Neil Kornswiet, an executive and attorney with deep roots in the subprime industry, has been hired by Pacific Mercantile Bancorp, Costa Mesa, to manage its residential mortgage division.
Additionally, Kornswiet was elected as a director of the publicly traded bank, and acquired 2,500 shares of its 'Series A' preferred stock. (Its common stock trades for about $3.50.)
His official title at the bank is president of mortgage banking.
During his long career in subprime he has served as an executive or legal counsel to such firms as Aames Financial, One Stop Mortgage, Quality Mortgage and Guardian Savings.
Most recently he was the founder and CEO of People's Choice Financial, Irvine, once a top 40 ranked subprime funder that eventually filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2007 just as the nonprime mortgage industry was starting its historic collapse.
People's Choice had filed to go public in 2006. Kornswiet, whose career in subprime dates back to the early 1980s, could not be reached for comment.
