# Luminate Bank Absorbs Assets From First State Mortgage Services

> The Minneapolis-based lender is absorbing an established Illinois team led by First State chief Rene Shaffer, adding origination volume and extending its reach across the Midwest.

- Publication: Go Big News
- By Go Big News Staff (Staff News)
- Category: Real Estate
- Published: 2026-08-20T20:11:50+00:00
- Canonical: http://www.gobignews.com/real-estate/luminate-bank-absorbs-assets-from-first-state-mortgage-services

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Luminate Bank has acquired select assets of First State Mortgage Services, a deal that brings an established Illinois lending team into the Minneapolis-based bank and widens its footprint across the Midwest and central United States, HousingWire reports. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Much of First State's team, led by chief executive and president Rene Shaffer, is joining Luminate as part of the transaction. First State built its business in central Illinois and holds the top market-share position in Bloomington, Illinois. The company has originated about $132 million in volume so far this year, which will add to the roughly $2.2 billion Luminate has produced over the same period.

The incoming group gains access to Luminate's broader product platform, which spans construction loans, non-QM offerings, and reverse mortgages, along with the deposit and banking services that come with the company's bank charter. "This is an important step forward for Luminate Bank and a powerful combination of two organizations that share the same fundamental values," said Eric Lovins, Luminate's co-founder and president of mortgage lending, in the companies' announcement.

Shaffer framed the combination around client service, saying the mortgage process "represents a unique opportunity to support clients through some of the most meaningful and stressful financial transactions of their lives."

Luminate Bank, headquartered in Minneapolis and led by CEO Marc Campbell, ranks among the top 25 national mortgage lenders and is licensed in all 50 states. Co-founded by Taryn Reuter and Lovins, the bank holds a 4.9-star rating across more than 45,000 customer reviews and was recognized this year as a top large-company workplace in Minnesota, Colorado, and New Jersey, alongside two 2026 Freddie Mac Home Possible RISE Awards.

For Luminate, the deal fits a growth strategy built on adding productive origination teams in markets where relationships run deep — pairing a locally dominant Illinois franchise with a national platform and balance sheet.