Top 10 U.S. purchase lender since 2012 Founded 1986 in Dallas, Texas 400+ mortgage & home equity programs Licensed in all 50 states ~$23B originated in 2020 Named Best Workplace in Texas Five 2024 MortgageCX Best-In-Class awards Top 10 U.S. purchase lender since 2012 Founded 1986 in Dallas, Texas 400+ mortgage & home equity programs Licensed in all 50 states ~$23B originated in 2020 Named Best Workplace in Texas Five 2024 MortgageCX Best-In-Class awards
Company Profile · Mortgage Lending

PrimeLending
A PlainsCapital Company

A Dallas-born residential mortgage originator that has spent nearly four decades getting American families to the closing table - now lending in all 50 states with the backing of a bank.

Est. 1986 Dallas, Texas ~2,600 employees Top 10 Purchase Lender Subsidiary of PlainsCapital Bank
PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company logo

PRIMELENDING, A PLAINSCAPITAL COMPANY - the corporate wordmark of the Dallas mortgage house, photographed against studio white. Behind the mark: 300-plus locations and roughly 2,600 people.

The Dispatch

A mortgage house built on the one meeting that matters

Most Americans meet their mortgage lender exactly once - during one of the most stressful and consequential transactions of their lives. PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company, has built a business on making that single meeting go well. Founded in Dallas in 1986, the firm originates home loans: it takes a buyer or a homeowner, matches them to a loan program, shepherds the paperwork, and funds the deal. It does this at national scale, across all 50 states, through a network of retail branches and loan officers rather than a single online funnel.

The company sits inside a larger financial family. PrimeLending is a wholly owned subsidiary of PlainsCapital Bank, which is itself owned by Hilltop Holdings Inc. Hilltop acquired PlainsCapital Corporation and its operating businesses - PlainsCapital Bank, PrimeLending and FirstSouthwest - on November 30, 2012. That corporate lineage is not trivia. Being bank-affiliated shapes how PrimeLending funds loans and how quickly it can stand up new lines of business, a point its rivals in the independent-lender world cannot always claim.

By The Numbers

The scale of the operation

1986
Year founded
50
States licensed
400+
Loan programs
~2,600
Employees
Top 10 U.S. purchase lender - every year since 2012.

Who It Serves

The people on the other end of the loan

PrimeLending's customers are, first and foremost, homebuyers - the first-timer stretching to afford a starter home, the move-up family trading up, the veteran using a VA benefit, the rural buyer qualifying for a USDA loan. Alongside them are existing homeowners looking to refinance for a better rate or to cash out for a renovation, and homebuilders who want to offer financing to their own buyers.

The problems it solves are practical ones. Buyers rarely know which of the hundreds of loan programs fits their income, credit and property. They need someone to explain escrow, points and rate locks without condescension, and they need that person to stay reachable after the word "pre-approved" is spoken. PrimeLending's answer is a human loan officer supported by digital tools - online applications, loan tracking and origination software - rather than a purely self-serve app.

For homebuilders, the problem is different: capturing more of the transaction and keeping buyers inside their own brand. PrimeLending's joint-venture model solves that by running the lending operation behind a builder's storefront.

The Menu

Products & services

More than 400 mortgage and home equity programs sit behind PrimeLending's front door. The point is not the length of the menu - it is that the right buyer finds the one door that opens for them.

PURCHASE

Conventional Loans

Fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages for first-time and move-up buyers.

GOVERNMENT

FHA / VA / USDA

Government-backed programs with lower down payments and eligibility paths for qualifying buyers, veterans and rural households.

REFINANCE

Refinancing

Rate-and-term and cash-out refinance solutions for existing homeowners.

HIGH BALANCE

Jumbo Loans

Financing above conforming loan limits for higher-value properties.

BUILD / IMPROVE

Construction & Renovation

New-construction financing and home renovation loan programs.

PARTNERS

Builder Joint Ventures

Homebuilders offer in-house financing under their own brand while PrimeLending runs the lending operation.

