Norwest, Wells Throw in the TowelOn California Mortgage Partnership

Norwest Mortgage and Wells Fargo Bank disclosed Tuesday that they were scrapping a joint mortgage program in California, saying the two-year venture didn't produce the expected lending volume.

The units of Wells Fargo & Co. and Norwest Corp. launched Wells Resource Mortgage in 1995 in hopes of marketing Norwest mortgages through San Francisco-based Wells' branches.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman said PHH Mortgage Services, the nation's 13th largest lender, would replace Norwest. PHH, of Mount Laurel, N.J., already offers mortgages to Wells customers in the nine states that Wells operates in outside California. Wells inherited the venture with PHH through its merger with First Interstate Bancorp.

"The number of loans originated by Wells Resource Mortgage Services fell short of our mutual expectations," Pete Wissinger, Norwest Mortgage's managing director for retail operations, said in a statement.

Norwest Mortgage, headquartered in Des Moines, will continue to originate loans in California through 184 retail branches there. The company said most of Wells Resource Mortgage's 85 employees would be given other jobs within the Norwest Mortgage organization.

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