NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - C-Bass, a pioneer in the packaging of subprime mortgages and other home loans into securities that investors could buy, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday.
The company, whose full name is Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC, and seven affiliates filed for protection from creditors with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan. C-Bass said it has between $10 million and $50 million of assets, and more than $1 billion of liabilities.
Founded in 1996, New York-based C-Bass was an early leader in the securitization of mortgages issued to borrowers with below-prime credit histories. It also serviced many loans.
C-Bass is a shell of its former self, having in 2007 largely exited securitization and servicing when it sold its Litton Loan unit to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
The company is 'liquidating its existing portfolio and returning the cash proceeds received to its lenders and investors,' its website said.
According to the petition, affiliates of mortgage insurers MGIC Investment Corp and Radian Group Inc each own a 45.5 percent equity stake in C-Bass, while a C-Bass holding company owns the remainder.
MGIC and Radian wrote off much of their $1.03 billion investment in C-Bass in 2007.
The case is In re: Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 10-16040.
(Reporting by Matthew Goldstein and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang) Keywords: CBASS/SUBPRIME BANKRUPTCY (jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com +1 646 223 6317; Reuters Messaging: jon.stempel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The company, whose full name is Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC, and seven affiliates filed for protection from creditors with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan. C-Bass said it has between $10 million and $50 million of assets, and more than $1 billion of liabilities.
Founded in 1996, New York-based C-Bass was an early leader in the securitization of mortgages issued to borrowers with below-prime credit histories. It also serviced many loans.
C-Bass is a shell of its former self, having in 2007 largely exited securitization and servicing when it sold its Litton Loan unit to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
The company is 'liquidating its existing portfolio and returning the cash proceeds received to its lenders and investors,' its website said.
According to the petition, affiliates of mortgage insurers MGIC Investment Corp and Radian Group Inc each own a 45.5 percent equity stake in C-Bass, while a C-Bass holding company owns the remainder.
MGIC and Radian wrote off much of their $1.03 billion investment in C-Bass in 2007.
The case is In re: Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 10-16040.
(Reporting by Matthew Goldstein and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang) Keywords: CBASS/SUBPRIME BANKRUPTCY (jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com +1 646 223 6317; Reuters Messaging: jon.stempel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.