Wachovia Ceases Wholesale Mortgage Lending Operations

Wachovia on Monday confirmed it was pulling out of the wholesale mortgage lending business as of Friday, July 25th.

The bank's spokesman, Dan Vecchiarello defended the decision saying, "We thought it was important to focus on customers who have relationships with the bank, and in geographies where Wachovia has branches. Based on that, we've decided to discontinue doing business through our wholesale mortgage channel as of July 25."

Wachovia, which is the fourth largest bank in the U.S, reported that the move would result in a reduction in its workforce, although the number is presently unknown.

Wachovia has suffered huge losses following its 2006 acquisition of Golden West Financial Corp. and is looking for ways to reduce its exposure to the mortgage market.