Nat City Puts 1st Franklin Up For Sale

National City Corp., Cleveland, is throwing in the towel on its subprime division, placing First Franklin Financial Corp. on the auction block.The bank said it is weighing "strategic alternatives" for the San Jose, Calif.-based unit, including a sale. It also may unload its subprime servicing division, National City Home Loan Services, Pittsburgh, and NationsPoint, Lake Forest, Calif., a direct-to-consumer lender. A bank spokesman told MortgageWire that National City is not committed to a sale and ultimately could wind up keeping the units if it doesn't like the bids. He added that National City has no plans, at this time, to sell its prime mortgage division, National City Mortgage, which is based in Miamisburg, Ohio. Nat City Mortgage is the nation's 18th-largest funder, but its production declined dramatically in the first quarter, according to the Quarterly Data Report, an MW affiliate. First Franklin is the nation's 12th-largest subprime funder, according to QDR. NCHLS is the nation's 12th-largest subprime servicer. Nat City and First Franklin can be found on the Web at http://www.nationalcity.com and http://www.first-franklin.com.