NatCity Reports $333M 4Q Loss

National City Corp., Cleveland, has reported a fourth-quarter loss of $333 million ($0.53 per share), compared with net income of $842 million ($1.36 per share) a year earlier. NatCity reported a loss of $149 million for the quarter in its loans-held-for-sale portfolio due to problems in the secondary market, which resulted in additional fair-value writedowns on those loans. It has now stopped origination of all products other than agency-eligible products and shifted certain non-agency-eligible mortgage loans and home equity loans from its held-for-sale portfolio to its balance sheet portfolio. NatCity also took a charge of $181 million ($0.26 per share) for goodwill impairment related to the mortgage business. For the year, NatCity earned $314 million ($0.51 per share), down from income of $2.3 billion ($3.77 per share) in 2006.