Searching for Daddy?

Now that most of the scars have been healed from working at First NLC, I can't help but laugh when a Google Search for N**l Hen****l's name returns this blog as the number one result!

For those of you who are looking for info on our former benevolent leader, I urge you to check out the blog entries from '07-'08. You'll find lots of interesting bits of information about how this company was run straight into the ground by petty decision-makers and short-sightedness. And believe me, it all started right at the top.

I rarely have any info to report on the company these days, aside from the fact that it appears as a black hole in many former staffers' employment records. I'm curious, though - how many people have removed First NLC from their resumes altogether? I know some folks who were with the company less than a year before they started shutting things down - would they still be willing to deal with the BS of trying to track down records of employment and explaining how they were duped into thinking a company that was moving into plush new offices in T Rex was actually legit and well-managed?

I'm seriously considering looking for a new job now that the market is starting to improve, but I'm wondering what I'm going to tell everybody about First NLC, which is the last company I worked at prior to my current one. Shucks, I don't even know who I could use as a reputable reference, considering how many questionable individuals were on the various management teams.

At this point, about the only thing First NLC is good for is showing that you stayed employed and paid the bills during that particular time in your life. Other than that, it remains an organization I wish I never worked for.

It's 2010 and First NLC Continues to be a Pain in Former Employees' Asses

I gotta tell you - it's been so long since I updated this blog that I had forgotten my login info.

I continue to hear stories from my former colleagues about First NLC being the ONLY company that never appears in their employment verification reports when they are looking for work. It's a final "FU" from Daddy and the Juniors, and just another example of how half-assed this company was (mis)managed.

Look, I understand you couldn't afford to keep the lights on in TRex, but you could have at least left a sign on the door when you left the building.


At this point, I think I'd rather take my chances with First NLC being off of my resume completely.

This Goddamned Company Continues To Haunt Me

After taking care of my '07 taxes and getting my (unmatched) 401k contributions out of Ingham (who I always suspected were cronies of Daddy and Junior) during the past couple of months, I thought I was finally finished with ever having to deal with anything FNLC-related ever again.

Guess again.

I'm currently being subjected to a background check as I move into a new position at my current company. This morning, I was informed that the company performing the background check cannot locate any information about First NLC and cannot verify my previous employment at the company. I've been asked to provide proof by faxing my FNLC W-2 forms. As you can imagine, the idea of rummaging through my financial records and faxing personal information is not something I am comfortable with.

Fortunately, I have another card up my sleeve. Last year, when my original background check was completed, I requested my own copy of the report, which I happen to keep on hand during times like this, when I need to look up details like corporate mailing addresses and contacts in order to apply for jobs. This report has my FNLC experience confirmed, so I've referred the background checking company to their earlier work. Hopefully, that will take care of this issue.

I've worked for over a half-dozen companies in the past 15 years or so, and FNLC isn't the only one that has ceased to exist, yet they are the only one that I've ever had this kind of trouble with. A closer look at my background check reveals a possible explanation - every company has (or seems to subscribe to) some type of formalized database that provides this information. They generate a mini-report that gets rolled into my background check. Every one, that is, except for FNLC. My FNLC work history confirmation consisted of a note from FNLC HR and an explanation that FNLC doesn't provide further information.

Should it surprise any of us that FNLC "did what was required" by cutting corners and relying on manual, outdated methods to compile employee records? Of course not. This is just another example of how the company would take the easiest and cheapest path for anything that did not contribute to profits.

Well, guess what, Daddy and Junior? All of that sneaky and self-serving penny-pinching still didn't keep your asses from being kicked to the curb by FBR. Oh, I'm sure you think that you'll just ride out the storm and show up again when the market is ripe for small-minded, greedy, ignorant fools to make boatloads of money, but it's never happening for you again. Your name is mud in this industry and your reputations will be forever tarnished by your actions over the past three years, when you could have kept the ship from sinking but instead focused on moving into T. Rex, petty sibling squabbles and watching the FBR stock ticker.

I know some of you may still be looking for work, so I'd like to encourage everybody to be prepared for a similar situation, since, according to my resources, your tenure at First NLC may have never "officially" existed.

More Negative Feedback

Really - I think the Copes should have just turned down the CNN Money story. I don't wish anybody ill will, but that won't stop me from compiling choice comments and posts from other blogs. Again, the validity of the unemployment claims and the "woe is us" mentality has certainly touched a raw nerve in the blogosphere.

