Former Subprime Leader Ameriquest Closes
Saturday September 1, 12:25 am ET
By Gary Gentile, AP Business Writer
Former Subprime Leader Ameriquest Closes Amid Sale of Parent to Citigroup
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ameriquest Mortgage Co., once the nation's largest subprime lender, will close with barely a whimper, after the other assets of its parent company were sold Friday to Citigroup Inc.
Ameriquest, which saw its fortunes soar during the housing boom by lending to people with less than stellar credit, is the latest victim of a mortgage crisis that has left bankrupt companies and cash-strapped borrowers in its wake.
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Under the agreement with ACC, Citigroup acquires servicing rights for $45 billion worth of loans. Terms of the deal, expected to close Sept. 1, were not disclosed.
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The sale includes operational centers in Orange and Rancho Cucamonga, along with Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg, Ill., as well as a broker network extending across 48 states.
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Ameriquest made a billionaire of its founder and chief owner, Roland Arnall, who is now U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands. He founded his company as Long Beach Savings in 1979 and built it into a major subprime lender.
How fitting. Who appointed him? I wonder how he got out of the S&L crisis in the 1980's? Probably the same way I'd imagine...
In March, the Texas Rangers severed a 30-year naming rights deal with Ameriquest and rebranded their home field as Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
Boy, sounds like ENRON, eh? I wonder if the irony is lost regarding the team that accepted Arnall's money was the same team that Bush II owned...
I just cannot wait until Ditech goes under. I am so sick of their "People Are Smart" refi tv ad!
3 comments:
each failed lender is but another pillar crumbled that once supported inflated housing prices.
soon the weight of bloated values will overwealm the remaining collums and crash to the floor of average incomes.
that day cannot come too soon!
The sooner the bottom falls completely out, the better off we all will be.
In the meantime, sit tight. Credit is not to be had right now. Seems to me that lenders are now moving far to the cautious side, and are figuring 20% depreciation of the underlying asset in all loans they write.
we should have a betting pool on which lender is next to close!!!!
Keep 'em coming. Maybe now people will start taking notice at how f'd up the housing market is!
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