Mortgage casualties increase

The number of mortgage-related firms that closed or failed increased by 27 percent during the first half of 2010
from the first half of the year in 2009, according to
MortgageDaily.com, which tracked 109 mortgage-related failures from
Jan. 1 to June 30. The increase was driven by the failure of financial
institutions, the publication says. Bank and credit union failures
doubled when compared to the first half of 2009, while non-bank
closings fell by more than two-thirds. However, despite the rise in
financial institution closings, the number of bank failures has
recently eased. An analysis by MortgageDaily.com suggests that this
year’s bank failures will end up between 175 and 200 — a significant
drop between the first half and the second half. TRD