Pacific Mercantile Bancorp has become the latest lender to exit the wholesale mortgage market.
The Costa Mesa, Calif.-based company announced that, based on a review of its business operations, it will ‘focus entirely on our direct-to-consumer retail channel.’ Pacific Mercantile will cease taking mortgage submissions from mortgage brokers after Aug. 31, but will continue to process and fund mortgage broker-originated loans through the end of this month.
‘This action will result in a significant reduction in mortgage loan originations and, therefore, in our mortgage banking revenues, in future periods,’ says the company. ‘Nevertheless, in our view, this action is in the best interests of the company and our shareholders because we believe that it will enable us to build a stronger foundation for achieving improved profitability in the future, reduce and control our operating costs and reduce interest rate and other risks inherent in the wholesale mortgage business, in order to enhance the value of our banking franchise in the future.’