Jon Whittington tapped to expand retail footprint on O’ahu and neighboring islands
Nations Lending, a leading full-service national mortgage lender, announced 29-year industry veteran Jon Whittington, CMB will oversee its expansion to the Hawaiian Islands. As Regional Manager, Whittington will focus primarily on growing Nations’ retail footprint and production volume. He’ll report to West Divisional Sales Manager Nino Saso.
“He understands the nuances of the industry, but more importantly he understands people.”
Whittington, the only Certified Mortgage Banker in Hawaii, came to the state in the late ‘80s and has been a fixture in the lending industry ever since. He previously served as President at Compass Home Loans (Compass Hawaii), a joint venture launched in 2014 between Stearns Lending and Locations, a major Hawaii real estate firm. The JV funded $370 million in 2021. His past joint venture experience and ability to quickly scale productive teams will complement Nations Lending’s growth plans; it has been strategically expanding across the U.S., adding a substantial number of branches in 2021 and, more recently, announcing a joint venture of its own.
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“It was the culture and the size of the organization that attracted me most,” Whittington said. “Nations is well capitalized and large enough to sell exclusively to the agencies on all agency product. It also retains 98 percent of servicing of the total volume it originates. Add to that the entrepreneurial spirit of its leadership team and, as one of my former colleagues now working at Nations put it, you get the ‘unicorn’ of mortgage banking firms.’”
Nations’ first location will be in the Kaka’ako neighborhood of Honolulu in what will be a newly opened office upon local licensing approval. From there, Whittington plans to add branch offices in strategic locations as opportunities dictate.
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“I think adding someone like Jon is a testament to how far we’ve come as an organization,” Saso said. “We’ve created an environment that first and foremost is attractive to the best talent in this industry.”
Vice President of Strategic Growth John Owens played an integral role in Whittington’s arrival at Nations.
“I’ve known Jon for years, and they don’t make them any better – personally and professionally,” Owens said. “He understands the nuances of the industry, but more importantly he understands people.”
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