Servicing

American Business Financial Services Inc., Bala Cynwyd, Pa., has closed a $150 million fixed-ratemortgage loan securitization via three subsidiaries. ABFS Mortgage Loan Trust2000-3 consists of Class A-1 notes carrying a coupon of 7.61%. Prudential Securities was the sole manager of thedeal. The company's three subsidiaries are American Business Credit Inc., Upland Mortgage, and New Jersey Mortgageand Investment Corp. ABFS's website address is http://www.abfsonline.com.

United Financial Inc., Denver, is brokering the sale of servicing rights on a portfolio of $52 millionof home loans from Illinois. Federal Housing Administration loans represent 86%of the portfolio. The average loan size is $69,100 and the weighted average interest rate is 8.52%. The weightedaverage age of the loans is 107.4 months. Bids are due Oct. 11.

Fiserv Inc., Brookfield, Wis., has announced the acquisition of National Flood Services Inc., Kalispell,Mont., a provider of flood policy administration services to the insurance industry. Theterms of the deal were not disclosed. NFS is a third-party administrator for companies participating in the NationalFlood Insurance Program. Fiserv is a provider of information technology to the financial industry. Its websiteaddress is http://www.fiserv.com.

Eleven classes of securities in United Companies Financial Corp.'s manufactured housing deals have been downgraded by Fitch, and eight classes have been moved to Rating Watch Negative from Rating Watch Evolving. The rating agency noted that UCFC, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 1999, recently announced that it would sell its home equity whole loan portfolio, residual interests, and servicing rights to EMC Mortgage Corp. But Fitch said it is unaware of any plan to transfer the servicing of the eight securitized MH pools, which "have displayed a relatively high level of delinquencies and repossessions." The MH downgrades were: Class B-1 of Series 1996-1, from BBB to BB-minus, and Class B-2, from B to CCC; Class A of Series 1997-RS1, from BB-minus to B; Class B-1 of Series 1997-1, from BB to B, and Class B-2, from CCC to D; Class B-1 of Series 1997-2, from BBB to BB, and Class B-2, from CCC to D; Class B-1 of Series 1997-3, from BBB to BB, and Class B-2 from CCC to D; Class B-1 of Series 1997-4, from BBB to BB; Class B-1 of Series 1998-1, from BBB to BB; and Class B-2 of Series 1998-2, from BB to B. Except for Class B-1 of Series 1996-1 and the B-2 classes of Series 1997-1, 1997-2, and 1997-3, the above securities remain on Rating Watch Negative.

Southern Pacific Funding Corp., Lake Oswego, Ore., has obtained a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit filed Wednesday against Wilshire Real Estate Partnership, SPFC has announced.SPFC also said it is engaged in discussions with its warehouse lenders with regard to notices of default involving certain loan covenants. The warehouse lines of credit, which total $1.3 billion, are used by SPFC to fund loan originations and purchases. The litigation results from claims that SPFC is in default with respect to a $40 million loan recently made by Wilshire that is secured by assets with a market value substantially in excess of the loan amount, SPFC said. The temporary restraining order enjoins Wilshire from selling the loan collateral without complying with requirements of the Uniform Commercial Code.

FirstPlus Financial Group Inc., Dallas, has announced that it "remains strongly engaged in finding a suitable strategic partner" and that discussions with more than one party are under way.The announcement came after a selloff of FirstPlus shares Monday and Tuesday morning in the wake of a report in National Mortgage News that General Electric Capital Corp., Stamford, Conn., had considered but decided against buying FirstPlus, the nation's largest high-LTV originator/servicer. "There has been much speculation about our efforts, but we have made significant progress and we hope to resolve the matter in the next few weeks," said Daniel T. Phillips, chairman and chief executive officer of FirstPlus. Mr. Phillips said the company is attractive to prospective buyers because of its retail capability. "In the consolidating financial services industry, companies are looking for this platform as a way to sell products and cross-sell their own," he said.

Western Financial Bank, Irvine, Calif., has signed a letter of intent to sell substantially all its mortgage servicing rights, which will result in an after-tax writedown of approximately $2.3 million and contribute to a previously announced third-quarter loss, according to Westcorp, the bank's parent.The sale is pending the negotiation of a definitive agreement and related approvals. Western Financial will continue to originate prime and subprime mortgages for sale through established secondary market sources, Westcorp said. Westcorp's website address is http://www.westernfinancial.com.

Southern Pacific Funding Corp., Lake Oswego, Ore., which last month announced it was taking a charge of over $60 million due to higher-than-anticipated prepayments and credit losses in its subprime mortgage servicing portfolio, has announced a shake-up in its senior management.The board of the company appointed E. James Hedemark as CEO, replacing Robert Howard. Timothy Breedlove has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Kevin Patrick has joined the company as executive vice president, capital financing. H. Wayne Snavely, chairman of the board, said the board thought the changes were necessary as the company attempts to restructure its capital base, funding sources, and origination strategy. Both Mr. Howard and Peter Makowiecki, formerly executive vice president and chief financial officer, have resigned. But the company said that Messrs. Howard and Makowiecki will continue as consultants to assist the company "in exploration of strategic alternatives."

The share price of FirstPlus Financial, Dallas, fell almost 15% Tuesday morning after a 34% decline on Monday.The Monday selloff was sparked, in part, by a report in National Mortgage News that General Electric Capital Corp., Stamford, Conn., had looked at and passed on buying FirstPlus, the nation's largest high-LTV originator/servicer. At noon Tuesday FirstPlus (symbol: FP) was trading at $12.89, down $2.18, and down 79% from its 52-week high. A FirstPlus spokesman declined to comment about its share price or potential bidders. After it became known that GECC was no longer interested in FP, Merrill Lynch downgraded FirstPlus to "neutral." It is well known that GECC looks at many potential acquisitions and often passes. Most recently it looked at United Companies, Baton Rogue, another publicly traded subprime lender, and passed on that acquisition as well, sources said. The steep decline in FirstPlus's share price has decimated investors in the company.

Amresco has issued a $1 billion home equity securitization with a Freddie Mac guaranty on the $275 million fixed-rate portion of the offering.The fixed-rate classes of the series 1998-3 security, A-1 through A-6, are backed by mortgage loans that conform to Freddie Mac's subprime standards, Amresco said. "As ABS spreads have widened significantly in the last couple of weeks, this unique Amresco transaction has received significant economic benefits from the Freddie Mac wrap, in addition to deepening the investor base," said Scott J. Reading, president of Amresco Home Equity Lending, Ontario, Calif. Credit enhancement for the approximately $725 million floating-rate portion of the deal was provided through a senior/subordinate structure. The collateral consists mainly of first lien home equity loans originated or acquired by Amresco. The company said it was the first Amresco transaction to include a special servicer role that is controlled by the residual holder. Amresco Residential Mortgage Corp. will be the servicer and contractual special servicer for the deal. Amresco's website address is http://www.amresco.com.