Check out the latest smackdown, courtesy of Bubble Markets Inventory Tracking. The author has upped the ante by posting photos of the couple's home and the jewelry that they are trying to sell. One commenter noted that one piece of jewelry sold for a whopping $0.99 on eBay -haven't they heard of "reserve prices?" Here are some quotes:

• So let me get this straight. These highly skilled people are reduced to selling trinkets. I get the impression that just about any unskilled person could make a 6 digit income in the sub-prime loan business.
• So we're supposed to shed a tear for these clowns?
• My old Aunt in North Carolina always called these people, "pigs in finery". . .basically people who live the big life with no real money - just working class people with delusions of being grand!. . .can't people just live withing their means??
• She had about a dozen items up last week, all with buy-it-now (not auctions), and none sold.
• Good grief, who would wear that crap! That looks like the kind of crap tourists buy from the beach vendors on vacation and give as gifts to friends and family when they get home. It all goes in the trash as soon as they leave. BTW, her eBay feedback rating is a 1. She played it off to CNN as if she had a successful eBay business. A 1 is far from successful. Friggin' tools!
• Looks like I'm not the only one who's really astounded by the stupidity of people in this industry.
• I hope they had a lot of New Century Financial stock. If they didn't, then they didn't truly believe in what they were doing, and they deserve to suffer.
• Both of them worked for New Century. One of the biggest subprime boiler rooms that existed before the ponzi scheme collapsed. Subprime was all they did. They gave loans to anyone, no documenation, no proof of collateral was required. No proof of identification or citizenship was required!!!
• The picture of the jewelry is kind of funny. Did you notice how it is staged underwater? It is a situation they are very familiar with.
• Duane Kent Cope. Duane can't cope? Not anymore he Kent!
• These people are toast, with little to no true skills of value to EVER have the same lifestyle they had before. Check out Mysti's Linkedin profile. No degree. Was an assistant store manager prior to her VP role. I wonder how she got her job. Best she will ever earn is probably $30K per year at the local retail chain store. Welcome back to the REAL world folks.

Negative Feedback For A Sob Story - Ain't It A Bitch?

Looks like the subjects of that CNN Money article aren't getting much sympathy in the wake of the subprime fallout. Instead of people feeling sorry for them, they seem to have garnered more than their fair share of criticism. Let's take a look, shall we?

First, we have Stu's Rusty Bucket, who has done a nice job of inserting his/her comments into the story, such as:

• Awesome! Keeping the dream alive, a mansion on the coast…
• This is the “we have no plan going forward” routine, also known as “we are waiting for something magical to happen and money to fall into our laps!!”
• Awesome, they switched from a gas guzzling corvette to a.. gas guzzling huge ass SUV!
• know!! Lets get a job selling houses.. that don’t sell in a market that is thrashing around and wallowing in its death throes! Awesome decision there Kent...just think how many sea shell necklaces and self designed bikini’s you need to sell to make that 10k minimum a month.

Ah, Stu - you are too good with words!

Here are some nuggets from 3D Commune:

• Notice they cashed in HER 401k? He is going to skip off to Mexico with his secretary and intact 401k
• A suburban - now THERE is an economy vehicle
• THE INDUSTRY TARNISHED ITSELF, and you were part of it, I guess its time to get out the silver polish baby!
• Yeah, let the government pay you to do nothing, its the American way

Free Republic has great comments as well. A sampling:

• Sorry, they made a heck of a lot of money, and don’t have anything saved? Stupid is as stupid does.
• So, he gave birth to the monster that ate him.He and his ilk built the castle of sand and now bitch that it's crumbling?
• (They) need to sell the Beemer, down-size the house, take the first job they can get and begin working their way up again. And quit whining.
• (She's) been without work since May of 2007???!!! Nobody wants her resume because it’s got subprime on it? Nobody? Not Target or the Food Lion? Gimme a break. The woman could be bringing in something and still run her jewelry and beachwear business.
• But surely you don’t expect them to take responsibility for their own actions??

And, my personal favorite:

(Executives) in the Sub Prime and other banking fields by extension, really have no marketable skills and are grossly overpaid.

Finally, let's not forget Frugal Jim, who questions whether they should even be allowed to collect unemployment:

• So you and I are paying unemployment for these people? We’re actually subsidizing the start up of two businesses? I always though unemployment was supposed to be for people who were actively seeking a job, but were unable to do so.

FNLC Alum On CNNMoney.com

Careers vanish after subprime 'free fall'

Kent and Mysti Cope were well-paid executives at subprime lenders who never thought the industry could disappear overnight. Now they're just trying to get by.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (CNNMoney.com) -- Kent and Mysti Cope met and fell in love working for one of the nation's top subprime lenders. Now, their life has been turned upside down after the sudden implosion of the subprime mortgage industry.

