Fremont Investment and Loan, a subsidiary of Fremont General Corp., has ended its ties with 8,000 brokers after deeming the brokers partly responsible for a dramatic increase in early payment defaults in 2006. The Santa Monica, California-based company released the 8,000 brokers after characterizing their presence as being “highly correlated” to the dramatic increase in early payment defaults that Fremont experienced in 2006, according to Reuters.

On the heels of a rocky year, the company is faring much better after focusing on loan quality and managing to trim its number of early defaults to a modest 3-percent rate, compared to 6 percent in mid-2006.
Parent-company Fremont General Corp. also felt the residual affects of a dramatic surge in loan repurchases last year. The company’s repurchases led to a $16.4 million loss on the sale of its mortgages in just the first nine months of 2006.
For more information, visit www.fremontgeneral.com.