Once fierce competitors, NEXA Lending and UMortgage have agreed to a landmark acquisition
NEXA Lending, a mortgage brokerage platform in the United States, has agreed to acquire UMortgage in a transaction that ends one of the broker channel's most publicly litigated rivalries and opens a new chapter for independent shops weighing the cost of going it alone.
The deal, structured as an asset purchase rather than a stock acquisition, has already been signed and funds have been transferred, NEXA CEO Mike Kortas confirmed.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the agreement, UMortgage will retain its brand, marketing identity, and sales culture while moving onto NEXA's technology infrastructure, lender network, and compliance platform. The UMortgage entity is expected to dissolve by the end of 2026.
UMortgage's team of 246 loan officers originated approximately $2.05 billion over the past 12 months. The addition brings NEXA's combined loan officer count to more than 4,000 and pushes its annual origination volume to approximately $14.15 billion.
In 2025 alone, UMortgage funded $2.57 billion across 6,678 loans, according to previously reported company figures.
A model other broker owners are watching
NEXA is framing the transaction as a template — one explicitly aimed at other mid-sized independent mortgage companies struggling to sustain the overhead of compliance, licensing, and technology development in a competitive rate environment. T
NEXA's offer to incoming partners includes access to its lender network, a compensation program that allows qualifying originators to receive splits of up to 100%, and an artificial intelligence platform launched in January 2026 for loan origination, marketing, and client engagement.
UMortgage founder and CEO Anthony Casa, who will join NEXA as an executive partner, described the decision as a recognition of scale economics over independent ambition. "When I looked at the technology, lender relationships, infrastructure, economics, and scale NEXA has built, I had to ask myself, how am I supposed to compete with this?" he said.
Former adversaries find common ground
The deal also closes the chapter on a well-documented rivalry. Kortas and Casa traded public accusations in industry circles for years, including a 2023 dispute tied to recruiting practices within the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), where Casa previously served as chairman.
Loan officers and industry observers following the evolution of broker associations and their role in channel competition will recognize the significance of the two executives now operating under the same roof.
It was Todd Bitter, a former UMortgage executive who now serves as NEXA's national director of sales, who helped broker the peace. What began as an effort to clear the air between the two leaders grew into a broader conversation about combining companies.
Casa's broader leadership team, including Tyler Hodgson, Nash Paradise, and Jimmy Hobson, will also transition to NEXA.
NEXA, which rebranded from NEXA Mortgage to NEXA Lending in October 2025, has accelerated its evolution beyond traditional brokerage into nondelegated correspondent lending. Kortas has said the company now funds more than half of its volume through correspondent channels.
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