Economy must be improving.. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9kb5v7bThoU Taylor Bean Files for Bankruptcy, in Talks With FDIC (Update2) Share | Email | Print | A A A By Dakin Campbell and Dawn McCarty Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., the 12th largest U.S. mortgage lender, filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors as regulators question its involvement with Colonial BancGroup Inc. âThe filing follows a series of events in recent weeks that have crippled the companyâs business operation,â Taylor Bean said in a statement. The company today listed both assets and debt of more than $1 billion in Chapter 11 documents in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Jacksonville, Florida. Taylor Bean will operate on a âscaled-down basis and begin work recovering, restructuring and possibly liquidating its assets,â the company said in the statement. The Ocala, Florida- based company also announced the appointment of two directors, Bill Maloney and Bruce Layman, and the naming of Navigant Capital Advisorsâ Neil Luria as restructuring officer. âThis is a very complicated business, and the speed of its collapse has been stunning,â Luria said in the statement. âMuch remains to be done, but we are committed to creating and realizing the value of the companyâs assets.â The announcement comes after Taylor Bean, based on Ocala, Florida, was expelled from the ranks of mortgage lenders approved to do business with government-sponsored mortgage agencies earlier this month. The government cited concerns about possible fraud. Colonial Connection Taylor Bean said today it believes the decisions were related to its involvement with Colonial and that it has, or will soon, appeal the action. The government actions led Taylor Bean to fire about 2,000 employees on Aug. 5, the company said. The terminations followed a failed attempt by Taylor Bean to lead an investor group that would pay $300 million for a controlling stake in Colonial, one of its lenders that has since failed and been taken over by BB&T Corp. Taylor Bean said it is in talks with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the receiver for Colonial, on getting access to about 100 accounts frozen by Colonial. Closely held Taylor Bean does business across the U.S. through loan brokers and other lenders. It ranked 12th among U.S. mortgage originators in the first half of this year with $17 billion of loans, or 1.7 percent of the total, according to the industry newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance. The case is In re Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., 09-07047, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida (Jacksonville).