Former Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago Exec Launches National Correspondent Lender

Stephen Thomas, President & CEO, FutureWave Finance

Stephen Thomas has announced the formation of FutureWave Finance, a minority-owned national correspondent lender. Serving as President and CEO of the company, FutureWave Finance is the culmination of many years of planning, as the company will partner with investors to serve the needs of lenders by offering product suites intended to drive the future of the mortgage industry, and expand homeownership across the country.

"Lenders need a product-focused approach to grow their residential mortgage business as we are undergoing a secular shift from the rate-driven refinance market that dominated the industry for most of our careers," said Thomas. "We are using our vast resources, infrastructure, technical knowledge, and numerous industry relationships to partner and deliver a wide variety of mortgage loan products–with expert pricing–to service that need."

Prior to launching FutureWave, Thomas served for the last nine years as the Senior Managing Director of Mortgage Capital Markets at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBC), where he and his team helped provide liquidity for various residential mortgage products to hundreds of small community bank and credit union sellers annually. At the FHLBC, Thomas also held many additional roles, including Chair of the MPF Capital Markets Committee, Co-Director of the FHLBC Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Co-Founder of the FHLB Capital Markets Supplier Diversity Committee, and member of the FHLB Housing Finance Reform Task Force.

Prior to the FHLBC, Steve Thomas founded and managed the Mortgage Finance Group at CastleOak Securities, which became a top-ranked minority-owned investment banking firm in the residential MBS, commercial MBS, consumer ABS, and Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHLB agency debt markets, and has held officer level roles in capital markets at several firms, including Fannie Mae and Countrywide Home Loans.

Thomas currently serves as a Board Member and Treasurer of Mercy Housing-Lakefront, a part of Mercy Housing, the nation's largest non-profit developer and owner of affordable housing; Co-Chair of the National Housing Conference's National Advisory Council; and a Member of Quontic Bank's Black and Hispanic Community Development Advisory Board, as well as the Vice Chair of Quontic's Community Development Financial Institution Advisory Board.

Thomas began his career as a Naval Officer in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is a Navy ROTC midshipman graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

"I've known Steve Thomas a long time and if anyone can deliver the leadership and drive to change the mortgage industry and provide home ownership opportunities, it's Steve,” said Julie Joseforsky, President of Financial Services at Fay Financial. “He knows this business inside and out and is deeply involved in the housing industry.”