NYSE to delist Thornburg Mortgage stock

SANTA FE (AP) - Santa Fe-based mortgage lender Thornburg Mortgage says its stock will be delisted from trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The suspension will begin prior to the market opening on Friday.

Thornburg's stock price failed to meet a minimum standard that its average closing price remain above $1 over 30 consecutive trading days.

Thornburg had six months to correct the problem, but was unable to do so.

Shares of Thornburg closed Wednesday at 20.9 cents.

Thornburg says delisting doesn't constitute a default under lending agreements.

Thornburg has been hit hard since the middle of 2007 by the ongoing mortgage and credit market turmoil.

Mortgage lending volume has declined and Thornburg has been forced to drastically reduce the value of its investments in mortgage securities as investors shy away from all but the safest forms of debt.