New American Funding - Maverick of the Year

Company: New American Funding, Tustin, CA
Company Description: New American Funding (NMLS #6606) is a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae Direct Seller/Servicer, FHA Direct Endorsement, and VA Automatic mortgage lender that is licensed in 48 states with 205+ branch locations nationwide and 3,600+ employees that offer a variety of home loan options including Conventional, FHA, Cash-Out, Fixed-Rate and Adjustable- Rate Mortgages, VA, Jumbo, and Reverse
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Maverick of the Year

Nomination Title: Patty Arvielo

Patty Arvielo has been a leader in the mortgage industry for 40+ years. She is a results-driven entrepreneur who leads one of the nation’s largest Latina-owned/woman-led mortgage companies in the nation.

Arvielo co-founded New American Funding in 2003 with her husband, Rick, a 2021 Gold Stevie Maverick of the Year Award Winner. What started as a modest 40-employee company has grown into one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders with a massive national footprint. The company is also unique in that it handles the entire loan process in-house. As President, Arvielo leads the company’s sales and operations efforts.

Arvielo is an expert in lending to underserved communities and holds a wealth of experience in working directly with minority borrowers. She is committed to spearheading programs that empower minority communities through actions that increase rates of homeownership, career advancement and professional mentorship in the mortgage industry and beyond.

Arvielo has worked hard to create and maintain a supportive and inclusive work environment that welcomes all. A first-generation Hispanic American, Arvielo lead her company to become the industry leader in lending to minority borrowers, outpacing all other large lenders by over 10% in this category.*
*Based on 2020 HMDA data.

In the last two years, Arvielo led New American Funding through its most successful growth period.

Under Arvielo, the company originated $14.2 billion in mortgages in 2019, ranking 17th in the nation. The company obliterated that figure in 2020, by more than doubling its lending volume and originating $30.5 billion in mortgages. That earned New American Funding a spot as the 13th biggest U.S. mortgage lender in Scotsman Guide’s Top Mortgage Lenders 2021

New American Funding’s 2020 growth exceeded many competitors, including several of the largest U.S. banks. The company’s mortgage business increased by 114.8% last year, more than 11 of the other top 15 lenders.*

To keep up with its increased business, the company significantly expanded its workforce. In July 2019, New American Funding had 2,900 employees. Since then, staffing increased by nearly 2,000 to 4,800. New American Funding’s diverse workplace also increased to its current composition of 60% women, 45% minorities, and 38% Millennials.

Arvielo supports her employees through key mentorship programs. To foster employee growth, Patty continues to personally lead her hands-on mentorship programs in which she welcomes a diverse talent pool to a variety of opportunities for career growth and potential advancement.

Arvielo's leadership and voice extends to numerous industry committees, including the Century Communities Board of Directors, Board of Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership, and the Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee.

Arvielo’s influence can be seen in the community with her prominent investments in two local Hispanic women-owned businesses.
*Based on 2020 HMDA data.

New American Funding has become a lending giant, allowing it to focus on minority outreach and make a real impact in these communities.

A first-generation Hispanic, Arvielo understands the unique challenges her community faces with homeownership, including language barriers, and financial literacy. Several years ago, she established the company’s Latino Focus and New American Dream initiatives to improve the lending experiences of Hispanic and Black home buyers. The company has pledged a combined $45 billion in lending over the next several years to these groups.

Targeted outreach efforts for Latino Focus include Spanish-language YouTube ads, virtual events from local branches, and a full range of customized educational materials. This resulted in the company purchase lending being 51% above the industry average* to Hispanics. To assist this process, the company’s workforce is 23% Hispanic.

At Arvielo’s directive, the company stepped up its staffing and created “The Listening Circle,” an internal forum promoting an active discussion/education around insightful topics impacting the Black community. Currently, 9% of the company’s workforce is Black and many impactful ideas have come from listening circle participants which are implemented across the company.

Starting in 2020, through the New American Dream initiative, New American Funding and Freddie Mac launched a series of online programs covering the challenges to Black homeownership.

With this renewed commitment, the company’s percentage of purchase lending to Black borrowers was 85% more than the industry average*.
*Based on 2020 HDMA data.

Arvielo has been instrumental in maintaining the company’s unique culture known as NAF360, which is an all-around commitment to caring about its employees, business partners, and customers. Prior to the pandemic, NAF360 regularly hosted a variety of events at its headquarters and nationwide branches to keep its spirit alive and vibrant.

Patty herself Arvielo offers additional guidance to her employees through her “Take Five with Patty Arvielo” video series that provides employees with the latest company news and inspiring tips. Patty also co-hosts a quarterly company-wide live stream session, called Rick and Patty’s 360 Live, providing business updates for the entire company.

In February 2020, Arvielo recognized the potential impact of the pandemic and began planning a bold work-from-home solution to ensure the health and safety of her employees. Carefully monitoring the guidelines from state governors and the Centers for Disease Control, Arvielo oversaw the move of approximately 3,300 employees to work from home took place by March.

To ease the transition, the company created informative videos showing employees and executives balancing their new life and career adjustment. Through the company’s intranet, Loan Officers were able to access “Coaching for You,” which provides them trusted first-hand experiences/solutions from other industry-leading Loan Originators. Periodic live-stream sessions offered employees opportunities to ask questions directly to the company’s leadership and discover the latest company news, strategies, and results.

The company even replicated its fun, on-site experience by creating various contests for employees and their families for art, singing, and dancing—all with prizes.

