More On Major Lenders Freezing HELOC Accounts In Response To Declining Home Values

Bloomberg News reports:

• Countrywide Financial Corp. has suspended the home equity credit lines of almost all its Las Vegas customers, including the $60,000 Christopher Whipple says he needed to expand his cell-phone accessories business. "I hope this doesn't break me,'' the 35-year-old retailer said. His credit score was 790 out of a possible 850, putting him in the top 40 percent of borrowers. "It's going to hurt more than I thought.''

• Since January, Countrywide, Bank of America Corp., Washington Mutual Inc. and IndyMac Bancorp Inc. have frozen about 600,000 equity credit lines nationwide, said Michael Kratzer, president of a Bankrate Inc.-owned Web site that's fielding consumer complaints. The lenders are targeting borrowers in cities where property values are falling, including Las Vegas, Chicago and Los Angeles, he said. Frozen credit and real estate declines are putting a chill on spending and hurting the economy.

For more, see Countrywide Takes Away Home-Equity Credit Lines in Las Vegas.

For a related story, see AmTrust Bank freezing Home Equity Lines of Credit for certain customers (read story) (watch video).

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