RPM Mortgage
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mortgage lending |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Rob Hirt (full ownership from 1996) |
| Headquarters | Alamo , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Erwin Robert Hirt (CEO) |
| Products | Residential mortgage loans |
| Website | rpm-mtg |
RPM Mortgage operates as an independently owned mortgage lender and broker headquartered in Alamo, California, with its origins in the Bay Area tracing back to 1986.
Specializing exclusively in retail lending, RPM functions as a direct seller and servicer of Fannie Mae loans. In 2013, the company financed $5.9 billion in residential mortgage loans.
History
Established in the Bay Area in 1986, Residential Pacific Mortgage saw investment from Rob and Tracey Hirt in 1991. Rob Hirt took full ownership in 1996 and subsequently rebranded the company as RPM Mortgage. Under his guidance, RPM secured a position among the top 15 private retail mortgage lenders nationwide, according to the Scotsman Guide rankings in 2015. Since its initial Standard & Poor's assessment in 2012, RPM has maintained its distinction as the sole privately held U.S. residential mortgage originator to consistently achieve above-average scores across all eight major S&P criteria.
In 2011, RPM resolved a legal dispute with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation by paying $550,000 related to allegations of breach of contract and inadequate supervision.
On June 4, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed charges against RPM and CEO Erwin Robert Hirt for unlawfully incentivizing loan originators between 2011 and 2013 to direct consumers toward higher-cost mortgage products. The company faced a $20 million penalty—comprising $18 million designated for consumer restitution and $2 million in civil fines—with CEO Robert Hirt personally responsible for half of the total amount. CFPB Director Richard Cordray emphasized that RPM compensated loan officers for steering borrowers into loans with elevated interest rates, holding both the firm and its CEO accountable for these practices.