Links & Attachments:

The company even replicated its fun, on-site experience by creating various contests for employees and their families for art, singing, and dancing—all with prizes.

For its outstanding business performance, New American Funding and its President, Patty Arvielo, has made plenty of news since July 1, 2019, including for the following:

Patty Arvielo and her company have been repeatedly honored for performance and culture, including the following awards in the last two years (Note: this is not a complete list):

- - 2021 Profiles in Diversity Journal Women Worth Watching
  - 2021Expertise.com - Best Mortgage Refinance Companies in Henderson
  - 2021 Stevie - American Business Awards Marketing Department of the Year
  - 2021 Stevie - American Business Awards Marketer of the Year
  - 2021 Stevie - American Business Awards Fastest Growing Company of the Year
  - 2021 Stevie - American Business Awards Woman of the Year
  - 2021 Stevie - American Business Awards Company of the Year
  - 2021 Great Place to Work/ Fortune Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance
  - 2021 The Atlanta Journal Constitution Top Workplaces
  - 2021 Great Place to Work/ Fortune Best Workplaces in Texas
  - 2021 Fannie Mae Star Performer
  - 2020 Best Mortgage Company to Work for by National Mortgage New
  - 2020 Great Place to WorkandFortune Name New American Funding Great place to Work Certified
  - 2020 Top Workplace in Atlanta Georgia
  - 2020 St. Louis Post- Dispatch 2020 Top Workplaces
  - 2020 Profiles in Diversity Journal Latino Leaders Worth Watching
  - 2020 LA Times - Best of TimesOC 2020 Best Mortgage/Home Loan Lender
  - 2020 NMP - National Mortgage Professional Magazine Top Mortgage Employers
  - 2020 OC Register Top OC Workplaces
  - 2020 Mortgage Professional America Top Workplaces
  - 2020 Mortgage Professional America Mortgage Global 100
  - 2020 Austin American Statesman Top Workplaces
  - 2020 OCBJ - Orange County Business Journal Family-Owned Business
  - 2020 Stevie - Women in Business Fastest Growing Company of the Year
  - 2020 Stevie - Women in Business Company of the Year – Consumer Services
  - 2020 Stevie - Women in Business Maverick of the Year
  - 2020 Stevie - Women in Business Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Services
  - 2020 ALPFA - Association of Latino Professionals for America
  - 2020 Great Place to Work/ Fortune Best Workplaces for Women
  - 2020 Stevie - Great Employers Awards Most Valuable Employer
  - 2020 Stevie - Great Employers Awards Most Innovative Work from Home Plan
  - 2020 Stevie - Great Employers Awards Employer of the Year - Financial Services
  - 2020 Great Place to Work/ Fortune Best Workplaces for Millennials
  - 2020 OCBJ - Orange County Business Journal - Private Companies
  - 2020 Stevie - American Business Awards Woman of the Year - Consumer Services
  - 2021 Profiles in Diversity Journal Women Worth Watching
  - 2021 Expertise.com - Best Mortgage Refinance Companies in Henderson
  - 2021 Stevie - American Business Awards Marketing Department of the Year
  - 2021 Stevie - American Business Awards Marketer of the Year
  - 2021 Stevie - American Business Awards Fastest Growing Company of the Year
  - 2021 Stevie - American Business Awards Woman of the Year
  - 2021 Stevie - American Business Awards Company of the Year
  - 2021 Great Place to Work/ Fortune Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance
  - 2021 The Atlanta Journal Constitution Top Workplaces
  - 2021 Great Place to Work/ Fortune Best Workplaces in Texas
  - 2021 Fannie Mae Star Performer
  - 2020 Best Mortgage Company to Work for by National Mortgage New
  - 2020 Great Place to Work and Fortune Name New American Funding GPTW Certified
  - 2020 Top Workplace in Atlanta Georgia
  - 2020 St. Louis Post- Dispatch 2020 Top Workplaces
  - 2020 Profiles in Diversity Journal Latino Leaders Worth Watching
  - 2020 LA Times - Best of TimesOC 2020 Best Mortgage/Home Loan Lender
  - 2020 NMP - National Mortgage Professional Magazine Top Mortgage Employers
  - 2020 OC Register Top OC Workplaces
  - 2020 Mortgage Professional America Top Workplaces
  - 2020 Mortgage Professional America Mortgage Global 100
  - 2020 Austin American Statesman Top Workplaces
  - 2020 OCBJ - Orange County Business Journal Family-Owned Business
  - 2020 Stevie - Women in Business Fastest Growing Company of the Year
  - 2020 Stevie - Women in Business Company of the Year – Consumer Services
  - 2020 Stevie - Women in Business Maverick of the Year
  - 2020 Stevie - Women in Business Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Services
  - 2020 ALPFA - Association of Latino Professionals for America
  - 2020 Great Place to Work/ Fortune Best Workplaces for Women
  - 2020 Stevie - Great Employers Awards Most Valuable Employer
  - 2020 Stevie - Great Employers Awards Most Innovative Work from Home Plan
  - 2020 Stevie - Great Employers Awards Employer of the Year - Financial Services
  - 2020 Great Place to Work/ Fortune Best Workplaces for Millennials
  - 2020 OCBJ - Orange County Business Journal - Private Companies
  - 2020 Stevie - American Business Awards Woman of the Year - Consumer Services

In addition, the following videos, provide more information about Arvielo and her company: