Maxwell raises $52.5MN to Modernize the Mortgage Process for Small and Midsize Lenders
Maxwell wants to inject transparency and equality into the mortgage process Platform enables loan officers to outperform the market by over 20%
DENVER, Colorado. October 26, 2021 — Maxwell, the digital mortgage solutions platform empowering small and midsize mortgage lenders, today announced it has raised $52.5 million in additional funding, led by Fin VC with participation from Wells Fargo Strategic Capital along with existing investors Prudence, Rotor Capital and TTV Capital.
Founded in 2015, Maxwell aims to modernize the mortgage market by introducing more transparency and equality. Designed exclusively for local and regional lenders that serve America’s communities such as American Mortgage Service Co. and First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation, Maxwell’s suite of digitally-enabled solutions addresses the entire mortgage process from application to the secondary market, making it faster, cheaper, and more efficient for lenders and their borrowers.
Built on aggregated loan data and real-time data insights, the platform’s technology offloads time-consuming manual tasks for loan officers, processors, and underwriters, and helps to increase productivity and economic scale. Backed by industry veterans who understand the challenges of today’s market, Maxwell has facilitated over $150 billion in loan volume to-date through its platform. Maxwell’s revenue grew by 2,752% over the past three years, making it the 15th fastest-growing software company in the U.S.
Small to midsize lenders are the only banking presence for almost one in five U.S. counties, providing much-needed access to credit for millions of people. However, despite originating 50% of loans for the $4 trillion U.S. mortgage market, these lenders bear the brunt of market compression. As inefficiencies continue to cripple the industry, loan expenses continue to rise, up 81% between 2009 and 2020. By enhancing lending team capabilities, Maxwell’s digital solutions enable lenders to close loans 13 days faster than the 47-day national average, and loan officers to outperform the market by over 20%.
“Large, online lenders are increasing their market share each year. For local and regional lenders to compete and survive, they need to digitally overhaul and enhance their processes. With their local knowledge, relationships, and relevance within their communities, these lenders have a chance to thrive in the coming purchase-driven market,” said Maxwell’s Co-founder and CEO John Paasonen. “People are your competitive advantage. Lenders who retain a people-first mentality and empower their staff with the best technology, rather than replacing them with it, will be the ones with the best margin and the first choice for many borrowers.”
A big technological overturn is coming to the U.S. mortgage industry, a sector long plagued by slow technical processes and lack of oversight. Maxwell is the only mortgage tech-solutions company built by experienced industry professionals. Its dedicated team of processors, underwriters, and closers work with engineers to ensure the products developed are tailored to solving the issues mortgage lenders face on a daily basis.
“Wells Fargo is excited to invest in a growing company like Maxwell that has a targeted universe of clients throughout so many of our communities across the country,” said Tom Richardson, Head of Strategic Capital Principal Technology Investments at Wells Fargo Strategic Capital. “This capital solution will help them achieve their business goals and continue to expand their product offering, and we look forward to seeing their continued success.”
Earlier this year, Maxwell launched its own secondary market investor, Maxwell Capital, that acts as a dedicated buyer for lenders’ loans to give them access to competitive rates that can be passed to borrowers. Maxwell also launched Maxwell Diligence to bring efficiency and accuracy throughout the due diligence and pre- and post-close quality control process. These solutions help lenders to modernize their processes and compete with the industry’s largest players.
As Maxwell continues to experience rapid growth, the employee base has increased by more than 14X over the last three years, and has expanded beyond its headquarters in Denver, with hubs in Minneapolis, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Raleigh-Durham. With this additional funding, Maxwell will continue to innovate products that change the game for lenders of every size by increasing hiring across product and engineering, sales and marketing, and all of its solutions-oriented businesses.