LONDON, Feb 17: British bank Barclays said on Tuesday that it has closed US subprime mortgage lending unit EquiFirst Corp. with immediate effect, citing current market conditions.

EquiFirst, part of investment banking unit Barclays Capital, said on its website that it has now ceased operations.

“Due to market conditions, Barclays Capital has chosen to exit its residential mortgage origination business, EquiFirst,” Barclays said in a statement.

“Barclays Capital remains committed to its other mortgage businesses in the US.”

The British bank bought EquiFirst Corp. for about $225 million from parent group Regions Financial Corporation in a takeover that completed in March 2007.

The deal was sealed before the collapse of the US subprime or high-risk mortgage sector and the subsequent worldwide credit crunch.

“Effective immediately, EquiFirst Corporation is ceasing its lending operations and will no longer accept mortgage loan applications for any type of mortgage loan product,” read a brief statement on the EquiFirst website.

“EquiFirst will continue to process any completed mortgage loan application and will notify the submitting Broker of the status of such mortgage loan application upon completion of underwriting and processing.”—AFP