia, has also appeared on the Inc. 5000 for three consecutive years. Inc. ranked the company No. 1,539 in 2026 after reporting 227% three-year revenue growth. UMortgage ranked No. 579 in 2025 and No. 88 in 2024.

For NEXA, the acquisition adds an established sales organization without requiring UMortgage’s loan officers and teams to immediately abandon the brand they have built.

UMortgage brand can remain as legal entity winds down

NEXA’s announcement said the transaction allows UMortgage to preserve its brand, marketing and culture while operating on NEXA’s broader platform.

That does not mean the existing UMortgage corporate entity will remain intact indefinitely.

Casa and NEXA CEO Mike Kortas told HousingWire that the UMortgage entity is expected to be dissolved by the end of 2026. Individual teams will still be able to use the UMortgage name through a DBA, or “doing business as” arrangement, if they choose.

The structure illustrates a model NEXA is increasingly emphasizing: mortgage organizations can retain customer-facing brands and sales cultures while shifting more of their infrastructure onto a larger corporate platform.

Kortas said NEXA’s objective is to allow acquired organizations to keep the components that helped them grow while removing operational distractions.

“The goal is not to take away what made somebody successful,” Kortas said in the acquisition announcement.

NEXA said organizations on its platform can maintain control of client relationships while accessing its lender network, technology and operational infrastructure. The company also cited compliance, audits, legal expenses and other back-office responsibilities as areas where a larger platform can reduce the burden on individual mortgage business owners.

Anthony Casa joins NEXA leadership

Casa will become an executive partner, which NEXA describes as its highest partnership level for leaders bringing significant production, organizations and industry influence to the company.

Casa is expected to continue focusing on recruiting and organizational growth. He also told HousingWire that he will help NEXA pursue additional brokerage acquisitions and act as a link between loan officers and company leadership.

Three other leaders associated with UMortgage and NXT Mortgage — Jimmy Hobson, Nash Paradise and Tyler Hodgson — are also expected to become NEXA executive partners, HousingWire reported. NXT, a mortgage team operating through UMortgage, will transition to NEXA as part of the deal.

The transaction also brings together Kortas and Casa after years in which the two executives were publicly viewed as rivals in the wholesale broker community.

Their reconciliation developed into discussions about combining the businesses, according to statements both executives gave following the deal. Casa said NEXA’s scale, technology and economics ultimately influenced the decision to join the larger organization.

Compensation and technology will change

UMortgage loan officers will also see changes to the company’s operating model.

HousingWire reported that UMortgage will transition from its recently introduced flat-fee model to NEXA’s NEXA100 compensation program. UMortgage’s proprietary Tempo sales technology is not expected to disappear; Casa said plans call for spinning Tempo out as an independent platform that could eventually serve loan officers outside NEXA.

The integration is not expected to result in broad layoffs, according to Casa, although he told HousingWire that roughly eight to 12 UMortgage employees in overlapping corporate functions are not expected to move to NEXA. Casa said he was assisting those employees with finding other positions.

NEXA continues a broader expansion strategy

The UMortgage deal follows several other moves by NEXA during 2026.

In May, the company announced a strategic investment and phased acquisition agreement with Copper Ridge Ventures, a mortgage joint-venture holding company. Under that agreement, NEXA said it would provide support across marketing, information technology, licensing, processing, human resources, compliance and other operational functions.

In July, Kortas became NEXA’s sole owner after the company announced the resolution of litigation with former business partner Mat Grella.

The UMortgage acquisition extends that strategy into a recognizable national brokerage with more than $2 billion in annual production.

It may also provide an early test of whether other independent mortgage brokerages are willing to trade some corporate independence for greater scale while retaining their consumer-facing brands.

Casa has said he expects more consolidation in the broker channel. With his new role including additional acquisition efforts for NEXA, the next development to watch is whether the UMortgage transaction becomes a one-off combination or a template NEXA uses to attract more independent broker owners.