Impac Mortgage Unit Files Sales Plans

A unit of Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., which invests in mortgages and provides financing to lenders, filed plans for sales of as much as $1 billion of securities backed by home loans.

The Newport Beach company’s Impac Secured Assets Corp. filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission, setting the stage to sell mortgage-backed notes or certificates representing interests in a trust holding a pool of loans on houses, apartment buildings or manufactured homes.

Once approved by the SEC, Impac Mortgage would have the securities available to sell as needed, in any combination or amount up to $1 billion. The unit also may offer $276.9 million of unsold securities from a previous registration, giving it about $1.3 billion total on the shelf.

Finance companies commonly package loans and other receivables into securities, a practice called securitization, to capture an immediate profit and spread to investors the risk of holding the loans.

Impac Mortgage shares rose 34 cents to $7.84 on the American Stock Exchange. The shares have more than doubled over the last six months.