Former subprime leader Ameriquest closes

[EV_Ares]

Ameriquest Mortgage Co., once the nation's largest subprime lender, will close with barely a whimper, after the other assets of its parent company were sold Friday to Citigroup Inc.

Ameriquest, which saw its fortunes soar during the housing boom by lending to people with less than stellar credit, is the latest victim of a mortgage crisis that has left bankrupt companies and cash-strapped borrowers in its wake.

Ameriquest was once so successful it paid millions of dollars to tack its name onto the Texas Rangers' baseball park.

Ameriquest made a billionaire of its founder and chief owner, Roland Arnall, who is now U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands. He founded his company as Long Beach Savings in 1979 and built it into a major subprime lender.

In March, the Texas Rangers severed a 30-year naming rights deal with Ameriquest and rebranded their home field as Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

Link to entire article: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8RCEK4O0.htm

[salin]

1. Bushco is so silent about all of this ... and yet when the economy

recessed early in his first term - the only sector that kept moving (and was touted over and over again) was the housing sector. And now we see, clearly, how even that was propped up by fraud.

[EV_Ares]

2. I was wondering on this also when I noticed the guy is now a US

ambassador which would indicate a friend of the White House as those appointments are rewards by Bush for money. Also, involvement with the Texas Rangers another Bush connection. A Bush buddy that became a billionaire on the backs of citizens that resorted to sub-prime lending.

[Snarkoleptic]

3. The article fails to mention that Arnall is also a Bush Ranger.

Although his wife is a major donor to Dem's.

[Babsbrain]

4. Damn...these Ameriquest people are nasty, nasty people

Roland and Dawn Arnall, owners of Ameriquest and Argent Mortgage are the poster people for the corrupt Republican Party.

They embody all that has gone wrong with this country. They are the BIGGEST bush political contributors since 2002. Both husband and wife are dirty from the word 'go'.

Bush knew that Ameriquest was being investigated in 30 states for illegal lending practices and on the day bush appointed Roland Arnall as ambassador to the Netherlands, Ameriquest agreed to set aside millions to settle lawsuits against it.

Dawn Arnall bankrolled the 'flip-flop' ads against Kerry.

These are disgusting people who were embraced by bush and rewarded with an Ambassadorship.

The damage that has been done to this country by its 'leader' are so vast, it may never recover. It has definitely lost its standing around the world and no amount of propoganda will overcome the destruction of the USA by the greed and corruption the Republicans are wallowing in.

The Arnalls should be in prison, not occupying the embassy quarters in the Netherlands.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Roland_Arnall

[leftchick]

5. The 400 Richest Americans:#85 Roland Arnall

Net Worth $3.0 billion Source Finance, Self made

Age 67
Marital Status Married, 1 divorce
Hometown Holmby Hills, CA, United States
Education


Born in Paris on eve of WWII; family moved to Montreal, then California late 1950s. Peddled flowers on street corners in Los Angeles. Started investing in real estate 1970s; expanded to financial services, oil, technology. Built mortgage lender Ameriquest by aggressively selling mortgages to homeowners unable to get traditional bank loans. Today company is nation's largest subprime mortgage provider. Tough times: rising interest, default rates hammering profits. In January paid $325 million to 49 states to settle predatory-lending charges. Closed 230 retail offices, fired 3,800 employees 5 months later. Big Bush supporter sworn in as ambassador to the Netherlands February; ceded control of Ameriquest to wife, Dawn. Also sold off stakes in Dutch brewer Heineken, oil conglomerate Royal Dutch Shell, Anglo-Dutch food retailer Unilever.

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_Roland-Arnall_02WT.html