New Federal Thrift Planned

Financial Institutional Partners Mortgage Co., an Irvine-based apartment lender, said it has filed an application with the Office of Thrift Supervision to launch a federal thrift to be named Commercial Capital Bancorp.

The thrift’s focus will be multifamily and commercial real estate loans, according to Stephen Gordon, founder and chief executive at Financial Institutional.

Gordon said the recent mergers among large banks and thrifts--including Washington Mutual’s acquisitions of Home Savings of America, Great Western and American Savings--have created a void in the apartment lending market. “We are going to focus on that niche,” he said.”

The thrift’s primary customers will be income-property investors, he said.

Financial Institutional was formed in March 1998 by Gordon; David DePillo, former director of multifamily banking at Home Savings, and Scott Kavanaugh, former partner at Great Pacific Securities, an investment banker.