Chrissi Rhea, co-founder of Mortgage Investors Group, has died
Chrissi Callaghan Rhea, co-founder of Mortgage Investors Group and member of the Association of Mortgage Bankers (MBA) board of directors, died on November 8, at the age of 73.
“Chrissi was a pioneer in the industry, co-founding MIG in the late 1980s and leading the company until a few months ago,” MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit said in a statement.
Rhea co-founded Knoxville-based MIG in 1989. But in addition to serving as president and CEO at the company, she has held several positions for the MBA, including current board member and chair of the MBA Residential Board of Directors in 2023. She has also been an involved member of the IMB Executive Board .
One of her contributions to the industry was being a “driving force” behind MBA’s efforts to ban mortgage trigger abuse, Broeksmit said.
Rhea was one HousingWire Woman of Influence in 2021. When COVID-19 hit, she quickly implemented a work-from-home program for more than 300 employees across multiple states.
“My heart is heavy for her family and her colleagues. She was simply a tremendous leader for the industry, and someone we will deeply miss as an industry leader and advocate for the MBA,” said Gene Lugat, executive vice president of PrimeLending and Rhea’s successor as Chairman of the Residential Boards of Governors in 2024.
“We first crossed paths at a peer group meeting around 2015. She was one of the few women in the room,” added Kate deKay, CEO of Eustis mortgage. “She was a real force; a leader who had the utmost respect, yet was unpretentious, warm and wonderfully real.”
Rhea’s son, Kevin Rhea, who worked with her at MIG for more than 20 years, said she was a “force in mortgage banking.”
“She started the Mortgage Investors Group in 1989 with a handful of people and built it into one of the largest mortgage lenders in the South East, while at the same time standing up for fair lending and affordable housing.”
As of Friday, according to the Nationwide multi-state licensing system (NMLS), the mortgage lender had 150 sponsored loan officers and 43 active branches. According to technology platform Modexthe lender has made approximately $940 million in loans over the past twelve months.
