UPDATE 1-First Marblehead Q2 loss narrows
* Posts narrower Q2 loss
* Net interest income rose and expenses fell
Feb 2 (Reuters) - First Marblehead Corp (FMD.N), one of the largest securitizers of student loans, narrowed its second-quarter loss, helped by lower non-interest expenses.
The company reported a net loss of $93.4 million, or 94 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $117.7 million, or $1.26 per share, a year earlier.
Net interest income for the quarter rose 10 percent to $7.5 million.
Non-interest expenses, excluding a $29.3 million unrealized loss on education loans held for sale, fell 60 percent, mainly due to the company's expense reduction initiatives, the company said in a statement.
Boston-based First Marblehead's bread-and-butter business, packaging student loans into securities, has dried up in recent times, thanks to prolonged turmoil in global debt markets.
Shares of the company closed at $1.32 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. They have fallen 92 percent in the past 11 months after peaking at $16.10. (Reporting by Anurag Kotoky in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
