Culture
October 24, 2021
4 min
“Within 5 minutes, I felt like I was home.”
Greg Cignarella found his home at NMB
After 30 years in retail sales positions, it was time for Greg Cignarella to make a change. He knew he wanted to make an impact in people’s lives and to do it with people he cared about and believed in him. He found NMB and has never looked back. Greg took some time with our team to discuss that move and what makes NMB such a special place to be a part of.
Greg Cignarella’s Interview Transcript
“My name is Greg Cignarella and I’m a Mortgage Loan Originator. I spent my entire career in Wall Street in sales for fixed income, and that’s where I spent many years. And those years were spent in mortgage-backed securities and extra derivatives, so I already knew the product, but after 30 years in sales doing that very thing, that personal reward was lacking. Now I’m actually working with individuals. It’s a retail client base. These are soon-to-be homeowners, or those who want to refinance in all different shapes and sizes and I get to work with them as individuals and it has become a phenomenal experience.
Making the decision to work at NMB became actually a very simple one after a long process for me personally to determine where it is I wanted to work. I did know I did not want to work at a large depository bank, that wasn’t for me. I didn’t get the warmth, and the mission, and the drive. To me, it just seemed all about the bottom line and printing tickets and getting the next deal done. A mutual friend introduced me to Rich Steinberg and it was in that first meeting I really felt like I was home. In my mind, five minutes into the conversation, I said, “If this man offers me a position, I was taking it.”
“I have zero regrets about joining NMB and I’m incredibly privileged to be a part of this firm.”
Greg Cignarella – Loan Officer – NMLS# 555555
By the end of the meeting we certainly came to an understanding and agreement, there were no questions in my mind. To then discover at the end of the conversation, that Inc. Magazine ranks at number one private mortgage lender in the country two years in a row, was mind-blowing. The experience that every borrower has that I’ve worked with has been nothing but astounding. And the follow-up, and the automation, and the technology just makes that all possible.
Understanding and sharing those core values is the mission statement by which this firm is able to thrive. You see it not just in the infrastructure that the firm has built around the process to make technology work for you, but you even see it in the way that we look at our referral network. We treat them as equal partners. So if you look at things like the Buy Now Program, now you have that extra bit of ammunition that you’ve actually been approved because you’ve taken that extra step. And this firm spends an enormous amount of resources to ensure that we have those tools. Not only has this been a phenomenal career transition for me but making that decision into NMB has been nothing…I have zero regrets about that, and I’m incredibly privileged to be a part of this firm.”