RIVERWOODS, Ill.–Capital One, which recently acquired Discover, said it plans to wind down Discover’s home equity lending business.

“We conducted an extensive strategic business review of Discover’s home equity and refinance loan business to better understand its position and potential as part of Capital One’s business portfolio,” a Capital One spokesperson said in a statement. “In late June, we announced the difficult decision to exit this business. We are focused on supporting our customers and associates through this transition.”

In a notification atop its web page, Discover states, “Discover Home Loans is no longer accepting applications for new home equity or mortgage refinance loans, although we will continue to process applications that are in progress.” 

As the CU Daily reported, Capital One has completed its $35.3-billion purchase of Discover, which has created the largest credit card issuer in the U.S.  

Exit Decision Made

Capital One said that after conducting a strategic review of Discover Home Loans, which focused on home equity loans it opted to exit the business. While Capital One winds down the originations pipeline, it said it will continue servicing the existing portfolio and “assess strategic options for sale and servicing.”

A majority of home loans employees will take on other roles within the company or aid in the wind-down of the business, while some positions will eventually be cut, according to the company.

Discover exited the home loans business in 2015.