Servicing

GMAC Mortgage Corp., Horsham, Pa., has announced an agreement with NetBank, an online bank, under which GMAC Mortgage will service NetBank's option ARMs before their sale into the secondary market.NetBank's option ARM is an adjustable-rate mortgage that offers the option of making one of three mortgage payments: a minimum payment, an interest-only payment, or a fully amortizing payment, based on a 15-, 30-, or 40-year term, depending on the product. The company said NetBank also intends to sell option ARM loans to other GMAC Mortgage clients, "significantly reducing transfer-related expenses for both parties and reducing the borrower confusion associated with loan servicing transfers." The companies can be found online at http://www.gmacmortgage.com and http://www.netbank.com.

First Bancorp, San Juan, Puerto Rico, has reported receiving notification of an informal inquiry into the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its accounting for certain mortgage loans, among other things.The company noted that it had recently disclosed a review by its Audit Committee of purchases of mortgage loans originated by other financial institutions. The accounting issues being reviewed include whether the company should have recorded such transactions as loans by the company to the sellers rather than purchases of mortgage loans, and whether any transactions resulted in derivatives requiring the application of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133. First Bancorp said its Audit Committee has retained two law firms and a forensic accounting firm to assist in the review. The company can be found online at http://www.firstbankpr.com.

Two classes from two Access Financial Manufactured Housing Contract Trust issues have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.Class B-1 of series 1995-1 and class B-1 of series 1996-1 were downgraded from CCC to C. In addition, one class from series 1995-1 was upgraded and the ratings on three classes from the two deals were affirmed. Losses on series 1995-1 have caused the certificates to be undercollateralized by approximately $2 million, and cumulative losses now represent 24% of the original balance, the rating agency said. Series 1996-1 has also experienced higher losses than expected, and the certificates are undercollateralized by $8.5 million, Fitch said.

Five classes in two CSFB Mortgage Securities Corp. mortgage-backed pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: series 2002-22 group 3, class DB3, from BBB to BB, class DB4, from B to CC, and class DB5, from CC to C; and series 2002-32R, class M, from BBB-minus to BB-minus, and class B-1, from BB-minus to CCC. In addition, Fitch affirmed the ratings on 10 classes from five CSFB issues. The downgrades were attributed to the deterioration of credit enhancement relative to consistent or rising monthly losses. The underlying trust for series 2002-22 group 3 consists primarily of 15-year and 30-year fixed-rate one- to four-family residential first-mortgage loans.

Class B3 of series 2001-2 of Structured Asset Securities Corp. residential mortgage-backed certificates has been downgraded from B to C by Fitch Ratings.In addition, the ratings on seven classes from two SASCO deals were affirmed. "The downgrade is the result of Fitch's observation of continuing high monthly pool losses and delinquency levels," the rating agency said. July 25 remittance information indicates that 13.53% of the pool was over 90 days delinquent and cumulative losses totaled 0.99% of the original pool balance, according to Fitch. The collateral consists of conventional, fixed-rate, fully amortizing residential mortgage loans extended to prime and alternative-A borrowers.

Six classes from two Structured Asset Securities Corp. residential mortgage-backed certificate transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: series 2002-HF2, class M3, from BBB to BBB-minus, and classes B1 and B2, from BBB-minus to BB; and series 2003-BC2, class M4, from BBB-plus to BBB, class B1, from BBB-minus to BB, and class B2, from BB-plus to B. In addition, Fitch has affirmed the ratings on 12 classes in the two deals. The downgrades were attributed to concerns about the adequacy of credit enhancement in light of declining collateral performance. Fitch said remittance information for SASCO 2002-HF2 indicates that as of July 25, excess spread had not been sufficient to cover losses for the previous three months. The mortgage pool consists primarily of first-lien subprime loans. For SASCO 2003-BC2, comparable remittance information indicates that excess spread had not been sufficient to cover losses for the previous five months, the rating agency said. The mortgage pool consists primarily of subprime first- and second-lien loans. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Residential Capital Corp's senior and short-term debt ratings from Baa2 to Baa3 and from Prime 2 to Prime 3, respectively."Although the residential real estate finance business of ResCap, and auto finance business of GMAC, are separate from an operating perspective, ResCap continues to be substantially dependent on the support of GMAC in regards to its capital structure, though such support should continue to diminish," the rating agency said. Moody's added that the downgrade "is not a result of any change in Moody's views regarding ResCap's intrinsic creditworthiness, which the rating agency deems to be 'high Baa' on a stand-alone basis." The rating agency said about $5 billion in securities are affected by the downgrade and those securities' ratings have a negative outlook. Moody's can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that the number of new properties in some stage of foreclosure increased 4.7% nationwide in July to a new monthly high for the year.The company's Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report indicates that 78,979 new foreclosure properties were added to the rolls in July. "If the trend from the last two months continues, foreclosures may gather enough momentum to significantly impact the real estate market," said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer. The company said Florida reported the highest number of new foreclosures of any state in July, with 12,471, an increase of 27.5%. However, the state's foreclosure rate fell from second-highest to third-highest because of greater percentage increases in other states. New foreclosures in Arkansas shot up 150% in July, giving it the nation's highest foreclosure rate, the company said. RealtyTrac can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com.

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, has announced an agreement to acquire GRP Financial Services, a specialty finance company that buys and resolves mortgage loans, for an undisclosed amount.Under the agreement, the company would be purchased from GRP's management and Angelo, Gordon & Co. "With the addition of GRP to our existing debt management operations, we will be able to service virtually every type of major consumer debt," said Tim Fitzpatrick, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Sallie Mae, which was created in 1972 as a government-sponsored enterprise specializing in student loans but severed its ties to the federal government last year. Under the agreement, the White Plains, N.Y.-based GRP would become a wholly owned subsidiary of SLM Corp., but would retain its brand and senior management team, Sallie Mae said. The former GSE, based in Reston, Va., can be found on the Web at http://www.salliemae.com.

Eight classes of IndyMac ABS Inc. home equity issues have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: series SPMD 2000-A group 1, class BF, from CCC to C; series SPMD 2000-B group 1, class MF-2, from B to CCC; series SPMD 2000-C group 1, class MF-2, from CCC to C; series SPMD 2000-C group 2, class MV-2, from BBB to BB; series SPMD 2001-A group 1, class MF-1, from BBB-minus to BB-minus, and class MF-2, from CCC to C; and series SPMD 2001-B groups 1 and 2, class MF-2, from A to BBB-minus, and class BF, from CCC to C. In addition, the ratings on 30 other classes in six home equity deals were affirmed. Fitch attributed the downgrades to poor collateral performance and the deterioration of asset quality beyond original expectations. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.