Thornburg gets a reprieve

Thornburg Mortgage (TMA) doubled in early trading Tuesday after the cash-strapped jumbo mortgage lender said it is in talks with its lenders over unmet margin calls. Thornburg shares have plunged from $11 apiece two weeks ago to 71 cents at Monday’s close after the company, which finances its lending operations through short-term loans, failed to meet millions of dollars in demands for additional collateral from its banks. But the company’s statement Tuesday suggests Wall Street banks such as Bear Stearns (BSC) and Lehman Brothers (LEH) are eager to work out a solution that will allow the company to resume lending once this month’s financial panic lifts.

“While we aggressively pursue more permanent solutions to our liquidity issues, we are in discussions with our lenders to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement that will enable us to meet all of our outstanding margin calls within an acceptable timeframe for our lenders,” CEO Larry Goldstone said, “and also mitigate the sale of high-quality assets at a significant loss in this environment.”

Thornburg also restated its 2007 annual report to show an impairment on some securitized adjustable-rate mortgage loans of $677 million, up from the company’s $428 million estimate of last week. “The company recognized this additional impairment charge in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles because it may not have the ability to hold certain of its securitized ARM loans to maturity,” Thornburg said. Shares rose 85 cents to $1.62.