Hunt Mortgage Group, a leader in financing commercial real estate throughout the United States, announced today that Jeff Payne has joined the firm as Vice President. In his new role, Payne is responsible for originating debt for Hunt Mortgage Group's conventional and small balance Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Loan Programs, and Hunt's Proprietary Commercial, Bridge, and Mezzanine Loan Programs for clients in the South Central United States. He will be based in the firm's Houston office and will report to Vic Clark, Senior Managing Director at Hunt Mortgage Group.

"The South Central region of the country is experiencing strong dynamics and solid underlying real estate fundamentals," noted Clark. "Adding to the local team in the area enables us to better serve the rapidly growing needs of local developers and investors."

Payne comes to Hunt Mortgage Group from PlainsCapital Bank where he was Senior Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Lending covering the Houston market. Prior to that, he served for 22 years as First Vice President and Houston Market head with Citibank's Commercial Real Estate Group (First Gibraltar/Cal Fed until it was acquired by Citibank in 1999), where he originated more than $1 billion in multifamily and commercial mortgage loans for Citibank's Commercial Real Estate portfolio.

"Jeff brings more than 28 years of commercial real estate lending experience to his new position at Hunt Mortgage Group," added Clark. "He is the perfect addition to our team. We are confident the combination of his expertise with the Company's extensive product array, will help us achieve our regional growth goals."

In addition to mortgage originations, Payne has extensive experience in underwriting, asset management and loan workouts. A native Houstonian, he graduated with a B.B.A in Finance from Texas A&M University.

About Hunt Mortgage Group

Hunt Mortgage Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hunt Companies, Inc., is a leader in financing commercial real estate throughout the United States. The Company finances all types of commercial real estate: multifamily properties (including small balance), affordable housing, office, retail, manufactured housing, healthcare/senior living, industrial, and self-storage facilities. It offers Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD/FHA in addition to its own Proprietary loan products. Since inception, the Company has structured more than $21 billion of loans and today maintains a servicing portfolio of more than $13.4 billion. Headquartered in New York City, Hunt Mortgage Group has 232 professionals in 25 locations throughout the United States. To learn more, visit www.huntmortgagegroup.com.