GreenPoint Exits Manufactured Housing Lending

January 4, 2002

Specialty Lender To Focus On Nonconforming Residential Mortgages, Consumer Banking


Inman News Features

New York-based GreenPoint Financial Corp. (NYSE: GPT) today announced it is exiting the manufactured housing lending business.

GreenPoint Credit, the company's manufactured housing finance subsidiary, will honor existing commitments to fund approved loans, but will not approve or process any new loan applications, the company said.

GreenPoint also will honor all existing servicing contracts. The company expects to sell approximately $850 million of manufactured housing loans currently on its balance sheet as held for investment and held for sale.

"The expected returns, necessary level of capital support and inherent earnings volatility do not justify staying in the manufactured housing finance business," said GreenPoint Financial Chairman Thomas S. Johnson.

"We have made a significant adjustment to the valuation of our retained interests in manufactured housing loan securitizations, and we are very confident this adjustment will be fully adequate to cover future losses," he said.

The company will take one-time charges totaling $663 million net of taxes as a result of the decision. GreenPoint Credit?s activities for 2001 and future periods will be reported as results from discontinued operations.

The company instead will turn its focus to its specialty mortgage and consumer banking businesses.

"Our mortgage business continues to grow in volume and market share and we are entering 2002 with a record pipeline. We continue to generate high sale margins and exhibit good credit quality. Our consumer banking business experienced solid growth in core accounts, core deposits and fee income during 2001," Johnson said.

GreenPoint Financial Corp. is a national housing finance company with more than $25 billion in annual loan originations. GreenPoint Mortgage specializes in nonconforming residential mortgages and GreenPoint Bank is a New York State-chartered savings bank with $11 billion in deposits and 74 branches.

Copyright: Inman News Service


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