AmericasBank to Shut Separate Mortgage Unit

AmericasBank Corp., Towson, Md., says it will be closing its separate mortgage unit and integrating its operations into existing banking centers. The company said customer mortgage needs would be serviced from its Annapolis, Md., and Towson banking centers. In an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, AmericasBank said it "intends to cease its emphasis on originating mortgage loans for sale that are originated by commissioned salespeople and to focus on the traditional business of a community bank. The company believes that the integration of the mortgage unit into the bank's banking centers will be completed by July 31, 2008." The company estimated that closing the mortgage unit will cause it to incur pretax charges of approximately $250,000 in the second and third quarters of 2008 -- approximately $200,000 in noncash charges related to the writeoff of goodwill, and $50,000 in cash charges related to severance payments. AmericasBank lost $2.55 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, largely due to a $2.9 million writedown related to five fraudulent real estate loans. In May, the company fired its president and chief executive, Mark Anders.