Top mortgage lender to file for bankruptcy

Thornburg Mortgage plans
to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and go out of business.
The Santa Fe, N.M.-based company specialized in making mortgages larger
than $417,000 available to borrowers with good credit. Thornburg said
it intends to sell or liquidate its remaining assets with the help of
restructuring firm Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin Capital. The firm
has struggled with liquidity problems since summer 2007, when the
value of mortgages on its balance sheet began to fall.