Wholly owned credit insurance subsidiary Mortgage Risk Management helped Wide Bay Australia meet guidance on net profit after tax of $18.2 million. Mortgage Risk Management, which is a registered lenders' mortgage insurance provider, contributed NPAT of $2.4 million to the result, up eight per cent on the previous corresponding period. Ron Hancock, managing director at Wide Bay, said the license for the mortgage insurance subsidiary is only for insuring loans written by the mutual, with no plans to try and meet requirements to insure credit written by other financial institutions. "To be quite honest we wouldn't be interested in underwriting others' credit, as we wouldn't have that much control over it." The unprofitable subsidiary Wide Bay Australia Mini Lease will be wound up after reporting a $62,000 loss in the 2008 financial year, compared to a $30,000 profit in 2007. Hancock said much of the former building society's increase in bad debt expense from $18,000 to $72,000 is attributable to leasing write-offs. "We bought a 51 per cent stake (in Mini Lease), it never really got off the ground, and we are just in wind down collection mode now. We only ever had a portfolio of a few million dollars anyway." Mini Lease provides leasing and rental finance for businesses to acquire plant and equipment. Wide Bay integrated the Mackay Permanent merger during the financial year, with Hancock indicating another merger in the short term is unlikely. "Well there is nothing on the screen at present, but in the current climate if an opportunity came along we would certainly look at it, and if it was as good as Mackay Permanent, we would certainly be interested. "There isn't a lot left. There are quite a few credit unions and mutuals around, but they have always been a bit hard to take over because of their one vote per member environment." Hancock adds that no larger organisations have approached Wide Bay. "We have no doubt people have run the ruler over us, but we haven't been approached." Wide Bay revenue from ordinary activities increased 26 per cent to $175 million, with loan approvals for the financial year up seven per cent to $518 million. The firm will pay a final, fully franked dividend of 33 cents bringing the total for the year to 66 cents, or six cents higher than the previous year.