Ernie Saltmarsh has been the senior lender and manager of the mortgage division at AmSouth Bank for five years.
His job
“I manage a team of six in Jacksonville. Our primary function is to originate residential loans.”
How he got into lending
He was a human resource manager starting at Barnett Bank (later NationsBank and now Bank of America) for 10 years and recruited for lending positions for many years. “I learned a lot about the business and the field from that recruiting. I knew what was needed to be a good lender and, as I sat back recruiting people, I realized that I could do the job and do it well. It was a very good fit for me personally.”
Favorite thing about lending
“I love the variety. I love meeting with people, sitting down with clients while trying to solve their dilemma and figuring out how we can make home ownership a reality for them.”
His office
He’s in an office building in the Deerwood Park area off Southside Blvd.
Parent company
The headquarters is in Birmingham. AmSouth bank’s main office here is in downtown Jacksonville and the city president is Marty Lanahan.
Volume
$180-200 million a year.
The staff
Six, including four loan officers and two assistants.
Amsouth’s lending
“We are more of a conventional lender. We also do government lending, including Federal Housing Authority and Veterans Administration loans, and we do a lot of non-conventional jumbo lending.”
Promoting his company
“A lot of it is through word of mouth from satisfied customers. Also, through advertising on television, radio and print and my making real estate agents, builders and affinity groups aware what we do.”
Birthplace
Washington, D.C.
High school
Wolfson.
College
Florida State, where he received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis on finance and a minor in economics.
Family
Wife Karen is an elementary school teacher at St. Michael’s Catholic. They have three children: Ernie IV, 17; Emily, 15; and Grace, 12.
Hobbies
Fishing, golf, boating and anything else outdoors.
Resides
San Marco.
Church
Assumption Catholic.
Favorites
Ernest Hemingway is his favorite author. On the screen, he likes James Bond movies and “Seinfeld” reruns.