Goldwater Bank

Weststar Mortgage’s Affiliation with Goldwater Bank, N.A.

Kent Wiechert, owner and President of Weststar Mortgage Corporation acquired Goldwater Bank, N.A. in a stock purchase that will become an important piece of industry history. While transactions where banks are buying mortgage companies and/or other banks have been commonplace in the industry since the financial crisis regulatory authorization for a mortgage company (or its sole owner) purchasing a controlling interest in a nationally chartered bank is relatively unheard of, to say the least.

Goldwater Bank, N.A., located in Scottsdale, AZ, focuses on providing financial services in a variety of different avenues, within all aspects of a client’s life, also known as Lifestyle Banking. On August 28th, 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a letter to Goldwater Bank concurring to a plan submitted by the Goldwater Bank and Weststar Mortgage Corporation almost a year prior which allowed Mr. Wiechert to acquire a controlling interest in the Bank. The details of the plan included a host of provisions that would align the two firms around their common and complementary business lines; including the integration of the Weststar’s highly successful retail mortgage origination channel into Goldwater Bank’s already established mortgage division.

Highlights of the affiliate relationship include:

• Expanded reach of the mortgage group under the national banking platform;
• Access to banking products for Weststar clients;
• Ability for the bank’s core deposits to grow to new heights and expand additional deposit business nationally;