Horizon Starts Wholesale Operation

Horizon Bancorp, Michigan City, Ind., said it would start a wholesale mortgage production operation sometime in the early part of this year.The announcement was made in the company's annual earnings press release. Craig M. Dwight, president and chief executive of Horizon, said it is starting the wholesale channel as part of its plan to mitigate the reduction in mortgage refinancing. Another part of the plan was the acquisition of Anchor Mortgage, St. Joseph, Mich., in August 2003. Fourth quarter income at Horizon declined by $568,000 or 36% from the same period of the prior year, primarily due to a reduction in mortgage loan volume. Mortgage warehouse loans at Horizon fell from an average of $275 million outstanding during the third quarter of 2003 to an average of $150 million outstanding during the fourth quarter.