ACB Sub, Banks Form Mortgage Co-op

The for-profit subsidiary of America's Community Bankers and 32 member banks have formed a joint venture to achieve better secondary-market execution for their mortgage loans.ACB Mortgage LLC, consisting of member banks from 20 states, will act as a negotiating agent with aggregators, government-sponsored enterprises, and Wall Street firms, according to Michael Young, president and chief executive of Cenlar FSB, Ewing, N.J. "This newly formed venture was created to leverage the power of joint ownership by like-minded community banks to obtain the best execution possible from a full range of secondary-market investors," Mr. Young said at ACB's annual convention in Las Vegas. The trade group's for-profit subsidiary, ACB Business Partners, has alliances with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and private wholesalers. ACB can be found online at http://www.americascommunitybankers.com.