New Century Sees Record July Loans, Projects Strong Third Quarter Results
Irvine subprime mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. said it’s on track to do $12 billion in loans this year after reporting a record July.
The lender saw its monthly production hit $1.3 billion in mortgages during the month, up from May’s $1.1 billion record. July’s level was up 119% from the year-ago period and up 25% from June.
Results for the third quarter “should be quite attractive” based on July and the pipeline for August, said Robert K. Cole, New Century’s chief executive.
New Century makes loans to people with less than perfect credit. A big piece of its business of late has been homeowners refinancing their mortgages to pay down credit card and other debt.
After being one of Orange County’s best performing stocks this year, New Century’s shares fell sharply last month along with those of other real estate-related companies. Some observers attribute the drop to investor concerns that rising home sales and prices could cool.
