Chicago-based Cole Taylor Bank continues to observe substantial growth in its mortgage division—a situation that prompted its Cole Taylor Mortgage division to create its own loan servicing platform. 

The new loan servicing segment will be located in Wilmington, Ohio.  

Cole Taylor Mortgage, a division of Cole Taylor Bank and a subsidiary of holding company Taylor Capital Group, recently acquired the servicing rights to 4,600 mortgages along with the office space and servicing assets of Liberty Savings Bank in Wilmington, Ohio.

The mortgage division also hired a servicing platform manager and expects to pull in all of Liberty Savings’ 50 loan servicing employees by the end of the third quarter.

Cole Taylor Mortgage already services its own mortgages as well as loans held by investors through a third-party servicer.

“This initiative allows us to quickly build our mortgage loan servicing operation and is a key component of our strategy to become a full service mortgage banking operation with diverse revenue sources,” said Willie Newman, president of Cole Taylor Mortgage.

“An in-house mortgage servicing platform will also provide us with more flexibility and control of our customers’ experience. We intend to continue growing our portfolio as well as expanding and enhancing the relationship with Cole Taylor Mortgage customers.  We are also excited about establishing an operations center in Wilmington, Ohio, and becoming a positive contributor to the Wilmington community.”