Whole Loan Fire Sale at Accredited

Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. (NASDAQ:LEND) said earlier today that it has found a buyer for substantially all of its loans held for sale and currently funded out of its warehouse and repurchase credit facilities. The $2.7 billion of loans held for sale will be sold at a substantial discount in order to alleviate recent pressures from margin calls, the company said. Terms of the sale include a holdback reserve of approximately $40 million to satisfy all future claims against the loans, including early payment defaults, and that claims in excess of the holdback reserve will have no recourse. The sale is expected to be completed over the next couple of days. The sale of its loans held for sale will provide additional liquidity, although it isn’t clear if the additional capital raised will be sufficient to pull the company out of any forced repurchases it might face for breaching loan covenants, including typical warranties of profitability. The company did say in its press statement that the loan sale has reduced — but not eliminated — its warehouse credit debt. Rival New Century Financial said earlier in the week that it faces nearly $9 billion in repurchase claims on loans it originated, which will likely push the lender into bankruptcy. For more information ,visit http://www.accredhome.com.