Shares of Irvine-based Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. were down another 20% Wednesday on word a similar mortgage company could be nearing bankruptcy.
American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., the country’s 10th-largest mortgage lender, reported on Tuesday that it can’t pay its creditors. The company lost nearly 90% of its value on the news.
Like Impac, American Home Mortgage deals in Alt-A loans, which are in between the riskiest subprime loans and the best mortgages.
Were American Home Mortgage to file bankruptcy, it would be the first major filing for a non-subprime lender.
The news impacted the entire mortgage and homebuilding sectors. It was the latest blow to struggling Impac’s shares, which have been on a downward slope for the past several months. The company’s value has dropped more than 50% in the past month alone.
Impac counts a market value of $165 million at last check.
