Tom Marano and company tried like the dickens to avoid throwing Residential Capital Corp./GMAC into bankruptcy but it was not to be. So, in the end we have a deal that values its mortgage assets at just over $4 billion, which means its MSRs might be worth 100 basis points or so. But as we all know: production assets never sell at a premium in a down market. Why pay up when you can just take over the leases and rehire loan officers and AEs? But what does the eventual resolution of ResCap really mean? Answer: A new, stronger competitor (Nationstar) could rise from the ashes. (If Dan Mudd was still at Fortress -- which owns a piece of Nationstar -- he might be considered the “Comeback Kid.”) One piece of good news from the announced deal: Marano is saying no layoffs will occur. (See the National Mortgage News website for expanded coverage.)