Mysti was one of the last people out the door at New Century Financial, once the nation's No. 2 subprime lender. She had been in charge of e-commerce customer service with dozens of employees reporting to her. It was at New Century where the Copes met in 2000.

Kent worked for several of the firms that helped give birth to the industry, which specializes in making loans to people with less-than-perfect credit, in the 1990s. He has been out of work since August when he was laid off by Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group (FBR) unit First NLC Financial Services.

"We're still both in shock that it could go from something so good to so bad so quick," said Kent, 59. "New Century in 60 days went from top of the heap to out of business."
The two didn't say exactly how much money they made at their last jobs but Kent admitted they each had six-figure incomes.

Today, they're trying to get by on his unemployment benefits of about $450 a week, which covers only about an eighth of the basic payments they owe every month.

Full article:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/31/news/economy/copes/index.htm?postversion=2008033105

The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nothing But The Truth

Long time, no posts - I guess that's what happens when the entity you are writing about no longer exists!

Reader "Mr. Miracle" pasted this article from the March 14 Washington Post while commenting on a previous post - thought I'd share it with you. No wonder FBR liked Daddy and Junior's way of doing business...

FBR's Awful Truth

By Steven Pearlstein

There was a time when lots of us were rooting for Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, the homegrown investment bank. With its strong bench of analysts, its focus on financial services and technology, its scrappy trading desk and a loyal network of institutional investors eager to buy up whatever it was selling, FBR was the Washington upstart determined to beat Wall Street at its own game.

But in the decade since it began selling its shares to the public, FBR seems to have careened from one disaster to another, losing billions of dollars for its customers and investors and constantly restructuring itself to give the illusion of reinvention. One of the founders was forced to resign from the firm after a federal investigation into whether the company had given inside information about one of its customers to another. Its own stock is so beaten down -- from a high $28 four years ago to yesterday's close of $1.93 -- that investors are pricing it at less than the company's book value.

Sad as it is to say, I'm coming to the conclusion that FBR has come to represent everything that's bad about Wall Street, quick to jump on every fad, substitute hype for solid research and earn big fees for peddling junk.

Let us recall, for example, that FBR was an active financier and cheerleader for the tech and telecom boom of the late '90s, putting its customers' money and prestige behind dozens of flameouts that included LifeMinders, WebMethods and Varsity Books.

In between bubbles, it took the lead in funding a Bermuda reinsurance company that entered the market just in time to get buried under two of the worst hurricanes in history.
FBR became an underwriter for the residential real estate bubble, helping to finance New Century Financial, Luminent Mortgage Capital, Thornburg Mortgage and American Home Mortgage.

In 2005, FBR decided to jump into the subprime pool with both feet, paying more than $100 million to acquire originator First NLC and losing hundreds of millions of dollars more before taking the firm into bankruptcy earlier this year.

A financial whiz I know compiled for me a list of all the stock offerings FBR underwrote between 2001 and 2007, both public IPOs as well as the private placements in which FBR specialized. He found that if you'd invested in all of them on the day they started trading, you'd be down now by about 20 percent. That compares with a gain of 20 percent on the Standard and Poor's 500-stock index, or a loss of 9 percent on the S&P Financial index.

Of course, investment banking is only part of FBR's business -- and at this point, the only profitable part, although even that is now questionable, given the market turmoil and the dramatic slowdown in new issues. But it's worth noting that in the past two years, when other financial firms were posting record profits from proprietary trading (buying and selling securities with the firm's own money) and asset management (collecting fees for running hedge funds and mutual funds), FBR managed to lose money in both areas.

Not that it would have been easy for an investor -- or a business journalist -- to come up with a clear picture of what was going on at FBR. No sooner would something go wrong than a press release would appear announcing some new strategy or structure or the shift of assets from one pocket to another. One day FBR is an investment bank, the next a tax-free real estate investment trust with a taxable investment bank subsidiary. Then, when the REIT starts to crash, it spins off the investment bank as a separate entity, selling part to a private-equity firm and then, a few months later, another part to the public. This is the kind of hocus-pocus that financial sharpies engage in when they can't succeed by delivering good value to customers and investors. With FBR, it's a case of being too clever by half.

What's most galling, however, is how well FBR's top executives have done for themselves despite all the misjudgments and setbacks. One founder, Russ Ramsey, was clever enough to cash out and leave shortly after the initial public offering. And before the recent troubles, Manny Friedman and Eric Billings made themselves two of the highest-paid executives in the region, with annual compensation packages approaching $10 million each.

