CU Offering Mortgage Services to CSM's Victims

AmeriCU Mortgage of Michigan has been approved by state regulators to provide origination and servicing services for credit unions in Wisconsin, where several CUs are still calculating their losses from the collapse of Central States Mortgage. AmeriCU Mortgage is a wholly owned subsidiary of privately held Towne Mortgage Co., Troy, Mich., and provides mortgage origination and servicing and default management services for credit unions. Central States, which provided mortgage services to more than 250 credit unions, Friday filed for receivership with the Milwaukee County Court, which is similar to a federal bankruptcy and will entail a liquidation of the mortgage company's assets overseen by a court-appointed receiver. The company, which had written more than $500 million in loans last year, shut its doors March 9 after a $33 million warehouse line of credit was called by Members United Corporate FCU, throwing about 220 people in five states out of work. Wisconsin has filed a $3 million wage lien against the mortgage banker/broker, which owes wages for March and commissions for February and March. The state is investigating whether Central States violated plant closure laws when it shut down.