By Jeff McKinney
Enquirer staff writer

Provident Financial Group Inc. said Thursday it plans to sell its sub-prime mortgage lending business for an undisclosed amount.

The Cincinnati-based parent of Provident Bank has hired the New York investment banking firm Lehman Brothers to find a buyer for the business, said Chris Carey, Provident's chief financial officer.

The business includes the servicing rights for $11.1 billion in loans originated and secured by others, $1.1 billion in loans originated and secured by Provident and about $260 million in loans held for sale.

The sale of that business comes a week before Cleveland-based National City Corp. is scheduled to close on its $2.1 billion buyout of Provident, Cincinnati's second-largest banking company. That deal calls for Provident to lose its name and merge into National City by early next year. The bank wouldn't comment on whether National City was behind the sale.

Carey said Lehman Brother already has identified 10 to 15 buyers of the sub-prime lending business, including banks, mortgage companies and other financial companies.

He said the business is not losing money but in 2003 contributed less than $5 million to Provident's profits, which hit $109.3 million.

He also said the sub-prime mortgage lending unit does not fit into Provident's focus on increasing revenue and profits by growing its traditional consumer and commercial banking businesses.

The company would not disclose how many of Provident's 3,200 employees work in that business.

E-mail jmckinney@enquirer.com