Irvine-based mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. said Friday it did nearly 12% fewer loans in November than a year earlier.
New Century, which makes home loans to borrowers with imperfect credit, did $4.5 billion in November mortgages.
In October, New Century did 5.7% fewer loans than a year earlier.
So far in 2006, New Century had done $55 billion in loans, up 8.1% from the year-ago period.
The November declines were in line with company projections, given a falloff in the subprime mortgage business, according to Chief Executive Brad Morrice.
The company has made a point to go after borrowers with more solid credit. But the number of loans declined 12.5% in November from a year earlier, coming in at $700 million.
Subprime loans were 84% of New Century’s November loans.
The average New Century subprime loan was at 8.3% last month, down from 8.4% in October.
