BANKING/FINANCE : Spring Mountain Group to Open 40 Branches in 3 Years

The plans for growth at Spring Mountain Group in Newport Beach are coming fast.

The holding company’s main subsidiary, Spring Mountain Escrow Corp., announced that it expects to double its branches in the next three years by opening 40 offices in Northern California, starting with six new offices by July.

The escrow firm has hired Ted D. Gregory as senior vice president and regional manager for the Northern California operation. He will oversee Spring Mountain’s daily operations and manage sales and new business development there. Gregory, who has 23 years of experience in the financial services field, recently managed Bank of America’s escrow division in Northern California.

Spring Mountain was formed in late 1985 when investors acquired Shearson/American Express Escrow Co. in Newport Beach and its 20 offices. It doubled its size a year later with the purchase of Security Pacific Corp.’s escrow operation. It also opened several branches.

Spring Mountain Group’s chairman and majority owner, Frank O’Bryan, has been aiming at Northern California for the last few years but hasn’t yet opened any branches north of Ventura County.

By July, though, he expects to have offices in the Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Concord, Manteca and Santa Rosa areas.

About half the escrow firm’s business comes from home builders who steer home buyers to the firm. Those builders, O’Bryan said, are starting to build more frequently in Northern California and have asked him to set up a business there.

Spring Mountain Escrow now operates 42 branches from Ventura County to the Mexican border. The escrow industry is highly fragmented, but Spring Mountain believes it is the nation’s largest independent escrow firm with $15 million in annual revenue last year.