While I can't think of any good reasons one would ever wish to track such a gruesome thing (other than for cruel sport), the list of mortgage companies that have either scaled back lending or ceased operation altogether over the past 9-months grows longer each day. To date, there is no official source of information about this from any sanctioned entity we know of.

One site that comes to mind (and the top of some search-results pages) is the "Implode-o-Meter" located at ml-implode.com. This site presents a rather mean-spirited look at the macabre scene unfolding in the mortgage lending arena. Some State Web sites have begun posting pages dedicated to making information available to concerned mortgage holders.

On the positive side, spurred on by newly lowered rates available at the Federal Reserve's Discount Window (...now serrrrving #B356!), a syndicate of 40-private banks, lead by Bank of America, today announced the extension of $11B in *expanded terms* (a.k.a. "just pay us back when you can") credit to Countrywide Financial, the nation's largest mortgage holdings company.

As for plans to offer similar credit terms to Joe Q. Pubic, the banks could not be reached for comment.