Oregon Mortgage Lender Sold to Swiss Bank

Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group said on Tuesday it agreed to acquire Lime Financial Services, a wholesale subprime mortgage lender based in Oregon, for undisclosed terms.

Credit Suisse is among Wall Street’s largest underwriting sources of debt and the No. 4 issuer of U.S. mortgage-backed securities last year.

The company the Oregon mortgage firm’s acquisition is contingent on state regulatory approvals and is expected to close “later this summer.”

“The acquisition is consistent with our plan to expand the residential mortgage securities business at Credit Suisse,” said Jim Healy, who runs fixed income in Credit Suisse’s investment banking division.

“We believe Lime represents an opportunity to incrementally grow our platform.”

Lime’s senior management team will join Credit Suisse as well as its sales and marketing teams, which has more than 150 professionals in 49 states and Washington, D.C.

Lime funded over $2.1 billion in home loans in 2006, though just $250 million in the first quarter of 2007.

This follows news yesterday that a troubled California mortgage lender, Fremont General Corp., was sold amid rising subprime turmoil.

As massive amounts of bad credit mortgage loans cause homeowners problems and enter the foreclosure stage, and investors’ fears worsen, more and more lenders are declaring bankruptcy or putting themselves up for sale.

SOURCE: Reuters