FirstPlus Puts Itself on the Block

FirstPlus Financial Corp., Dallas, the nation's largest originator and servicer of high-LTV loans, has put itself up for sale.Investment bankers told MortgageWire Tuesday morning that the likely buyer could be a commercial bank or even a credit card company. Last fall National Mortgage News reported that Residential Funding Corp., which is ultimately owned by General Motors, was interested in the company. RFC is a major warehouse lender to FirstPlus. At deadline time, it could not be determined whether RFC still might be interested. (Sources say RFC owns warrants in Master Financial, another top high-LTV lender, and that it might also still own warrants in FirstPlus.) FirstPlus officials could not be reached for comment. At noon Tuesday its stock was trading at almost $26 a share, up 14%. However, FirstPlus (symbol: FP) is way down from its 52-week high of $61.87, making many a shareholder unhappy. The company has retained Bear Stearns as its advisor. FirstPlus's website address is http://www.firstplus.com.