By CAROL ANNE BURGER

CU Times Special Assignment Reporter

DENVER — The Association and Credit Union Strategic Partners here has mapped out an aggressive path for growing the mortgage lending capacity and volume of the state's credit unions. To that end, the association's board of directors recently announced that it has partnered with Centennial Lending Corp. to combine its mortgage businesses.

Karen Morgan, senior vice president for CUSP, which is a wholly owned CUSO of the Credit Union Association of Colorado, described the new partnership as good positioning because it will allow for business lending and mortgage servicing.

CUSP also owns Members Mortgage, which Morgan said primarily did mortgage origination, processing and closings. Servicing was handled by PHH and most loans were sold to the secondary market. But now, Centennial Lending–which brings business lending to the mix– will also take up the servicing end as well. “We see this as a means to expand not just our mortgage capabilities but also to offer business and construction lending to an increasing number of members,” said Morgan.

Mark Bostock, president of Centennial Lending, said its mortgage servicing operation fit neatly into the CU picture because “we keep our servicing here at the local level, and I think credit union members appreciate that. And our call center is located right here in Colorado, too.” He noted that Centennial is already doing business with several CUs in Wyoming, chiefly Warren Credit Union in Cheyenne, and that the combined Credit Union Associations of Colorado and Wyoming will benefit from the new organizational structure.

Centennial services some $450 million in residential mortgages and works with some 110 credit unions in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. “It helps to now have the endorsement of the Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska leagues,” he said.

Morgan, who is passionate about increasing the credit union slice of the mortgage market, said the volume required to stay competitive and cost effective for CUs was lacking before. Making this change even as the housing market is in decline and the economy is trembling with each new shock, courtesy of rising gas prices and credit restrictions will make credit unions a more attractive choice to a growing number of consumers.

New Digs:

The Sterner Center

The Credit Union Associations of Colorado and Wyoming are also completing another major move into a new headquarters building in Denver that's a fully renovated 1929 historic structure just four blocks from the Colorado Capitol. The long-sought move was designed to increase the visibility of the credit union movement, according to John Dill, President and CEO of CUAC and CUAW.

Known as the Casa Grande building, the four-story structure reflects the distinguished architectural design of the legendary Denver architect and master builder Walter H. Simon. It was formerly class C office condos before it was purchased by the credit union group. It has a wealth of interesting architectural detail both inside and out, including terrazzo floors in the main corridor along with archways and finials and Spanish tiles and scroll work on the outside. An old underground parking garage has been renovated and will be used as a state-of-the-art training facility, which will be named the Sterner Center, after Bill Sterner, the recently deceased chairman of CUAC. The building renovation was paid for out of the reserve funds of CUSP.

“Our old headquarters in Arvada was a great facility when it was opened in 1972,” said Dill, “but it no longer addressed two of our critical missions–advocacy and visibility.” Dill said the new facility will answer both of those needs while still providing the necessary parking and on-site training at the facility, which credit unions have come to expect from their state-wide trade associations.

He described the new building as right-sized for the needs of CUAC/CUAW in the 21st century–containing approximately 23,000 square feet, or roughly half the size of the old facility in Arvada. “When we had functions such as check and item processing and office supplies, we needed that extra room in the suburbs,” said Dill. “In 2008, we need to be close to our elected officials and able to easily brand credit unions as the preferred financial service provider in our two states.”

“We wanted to create a new headquarters for our credit union movement, but while our staff may work there, this facility is owned by and belongs to our members–the credit unions of Colorado and Wyoming,” Dill stressed.

The staff is currently awash in boxes and moving materials, and it will take several weeks to complete the final touches on the building and get everything organized. “After 40 plus years in our old location, you can imagine the accumulation of records, equipment and material we had to sift through,” he said. “Somewhere in that old place, we may still find a petrified banker or two,” he joked. “The associations offered old furniture, shelving, file cabinets and supplies to the credit unions in Colorado and Wyoming and several smaller ones took advantage of that offer,” said Dill. The old facility has been sold to an investor and will be occupied by a charter school.

The associations will plan a grand opening later in the summer, and look forward to hosting VIPs and other credit union leaders at the facility during the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August.

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