From First South Bank

 

First South Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of First South Bancorp Inc., is pleased to announce the purchase of mortgage servicing rights of 452 high-quality Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loans with an unpaid principal balance of approximately $84.6 million. The purchase is subject to customary approval from the two investor agencies.

The purchase brings the bank’s total value of MSRs to approximately $2.8 million and brings the total balance of mortgage loans serviced for others to approximately $376.9 million. The bank is pleased to welcome these new customers and looks forward to serving their other financial needs as we have done for our clients for over 114 years. The selection of these mortgage loans to service was based on their quality as well as their geographic location. All of these loans are in the state of North Carolina and a significant portion of these borrowers resides within our bank’s footprint.

Bruce Elder, First South Bank’s president and CEO, said, “We are very excited about acquiring these MSRs. Adding this servicing portfolio to our existing book of business allows us to increase our level of noninterest income while improving our operating efficiency as we leverage the bank’s resources. This transaction also gives us the opportunity to introduce our ‘You First’ banking principles to these new customers.”