Todd Bookspan and Matt Baker have joined NEXA Lending and launched Keepsake Loans, an umbrella brand that will house their existing team and business, NEXA announced on Thursday.
The Bookspan Baker Team, which comes from Guild Mortgage, has originated more than $1 billion in mortgage volume and is on pace to produce about $100 million in volume in 2026, according to NEXA’s announcement.
The move allows Bookspan and Baker to maintain their existing team identity and business while gaining access to NEXA’s technology, products and investor relationships, the executives said.
“We weren’t looking to start over. We were looking for the right platform to build on top of what already works,” Bookspan said.
Bookspan, who has 25 years of mortgage industry experience, said the move followed a reevaluation of the broker channel and how it has evolved.
“When you’re in the bottle, you can’t read the label,” he said. “I had misconceptions about what the broker channel looked like in 2026. Once we became curious, asked more questions and really understood the model, we realized there were opportunities from a product, technology and income perspective that we simply weren’t aware of.”
The announcement comes at a time where NEXA is continuing to expand its technology and product offerings and has also moved into mortgage servicing through its launch of evoLend.
The company also announced NEXA Unlimited at the start of September, a model the company says provides loan officers access to 100% of revenue from NEXA loans.
“People talk about independence all the time, but independence without infrastructure can become another job,” Mike Kortas, executive partner at NEXA Lending, said in a statement. “Todd and Matt already know how to produce, lead and build a great team. They don’t need us telling them how to run their business.”
Baker, who brings over 30 years of mortgage industry experience to the new venture, said the move is intended to create additional opportunities for the team beyond increasing loan production.
“We’ve built efficiencies over 15 years, we’ve built an incredible team, and we know how to originate loans,” Baker said. “Now we get to put that business on a platform that gives us more ways to grow.”
The Bookspan Baker Team will continue operating under its existing team identity within Keepsake Loans.
Bookspan and Baker plan to use the new structure to expand the team, adopt additional technology and explore other business opportunities available through NEXA.
Geri Farr, CEO of NEXA Lending, said Bookspan and Baker represent the type of established mortgage entrepreneurs the company wants to attract.
“Todd and Matt aren’t coming here looking for someone to build their business for them,” Farr said.
They’ve already proven they can do that.
We want NEXA to be the place where great mortgage entrepreneurs can build their next chapter without giving up the identity that got them here.
