What Stearns Lending does

Stearns Lending is a privately-held U.S. financial services company that provides mortgage services, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Lewisville, Texas. The company operates under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer David Schneider. With a workforce of 11 to 50 employees, Stearns Lending is a comparatively small participant in the U.S. residential mortgage market by headcount.

The company's web presence at stearnswholesale.com indicates a wholesale mortgage origination model, in which loan products are distributed through third-party mortgage brokers rather than originated directly with consumers. This channel-based distribution positions the firm within a specific segment of the mortgage value chain, serving broker partners and the underlying home-buying customers those brokers represent. Specific details regarding loan products, pricing structure, technology platform, and geographic licensing footprint for Stearns Lending are not documented in the available source material.

Substantial detailed information provided in the source dataset pertains to Guaranteed Rate, Inc. (D/B/A Rate), an unrelated mortgage lender. That data — including technology platform features, subsidiary structure, partnership arrangements, and product details — cannot be attributed to Stearns Lending. Key analytical dimensions such as revenue model mechanics, customer concentration, technology stack, and recent strategic activity for Stearns Lending specifically remain undocumented in the supplied input and should be treated as data gaps for diligence purposes.

Name

Stearns Lending

Legal name

Guaranteed Rate, Inc.

Website

https://stearnswholesale.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stearns Lending is a privately-held U.S. mortgage services company founded in 1989, headquartered in Lewisville, Texas. Operating with a wholesale origination focus (stearnswholesale.com), it employs 11–50 people under CEO David Schneider.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Mortgage Lending

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231), Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (522310)

SIC

Mortgage Bankers & Loan Correspondents (6162), Loan Brokers (6163)

akta.pro primary industry

Jumbo & Portfolio Wholesale Lending (FSALACAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Balance-Sheet / Portfolio CRE Lending (FSALADAG)

Keywords

• Mortgage lending
• Residential mortgages
• Wholesale lending
• Mortgage services
• Financial services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lewisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Mortgage Lending: Rate originates and funds residential mortgage loans including purchase mortgages, refinances, FHA loans, VA loans, and jumbo loans. Revenue is generated through origination fees, interest rate spreads, and closing costs on funded loans.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Stearns Lending is a financial services company offering mortgage services. The firm operates in the residential mortgage sector and is positioned around a wholesale-oriented website (stearnswholesale.com). Detailed product descriptions, loan programs, or service scope specific to Stearns Lending are not present in the source data.

Product overview

Rate operates as a digital mortgage lender offering a unified platform for mortgage origination. The core product is the Digital Mortgage system, which provides end-to-end loan processing including rate comparison, application submission, document verification, and loan servicing management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mortgage Services Residential mortgage services offered by Stearns Lending as its core business line, distributed through a wholesale-oriented channel (stearnswholesale.com). Specific loan products, programs, or service tiers are not documented in the source data for Stearns Lending.

Quantifiable outcome

• Access to multiple loan products including conventional, FHA, VA, and jumbo mortgages

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Advocus TitleminorOthersRelated entity providing title insurance services, listed under 'Websites' section as part of the Rate ecosystem of companies.
• Agent AdvantageminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner program for real estate agents providing mortgage services referral network for Rate.
• Rate Insurance, LLCcoreOthersWholly-owned insurance subsidiary of Rate providing home and property insurance products. Disclosure states Rate has 100% ownership and direct/indirect financial interest in Rate Insurance, LLC.

Scale indicators1 record

Direct peers

• United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM Holdings): The largest U.S. wholesale mortgage lender, serving independent mortgage brokers through the UWM.com platform — a direct head-to-head competitor to Stearns' wholesale channel in TPO origination.
• Caliber Home Loans: National mortgage banker with correspondent and broker channels; comparable in product offering (conventional, FHA, VA, jumbo) and target customer base to Stearns' wholesale platform.
• Plaza Home Mortgage: Privately held wholesale and correspondent mortgage lender focused on broker partners; comparable scale, product mix, and TPO distribution model to Stearns Lending.
• NewRez (shellpointmortgage / Newrez Wholesale): Top-15 U.S. mortgage originator with a meaningful wholesale channel; competes for the same independent broker relationships and loan products that Stearns serves.
• Rocket Pro TPO (Rocket Companies): Wholesale arm of Rocket Mortgage targeting independent brokers; competes with Stearns on broker pricing, technology, and service levels in the TPO channel.
• loanDepot Wholesale: Wholesale division of loanDepot serving independent mortgage brokers; competes with Stearns in TPO origination across purchase and refinance products.

Emerging players

• Kind Lending (formerly Kind Lending / Verus Mortgage Capital): Emerging wholesale-focused mortgage lender building broker market share with technology-led service; comparable in channel focus to Stearns' wholesale-only GTM.
• U.S. Mortgage Funding (AnnieMac Home Mortgage): Mid-size wholesale and correspondent mortgage lender with broker focus; comparable in channel mix, technology investment, and target broker segment to Stearns.
• Homepoint (acquired by Rocket Mortgage): Wholesale and correspondent mortgage lender historically focused on the broker channel; comparable go-to-market and product set to Stearns' wholesale lending model.

Broad incumbents

• Rocket Mortgage (Retail / Direct-to-Consumer): Largest U.S. retail mortgage lender and the parent of Rocket Pro TPO; broader incumbent across retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer channels that compete for the same broker and borrower demand as Stearns.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stearns_lending
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Rate_Official
• Facebookfacebook.com/stearnswholesale
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stearns-lending
• Instagraminstagram.com/rate_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stearns Lending