Two of the Triangle's largest mortgage companies have merged to create what they say is the state's largest independent mortgage banker.
Todd Ballenger, owner of Capital Savings Co. in Durham, and Hayes Hyman, who owned Piedmont Mortgage of Raleigh, merged their companies March 31.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Capital Savings is the merged firm's name. Ballenger remains president and chief executive officer, while Hyman becomes vice president.
The combined companies have 85 employees, 14 offices in North Carolina and South Carolina, and $350 million in annual loan volume.
"With this merger, we expect to do about $550 million this year," Ballenger said. "We want to be at $1 billion by 2000."
Capital also acquired Access One, a subprime lending company owned by Hyman and partner Quentin Mallard.
Capital, in addition to mortgage lending, has a software subsidiary called Compubanc.
Both Capital and Piedmont opened their first offices in 1993 -- Ballenger in Chapel Hill and Hyman in Raleigh.
Ballenger said Capital is moving to expand its business beyond mortgages.
"We're sending our agents to get their insurance and investment licenses so they can give more thorough financial advice," he said. "We developed a software package to key in all the client information and be able to help them get the right kind of mortgage for their needs. We're trying to change the game."
Hyman is president this year of the North Carolina Association of Mortgage Brokers, which represents 497 of the state's 650 mortgage companies.
As part of the transaction, Capital added 1,800 square feet to its 4,500- square-foot Koger Center offices in Raleigh. The headquarters will remain in Durham near Research Triangle Park.
Access One, which will retain its name as a subsidiary of Capital, is adding offices in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia.
The Durham office of Access will move into Piedmont's former office space on Six Forks Road, near the Beltline.
