CARMEL, Ind. (Mar. 26, 2019) – Leading mortgage banking company Merchants Capital today announces the hiring of Lisa Lundeen as vice president of government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) portfolio management and Toni Gilbert as vice president of insurance compliance to the company’s Saint Paul, Minnesota office. These are both newly created roles. Lundeen brings more than 12 years of multifamily servicing and asset management experience to the Merchants Capital team, with a background in both permanent and construction loans, as well as knowledge of investor accounting and reporting for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) assets. Since stepping into the role, Lundeen has transformed the GSE Portfolio Management team, which is responsible for performing financial analyses, completing inspections, monitoring repairs and escrows, processing loan events and managing risks of the company’s Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae portfolios. Lundeen will be a critical leader in improving company procedures, as well as leading the implementation of a new servicing and database management application. With the conversion to Precision LM, Merchants continues to demonstrate its commitment to leading the industry in loan servicing. Gilbert’s addition will allow the Merchants Capital team to streamline the process for loan closings and post-closing insurance renewals. Her responsibility will include reviewing insurance information to ensure compliance with Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Merchants Bank standards. Gilbert has 16 years of insurance compliance and multifamily escrow industry experience, as well as a vast knowledge of lender requirements. “We’re excited to have Lisa and Toni in these newly created positions as we continue to expand our Twin Cities office with top talent,” said Michael Dury, president of Merchants Capital. “Providing great service to our customers is, and always will be, a top priority at Merchants Capital.  Lisa and Toni’s unique backgrounds give them an excellent perspective that will greatly impact our day-to-day activities and allow us to deliver a better product to our customers. Lundeen is a 2002 graduate of the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration degree specializing in Marketing Management. She is currently enrolled in the Mortgage Bankers Association Future Leaders Program, an executive leadership development program that delivers a comprehensive curriculum for selected managers who have shown leadership interests and abilities. Gilbert graduated from Mankato State University in Mankato, Minnesota, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management degree and a minor in Computer Science. She is a member of the MBA Insurance Stakeholders, holds a Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) designation and is licensed as a Minnesota Resident Insurance Producer.

Merchants Bank of Indiana is committed to the communities we serve.  In 2018, we launched the MPACT Program to foster and support our corporate initiative of Positively Advancing Communities Together through employee volunteer service hours. With the launch of the MPACT Program, we wanted to encourage and foster the ideals of community service and adopted a new culture of volunteerism by donating both time and resources to encourage our employees to get more involved and make an “MPACT” in the communities where they live, work and play.  Each Merchants employee is awarded 16 PTO hours per year to use towards local volunteer services. In keeping with the mission and core values of Merchants Bank and its employees, involvement within our communities is focused on advancing affordable housing, connecting people in their communities, promoting and improving education and financial literacy, stimulating community and economic development, and supporting the interests of employees and customers. Last month, we hosted the first-ever MPACT Awards to recognize our dedicated employees and thank them for their valued service. We named four 2018 MPACT Catalyst winners.  These individuals were selected from various markets for making an impact in the program or creating a change in the mindset for volunteer efforts. Aretha Hutchins (Merchants Capital, Carmel) Kelley Leix (Merchants Bank, Carmel) Dinese Watson (Merchants Bank, Lynn) Josh Canan (Merchants Capital, Saint Paul) We also recognized Angela Mazura (Merchants Mortgage, Carmel) as our 2018 Volunteer of the Year and awarded her with a surprise $1,000 check for her incredible efforts as a mentor for a future homeowner through Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.         Over the course of 2018, our team members joined together for a variety of activities where groups of volunteers could participate.  This included the MPACT Service Day to preserve, enhance and develop high-quality affordable housing in Indianapolis’ best neighborhoods, a Habitat for Humanity home rehabilitation project, and a backpack give-away for IPS students in Indianapolis through Indy Backpack Attack and Partners in Housing. We also provided meals at St. Vincent House for families with seriously ill family members experiencing financial hardship, adopted several families to provide Thanksgiving meals and Christmas presents, and collected donations for the Horizon House – just to name a few. In 2018, more than 50 employees logged a total of 520 volunteer hours in the communities we serve. Nearly 400 of those hours were put towards Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) community development in Indianapolis, and another 41 hours were dedicated to CRA community development in Lynn, Indiana. CRA is federal regulation designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.