As Massachusetts Housing Market Strengthens, Largest Community Bank in State Partners with Embrace Home Loans to Strengthen Mortgage Services

NEWPORT, R.I.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Embrace
Home Loans today announced that Boston-based Eastern Bank, the
largest community bank in Massachusetts with $9.9 billion in assets and
nearly 100 branches across Massachusetts and New Hampshire, has
partnered with the company to strengthen its lending operations. Embrace
Home Loans is a prominent leader in the mortgage industry, recognized
for creating exceptional experiences for its clients and customers
through cutting-edge technologies and highly tenured industry
professionals.

Under the partnership, Embrace Home Loans will provide operational
resources to support the loans originated by Eastern Bank, allowing the
bank to focus on its strength – delivering superior customer service.
Further, as the demand for home financing grows, Embrace’s 33 years of
proven experience will allow Eastern Bank to increase its
competitiveness by significantly speeding loan closings, enhancing the
real-time connectivity with referral partners, and improving the overall
borrower experience.

“The housing market is continuing to strengthen in the New England area
with double-digit percent gains in the first quarter of the year,
according to The Massachusetts Association of Realtors,” said Joe Riley,
executive vice president of Consumer Banking at Eastern Bank. “In
response, we needed to develop strategies not only to ensure a
competitive edge in residential mortgage lending, but to also provide
our customers with a superior home financing experience. We’re excited
about our partnership with Embrace and look forward to the value it will
provide to the many New England communities that we serve.”

“We’re honored to team with such a respected institution as Eastern
Bank. And proud that the solutions we’re providing to the banking
community is allowing them to improve both the quality, and the
quantity, of their residential mortgage business,” said Kurt Noyce,
president of Embrace Home Loans.

To learn more about how Embrace is uniquely positioned to provide
financial institutions with a solid mortgage solution, please call
1-800-333-3004 or email Peter Butler at pbutler@embracehomeloans.com.

About Eastern Bank

Founded in 1818 and based in Boston, Eastern Bank is the largest and
oldest mutual bank in the United States, with $9.9 billion in assets and
nearly 100 branches serving communities in eastern Massachusetts and
southern and coastal New Hampshire. Eastern Bank offers banking,
investments and insurance all under one roof, and prides itself on
working harder to understand its customers’ needs so it can deliver
these services in a committed and personal way. Eastern Bank, which
includes Eastern Bank Wealth Management and Eastern Insurance, is a
recognized leader in corporate social responsibility and for its
advocacy on behalf of a number of social justice causes. For more
information, visit: www.easternbank.com,
www.facebook.com/easternbank
or www.twitter.com/easternbank.

About Embrace Home Loans

Founded in 1983, Embrace Home Loans is a direct lender for Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac, approved by FHA and VA, an issuer for Ginnie Mae, and a
provider of services to the banking community. Embrace Home Loans has
remained a prominent leader in the industry, having helped hundreds of
thousands of individuals and their families purchase new homes, lower
their monthly payments and consolidate high-interest debt since its
inception.

Operating 70+ offices across 46 states, Embrace has been recognized
seven times as one of the Best Medium-sized Companies to Work for in
America by Fortune, four times as one of the Fastest Growing
Companies in America by Inc., and recognized as the Most
Community Involved Company in Rhode Island by Providence Business
News. For more information, please visit www.embracehomeloans.com.

Contacts

For Embrace Home Loans
Mary Curtis, 678-781-3074
mcurtis@williammills.com