Lehman Brothers became the first top investment bank to shutter its mortgage operations. It may not be the last. The shutdown of the BNC Mortgage unit, which some Lehman employees may not have even known was part of the empire, will cost $52 million in third-quarter earnings. More than 1,000 jobs will be lost. HSBC also announced more cuts in the U.S. The impact to Lehman will not be dire. But you have to wonder now what Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley will do with their mortgage units, which they recently acquired to lock in supply for their once-humming securitization machines. Meanwhile, Countrywide is struggling with the prospect of having to buy back more mortgages. On the upside, it announced that Bank of America has purchased $2 billion worth of preferred stock.   

For more:
- Mortgage lenders fight for survival.  AP Article
- Will credit card rates be affected? New York Post Article
- Money market funds feeling credit heat? AP Article
- Credit crunch hits H&R Block. AP Article