However, plans call for SMG to move from its 6784 Loop Road, Centerville, offices to 3040 Presidential Drive, Fairborn, on Friday, Nov. 6, said Tim Mislansky, the credit union’s vice president.
The credit union also operates Wright-Patt Financial Group, a for-profit subsidiary that provides such services as ordering appraisals, underwriting loans and coordinating closings for other credit unions, Mislansky said. The subsidiary operates as myCUmortgage .
Acquiring SMG, which provides similar services as well as loan originations to credit unions in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, allows Wright-Patt to tap into those markets, Mislansky said.
The acquisition closed in September, but Wright-Patt Credit Union announced the deal Oct. 30.
Patrick Harris, a spokesman for the Ohio Credit Union League, said his organization knew of no other credit unions that had expanded their mortgage operations by acquiring a for-profit business.
“As far as we know, they’re unique in taking that step,” Harris said.
The mortgage-lending business has boomed for Wright-Patt and for the credit unions it provides back-office services to, Mislansky said. During the first nine months of this year, Wright-Patt saw its first mortgage closings climb 200 percent while the number of mortgages it closed for other credit unions climbed 190 percent during the same period, Mislansky said.
Mortgage lending has become a growing business for credit unions. During the first six months of this year, the state’s credit unions saw mortgage originations reach $960.5 million, compared to $639.5 million during the year-ago period, the league said.
Harris said tax credits for first-time homebuyers, higher demand for mortgage refinancings and customers migrating from for-profit banks to credit unions have boosted the mortgage lending business for credit unions.