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Empire Bancorp - Wholesale
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2007-12-4
Privately held Empire Bancorp Mortgage Bankers has closed effective today.
In a letter distributed this morning from Les Hills, (owner):
"At this time I must inform everyone that it has become necessary to close Empire Bancorp immediately.
The reason for this is the heavy losses taken as the result of non-performing loans, current loan production, the fact that we could not obtain all necessary approvals for Direct Mortgage, low pull thru ratio, questionable continued ability to fund loans and the rising cost of operating the business.
At this time Countrywide Warehouse Lending has made the decision to not release any money until all loans are off the line and they are sure no monies are due for loans in default.
This is a difficult thing for me to tell everyone but there are certain things that I cannot control. I believe that had we been able to survive today's market that we could have regained formal production levels in the future."
To read the entire letter, click here (.pdf).
We will add to this page as information becomes available. Please email us if you are aware of number of employees affected, and/or peak volume levels.
Important: This company is on our list of lending operations that have "imploded" (see also ailing lenders). However, please note that "imploded" is a somewhat subjective and does not necessarily mean operations are ceased permanently: it can mean bankruptcy filing, temporary but open-ended halting of major operations, or "firesale" acquisition. All information here is provisional, and may contain inaccuracies (especially newer information). If you are planning on doing business with this company or any other one listed on this site, you should inquire with them directly on whether they can still meet your needs. Many are still operating in some capacity.