Home Federal Bancorp, Nampa, Idaho, as part of a major restructuring, will outsource its residential origination function to a third-party vendor.
The bank also will shutter six branches, streamline management, and refinance some of its debt in an effort to reduce overhead by $3.6 million over the next 12 months.
The company will eliminate certain commercial and residential team leader positions and shift oversight to regional presidents, which it says will improve efficiency and reduce noninterest expense. It did not disclose how many jobs would be eliminated, but said that branch closings and the restructuring would save the company roughly $300,000 a year in salary and benefits costs.
In a news statement issued this week Home Federal CEO Len E. Williams said that with the integration of two failed-bank acquisitions now substantially completed, management is now focused on improving efficiency and positioning the $1.3 billion-asset company for "acquisitive growth."
Home Federal's performance has suffered of late, due largely to weak economic conditions in several of its key markets, including Boise, Idaho, and Bend, Ore.
The company lost $4.1 million in its fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2010, compared to a profit of $8.1 million in the previous fiscal year, and lost $2.6 million in the first nine months of its current fiscal year.
