NEW YORK (AP) — American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection today, the latest casualty of a mortgage industry that has plunged into distress.

The Melville, N.Y.-based company's request for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — filed in bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Del. — caps a tumultuous 10 days for what had been the nation's 10th-biggest home lender.

American Home Mortgage said it fell victim to "extraordinary disruptions" in the markets that support the mortgage industry. A cold housing market and a spike in payment defaults scared investors away from mortgage debt, including bonds and other securities backed by home loans.

American Home Mortgage's 40 biggest creditors include virtually all the major names of Wall Street. At the top of the list are Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JMP Securities analyst Steven C. Delaney said the reason American Home Mortgage went bankrupt in the first place — the exodus of buyers from the mortgage debt market — also means the company will have trouble selling its assets to raise cash.

"We are in a market now where value is a fleeting concept," Delaney said. "The market today has just basically shut down. ... They might not even find a buyer at any price today."