Mortgage Workers on the Move from Commerce Union in Tenn.

Commerce Union Bancshares in Brentwood, Tenn., plans to close mortgage offices in Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky and to transfer the employees to Bridgeview Bank Group in Bridgeview, Ill.

The $876 million-asset Commerce Union agreed to transfer the employees, who work for its Reliant Bank unit, to the $1.1 billion-asset Bridgeview for no compensation, according to a regulatory filing. The employees will not be required to sign a noncompete agreement, and will be released from any existing nonsolicitation agreements, provided that Reliant's residential mortgage customers wait six months before refinancing with Bridgeview.

Commerce Union does not expect to record a gain or loss from the moves.

It did not identify how many employees it will transfer to Bridgeview. The employees will join Bridgeview's BBMC Mortgage subsidiary.

The offices Commerce Union is closing are in Schaumburg, Ill.; Louisville, Ky.; and Columbus and Reynoldsburg, Ohio. It did not say how many offices are affected. Commerce Union will also close a small support office in Brentwood, Tenn.

Commerce Union decided to close the offices and transfer the employees because it is focusing on its middle Tennessee market, Chairman and Chief Executive Ron DeBerry said in an interview. Commerce Union operates seven branches in Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Gallatin and Springfield. Reliant Bank held $215 million of one-to-four family residential mortgage loans, as of Dec. 31.

This article originally appeared in American Banker.
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