BB&T Nixes Subprime Wholesale Unit

In a memo sent to brokers late yesterday, BB&T made official their withdrawal from subprime wholesale lending.

We reported on this development to subscribers yesterday in our Implode-O-Premium newsletter:

A broker forwarded this announcement sent out by a BB&T AE. "LAST CALL -- TODAY AND TOMORROW ONLY! -- BB&T HAS SHUT THEIR DOORS." We called the AE, and he told us the bank was issuing a retraction (and had "slapped his hands good"). What followed was this memo, entitled "COMMUNICATION ERROR".

"The correct communication should have stated our SUB-PRIME WHOLESALE channel, BB&T Mortgage AML, has announced it will no longer engage in the wholesale lending."

AML (for "Alternative Mortgage Lending") was a small subprime wholesale division of BB&T with around 8 to 10 employees, according to one broker we spoke with. They were based in the Covington, GA office, with several satellite AE's in surrounding states. An AE we were able to reach said the bank was "trying to work with" employees, and several had transferred to retail operations.

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