Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. is closing its retail operation, eliminating half of its wholesale operation and temporarily halting all new business. The moves will result in more than 1,000 layoffs.
The San Diego-based lender announced today it would shut down its retail operations — including 60 retail branches and five regional support centers — as of Sept. 5. About 480 jobs will be cut as a result.
A customer retention center in San Diego will not be affected, Accredited said.
In addition, five of 10 wholesale centers will also be closed, according to the statement. About 490 wholesale positions will be cut — leaving 340 employees remaining.
Accredited reported it will also cut 180 jobs at its headquarters and will substantially reduce operations at its Inzura Settlement Services unit. After all job cuts, approximately 1,000 employees will be left out of 2,600 reported for June 30.
Accredited said it has halted all new business but will resume new wholesale business when market conditions improve.
“These difficult decisions were made out of necessity in light of the continued and widely publicized turbulence in the mortgage and financial markets,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James A. Konrath said in the statement.
The Canadian operations and its $8.4 billion portfolio will reportedly be unaffected by the restructuring.
Accredited explained it can survive off of cash flows from securitized loans, servicing income and other income until market conditions improve and it resumes loan originations.
Three warehouse lines for $1.6 billion are expected to remain intact, the subprime lender said.
A pending deal to acquire Accredited is on the brink of collapse, with the potential acquirer, Lone Star Fund V, L.P., reporting that Accredited has not met the conditions of their merger agreement because it has breached numerous obligations and suffered a material adverse effect.
“We believe that the streamlining of our operations and significant curtailment of new loan originations are required to preserve liquidity during the current and anticipated market conditions,” Konrath added.
