CFIC Home Mortgage - Retail Subprime

Update - 2009-04-15: The St. Petersburg Times reports that Michael R. Wise, the purported "head" of CFIC and former chairman of Denver's failed Silverado Banking, committed suicide on April 8, 2009. Security video caught Wise pacing on the 9th floor of a parking garage at the Tampa Bay International Airport before he "stepped off the side" as noted in the Denver Post. Authorities at the airport "ruled out any foul play or accident."

Update, Sept 14.: This article points out that Michael Wise, the man running CFIC, was a convicted felon from the S&L bubble era. Apparently he embezzled $8 million+ from Silverado Banking and did 3 years in Leavenworth. But we understand--it must have been hard to find mortgage lending execs without a felony-level criminal record (in the financial services industry) a few years ago. The article also discusses how the company has fudged Wise's job title to avoid regulations--he is not listed as an officer of the company in Florida, for example.

Original post: Many have passed along an announcement from CFIC Home Mortgage (cfic.com) that they will be beginning to "wind up" business in varying states over the coming weeks. Below is an excerpt from the announcement:

CFIC has been in business for over ten years. We have seen our business grow to a community of offices and we take great pride in their accomplishments. The market has been through many changes throughout the years we have been in business. Most recently, we have experienced problems with our bonding company that we have not had in the past. Due to tougher underwriting decisions by our bonding provider, we have not been able to work out a new bonding program in the states listed below.

As of the corresponding date next to each state, CFIC Home Mortgage will cease to originate loans and will begin to wind up its business. There is an opportunity for you to transfer your employment with our assistance to Apex Lending, Inc. in Clearwater, Florida, a company we believe holds similar values to that of CFIC. For further details on the transition process, and for answers to any other questions you may have, please contact Apex Lending, Inc in Clearwater, FL. Additionally, some corporate employees most likely will be moving over to Apex Lending, Inc to further assist you in a smooth transition and Apex Lending has made commitments to a no cost and easy transition. Apex Lending can be reached at 877-273-9536 or apexlending.com.

According to the CFIC Home Mortgage website, "CFIC Mortgage Consultants close $10 million in loans every business day". At peak, CFIC was in as many as 500 locations nationwide. More recently, CFIC Home Mortgage's locations have numbered closer to 300. We do not know what their daily (or monthly) loan volume is now. Further, sources have estimated the number of employees at CFIC Home Mortgage to be around 200.