The Journey to #1: How CCM Became America’s Top Retail Mortgage Lender

Being America’s Top Retail Mortgage Lender is:
A. Awesome
B. Challenging
C. Humbling
D. All of the above

You guessed it: D. All of the above. We’re not going to pretend we didn’t want it or that we aren’t excited to be here, but we’re realists. We know our competition is relentless and the market can be fickle. We also know what it’s taken to get to the top and we’re committed to doing what it will take to stay here, not because it’s important to be #1, but because of what it represents for our clients, referral partners and entire team.

It all started in a log cabin in the 19^th century Ohio wilderness. Well, maybe not. Let’s try again. It started in Cleveland in 2003, with one man and his goal to become a nationwide mortgage lender helping people with a transparent, fast loan process. Our founder Ron Leonhardt has never lost sight of that goal, despite upheavals in the mortgage industry, major regulatory changes and shifts in the real estate market. A lot of mortgage companies have fallen since CrossCountry Mortgage began operations, but true to the name Ron chose, we now offer mortgages across the country.

Even more impressive, there are people working at CCM today who were with him from the start. That kind of loyalty is rare in any business and it says as much about Ron and our company culture as it does about the strength of CCM as a lender. Today, we have more than 7,000 employees operating over 700 branches across all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Along the way we’ve won many awards, including recognition 10 times on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private businesses.

Our array of home loans goes far beyond the ordinary (more about that later) as we offer more than 120 purchase, refinance and home equity mortgage solutions — ranging from conventional and jumbo loans to government-insured programs for FHA, Veteran and USDA (rural) homebuyers to our in-house line of proprietary home loans. We are proud to be a direct lender and approved seller and servicer by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae, designations that demonstrate our qualifications to meet the standards set by these important mortgage institutions.

We may be focusing on recent achievements here, but we’re not ignoring the first 15 years of our existence. Those years built the foundation of our success and without that steady progress CCM wouldn’t be where we are today. However, our explosive growth since 2019 is worth celebrating. Let’s let the numbers tell the story.

If we had a time machine, what would we see in another 22 years? We know people will always need a place to live and we want to be there to help them achieve their goal of homeownership. CCM will continue to focus on doing what’s right for our clients, referral partners and team. We’ll keep supporting the community and giving back. We’ll act with integrity, share our passion for our work and support our colleagues. It’s worked so far.