Mumbai: US home loan specialist Thornburg Mortgage Inc has sold bonds backed by $1.44 billion of mortgages to pay down credit lines and free up financing to accelerate new lending.

Prime loans, or those to borrowers with high credit scores, Santa Fe, collateralised the transaction New Mexico-based Thornburg said in a statement.

The loans carried adjustable interest rates.

Thornburg, which stopped taking new loan applications last month after having its access to short-term credit markets curtailed, resumed lending last week and now is trying to increase the pace.

The company last month had to liquidate a third of its mortgage assets and issue $500 million of convertible preferred stock to reduce dependence on credit lines and bolster cash reserves.