Secured Funding Shutters Wholesale Unit

Secured Funding of California has shuttered its wholesale division, which accounts for about one-third of its total production.As MortgageWire neared its deadline, a company official declined to comment. It is the latest in what is turning out to be a long line of nondepositories that have run into financial problems in a difficult market. On its website, the Costa Mesa-based lender posted a notice saying that, based on "market conditions," it has "stopped funding new applications, and will have until the 12th of January" to fund out its pipeline. Secured is a retail and wholesale lender that originated $900 million in mortgages during the first half. Its specialty is second mortgages. In June of last year it increased its office space by 35,000 square feet and boasted 1,000 employees. It is not known how many workers lost their jobs. Among all funders, it ranked 149th in 2005, according to the Mortgage Industry Directory. No recent funding figures were available.