USA Mortgage Becomes #1 In Home Loans in St. Louis, Mo. SMSA

60% Growth in 2012 Loan Originations Gives Firm

Market Share of 8.15%; Headcount Also Up 40%

ST. LOUIS – USA Mortgage is the new #1 home lending institution in metro St. Louis, Mo. according to CoreLogic Marketrac, posting an 8.15% market share in 2012.  The firm, headed by president and chief executive officer Doug Schukar, now participates in one out of every 12 home loans executed in the region.  It is believed that the new standing marks the first time that an independent mortgage company – rather than the home-lending division of a retail/ consumer bank – has ranked #1 in the St. Louis marketplace.

En route to the accomplishment, the firm set an all-time high of $1.75 billion in loan originations in 2012, a 60% increase over the $1.1 billion it booked in 2011 and the fourth consecutive year that USA has crossed the $1 billion loan threshold.

It also grew headcount by 40% last year, adding 144 people to its payroll which now totals more than 450 employees who work at 15 offices in St. Louis, out-state Missouri, Illinois and Georgia.  Recently, Inc. magazine cited USA Mortgage and its corporate parent, DAS Acquisition Company, LLC, as one of America’s Top 100 private job creators for the three-year period ending Dec. 31, 2011.

Focus on Relationship-Based Marketing

A differentiator for the company in today’s digital/social media age is its advocacy of traditional face-to-face relationship-based marketing.  Unlike its competitors, who rely on advertising programs to drive customers to websites or call centers, licensed USA Mortgage loan officers are expected to know their customers by name and to source prospective customers by being visible in their communities.  According to Schukar, USA Mortgage employees are now active in more than 205 charities and not-for-profits across metro St. Louis.  

Growth plans for 2013 center on an enhanced delivery platform that goes directly to Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, eliminating the fixed costs and higher overhead incurred by competitors who must use middlemen to procure funds. 

Another current focus, says Schukar, is on renewing fulfillment center partnerships with banks and credit unions across the Midwest.  His firm recently negotiated new relationships with St. John’s Bank and Trust Co., Lindell Bank &Trust Co. and Vantage Credit Union, all based in St. Louis.  “In recent years, we have invested extensively in our loan systems and the quality of our manufacturing infrastructure,” Schukar explains.  “We are now in a position to leverage that investment for the benefit of institutional partners seeking to out-source back room operations.”