The Difference

Why a bank-owned lender plays a different game

The mortgage market is crowded with names - Rocket Mortgage, United Wholesale Mortgage, loanDepot, Guild, Fairway, CrossCountry. Many built their brands on speed and a slick app. PrimeLending competes on a different axis: relationship lending backed by a bank balance sheet. Because it is affiliated with PlainsCapital Bank, PrimeLending is not solely dependent on warehouse lines the way a standalone independent might be, and it can move quickly when it wants to. Its own materials note that a builder joint venture can be operational in as little as six months thanks to that bank-affiliated structure.

The business model is the classic originator's ledger. PrimeLending makes money by originating loans - earning origination fees and gains on the sale of loans into the secondary market - along with servicing-related income. Volume flows through three channels: retail branches, its loan-officer network, and builder joint ventures. That diversification matters in a business as cyclical as mortgages, where interest-rate swings can double or halve volume in a single year.

Human loan officer, digital rails - technology around the person, not instead of the person.

Where It Fits

Position in the market

PrimeLending is a purchase-lending specialist. While refinance-heavy shops swell and shrink with rate cycles, PrimeLending's consistency in purchase business has kept it in the national top tier. A rough read on its footprint against selected benchmarks:

Purchase rank
Top 10 since 2012
State coverage
50 / 50 states
Program breadth
400+ programs
2020 volume
~$23B originated
Workforce
~2,600 employees

Bars are illustrative and scaled for readability - not audited figures. Sources: company statements, Hilltop Holdings filings, industry rankings.

The Record

Four decades, briefly

1986

Founded in Dallas

Roseanna McGill, a former CPA, launches PrimeLending as a residential mortgage originator.

1987

PlainsCapital forms

PlainsCapital Corporation, the eventual parent, is established as a Texas bank holding company.

2011

New chief executive

Todd Salmans is promoted to President and CEO of PrimeLending.

2012

Acquired by Hilltop Holdings

Hilltop acquires PlainsCapital and its subsidiaries, including PrimeLending, on November 30, 2012 - and the Top 10 purchase-lender streak begins.

2020

Record volume

PrimeLending originates roughly $23 billion in loans during a refinance boom.

2025

Best-In-Class

Named Best-In-Class by MortgageCX with five awards for 2024 in the Large Independent Lender segment.

Expertise & Culture

Depth measured in cycles

Expertise in mortgage lending is not proven in a single good year - it is proven across cycles. PrimeLending has originated through booms and busts since the Reagan administration, and that longevity is its own kind of credential. Its recognized strengths cluster around purchase lending, government loan programs, and builder joint ventures, supported by a modern origination and CRM stack that includes Salesforce and Calyx.

Culture shows up in the awards. PrimeLending has been named a Best Workplace in Texas by Fortune and Great Place to Work, and has repeatedly ranked in the Dallas Morning News Top Places to Work competition. In 2024, 84 affiliated loan originators earned Scotsman Guide Top Originator honors. Calmer, better-supported loan officers tend to produce steadier closings - which is the whole point of the business.

Questions

Frequently asked

What is PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company?

A Dallas-based national residential mortgage originator founded in 1986 and a wholly owned subsidiary of PlainsCapital Bank, part of Hilltop Holdings. It offers home purchase loans, refinancing and a range of government and specialty loan programs across all 50 states.

What loan products does PrimeLending offer?

Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo, construction and renovation loans plus refinancing - more than 400 mortgage and home equity programs in total.

Who owns PrimeLending?

It is a wholly owned subsidiary of PlainsCapital Bank, which is owned by Hilltop Holdings Inc. Hilltop acquired PlainsCapital Corporation on November 30, 2012.

How large is PrimeLending?

It employs roughly 2,600 people, operates across all 50 states, and has ranked as a Top 10 U.S. purchase lender every year since 2012. It originated about $23 billion in loans in 2020.

What is PrimeLending's joint-venture model?

Homebuilders and other partners can offer in-house home financing under their own brand while PrimeLending runs the lending operation - a structure that can be operational in as little as six months thanks to its bank affiliation.

Share & Connect

Spread the word

Official & Social

Website
primelending.com
LinkedIn
/company/primelending
Twitter / X
@primelending
Facebook
/PrimeLending
Instagram
@primelending
YouTube
Interviews & demos
Parent
plainscapital.com
Crunchbase
Company profile

Watch

YouTube - Search
PrimeLending interviews & product demos
YouTube - Channel
Official PrimeLending channel
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