High mortgage rates, low rates and tough competition have forced it BayFirst National Bank To close the home loan business and lay off employees.
BayFirst Financial Corp.Bayfirst National Bank’s parent company announced last week that its board of directors has begun the process of closing all of the bank’s home loan origination offices. The bank will continue to source mortgage loans in its local Florida offices, the firm said.
“Given the impact of the decline in mortgage volume on the company’s performance in recent quarters, coupled with the uncertainty of our mortgage loan portfolio through the mid-term, we have made the difficult decision to terminate residential loan origination offices nationwide,” Anthony Leo, CEO, said in a prepared statement last week. said on.
Bank of Florida plans to focus on building community banking franchises and focus on Small Business Administration (SBA) lending, he said. Through the bank’s CreditBench division, SBA lending has grown to record levels, as Leo and continues to add more employees.
BayFirst is ranked eighth on the list of the most active SBA lenders in the country US Small Business Administration. As of Sept. 22, it had approved 906 SBA loans totaling $308.8 million.
The bank opened its eighth banking center in West Bradenton, Florida, in September, and will prioritize expanding banking offices throughout the Tampa Bay region, the official added.
The 30-year fixed rate has crossed the 6%-level, more than doubling from January and lenders are reducing headcount to cut costs. Almost every lender has had several layoffs with some banks, e.g Santander Bank Closing the mortgage residential business. The Spanish bank announced the decision in February to “focus its efforts on products, services and digital capabilities to better meet the evolving needs of consumers.” Santander is still operating a commercial mortgage business.
Bayfirst expects the after-tax costs associated with discontinuing its residential mortgage business to be approximately $3 million to $4 million. The closure of the business line is subject to any necessary regulatory notifications and approvals and is expected to be completed by November 24, the bank said.
In the year The bank, founded in 1999, earned $1.6 billion in the past 12 months, an average of $123 million per month, according to Mortgage Technology Forum. Modex. As of 2011 National multistate licensing system (NMLS), the bank has 232 registered mortgage loan officers.
