Via blogs.marketwatch.com/greenberg:
If you missed my hit on CNBC, Thornburg Mor tgage (tma) isn't locking in mortgages fo four days. A company spokesman told me the company is still funding existing loans, but at a slower pace. According to a memo sent by Thornburg to its network of mortgage brokers, the company said it has placed these "unprecedented restrictions" on itself because of "present market conditions" and the "unprecented and irrational sentiment in the secondary mortgage market, which has generated conditions of illiquidity throughout the industry."
The company went on to say that "due to the fact that very few lenders are currently accepting locks, Thornburg Morgage is being inundated with lock requests."
As a result, "All unexpired locks currently in our system will be honored only if they are reconfirmed by the lending partner by no later than" 5 p.m. mountain time Wednesday.
In addition, the company said purchase transactions will take precedence over refinance transactions.
The big issue, says one mortgage banker who has been spot-on regarding mortgage issues thus far, is that mortgage brokers may stop doing business with Thornburg. " Now that subprime mortgage companies are dead and Thornburg, which was suppose to be the best of all is dead, where does that leave major ALT-A/Subprime lenders like IndyMac (imb) and Countrywide (cfc)?" he says. "There is a concerted effort to hold these up."
The beat goes on... 
$8.8 (08/15/07)
