Headquartered in Irvine, California, New Century Mortgage is a subsidiary of New Century Financial Corporation, a publicly traded company (NYSE: NEW). To date New Century Mortgage Corporation has originated over $70 billion in mortgage loans.

New Century Financial provides sub-prime mortgage loans primarily for single-family residences. The company's wholesale division (about 92% of sales) originates and purchases loans through a network of 21,600 independent mortgage brokers, while its retail division (about 8% of sales) markets loans directly to individuals via 72 branches in 26 states.

New Century sells many of its mortgages in pools of loans to institutional buyers such as Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Some 40% of the company's loan volume comes from California. New Century converted to a real estate investment trust (REIT) in 2004.