Ace Mortgage files Chapter 7 bankruptcy

NEW YORK Nov 5 (Reuters) - Ace Mortgage Funding LLC, which provided home loans to borrowers with less than perfect credit, filed on Wednesday to liquidate under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, a court filing shows.

The Indianapolis-based lender and three affiliates, including parent Ace Holding Co, filed for protection from creditors with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Ace Holding last month shut its mortgage lending unit and set plans to close its mortgage document duplication and processing businesses, the Indianapolis Star said.

Ace Mortgage said it had between $1 million and $10 million of both assets and liabilities, and between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors. Ace Holding said it had between $10 million and $50 million of liabilities.

Hundreds of mortgage lenders have cut back operations, sold themselves, closed or gone bankrupt since the nation's housing slump began.

Ace Mortgage had offices in 15 U.S. states, according to its website. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)