But for pure chutzpah, nothing tops the recent announcement that, following a year in which the company posted an operating loss of $740 million, Billings and three other top executives were awarded bonuses and stock grants worth $30 million, at the time equal to nearly 9 percent of FBR's market value. The rationale given by FBR's compensation committee is a model of twisted logic that now infects the minds of corporate directors. It noted that these executives had gone years -- yes, two entire years! -- without a bonus because of the company's poor performance due to a subprime mortgage crisis that was outside their control. And it lauded them for their great success in selling off the subprime assets for which they grossly overpaid, and for raising $220 million through the IPO of the investment banking subsidiary to investors who, in the space of eight months, have seen the value of their shares fall by two-thirds.

One can only imagine what bonuses the FBR directors would have lavished on Billings and his associates if they had sold stock that had actually increased in value.

But equally absurd was the rationale for granting Billings $2 million and an additional 3.5 million shares of FBR stock as a retention award, so he won't go leave the company over the next three years. This is the founder of the firm with his name on the door, who, with 6 percent of the common stock, is already the firm's largest individual shareholder. By his own admission, he bet the firm on residential real estate and subprime mortgages -- and lost. So where else is he going to go? Does anyone really believe that recruiters from Goldman Sachs are banging on his door?
Of course, the better question is why, rather than picking the pockets of beleaguered shareholders to pay big retention bonuses, FBR's directors haven't sent Billings packing. After all, that's what happened at Citigroup, Merrill, Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns in the wake of similar misjudgments. At FBR, by contrast, not a single top executive has lost his job as a result of the mortgage debacle.

Of Watches, Birthdays and Ungratefulness

Here's another priceless story from Blue. We've had plenty of branch and regional-level tales on this blog, so it's great to see that there was so much nonsense going on at the corporate level as well. Enjoy....

When our beloved (hah!) CEO turned 75, it was decided that to honor the occasion, there would be a party for him, and gifts and such. My manager wanted to get something for him anyways, but somewhere along the line the management team got an email from "the favorite son" basically TELLING all of them the gift the "management team" was going to get him and how much it would cost.

Apparently the family had major connections within the jewelry industry, and the old man really wanted an expensive watch - not sure of the brand, but I'm pretty sure it cost upwards of $20,000 or so on the retail market. In his note to his management team, the favorite son basically told all the managers that "even though he could OBVIOUSLY afford to buy this watch for his Dad, it would be a nice gesture if all of them contributed and also they would engrave something special on the back just for him." And apparently the sons would make up the difference on the gift (more on this later).

So basically all the managers had to cough up something like $300-500 each for the old man's birthday gift!! And from the sounds of it, this was a MANDATORY thing (in other words, if you didn't pony up, don't expect the family to keep you employed after that, since you obviously were not a team player!) So all of them pony-ed up, and I know my boss and a few of the others grumbled privately about it (well if they told me, maybe it wasn't so "private!") because it wasn't like they were sll earning the millions of dollars the family was, and after all, would you spend $500 on a birthday gift for your own family, let alone for YOUR BOSS???

The real kicker came after the fact. They had a little gathering, and if most of you remember, we all had to have group photos taken of our teams (what a joke that was) to be framed and presented to the old man. From what I heard, the old man basically thanked his sons for the watch, and didn't genuinely thank the other managers that actually paid for it.

And here's the real kicker, one that the old man himself will love if he is still actively reading this blog. Apparently, the not-as-favorite-son (the one who always resented taking a back seat to his brother) went around afterwards and confessed that, thanks to the wholesale deal they were able to get with their jewelry friends, there was enough money collected from the management team to pay 100% for the watch!!

So neither he nor his "favored" brother actually commited a penny of contribution to a gift for their old man, yet they took the majority of the credit for it!! How classic is that!!! :) And papa never knew!! In fact, it was probably the only gift papa got from them for his 75th birthday, and the sons didn't contribute at all!!

Now that's demonstrating effective management of your employees if ever there was an example!! Get them to pay for something, and then take all the glory for yourself.

Strange But True Tales from the Comments Section

"Blue" has been sharing some good stories in the comments section of various posts. I thought I would start passing them along. In addition, "Lastlaugh" has noted that Daddy and Junior were fired by FBR last week.

And now, on to the dirt, as told to us by faithful reader Blue:

During my time at FNLC, I was privvy to information that, to say the least, was embarrassing then (and is just plain funny now!) I have been reluctant to post on this blog for fear of reprisal (after all the Henschels are a family of lawyers) and I did sign a piece of paper that said in order to collect my (pitiful) severance, I had to refrain from discussing the company for 1 year. Well, that 1 year is up, and the company no longer exists, so I figure I will share some of my stories with everyone.

