BankersWest Funding Corp. - Wholesale - Agency, FHA & VA

We learned today of this wholesaler's recent exit from the business. Tipsters pointed us to BankersWest Funding Corporation, based in City of Industry, CA. Not long ago, one source wrote:

"Check out Bankerswest Funding... Look at [their] pricing. 5.5% today on an FHA loan is a cost of 6 points. Everyone else is at a rebate. They are not encouraging business."

The company had two additional branches in Anaheim and Temple City, and was registered to do business in some states under the dba "BWFC Corp., a Mortgage Banking Corporation." According to their web site, the company was licensed to do business in AZ, CA, NV, UT and WA. They were strictly a wholesale lender, offering Conforming, FHA & VA loans. We asked our tipster if perhaps they had just been experiencing high volume and may have priced out-of-market to stem the tide. Their response: "I don't think that is their situation." That turned out to be an accurate assessment.

We spoke with Trent Ford, General Counsel for BankersWest, who confirmed the company had ceased wholesale operations as of July 17th, 2009 and were "dissolving the business" due to market conditions and the exit of so many TPO (third-party origination) investors. According to Ford, 75 employees were let go, and all business had been closed out and funded. He would not comment further on the company's decision to shutdown operations save to deny any pending litigation or regulatory action was a factor.

Despite their seemingly small market area, BankersWest was doing a significant volume of business in 2007, averaging $52 million per month in originations. They had an estimated 95 employees at one time.

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