The pace of collapsing mortgage companies has slowed this year, according to data from http://www.MortgageGraveyard.com, a journal of failed, ailing and acquired lenders. Net branch operations are dominant among the latest victims.

During the first quarter, 22 mortgage companies have closed, according to the Mortgage Graveyard. Companies tracked primarily included those that employed at least 50 people. Among the most notable activity was Shearson Financial Network Inc., which temporarily discontinued all operations. Shearson's demise follows two years of rapid growth". The pace of mortgage lending failures has slowed significantly this year," said Sam Garcia, founder of the Mortgage Graveyard and Publisher of MortgageDaily.com. "We are on track to see fewer than 90 companies collapse this year - a big improvement over the 148 failures tracked during 2007."

Among a growing number of mergers announced was Bank of America's agreement to acquire Countrywide Financial Corp. in a deal expected to close during the third quarter. The combined company will likely originate around $450 billion annually - more than any other U.S. lender.