Benchmark Mortgage hires Steve Rennie to lead business development

Benchmark Mortgage named industry veteran Steve Rennie senior vice president of business development, effective immediately, to help recruit loan officers and branch leaders nationwide. The move is meant to strengthen the company’s mortgage professional community as competition for talent stays intense.

Why it matters: - Benchmark Mortgage is trying to expand its nationwide network of loan officers and branch leaders. - The hire puts an experienced recruiter and mortgage industry relationship builder in charge of that effort. - The role is tied to Benchmark’s long-running pitch around integrity, trust and people-first growth.

What happened: - Benchmark Mortgage announced that Steve Rennie joined the company as senior vice president of business development, effective today. - Rennie will lead recruiting and help attract and welcome loan officers and branch leaders into Benchmark’s mortgage community. - Benchmark Mortgage is based in Plano, Texas.

The details: - Rennie has more than 25 years of experience in executive recruitment, strategic growth and business development in financial services. - Rennie most recently served as business development director, West at loanDepot. - At loanDepot, Rennie developed and executed strategies to expand retail mortgage production across the Western United States. - Before loanDepot, Rennie spent two years as an executive sales recruiter at Flagstar Bank and its Opes Advisors division. - Rennie previously spent nearly a decade as managing partner of Hammerhouse, a recruiting firm focused on the mortgage industry. - Rennie has led large-scale recruiting initiatives, mergers and acquisitions, branch and multi-branch conversions, and leadership succession planning. - Rennie is also a certified coach. - Benchmark Mortgage was founded in 1999. - Benchmark Mortgage says its brand focuses on serving veterans and first responders. - Benchmark Mortgage operates as a DBA of Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, LLC, NMLS #2143. - Benchmark Mortgage directs consumers to NMLS Consumer Access. - Benchmark Mortgage has social media accounts on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

Between the lines: - The hire signals that Benchmark is prioritizing relationship-driven recruiting over a pure volume-first approach. - Rennie’s background in recruiting and mortgage growth suggests Benchmark wants a leader who can do both talent acquisition and market expansion. - Norman T. Koenigsberg, Benchmark Mortgage’s CEO, said Rennie’s ethics, professionalism and trust-based approach fit the company’s culture. - Rennie said Benchmark is building a recruiting experience grounded in transparency and follow-through.

What's next: - Rennie will work to bring more loan officers and branch leaders into Benchmark’s nationwide community. - Benchmark said Rennie’s role will support continued growth of its mortgage professional network. - The company expects Rennie’s experience to help strengthen recruiting and business development efforts going forward.