Thornburg says to post 'substantial' qtrly loss

BOSTON (Reuters) - Thornburg Mortgage Inc TMA.N, the jumbo mortgage lender that nearly collapsed in March, said on Monday it expects to report a "substantial net loss" for the quarter versus net income of $75 million a year ago.

"A substantial portion of the loss is unrealized resulting primarily from the declines in the fair value of its mortgage-backed securities portfolio," Thornburg said in a statement.

The company said it will announce quarterly results by June 2. It first disclosed the "substantial net loss" expectation for the quarter in a Securities and Exchange filing last week.

Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Thornburg specializes in mortgages above $417,000, which typically go to buyers of more expensive homes who have good credit. The company proved vulnerable to tightening credit markets as investors stopped buying the home loans.

The company narrowly avoided bankruptcy after raising $1.35 billion in March from investors, including MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC, which invests in distressed companies.

It said at the time the capital-raising would leave existing shareholders with just a 5.5 percent stake in the company.

(Reporting by Muralikumar Anantharaman; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)