Allstate Home Loans, DBA Allstate Funding, which was bought out by Shearson Financial in August of 2006, has apparently ceased wholesale and retail lending operations and is in the process of being shut down completely.
According to information I received from an inside source this week:
Shearson Financial bought 85% of Allstate’s stock on July 27, 2006.
The company continued to operate under Shearson for about a year, though former Allstate president Gregg Shanberg resigned in November as a result of the buyout , leaving VP Doug Lawrence in charge of operations.
Three weeks ago Lawrence resigned, and the following week the company halted all operations and was said to be in the process of being shut down.
Allstate Funding specialized in Alt-A loans, as well as some subprime loans, averaging $50 million a month in loan origination, with a high of $70 million in its best month.
Most of the loans were high-risk, high-profit, with the bulk being stated income, 100% financing, investment properties, with credit scores as low as 620, competing with the likes of New Century, Fremont, and Argent.
Allstate had 11 branches throughout the United States, with 75 employees at its main office in Irvine, though all employees have since been let go as a result of the closure.
There was no press release by either company regarding the halt in operations or of the takeover by Shearson Financial.
Shearson Financial is also in the process of acquiring another mortgage lender, Dollar Mortgage Corporation.
Shearson Financial Network, Inc., which was publicly traded under the symbol SFNN, is now trading over the counter as SHSN.OB following a 200-for-1 reverse stock split.
See the complete list of closed mortgage companies, layoffs, mergers, and rumors.