In Brief: FirstPlus Said to Be Near Bankruptcy Filing

Finance company FirstPlus Financial Group. has fired most of its employees and is close to a bankruptcy filing, local lenders say.

"They've cleaned out the office and fired hundreds," said an executive from a Dallas-based subprime company. Other lenders said a FirstPlus bankruptcy filing is expected any day.

FirstPlus' "preference is to go forward," a company spokesman said. He confirmed that the company had laid off employees last week, but did not elaborate.

Fitch Investors Service cut FirstPlus' counterparty rating on Wednesday, then decided to drop coverage of the firm, according to Bloomberg News.

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