Merger Will Create Mortgage Lender With $5.1-Billion Portfolio

Victoria Mortgage Corp., a mortgage lending company, said Tuesday that it plans to merge with First Town Mortgage Corp. by the end of the summer. The two companies, which have signed a letter of intent to merge, would combine to create a mortgage lender with offices on both coasts and a portfolio of $5.1 billion in servicing rights--the fees that mortgage bankers collect to process monthly mortgage checks.

“At this very time when mortgage companies are increasingly ceding control to large banks, we are signaling a strong and clear intent to stay independent,” said First Town’s president, Peter R. Norden, who will be chairman and chief executive of the combined corporation.

First Town, based in Secaucus, N.J., and Victoria made a total of $2.3 billion of home mortgage loans last year as interest rates dropped to 25-year lows.

Initially, the two companies will retain their identities as separate operating units. The First Town unit will be headed by Norden. The Victoria unit will be managed by Larry Koppelman, president and chief operating officer of Victoria.