Citizens Republic Outsourcing to PHH

Citizens Republic Bancorp, Flint, Mich., has announced that it will use PHH Mortgage, Mt. Laurel, N.J., for certain outsourced functions in the mortgage originations process.PHH will provide Citizens Republic with mortgage loan processing, servicing of new mortgage originations, certain secondary-market functions, and other mortgage-related loan origination services. The arrangement allows for Citizens Republic loan officers to use Web-based software while PHH does all the processing work under the bank's name. PHH will also take applications directly through a call center and website. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Citizens Republic said it would reduce its work force by 60 employees as a result. It will record $1.1 million to $1.3 million in severance-related costs in the fourth quarter. It also announced plans for "better utilization of part-time employees" that would add an additional $900,000 to $1.2 million of severance-related costs. "Our new mortgage loan operating model increases our ability to originate loans through more channels with quicker loan decisions and closings," said William R. Hartman, president and chief executive of Citizens Republic. PHH Mortgage, a subsidiary of PHH Corp., can be found on the Web at http://www.phh.com.