Pentagon Federal Credit Union in Alexandria, Va., has formed a full-service real estate brokerage, PenFed Realty LLC.
The brokerage will offer members comprehensive residential services with reduced fees, and buyers will get a 1% rebate when they are represented by PenFed, Pentagon Federal said Monday.
The unit is licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia and will be run by Kevin Wiles, who has 17 years of real estate and mortgage experience in the Washington area.
Pentagon Federal is the nation’s third-largest credit union, with $8 billion of assets.
Banks have been trying to get into the real estate brokerage business for several years but have faced stiff opposition from the National Association of Realtors. Though banks essentially gained brokerage powers when the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was passed in 1999, the trade group has effectively blocked regulators from finalizing rules that would let banks into the brokerage and management business.