Before some pro-FNLCr's start bashing me, again I preface this to say that (1) all this info is 100% true; (2) I post it for entertainment purposes and for a little bit of relishing in the fact that the management team that screwed us all are now screwed themselves and (3) as a cautionary tale for those of you who would even consider working for this group of liars again.

Because so many managers had a big mouth at FNLC, it was easy to get access to information. Here is one of my favorite tidbits relative to the piece Anna just posted. The move to the T-Rex building was a poor error in judgement. They had just renewed their lease with the existing shit building in Deerfield Beach, and now they were going to move to this massive new building in Boca Raton, in the midst of a shrinking lending environment and the prospects of downsizing (not increasing/hiring) staff. Why did they do this? To satisfy the ego of one man who wanted to leave a lasting legacy and mark in his hometown of Boca Raton.

Even when a press conference was held to announce the T-Rex move, the press was very negative to FNLC (go back and search some of the stories in the Miami papers if you don't believe me). At the time they even stated that this was typical of many companies with CEOs who just wanted to satisfy their egos and have a workplace closer to their own homes to shorten their own commutes. And I remember some of the articles even accused FNLC at the time of likely letting go employees because of it! (which they insisted they wouldn't do).

When it looked like the market was crumbling, and costs had to be reduced, the obvious question was "why are we still moving to T-Rex?" The answer was because a lease was signed and it would have cost millions to get out of it. Instead they chose to start reducing staff and closing ops centers outside Florida to justify the expense of this monstrous new building. And for those of us who did eventually move into T-Rex, it had a creepy vibe and felt like a giant, empty shell from the very beginning.

Here's another:

It appears that the Henschels were not the only crooks behind this disaster. This just posted online on FBR - it seems that after losing millions of dollars these last few years (mostly due to FNLC), these crooks decided to give themselves a big, fat pay raise this week! I feel terrible for the FBR shareholders....

The Committee concluded that management's actions were materially beneficial to the Company and therefore that, in recognition of their efforts and achievements, certain members of executive management should receive bonuses in excess of the bonuses to which they would have been entitled based on the performance goals established in early 2007. The Committee reported its conclusions and recommendations to the Board of Directors, and the independent members of the Board approved the Committee's recommendations. These actions are described below. In addition, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, and the independent members of the Board of Directors, of FBCM also took action on February 21, 2008, to approve executive compensation arrangements for 2008 for its executive officers. Please refer to the current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC today by FBCM for information regarding those actions.

2007 Performance Bonuses. The Board approved final bonuses for 2007 for its named executive officers as follows: (i) a $2,475,914 bonus payable to Eric F. Billings, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, of which $1,778,470 was payable in cash and $697,444 was payable in the form of a combination of FBR Group common stock and FBCM common stock, (ii) a $5,398,835 bonus payable to J. Rock Tonkel, Jr., President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, of which $5,004,798 was payable in cash and $394,037 was payable in the form of FBR Group common stock, (iii) a $1,494,725 bonus payable to Richard J. Hendrix, President and Chief Operating Officer of FBCM, of which $1,073,672 was payable in cash and $421,053 was payable in the form of FBCM common stock, (iv) a $905,598 bonus payable to William J. Ginivan, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of the Company, of which $650,496 was payable in cash and $255,102 was payable in the form of acombination of FBR Group common stock and FBCM common stock, and (v) a $801,187 bonus payable to Kurt R. Harrington, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, of which $575,496 was payable in cash and $225,691 was payable in the form of a combination of FBR Group common stock and FBCM common stock.

I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg from Blue.

$50 Million!

First NLC's bankruptcy lists more than $50 million in debt

First NLC Financial Services LLC, a subprime mortgage lender that moved hundreds of jobs from Deerfield Beach to Boca Raton just a year ago, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The parent company, Arlington, Va.-based investment bank Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group (NYSE: FBR) said First NLC would liquidate its assets due to continued deterioration in the subprime market.

Such weakness has caused numerous local and national lenders, both in the subprime and prime categories, to exit the business.

First NLC's Chapter 11 filing was made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, West Palm Beach division on Jan. 18. The filing listed more than $50 million in debt and hundreds of creditors.

The top unsecured creditors are Goldman Sachs Mortgage Co., HSBC Mortgage Services, Deutsch Bank Securities and U.S. Bank Corporate Trust Services.

Miami law firm Berger Singerman is representing the debtor, including attorneys Arthur Spector, Paul Avron and Paul Singerman. The U.S. trustee is Heidi Feinman in Miami.
The company also announced on Jan. 11 that it would not close on the pending sale of First NLC to Boca Raton-based Sun Capital Partners.

