NMN: Fieldstone Not Funding Loans

Confirming emails sent to me this morning, National Mortgage News is breaking the story today that Fieldstone Investment Corp. — recently purchased by C-BASS — has stopped funding loans amid a burgeoning liquidity crisis at its corporate parent:

Fieldstone Mortgage, Columbia, Md., has ceased funding residential loans and taking new applications in the wake of margin calls at its parent company, C-BASS, a specialty servicer based in New York. An e-mail message sent to employees says that “no loans will be closed from August 1 forward unless there was an unconditional commitment to fund issued by July 31.” A spokeswoman for C-BASS confirmed that Fieldstone has suspended originations but noted that certain loans will be funded “on a limited basis.”

This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, given the acknowledgement earlier this week by C-BASS that it’s being hit hard by margin calls.