DenverPost.com - Zero-down lenders folding

DenverPost.com - Zero-down lenders folding: "Brian and Selah Davenport were two days away from closing on a townhouse in Parker when their mortgage broker called on Valentine's Day.
Their lender, Las Vegas-based Silver State Financial Services, one of the country's bigger subprime lenders, had ceased operations. That forced the couple, who were looking for a zero- down loan, to scramble to find another lender and save the purchase.
'I didn't know a lender could shut down all of a sudden and there would be nothing for you as a consumer,' said Selah, who hopes to close Friday.
About two dozen of the largest subprime mortgage lenders across the country - some with offices and customers in Denver - have gone under or stopped making loans since December, according to the Mortgage Lender 'Implode-O-Meter,' a new website tracking closures in the subprime lending industry.
The site tracks only large lenders, so there are probably far more closures.
'You're seeing 40 or 50 (subprime companies) a day throughout the country going down in one form or another. I expect that to continue throughout the year,' Angelo Mozilo, chief executive of Countrywide Financial, told investors in a recent conference call. "