Cardinal Financial was founded in 1987 as Cardinal Financial Mortgage Bankers and in 2013, the company was purchased and renamed Cardinal Financial Company, Limited Partnership. Cardinal Financial began with a handful of day-one employees and within five years, grew to be a nationwide lender.
Cardinal Financial’s original plan was to build a robust consumer-direct platform and continue to leverage the thriving refinance market at the time. When rates started to rise in 2013, it became clear that it needed to diversify, and in 2016 the company was rebranded. By 2017, Cardinal Financial officially launched its Wholesale channel, to reduce risk and better leverage its process, people and technology.
“We believe in the success of our brokers. What fuels their business, fuels ours. We’ve heard their pain points and know their needs. Our promise is that we genuinely want them to succeed, so we’re giving them the tools, training and connections to do so,” said Vice President of Third Party Originations at Cardinal Financial Karl Benjamin.
There are a lot of loan options out there, but what brokers really want is a lender to whom they can take their tough loans. Brokers trust Cardinal with trickier loans because the company not only has the options to help them stay competitive, but also the flexibility to underwrite loans that other lenders typically turn down.
Cardinal is the proprietary owner and developer of Octane, its in-house loan origination system. Octane allows Cardinal to operate more efficiently, which contributes to its ability to provide great pricing to brokers. It’s a revolutionary platform that Cardinal believes is not only meeting but exceeding brokers’ expectations.
“When we say we advocate for brokers, it’s not lip service. In fact, we’re so committed to broker advocacy that we built a loan origination platform to make their jobs easier. It’s part of our mission to deliver the best end-to-end mortgage experience possible,” Benjamin said.
When brokers partner with Cardinal, they receive access to Octane, which provides users total control and autonomy. Octane’s high level of automation compresses turn times, allows brokers to generate and send closing disclosures in minutes, allows instant, independent changes of circumstance, lets them send piecemeal conditions and provides complete control over closing preparation.
“That’s just the beginning. We believe in our technology because at the heart of it is a desire to meet brokers’ needs and put the power back in their hands,” Benjamin said.
Cardinal is hyper-focused on empowering brokers by providing the tools they need to self-serve; however, top-notch technology doesn’t matter if brokers don’t know how to use it. The company is committed to training users on its technology and giving clear escalation paths so brokers can easily on-board and quickly gain business.
“We believe the future of wholesale lending is rooted in technology and service,” Benjamin said. “Our technology, Octane, coupled with our desire to see brokers thrive and win, will put Cardinal Financial at the forefront of what’s to come.”
Colin Treend, SVP of Wholesale
Colin Treend is a founding member of Cardinal Financial and the SVP of Wholesale. He joined the firm because of his desire to be a part of a lender that wanted to do things differently and leverage technology to lower costs and offer a sharp price while delivering great service to brokers and customers. He believes Cardinal Financial is building a culture of innovation and accountability that will lead the Wholesale channel into the future.
Karl Benjamin, VP of Wholesale
Karl Benjamin is the VP of Wholesale and a Certified Mortgage Banker with over 20 years of experience. He was named among the 2015 National Mortgage Professional Magazine’s 40 Under 40: The 40 Most Influential Mortgage Professionals Under 40. Benjamin believes that brokers provide better service, more options, and better rates than any other channel—that’s why he advocates for them and believes they will continue to be successful.
Michael Gallo, SVP of Mortgage Operations
Michael Gallo is the SVP of Mortgage Operations and a key partner in Cardinal Financial Wholesale. With over 25 years of experience, Gallo has notable successes in operational efficiency at nationwide firms like Caliber and Countrywide. He has a knack for developing leaders and a sharp ability to build processes that scale a company to the next level. His hope is for Cardinal to be, not the biggest, but the best in the business.
