First Horizon buys commercial mortgage servicer

First Horizon National in Memphis, Tenn., has acquired the operations and certain assets of Professional Mortgage, a provider of loan servicing.

The $29 billion-asset First Horizon did not disclose financial terms or provide details on the specific assets it acquired in the transaction. The acquisition was made by the company’s First Tennessee Bank subsidiary.

Professional Mortgage in Greenville, S.C., provides institutional debt capital and commercial mortgage loan servicing, First Horizon said in a news release Wednesday. The company services about $1.1 billion of commercial mortgage loans for 23 correspondent life company lenders.

First Horizon said that 11 employees will join First Tennessee Bank’s commercial real estate team.

It has been a busy year for First Horizon on the M&A front.

In May it agreed to buy Capital Bank Financial in Charlotte, N.C., for $2.2 billion in cash and stock — the largest deal in First Horizon's history. It is scheduled to close this quarter.

The deal for the $10.1 billion-asset Capital would push First Horizon much closer to $50 billion of assets — the point at which banks become systemically important financial institutions under federal law and regulatory oversight ramps up. However, it would still have room for organic growth and niche acquisitions such as Professional Mortgage.

Indeed, one analyst said this summer that First Horizon is primed for more deals in the long run.

First Horizon is scheduled to issue third-quarter earnings on Friday. It reported a 61% increase in profits to nearly $91 million in the second quarter as stronger lending and cost control offset a decline in fee income. Total revenue rose 2% to $328.4 million.