Impac: REO Losses Mean No 2Q Dividend

Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., Irvine, Calif., has announced that it will not declare a second-quarter dividend on its common shares because its strategy of accelerating the liquidation of real estate owned via a new auction process has resulted in higher-than-expected losses.Impac, a real estate investment trust, said it believes the new strategy will eventually reduce losses and preserve capital. "Although we are seeing chargeoffs at levels higher than we anticipated, we are pleased to have reduced our exposure to future losses by auctioning REOs, especially as real estate values may deteriorate in the near future," said Joseph R. Tomkinson, Impac's chairman and chief executive officer. "In light of increased delinquencies, REO, and loan losses, we believe it is prudent to aggressively liquidate REOs in this market." Impac can be found online at http://www.impaccompanies.com.