Icon Residential Lenders says a news report that it is laying off 120 employees is not correct.
National Mortgage News reported Thursday that the Irvine, Calif.-based company is closing its correspondent lending channel and laid off 120 full-time employees two weeks ago.
But an executive for Icon said the company is not laying off any employees.
“This has nothing to do with Icon at all,” the executive, who asked not to be identified, said in a telephone interview.
What is closing is the East Coast retail business known as Carnegie Mortgage, which is a subsidiary of Grand Bank, N.A.
The executive did note, however, that Carnegie and Icon share the same parent.
He said that originations formerly handled by the East Coast retail business will now be handled by a West Coast operation, though he declined to identify what name the West Coast business operates under.
“Icon has nothing to do with any of it,” he explained. “We didn’t lay anyone off.”
Icon is only a wholesale business that is “swamped” with refinance business right now.
“Icon experienced no layoffs, is continuing to grow and hire and expand their business,” the executive added.
He did note that Icon considered opening a correspondent operation but became so inundated with wholesale refinance business that they determined it wasn’t the right time for a correspondent business.