NEW YORK -- Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co Wednesday said it has stopped taking loan applications and will cut 1,600 jobs, citing turmoil in the subprime mortgage industry.

San Diego-based Accredited said it will close substantially all of its retail lending business and five of its 10 wholesale divisions effective Sept. 5. It said it will honor existing loan commitments, and intends to resume offering loans through brokers when market conditions warrant.

"These difficult decisions were made out of necessity in light of the continued and widely publicized turbulence in the mortgage and financial markets, but with a heavy heart," Chief Executive James Konrath said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear how the cutbacks will affect Accredited's attempt to save its $400 million acquisition by private equity firm Lone Star Funds. Accredited did not immediately return a request for comment.

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