Financial Title of Citrus Heights has closed all 57 of its California offices, including some in the Bay Area. But a state official said its customers will continue to have their titles processed by the company’s insurer and shouldn’t be greatly inconvenienced.
First Title and its insurer – First American Title Insurance – notified the California Department of Insurance of the closings Wednesday morning, according to the agency’s spokesman, Darrel Ng.
He said he wasn’t able to comment in detail about the reasons for the closings, but said it stemmed from financial considerations and not any enforcement action by the department.
“With the lower volume of housing sales, it’s part of the normal business cycle for there to be a reduction in the number of companies needed to service that,” he said.
Ng said state officials have been sent to Financial Title offices to ensure that all title transactions will continue to be processed appropriately by First American Title Insurance. He added that Financial Title’s customers may have to fill out some additional forms and could experience some delays, but shouldn’t experience any major problems.
Officials at Financial Title’s headquarters and several Bay Area locations did not return calls from the Mercury News seeking comment.
Ng said Financial Title is the second title company he is aware of to close its offices in recent months. In December, Alliance Title of Campbell shut nearly 200 branches after it unexpectedly went out of business.
Contact Steve Johnson at sjohnson@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5043.
