FCA sold its mortgage securities operation.

The buyer was Salomon Bros., the New York investment banking firm. The sale price was not disclosed, but the amount was termed “modest” by William J. Popejoy, chairman of Irvine-based Financial Corp. of America. FCA Mortgage Securities was started by former Chairman Charles W. Knapp, but it never got off the ground because of FCA’s troubles last year. The subsidiary was supposed to buy loans from mortgage bankers, pool them together and sell them to investors for a fee.