Article: Survivor: North American's battle-scarred boss.(Terrance G. Hodel of North American Mortgage Co.)

When North American Mortgage took itself off the auction block in the middle of last year, it joined what would prove to be an exclusive club.

Only one other big independent mortgage company - Countrywide Credit Industries - braved the post-refinancing storm on its own. The rest sold themselves to commercial banks.

After one quarter of losses and another of marginal earnings, North American appears to have put the worst behind it. Earnings rose sharply in the first half.

President Terrance G. Hodel, 52, has managed the company through a difficult contraction.

"It was painful," Mr. Hodel said in a recent interview.

North American, based in Santa Rosa, Calif., laid off ...

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