First National Bank of Arizona stopped accepting mortgages originated by outside brokers and lenders as the U.S. housing slump deepened.

First National Bank of Arizona suspended wholesale and correspondent originations today and plans to focus on retail lending, the company said on its Web site.

More than 90 mortgage lenders have closed operations or sought buyers since the beginning of 2006, according to Bloomberg data. Capital One Financial Corp.

Yesterday shut its GreenPoint wholesale unit, which caters to mortgage brokers. Regulators have criticized brokers for lax lending standards that contributed to a rise in delinquent residential loans.

First National Bank of Arizona is one of Arizona's largest banks, and the reason for closing down their wholesale and correspondent mortgage operations is because they want to focus more on their operations on their retail origination.

The First National Bank of Arizona shut down this operation effective from 1pm EDT on the 21st August. Any wholesale and Correspondent locks which was received before 1pm EDT will be honored, which will be a relief for customers.

In 2006 FBNA’s mortgage operations grew to a massive $7.6 billion, but it is not sure if these figures include just fundings or for the total of the banks mortgage book. It is not certain if or how many jobs will be affected by the closing of this mortgage operation.

source >> http://www.azstarnet.com