Houston-based Aegis Mortgage Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday a week after it stopped making new loans and laid off a substantial number of employees.
The lender, which is partly owned by private-equity giant Cerberus Capital Management, filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., as the fallout from the U.S. subprime mortgage collapse spreads to other residential mortgage lenders.
The mortgage lender listed assets and debts each of more than $100 million.
Aegis said Morgan Stanley, owed $15.9 million, is its largest unsecured creditor. Other big mortgage lenders owed money, according to court papers, are Countrywide Financial Corp., owed $14.3 million, and Goldman Sachs, owed $8 million.
Last week, the company laid off a "substantial number" of its 1,300 workers after it said it would no longer accept any new loan applications and could not fund loans currently in the pipeline.
Aegis at one time was among the top 30 home lenders in the country. The company blamed its financial problems on the ongoing mortgage industry turmoil that has made it harder for lenders to sell loans to investors.
After winding down its subprime-lending operations about a year ago, Aegis focused on making prime and Alt-A, or near-prime, mortgages.
Cerberus owns 80.9% of Aegis, according to court filings. Company co-founder Richard D. Thompson owns a 15.2% stake.
The firm's bankruptcy case will be handled by Pachulski, Stang, Ziehl, Young, Jones & Weintraub.
Bankruptcy Judge Brendan L. Shannon has been assigned to the case. The case number is 07-11119.