Following the filing, the Web site for First NLC carried a simple statement: "Due to conditions beyond our control, effective immediately, we are no longer taking applications. Those loans where closing documents have been executed will be funded in the normal manner."
FBR Group signed an agreement in July with an affiliate of Sun Capital for a $75 million recapitalization of First NLC. That deal would have resulted in a reduction of FBR Group's ownership in First NLC to 20 percent.

FBR Group said that, in connection with the Chapter 11 filing, it does not expect to recover its remaining $12 million investment in First NLC.

Founded in 1987, First NLC had 2,100 employees in 70 branches nationwide in 2006. The company continued expanding its mortgage sales, even as the real estate market slowed in early 2006.

In November 2006, First NLC moved corporate headquarters and 450 jobs from three buildings on Hillsboro Boulevard to the Boca Corporate Center and Campus, formerly known as T-Rex. At that point, First NLC said it would add 200 more jobs.

In early August, First NLC laid off half its employees. At the time, Andrew Henschel, the company's VP of corporate governance, said he did not anticipate any more layoffs, and that the company plans to "vigorously compete" in the market.

Hey Daddy and Junior - Don't Forget Tax Time!!!

Great comments from henshelsforjail (love the username) today got me thinking about a potential problem former FNLC'ers may face during the next few months. I'm talking about the possibility of our W-2 forms being delayed or not being sent at all. This was something my team discussed when we were laid off a few months before the company went bankrupt. Given the fact that many of us had problems signing up for unemployment benefits due to erroneous bookkeeping, it wouldn't surprise me if this nasty W-2 business is swept under the rug, at least until the last possible minute.

To put things into perspective, I earned money from four different entities in '07, including a brief stint collecting unemployment after Daddy and Junior sent me on permanent vacation. Not surprisingly, three of the four W-2's have already been sent to me. Guess who the fourth is?

Here's the thing - I don't like to wait until the last minute to file taxes. I either WANT MY REFUND RIGHT NOW or I want to have some time to pay my amount due before April 15th. I imagine many of you feel the same way. Hell, I bet there are some of you that are expecting a refund and could really use the cash since, y'know, First NLC isn't around to deposit that paycheck into your bank account twice a month.

Has anybody received their W-2 yet? Right now, I'm not expecting much, other than one final screw job by Daddy and Junior. On the other hand, at least I didn't foolishly and arrogantly run my company into the ground, so I guess I have that to be thankful for!

The Online Post Mortem

All that's left of firstnlc.com and thelendingcenter.com is this statement:

Due to conditions beyond our control, effective immediately we are no longer taking applications.

Those loans where closing documents have been executed will be funded in the normal manner.

I've pasted a screenshot to capture this moment. I figure the web hosting bill will be due soon, and then there will be nothing - anybody want to buy some domain names?

BANKRUPT!!!!

It's all over. Daddy's and Junior's assets are being liquidated. FBR has declared bankruptcy on its subprime mortgage operations. The deal with Sun won't be closed.

Hey Junior - can't wait to see your resume! If you and Daddy mishandled your personal finances as badly as your business finances, we'll be seeing you in the unemployment line soon enough.

And yeah - I bet you WOULD file for unemployment.

Finally, this three-ring circus has been shut down as the clowns have been kicked to the curb.

HAH HAH HAH!!!

Loads of links:

• Washington Post
• Reuters
• Washington Business Journal
• CNN
• DS News

At last, FBR did "what was required" and cut this sorry company loose. Good-bye and good riddance.

Is There Anybody Out There?

Our friends at the Implode-O-Meter posted an update on the latest misfortunes at Daddy and Junior's Us-First Moneygrab (formerly known as "First NLC"). Apparently, an email was sent out with the following info:

"First NLC (The Lending Center) cut off computer access on Monday night at 7pm EST for all employees. There is no compensation plan in place for 2008. It looks like Tuesday is going to be the day they close up shop. Keep an eye on it early Tuesday, it is probably all over".

Can anybody confirm that this company is finally about to go kaput?

The Latest News...And It Ain't Good for FNLC

Our friends over at the Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter say things are looking dire in Boca Raton:

"Have we seen the last of First NLC? It's anybody's guess, but recent posters on Last NLC (note: thanks for the shout-out) seem to be convinced, if not actually happy about it.

"Layoffs and branch closures have been going on some time now, the most recent of which came to our attention when it was reported here that another 100 employees were let go and the Anaheim, CA office was also being consolidated to their East Coast headquarters. Calls to the offices still listed on CityTownInfo.com revealed only 2 locations still receiving calls: Anaheim, CA's answering system is still on, and the headquarters in Boca Raton, FL. The company's web site now shows just one location - Boca Raton. For those tracking the numbers, that represents 24 offices nationwide, and now, approximately 725 of 1,350 employees gone in the consolidation.

