Despite its planned exit from mortgage originations, LendingTree LLC has increased its warehouse lending capacity. It the second time that the company has recently scored a new line.
Parent Tree.com announced last May that it would sell LendingTree Loans to Discover Financial Services-subsidiary Discover Bank for $56 million. The deal was expected to close by last month.
In November, LendingTree disclosed that Discover paid a $1 million fee to extend the deadline to Dec. 8. A second and third extension are available for $1 million each, while a fourth extension of the acquisition agreement would cost Discover $2 million. Extension fees will all be credited to the purchase price.
An announcement Thursday from Tree.com indicated that Irvine, Calif.-based LendingTree Loans, which does business as Home Loan Center Inc., has secured a $100 million mortgage warehouse line.
It’s the second $100 million line added during the past 90 days.
Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Capital LLC provided the latest financing.
The term of the new line runs through Jan. 4, 2013, unless the sale of the origination unit completes sooner — in which case the line will expire 45 days after the sale.
Tree.com Chief Executive Officer Doug Lebda noted in the statement that the new line will enable “increased capacity, greater financial stability and flexibility for the Home Loan Center operation.”
