B&C Firm Spun Back to Founder

Neal Henschel, a founder of National Lending Center Inc., Deerfield Beach, Fla., is leading a group of investors that has purchased certain assets of the company from IMC in connection with a $100 million transaction between IMC and Citifinancial, a subsidiary of Citigroup. National Lending Center's senior management will operate the new company, Banc NLC Mortgage Lending LLC, during a transition period expected to last several months. Sun Capital Partners of Boca Raton, Fla., provided additional financing for the deal. IMC, which acquired National Lending Center in 1997, has now divested itself of its mortgage loan servicing business and substantially all of its mortgage loan origination business. "Only those who understand the dynamic of subprime mortgage lending will be able to survive in the new marketplace," Mr. Henschel said, noting the fundamental changes in the mortgage-backed securities industry since mid-1998. "We learned some hard lessons over the last couple of years, and they are not lost on us. We were here before the boom and we intend to be here for the next one."