Potential Buyers Vie for BofA Lending Unit

BankAmerica Corp. has received several bids that top $500 million for its mobile-home financing unit, according to investment bankers familiar with the situation. Bids for BankAmerica Housing Services, the second-largest mobile-home lender in the U.S., may change when the potential buyers examine the unit’s books in a second bidding round, the sources said. The San Diego-based subsidiary has about $9 billion in loans. The plan to sell the unit comes at a time of turmoil among “sub-prime” lenders, which offer credit to risky customers. St. Paul, Minn.-based Green Tree Financial Corp., the largest mobile-home lender in the U.S., this week said its profit was hurt because it miscalculated how fast clients would pay back loans. BankAmerica Chief Financial Officer Michael O’Neill told analysts last week the bank had received “multiple bids” for the unit and hopes to complete a sale by June.