IndyMac mortgage loans fall, credit quality rises

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - IndyMac Bancorp Inc IMB.N, one of the largest independent U.S. mortgage lenders, said it made $3.32 billion of mortgage loans in March, down 5 percent from February and down 63 percent from March 2007.

The Pasadena, California-based parent of IndyMac Bank also said loan credit quality is improving. The percentage of new mortgages on which borrowers missed their first payments fell to 1 percent in March from 1.8 percent in February. The percentage also fell from 3 percent last August, as the lender began shifting its focus toward higher-quality loans.

IndyMac said 88 percent of March loans were eligible for sale to government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). It ended March with $5.32 billion of mortgage loans in process, down 30 percent from February and down 67 percent from March 2007.

The company disclosed results in a posting dated Thursday on its corporate blog (http://theimbreport.com). (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Derek Caney)