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