No. 24 of The Subprime 25: ResMAE Mortgage Corp./Citadel Investment Group

Introduction

Total high-interest loans 2005-2007:

At least $13 billion

Federal bailout money received:

None

Company overview

• Status: CLOSED. The company stopped funding new loans on Nov. 6, 2007.
• History: Founded in 2003 as the Residential Mortgage Assistance Enterprise, LLC, by former executives of Long Beach Mortgage Co., “ResMAE” called itself “a specialty finance company engaged in the business of originating, selling, and servicing subprime residential mortgage loans.” ResMAE filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2007. The company announced a month later that its remaining assets and liabilities would be sold to Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund, for $22 million. After emerging from bankruptcy, ResMAE announced an end to new loans the following November.
• Parent/subsidiary companies: ResMAE Mortgage Corp. was a subsidiary of ResMAE Financial Corp. Its financial partner was TH Lee Putnam Ventures, a private equity firm connected to Thomas H. Lee Partners and Putnam Investments. On March 6, 2007, ResMAE said it agreed to be sold to Citadel Investment Group.
• CEO: Co-founder/president/CEO (ResMAE): Ed Resendez led the company until its assets were sold to Citadel in 2007.
  • Most recent salary: Not available
• Location: Brea, California
• Year founded: 2003
• Backers: ResMAE’s bankruptcy filing lists its largest unsecured creditors, including: CIT Group, Barclays, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, Bear Stearns, JPMorgan Chase, Nomura Credit & Capital, and Morgan Stanley.

Lobbying overview

• Lobbying: 2003-2008: Citadel did not report any lobbying, but firms working for the company reported $2,030,000 in expenditures.**
• Total Contributions: At least $880,754 *
• Top Recipients:
  1. Barack Obama $145,350
  2. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee $134,650
  3. Senator John McCain, R-Arizona $83,650
  4. Republican National Committee $77,533
  5. National Republican Senatorial Committee $67,500

** Lobbying totals calculated by the Center for Public Integrity using data from the Senate Office of Public Records.

* Contribution grand total includes employee and soft money contributions from the lender and its subsidiaries. Top recipient totals include employee and political action committee contributions. Data provided by CQ Money Line, analysis by the Center for Public Integrity.