Provident Expands Retail Mortgage Business

In California, ""Provident Financial Holdings, Inc."":www.myprovident.com/, has announced its entry into retail originations. The company recently announced that it has hired a retail mortgage banking group to open loan production locations under the ""Provident Bank Mortgage"":www.providentbankmortgage.com/ banner throughout the northern region of the state.

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The retail mortgage group selected by Provident is currently operating in Roseville, San Rafael, and Fairfield, California, and the Provident's new loan offices will be based in each city. In total, the branches will employ around 40 mortgage banking personnel, with 26 staffers handling retail production alongside 14 supporting employees.

In a company statement, Provident noted that each member of its California-based retail mortgage team is extremely experienced and that the relationships each employee possesses should enable them to contribute immediately. Provident already has 14 full-service retail and business banking branches throughout the Inland Empire area of the state, in addition to 12 loan origination locations.

Craig G. Blunden, chairman and CEO of Provident, said of the company's expansion, ""Our mortgage banking division has been operating in Northern California for the past six years and produces approximately 30 percent of all loans we originate for sale. The addition of this new group will further diversify the geographic source of our origination volume and increase the retail percentage, which, historically, has been more profitable for the bank.""

Continuing his commentary, Blunden added, ""The group is led by a seasoned team of mortgage banking professionals who were previously affiliated with a large mortgage originator who recently chose to exit the business.""

Provident is headquartered in Riverside, California, and the company's bank, ""Provident Savings Bank, F.S.B."":www.myprovident.com/, is considered a federally chartered, full-service retail bank with assets of around $1.3 billion. Provident has served clients around the Inland Empire for more than 55 years.