National City Completes Sale of First Franklin

National City Corporation announced today that it has completed the sale of the First Franklin origination franchise and related servicing platform to Merrill Lynch & Co., effective Dec. 30, 2006. First Franklin is a leading originator of non-prime residential mortgage loans through a nationwide wholesale network. Under terms of the agreement, Merrill Lynch paid a $1.3 billion purchase price for the San Jose, Calif.-based First Franklin, and affiliated business units, Pittsburgh-based National City Home Loan Services and NationPoint, headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif.