- New Venture to Provide Access to Financing for Saudi Home Buyers -



    SHELTON, Conn., July 21 /EMWNews/ -- Clayton Holdings,

Inc., a leading due diligence, surveillance, and specialty consulting

provider, announced today that the company has been engaged as the lead

consultant in the formation of the Real Estate Financing Company (REFC), a

new residential mortgage company based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.



    



    REFC, which is expected to launch operations in 2009, will provide

Sharia-compliant, third-party financing for home purchase in Saudi Arabia.

Future plans call for additional branches in Saudi Arabia as well as

on-line development.



    Currently, there is little third-party residential financing available

in Saudi Arabia. The founding investor group of REFC has experience in the

Saudi housing industry, having led construction projects in that market and

sees synergies between their construction businesses and potential growth

with the inauguration of a third-party, home-finance institution.



    Clayton's responsibilities will include: sizing the Saudi housing

market, creating the strategic business plan, business requirements and

implementation plans, conducting an IT/vendor systems assessment, creating

necessary operational documentation and performing ongoing implementation

assistance. In addition, Clayton will work with the institution to create

exit strategies for the loans, including securitization in a

Sharia-compliant environment.



    Bruce Legan, President of Clayton Consulting, said, "Knowing the broad

benefits of home ownership and being part of making it more accessible to a

whole new market makes this project very exciting. The challenge is to

balance the efficiencies of proven best practices with the strictures of

Sharia and the cultural nuances of the modern Saudi life."

    About Clayton Holdings, Inc.



    Clayton Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Shelton, Connecticut, is an

information and analytics company serving leading capital markets firms,

lending institutions, fixed income investors and loan servicers with a full

suite of information-based analytics, specialty consulting and outsourced

services. Clayton's services include due diligence analytics, conduit

support services, professional staffing, compliance products and services,

credit risk management and surveillance and specialized loan servicing

services. Additional information is available at http://www.clayton.com.