Servicing

CharterMac, New York, has reported the completion of its first offering of 4.40% cumulative perpetual convertible Community Reinvestment Act preferred shares, series A-1, at $50 per share.The company said the net proceeds of approximately $104.6 million will be used chiefly to acquire federally tax-exempt revenue bonds secured by mortgage loans on multifamily housing properties, as well as for general business purposes. The shares were offered to 17 financial institutions through Meridian Investments Inc., the placement agent. CharterMac can be found on the Web at http://www.chartermac.com.

Twelve classes from three issues of IndyMac Manufactured Housing contract pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: series 1997-1, classes A-2 to A-6, from A to B-plus; series 1998-1, classes A-3 to A-5, from BBB-plus to B; and series 1998-2, classes A-2 to A-4, from A to BB, and class M-1, from CC to C. The downgrades were attributed to continued poor performance of the underlying collateral. "The rating actions reflect Fitch's adjusted expectation that performance will remain relatively stable, and improvement will be limited," the rating agency said.

Three classes of Signal Securitization Corp./FirstFed Corp. manufactured housing transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: Signal Securitization Corp., series 1998-2, class A, from A to BBB-minus; FirstFed Corp., series 1996-1, class B, from B to CC; and FirstFed Corp., series 1997-2, class B, from B to CCC. In addition, the ratings on seven other classes from five transactions were affirmed. The downgrades were attributed to higher-than-expected losses that have resulted in "significant" interest shortfalls to various subordinate bonds in the deals, Fitch said. The rating agency noted that First Federal Savings and Loan Association had converted its charter to a national bank charter and changed its name to Signal Bank NA. The name of FirstFed Corp., the special-purpose entity involved in securitizing manufactured housing contracts, was then changed to Signal Securitization Corp. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

New York Mortgage Trust Inc. has announced the completion of its second securitization of loans originated entirely through the company's mortgage banking subsidiary, The New York Mortgage Co. LLC.The securitization, New York Mortgage Trust 2005-2, consists of approximately $239.5 million of notes backed by high-credit-quality, first-lien, adjustable-rate and hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage loans, the company said. NYMT said it will retain all the notes and treat them as debt for accounting and income-tax purposes. The weighted average loan-to-value ratio of the loans in the trust is approximately 69.8%, and the weighted average FICO score is approximately 736, NYMT said. RBS Greenwich Capital served as the underwriter for the transaction.

The National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp. is selling $500 million of three-year NRUCFC-secured notes to the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp.Farmer Mac said the notes are secured by mortgage debt issued by NRUCFC-member rural electric distribution cooperatives. NRUCFC is a privately owned, nongovernment organization that provides capital and financial products to approximately 1,000 electric cooperatives in 47 states. Farmer Mac, a congressionally chartered corporation that provides a secondary market for rural housing and agriculture-related mortgage debt, said the deal provides NRUCFC with a new source of liquidity for its rural utility cooperative members.

Credit Suisse First Boston says it has agreed to amend its letter of intent regarding the possible purchase of SPS Holdings, the parent of Select Portfolio Servicing, extending CSFB's option to acquire the mortgage servicer beyond the original expiration date of July 31."The proposed transaction is subject to the negotiation and execution of mutually acceptable definitive documentation," CSFB said, adding that there is no certainty that CSFB will consummate a deal to acquire SPS, which was formerly named Fairbanks Capital. CSFB did not set a new deadline for reaching a deal under the letter of intent.

Sixteen classes from eight mortgage-backed securities transactions issued in 2001 by Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp. have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service.In addition, Moody's upgraded one class from one of the CSFB deals and confirmed the rating on one other class. The downgrades were attributed to higher-than-expected losses, especially as a result of high loss severities. The securitizations are backed by pools of subprime first-lien adjustable- and fixed rate mortgages, Moody's said. The rating agency can be found on the Web at http://www.moodys.com.

The Prestwick Mortgage Group, Alexandria, Va., is brokering the sale of servicing rights on $150 to $210 million per quarter of Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights.The bulk flow portfolio's sample characteristics include an anticipated average Fannie Mae loan balance of $124,000 and Ginnie Mae balance of about $112,000. The loans will be made in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky. The seller is a bank-affiliated mortgage company. Bids are due Aug. 9.

Irwin Financial Corp., Columbus, Ind., has reported a mortgage-related net loss of $1.1 million ($0.04 per share) for the first quarter, compared with net income of $17.9 million ($0.60 per share) a year earlier.The mortgage banking segment recorded a $9.2 million loss in the second quarter, compared with net income of $5.5 million in the second quarter of 2004, the company reported. "The critical issues in our mortgage banking line of business are the low origination margins and the effectiveness of our management of the servicing asset," said Will Miller, Irwin Financial's chairman. "We are actively addressing both. On the production side, we have introduced a number of new, higher-margin products which have been well received both by our customers and by the secondary markets to whom we sell the loans. On the servicing asset management side, we have reduced our mark-to-market exposure through servicing sales." The company can be found online at http://www.irwinfinancial.com.

Six states account for more than half the nation's foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that claims the largest national database of troubled properties.Texas, Florida, California, Georgia, Ohio, and Illinois account for 37,249 of the 67,024 properties entering foreclosure nationwide in June, RealtyTrac said. The June total is a 7.4% increase from May's 62,432, and is the highest number so far this year. But RealtyTrac's chief executive officer, James Saccacio, said it is not cause for concern. "Tens of thousands of properties continue to fall into foreclosure each month, even in a generally strong real estate market," he said. The number of new repossessions in California was up 19% in June. But at the rate of one for every 2,773 households in the Golden State, that still represents less than two-thirds the national average of one repo per 1,726 households. In Texas, on the other hand, the foreclosure rate is 2.7 times the national average, or one per 636 households.