Servicing

IndyMac Bank has entered into a strategic alliance with America's Community Bankers to provide correspondent services to the association's member banks and thrifts.Under the terms of the agreement, ACB community banks will be able to sell loans to the Pasadena, Calif., thrift on a servicing-retained basis. "The servicing-retained feature will allow our members to sell mortgages into the secondary market while still maintaining an ongoing relationship with their customers," said William Kroll, president and chief executive of ACB Business Partners. IndyMac Bancorp is the nation's 12th-largest mortgage originator, according to the Mortgage Industry Directory published by National Mortgage News. In 2004, its correspondent division purchased $13.7 billion in loans. "IndyMac Bank is proud of this alliance with ACB," said Len Israel, president of IndyMac's correspondent division. ACB members will have access to IndyMac's QuickPricer and e-MITs technology that provides "online risk-based pricing, decisioning, and rate-locking in less than one minute," he said. ACB also has alliances with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Countrywide Financial Corp., CitiMortgage, and Freedom Financial.

The class C notes of Ingress I Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation supported in part by residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, has been downgraded from B-minus to CC by Fitch Ratings.Fitch also affirmed the ratings on three other classes in the CDO. The downgrade was attributed to the fact that the overcollateralization ratio of class B failed its required level on each payment date after Sept. 30, 2003, "causing the class C notes to capitalize missed interest payments of over $3.2 million." The CDO is backed by a static pool of asset-backed securities, RMBS, CMBS, and real estate investment trusts.

Residential Capital Corp., Minneapolis, has announced the closing of a $3.5 billion syndication of its bank facilities.The syndication consists of a $1.75 billion three-year term loan; an $875 million three-year revolving loan; and an $875 million 364-day facility that includes a term loan option. The terms and conditions of the bank facilities were not disclosed. GMAC established ResCap earlier this year as a holding company and transferred to it the ownership of GMAC Mortgage Corp. and Residential Funding Corp.

Fitch Ratings has advised lenders that the payment-shock risk inherent in option adjustable-rate mortgages requires a special operational focus on default management.Fitch said mortgage servicers "should have extensive default management procedures and practices" in place prior to taking on option ARM servicing assignments. "The servicer's objective is to return loans to performing status whenever possible, but that may be more difficult if option ARM borrowers simply turn in the keys when their property value is not sufficient enough to cover their debt," said Karen Eissner, a Fitch director. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

SunTrust Mortgage ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction among national mortgage servicing companies in the inaugural J.D. Power and Associates Primary Mortgage Servicer Study.Based on more than 9,200 responses from home mortgage customers across the United States, the study found that World Savings Bank ranked second, followed by Bank of America and Countrywide Home Loans, according to J.D. Power. The Westlake Village, Calif.-based firm said the study measured performance in four areas: billing, payment, annual account review/administration, and customer-initiated interaction. "With climbing interest rates suppressing refinance activity, customer recommendations to others has become even more vital to mortgage lending companies," said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the finance and insurance practice at J.D. Power. "Throughout our research, we find that customers who are satisfied with their lender are considerably more likely to offer a personal referral to a friend, co-worker, or relative, illustrating the strong relationship between customer satisfaction and long-term customer value." J.D. Power can be found on the Web at http://www.jdpower.com.

Nine classes of Greenpoint Credit Manufactured Housing Trust transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades are as follows: series 1999-5, class A-4, from AAA to AA, class A-5, from AAA to A-plus, classes M-1A and M-1B, from A-minus to B, and class M-2, from BB-minus to CCC; series 2000-1, class A-3, from A to A-minus, and class A-4, from BBB to B; and series 2000-3, class IA, from BBB-minus to B, and class I M-1, from B-minus to C. In addition, the ratings on four MH classes were affirmed. Fitch attributed the downgrades to continued poor collateral performance. The rating agency noted that Greenpoint exited the manufactured housing lending business in 2002, but continued to service its MH portfolio until the assets and servicing rights were acquired by GreenTree Servicing in the fourth quarter of 2004.

Twelve classes of United Companies Financial Corp. manufactured housing securitizations have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades of United Companies Funding Inc. transactions were as follows: series 1996-1, class A-6, from AAA to AA-minus, and class M, from B-minus to C; series 1997-1, class M, from B-minus to C; series 1997-3, class A-4, from AA-plus to BBB, and class M, from CCC to C. In addition, Fitch downgraded the following classes: series 1997-4, class A-4, from AA to A-minus, and class M, from B-minus to C; series 1998-1, class A-3, from AA to AA-minus; series 1998-2, class A-4, from AA-minus to BB, and class M-1, from BB-minus to B; and series 1998-3, class A-1, from A-plus to BB, and class M-1, from BB-minus to B. Fitch also affirmed the ratings on nine classes of UCFC deals. The downgrades were prompted by the poor performance of the collateral, Fitch said. The rating agency noted that UCFC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2000, and its manufactured housing portfolio, servicing rights, and residual interests were acquired by EMC, a subsidiary of Bear Stearns Cos. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

In the second quarter, 74% of the homeowners who refinanced their homes got a mortgage at least 5% larger than the original loan, the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2000, according to Freddie Mac.The percentage was up from 64% in the previous quarter and far higher than the 43% level recorded a year earlier, the government-sponsored enterprise said in its quarterly refinance review. "Interest rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped lower in the second quarter, spurring refinance activity higher," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Mortgage borrowers took advantage of these low rates by cashing out some home equity before rates go up, as they are expected to in coming quarters." The GSE is forecasting that 30-year fixed mortgage rates will rise through the end of the year, averaging about 6% in the fourth quarter. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has announced that its LSI Market Intelligence division is now offering a Natural Disaster Condition Report to lenders nationwide.Based on data gleaned from the company's network of nearly 30,000 real estate professionals, the inspection report provides detailed information on the condition of a specified property in the aftermath of a natural disaster, FNF said. For lenders with transactions pending mortgage funding in a disaster area, the report helps them determine the existence and condition of subject properties. "In addition to stating whether damage to specific exterior features has occurred, this report provides percentage ranges that indicate the degree of that damage and a photograph to support those findings," the company said. FNF, a provider of products and services to the financial and real estate industries, can be found online at http://www.fnf.com.

Ocwen Financial Corp. has reported a 67% drop in second-quarter profits due to increased expenses and lower property intake under a Department of Veterans Affairs real-estate-owned contract.The West Palm Beach, Fla., servicing company posted second quarter earnings of $2.9 million, compared with $9.1 million in the second quarter of 2004. Ocwen chairman and chief executive William Erbey said the company's servicing and loan processing units achieved revenue growth, but a "sharply reduced" number of VA foreclosed properties and other factors offset those positive trends. In early 2004, Ocwen took over the management of 11,000 foreclosed single-family homes from the VA. VA foreclosures have slowed since then, and the department is delivering fewer properties as the REO is sold off. "They're selling at a pretty rapid rate but they are getting fewer properties," a VA official said. The company also reported the completion of its "debanking" initiative in the second quarter through selling the deposits of Ocwen Federal Bank FSB and surrendering its thrift charter. All the remaining assets and liabilities of the bank have been transferred to Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, a new subsidiary of OFC, the company said.