Livonia, Mich. – Oct. 30, 2008 – Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) and Quicken Loans Inc. today announced they have entered into an exclusive joint venture. The partnership will align Fortress, an established investor in the secondary market for residential mortgages, with Quicken Loans, the nation’s largest Internet-based retail mortgage lender, to help Fortress implement a comprehensive refinancing and loan modification strategy for its mortgage portfolio and investments.
Quicken Loans has the capacity and capability to deploy up to 2,600 of its team members to refinance borrowers in all 50 states into many different loan programs, including conventional, FHA and reverse mortgages, from its state-of-the-art centralized Web Centers.
Pete Briger, Fortress President, was quoted as saying, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Quicken Loans, America’s premier 50-state residential retail lender. It is our belief that the joint venture will be a win-win for both Fortress investors and existing borrowers. This partnership will help bring needed liquidity to homeowners facing increasingly limited options while at the same time providing investors in Fortress funds with a competitive advantage.”
Mr. Briger added, “Quicken Loans’ high-quality mortgage, underwriting and operations teams, and its unmatched technology platform, combined with Nationstar Mortgage LLC’s (a Fortress fund portfolio company) servicing capabilities, complete all the pieces needed to provide solutions to borrowers impacted by the credit crisis.”
“Fortress is a leading investor in residential mortgage loans. We look forward to working with them to help put as many homeowners as possible in a better home financing situation,” said Dan Gilbert, Chairman and Founder of Quicken Loans.
“Quicken Loans has spent a significant amount of its human and financial capital over the last ten-plus years developing the ability to process and close multiple loan products in every corner of the United States,” he continued.
“Building this capability was an extraordinary accomplishment considering that home financing is an extremely detailed and complicated transaction that is highly localized in its regulations and customs, which vary significantly from city to city. It was only due to the persistence and dedication of our great people that we were able to achieve this unique capability, which is a perfect match for a partnership with Fortress,” Gilbert concluded.
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About Fortress:
Fortress is a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $35.1 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2008. Fortress raises, invests and manages private equity funds, hedge funds and publicly traded alternative investment vehicles. Fortress was founded in 1998. For more information regarding Fortress Investment Group LLC or to be added to our e-mail distribution list, please visit www.fortress.com.
About Quicken Loans:
Quicken Loans is nation’s largest online retail mortgage lender and one of the top ten largest retail mortgage lenders overall. The company closed $18 billion in home loans in calendar year 2007 and over $80 billion in last six years, from five Web Centers located in Michigan, Ohio and Arizona, as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit.
The Quickenloans.com website has been named “Best of the Web” by Forbes and Money magazine. Quicken Loans currently is ranked #2 on Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” list and has appeared in the list’s “Top 20” for five consecutive years. The company also has been ranked #1 or #2 on Computerworld Magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work in Technology” list for the last four years. For more information, visit www.QuickenLoans.com.