|
NEWS RELEASE
April 14, 2008
Contact: Jim Eberle
(202) 663-5477
E-mail: jeberle@acbankers.org
ABA EXPANDS PROGRAM TO HELP COMMUNITY BANKS SERVE HOMEBUYERS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Bankers Association announced today that it is expanding a program to help community bank members better serve the needs of homebuyers in their local markets.
On the first anniversary of Community Bank Mortgage LLC, a subsidiary of ABA Total Business Solutions, ABA members are being invited to become joint owners of the LLC.
"Community banks are in a unique position in the mortgage market to meet their customers' needs and those of their communities," said Deborah Whiteside, president and COO of Community Bank Mortgage LLC. "Unlike other mortgage lenders, community banks are strongly capitalized and have the expertise to meet market needs," she added.
The Community Bank Mortgage LLC was created in 2007 by America's Community Bankers, which merged with the ABA in December, to give community banks the power to leverage the aggregate quality and volume of their mortgage business for sale into the secondary market. Its goal is to preserve and enhance the role of community banks in the mortgage markets by negotiating advantaged terms for their loans, which in turn makes the mortgages they are able to offer homebuyers more competitive.
"Our LLC was developed to give community bank members the ability to compete in their markets and continue to serve their customers by using the power of joint ownership," said Community Bank Mortgage LLC Chairman Michael W. Young, who is also chairman of Cenlar FSB, Ewing, N.J.
The terms of the business relationship that the LLC negotiated with Wells Fargo Funding Inc., a subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank, and Countrywide Bank, Young said, recognize the unique quality of the community bank mortgage business. "Both relationships have been successful in meeting the goals of the LLC owners as well as providing a source of high-quality business to Wells and Countrywide," he added.
The LLC is discussing business relationships with other players in the mortgage finance industry that will benefit the LLC owners.
The current offering of joint ownership in the Community Bank Mortgage LLC will close on May 15. Ownership is available to all ABA members. For more information, call 1-800-BANKERS or visit www.cbmortgagellc.com.
Community Bank Mortgage LLC is co-owned by ABA member banks and ABA Total Business Solutions, a subsidiary of the American Bankers Association.
# # #
| 
