Impac Exits Warehouse, Commercial Lending

Citing the collapse of the nonprime secondary market, Impac Mortgage Holdings said Tuesday that it will exit most of its lending businesses, including warehouse finance and commercial real estate.The announcement comes a day after National Mortgage News reported that Bear Stearns & Co. had hit Impac with $20 million worth of margin calls. (Both companies declined to comment on the matter.) Impac, a nonbank real estate investment trust based in Irvine, Calif., said it will continue to fund conforming residential loans through certain retail branches it acquired in May from Pinnacle Financial Corp. of Florida. The new round of cutbacks will result in 144 full-time workers losing their jobs. A few months ago, Impac exited the alternative-A market, where it ranked 10th nationwide. Impac can be found online at http://www.impaccompanies.com.