by Calculated Risk on 3/05/2008 05:52:00 PM

Press Release: Merrill Lynch Discontinues First Franklin Mortgage Origination (hat tip jkinthewoods)

Merrill Lynch (MER) said today that it is discontinuing mortgage origination at its First Franklin subsidiary in the United States and will explore the sale of Home Loan Services, a mortgage loan servicing unit for First Franklin.
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About 650 people will be affected by the discontinuation of mortgage origination at First Franklin and First Franklin's NationPoint division. The firm estimates total charges, primarily severance and real estate costs related to this matter, for 2008 of approximately $60 million, of which approximately half will be recorded in the first quarter.

Merrill Lynch bought First Franklin in late 2006 for $1.3 Billion. This included both the mortgage origination business and the Home Loan Services servicing business.