The Washington Business Journal is reporting today that Fidelity & Trust Bank will sell its 200-employee mortgage operations to a private equity firm:

Barry Watkins, president and CEO of Bethesda-based Fidelity & Trust Bank, said the decision to sell Fidelity & Trust Mortgage Inc. was made so that Fidelity can focus on growing its banking capabilities while aligning the mortgage company with an entity that has the means to expand that business. “We’ve got a bank growing rapidly,” Watkins said, and limited resources to grow the mortgage company. “It’s a difficult time to make money in the mortgage business,” he said. “You need scale.”

And the exodus continues…be sure to follow more of it over at the Implode-o-Meter.