The pandemic wasn’t going to keep Matt Flaherty from having another successful year. And it didn’t. Last year was a record production year for the 22-year industry veteran, who had a funded loan volume of more than $150 million and assisted more than 300 families – ranging from first time homebuyers to private clients. In 2021, he’s already set to surpass his 2020 funded loan volume by the end of the summer.

“I’m fortunate for the opportunity and support from management to work from home during the pandemic,” he says, “and I’m grateful to now be back at 10 S. Dearborn again as of this spring.” Flaherty acknowledges that his teammates — Nick Natale, Melissa Beale and Kim Robinson — are critical to his success. He’s also proud to have grown his team, with the addition of Brandon Grubbe this summer.

Flaherty was driven to the lending business after earning an economics degree at the University of Virginia. After graduation, he began working in financial services, where he says he found joy in building relationships and advising clients on major financial decisions. That joy he found parlayed him into being one of the top lenders in the company.

Over the past 16 years, Flaherty received President’s Club and National Achiever recognition awards at Chase, and in 2016 he was awarded the Illinois Mortgage Bankers Association’s Best Mortgage Loan Officer award in the large bank category.

Flaherty lives in the Ravenswood Corridor with his wife, Mary, and 4-year-old dog, Yogi.