1st Union Hires Marketer to Drum Up Borrowers

First Union Corp., Charlotte, N.C., has hired a marketing company to generate leads for mortgage originations.

The company is Wyer Creative Communications, Nashville. Steven Wyer, president, said the agreement calls for Wyer to develop specialized marketing programs. Its first task will be to initiate a direct marketing campaign aimed at first-time homebuyers.

Wyer will use its own telemarketing capability to gather and analyze information from potential customers. Included will be data base management and the design and implementation of seminars for first-time homebuyers. These leads will then be turned over to the mortgage staff at First Union Bank of Georgia, Atlanta.

First Union has its own direct marketing capability, which it has used in affinity lending activities. However, it is losing a big client in USAA Federal Savings Bank and may have some surplus capacity as a result.

The banking company, No. 18 nationally in terms of its servicing portfolio, is also becoming a huge home equity lender in its merger with New Jersey-based First Fidelity Bancorp.

"The mortgage industry as a whole is moving more and more toward outsourcing," said Mr. Wyer. "As part of that direction, we are looking for strategic alliances."

Speaking of the First Union assignment, he said, "Our expertise in the mortgage and financial services industries, combined with our interactive telemedia operation, should enable us to provide a variety of marketing services for First Union."

Describing Wyer's overall business, he said the company does telemarketing, retention strategies, generation of new-loan leads, and other programs.

One of them involves a welcoming strategy whereby Wyer gets in touch with new homeowners in the first 30 to 45 days of their loan. It checks to see if they have all the necessary information and have received their coupon book, and gathers information for cross-selling of other products.

Clients include Prudential Mortgage, the Money Store, Mortgage Management Corp., and Beneficial Finance, Mr. Wyer said.

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