GMAC Does Servicing Deal

Harland Financial Solutions recently acquired Financialware Inc., according to a press release.

“Joining Harland enables Financialware to leverage the resources and presence of Harland in current and future markets,” said a representative of the company enabling the merger. “Harland in turn, can even better serve its customers’ requirements by adding enterprise content management to its successful core, lending, mortgage, item and payment processing systems.”

Financialware provides financial institutions with software and services that combine customer information with content from the check image and report/document worlds in a single Web-based archive, the announcement said. Harland, among its services to mortgage bankers, provides “a point-of-sale application that enables lenders to better manage pipeline activity, reduce the risk of loan fallout, and ensure compliance,” according to its Web site.

In Horsham, Penn., GMAC Mortgage Corp. recently announced it will handle interim subservicing for Americorp Credit Corp.’s first mortgages and closed-end second mortgages.

Under the arrangement, Americorp will originate the loans on a retail and wholesale basis and GMAC, reportedly the nation’s third largest subservicer with a subservicing portfolio in excess of $38.9 billion at the end of 2005, will service loans that are held in a portfolio and awaiting sale, according to the announcement.

“The GMAC Mortgage-Americorp partnership will allow Americorp to concentrate on in-house originations, while enabling vital resources to be directed toward company growth,” Americorp President Phillip McCall said in the announcement.

NetBank Inc. reported a profitable fourth quarter, but said it had a net loss of $180,000 for 2005, compared with net income of $4.2 million in 2004.

One of the key points in year-over-year results included negative mortgage performance. Due mainly to competitive margin pressure, rather than production volumes, conforming and nonconforming mortgage operations reported pretax losses of $7.0 million and $10.8 million, respectively, compared to the previous year’s combined pretax profits of $21.1 million.

“As we had reported throughout the year, our mortgage operations were under pressure due to a highly competitive pricing environment,” NetBank said in the announcement. “This pressure, although not surprising, was simply more irrational than anticipated, particularly within the nonconforming business where our revenue margins dropped an average of 64 basis points during the year.”

State Bank recently completed the acquisition of The Express Bank of Texas, according to an announcement.

State Bank parent, Texas United Bancshares Inc., said the merger expands its presence in Round Rock, one of the fastest growing markets in Texas, and will greatly assist in its continued efforts “to recruit and attract top banking talent in the surrounding Austin metropolitan area.”

Sterling Financial Corp. has agreed to buy Lynnwood Financial Group Inc. in a $65.3 million deal expected to close in the third quarter, the companies said in a joint press release.

Upon the acquisition of Lynwood, Golf Savings Bank and Golf Escrow will reportedly operate as subsidiaries of Sterling.