A Massachusetts mortgage company is among the latest casualties of the mortgage crisis of 2007.
Bay Finance Co. has stopped originating mortgages, according to an announcement today. The Webster, Mass.-based company is owned by The Commerce Group Inc.
In the statement, the parent company’s president attributed the action to a focus on Commerce’s core property and casualty insurance business over the past year.
Pending loan applications will continue to be processed and outstanding commitments will be honored, Bay said.
The company, founded in 1979, was among a number of lenders in 2001 to settle allegations of illegal kickbacks and referrals with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
An archived Web page indicated nonconforming loans, 100 percent loan-to-value mortgages and second liens were among its program offerings. Another page said the company served Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut.
Bay said it will retain a $20 million loan portfolio and service it out of the Webster office.