"Concerns over the company's continued viability stem largely from losses reported in their parent company's 3rd quarter financial statements. On 10-25-07, Reuters reported that FBR Group (Friedman Billings Ramsey Group, Inc.) realized write-offs of $90 million associated with the sale of securitized loans, and an additional loss of $67 million from the sale of mortgage-backed securities. A company press release of the same date revealed the following additional losses:

• "an economic loss of $17.2 million(2) associated with restructuring and operating costs at First NLC Financial Services (FNLC), of which $15 million was incurred prior to the agreement announced in July to sell FNLC to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners (Sun Capital), and
• "a $27 million valuation loss relating to the portfolio of conforming and non-conforming loans originated by FNLC and for which FBR Group took ownership under the Sun Capital sale agreement, reducing the value of those loans to $203 million.
  

"FBR Group announced its plans to sell an 80% share in First NLC to a Sun Capital Partners affiliate on 7-26-07, as part of a recapitalization plan to enable the struggling sub-prime lender to continue operations and satisfy a negotiated settlement of this employee class action lawsuit which received preliminary court approval in late September. The transfer to Sun Capital is expected to be completed by 2007 year end."

Pretty soon, they'll be running this company out of the family's garage.

Here are some additional notes from The Truth About Mortgage:

• According to sources, First NLC Financial Services plans to close 24 branches nationwide, shuttering their operations on the west coast and cutting more than 100 jobs in the process.
• It is believed that only six retail branches will remain open, along with an operations center at its headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida.
• I’ve been told that most of the 100-odd employees at its loan center in Anaheim, California have been laid off as a result of the migration to the east coast.
• In August, First NLC laid off 645 employees, or nearly half of its 1,350 member work force as the mortgage crisis continued to deteriorate.
• First NLC is one of the top non-prime residential mortgage lenders in the nation, originating over $7.4 billion in mortgage loans in 2006.
  FBR bought the subprime lending unit in 2005 for $101 million and arranged a sale this summer to an affiliate of private equity firm Sun Capital Partners.

More Shutdowns

Chicago's call center has been shut down - no surprise. Rumors of additional shutdowns (what's left to shut down at this point? The vending machines?) continue.

I thought I'd share this comment from a former FNLC'er that was posted a couple of days ago - this person is also happy to see upper management flailing. Enjoy:

I'm a former FNLCer and laying me off was the best favor FNLC ever did for me. I, now, work for a company that has a bright future and employees, including me, are happy and don’t live in fear. It's such a refreshing change. I read people's blog entries and frankly I'm amazed and a bit confused as to why people still choose to continue to work for them...especially in light of all that has happened. FNLC's senior management (a.k.a. the Hxxxxxs and their kiss a$$ lackeys) are the worst so-called “management” team I’ve ever seen and the company is obviously going down the tubes. I hope you do realize senior management doesn’t care anything about you, your family or your well being. I do understand how difficult the job market is but it is possible to move on. Most of the employees I had the pleasure of getting know during my time at FLNC were good hardworking people. Have faith in yourself! But, in spirit of the holiday season, I want to say "thank you" to Mr. Hxxxxx and all of his minions for laying me off. No doubt it was challenging for me at first but I prevailed! I take comfort in knowing the Henchel’s company is failing while I am growing professionally and am financial better off than I was work for your sad excuse of a company. It really is sad to have such ill will toward a group of people but this particular group doesn’t deserve anyone’s compassion or respect since they never bothered to give either to any of their employees. I am a person that does believe in karma. What goes around comes around. Mr. Hxxxx and all your minions, keep that in mind!

The Numbers Don't Lie

Here are a couple of nuggets from the FBR earnings (or, in this case "losses") statements for Q3. Does anybody out there know if this is enough to pull the Sun deal off the table? I am totally amazed that this company continues to operate, albeit with a skeleton staff. It's not like FNLC was a respected and well-known brand in the first place - why Sun would want it?

Friedman Billings posts wider Q3 loss

Friedman Billings Ramsey Group Inc's third-quarter losses tripled from a year ago, hurt by write-offs in its securitized loan portfolio and losses from sale of mortgage securities. The investment bank and brokerage posted a net after-tax loss of $214.7 million, or $1.28 a share, compared with a net after-tax loss of $67.4 million, or 39 cents a share, a year ago.

The Arlington, Virginia-based FBR also incurred a $17.2 million loss on restructuring and operating costs at its nonprime mortgage unit First NLC Financial Services. At the end of the quarter, Friedman's exposure to First NLC was $12 million.

FBR Group Announces Third Quarter 2007 Financial Results

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. today announced its results for the quarter ended September 30, 2007. The company reported a net after-tax loss for the quarter of $214.7 million, or $1.28 per share, compared to a net after-tax loss of $67.4 million, or $0.39 per share, for the third quarter of 2006.

Among the principal components of the third quarter results are:

• An economic loss of $17.2 million associated with restructuring and operating costs at First NLC Financial Services (FNLC), of which $15 million was incurred prior to the agreement announced in July to sell FNLC to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners (Sun Capital).
• A $27 million valuation loss relating to the portfolio of conforming and non-conforming loans originated by FNLC and for which FBR Group took ownership under the Sun Capital sale agreement, reducing the value of those loans to $203 million.

It's Not Over

Jeff Ostrowski of the Palm Beach Post notes that the "bloodletting" isn't over yet in the mortgage industry - something that shouldn't come as a surprise to any of us. What's most remarkable is that Sun has allowed FNLC to continue operating, albeit as a much smaller and limited organization. The only reason I can think is that Sun recognizes some type of value in the FNLC brand and they are just holding onto it until the industry turns itself around.

A commenter in an earlier post estimated that 95% of the folks let go by FNLC are still out of work - I thought that seemed a bit high, but after speaking with several former co-workers, I'm beginning to think that might be accurate. Anybody care to elaborate or share their stories?

Who's Left To Lay Off?

First NLC makes the local paper again, and it's not good news:

"First NLC Financial Services is shedding 154 workers in Boca Raton."

I'm not sure if the author is referring to layoffs that have already happened, or if this is a new announcement...

Now This Is What I Call "Doing What Is Required"

Some folks are questioning my motives for this blog. "Move on," they say, "you're just being vindictive." Perhaps I am. But when a company treats its employees and customers the way FNLC has during the past couple of years, I feel that these actions should not be forgotten nor swept under the rug. FNLC has many resources at its disposal to put a postive (and false) spin on what's been going on within the company. But who is the voice for the common worker? We don't have PR firms or the backing of a corporate parent. Really, all we have is a chance to tell our side of the story in forums such as this.

If you are reading this blog with the intention of defending FNLC, you're wasting your time. This blog is for people who have been burned by the company, whether they still feel the sting or not. If you want to talk about how great a company FNLC is, start your own blog, for that is certainly not the purpose of this one.

Now that this piece of business is out of the way, I'd like to focus your attention on a company that is trying its best to stand by its employees during difficult times, including bankruptcy. For those of you who think that FNLC has done everything they can for its workforce, consider what First Magnus is doing and then contrast it to some of the decision-making that has gone on this year in Deerfield and Boca Raton:

Bankrupt Firm's Owners Establish Employee Fund
$1 million fund set up for First Magnus headquarters employees

August 22, 2007

By JERRY DeMUTH

Owners of a bankrupt mortgage lender have established a $1 million fund for some of its nearly 6,000 laid off employees.

More than $1 million has been pledged to assist some former employees of First Magnus Financial Corp. by the mortgage company's shareholders and executives.

The privately-held, Tucson-based company, which originated more than $17 billion in loans this year, shut down on Aug. 16 and filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on August 21.

Although First Magnus had nearly 6,000 employees in more than 300 offices nationwide, monies from the "assistance fund" will be provided only to the approximately 800 employees who worked in its Tucson headquarters, according to a spokesman.

"We, as shareholders and executives of First Magnus," President and CEO G. S. Jaggi explained in a statement, "are committed to doing what we can to personally help those individuals in Tucson who will suffer the greatest hardship."

This is because the Tucson employees lacked the loan origination skills of employees elsewhere, the spokesman said.

The company also has helped arranged a job fair for former Tucson employees, which will be held Monday, August 27, in a Tucson hotel, which is donating the space.

When First Magnus told employees that it was halting lending operations, it told them to expect a delay in the payment of wages and that those payments would be mailed out as checks rather than made by direct deposit, according to a spokesman.

Now, making the payments that were scheduled to be made on August 20 is in the hands of the bankruptcy court, Gary Baraff, senior vice president, marketing, told MortgageDaily.com, pointing out, "We have asked the bankruptcy judge to make that his highest priority and make those funds available for the [Aug. 20] payroll prior to any other creditors being addressed."

No complaints regarding unpaid back pay had been filed with the Arizona Department of Labor as of late Tuesday, a department spokesman told MortgageDaily.com.

(NOTE: the entire article can be found and read by subscribers to MortgageDaily.com)