Servicing

American Business Financial Services Inc., Philadelphia, has announced the election of four individuals to its board of directors, and stockholder approval of proposals dramatically increasing the number of authorized shares of common and preferred stock.Those elected to three-year terms on the board are as follows: Michael R. DeLuca, an 11-year veteran of the board; and Warren E. Palitz and Jeffrey S. Steinberg, who were named to the board in February. Harold E. Sussman, another 11-year board veteran, was elected to a one-year term. The proposals approved by stockholders included an increase in authorized common shares from 9 million to 209 million and an increase in authorized preferred shares from 3 million to 203 million. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.abfsonline.com.

Annaly Mortgage Management Inc., New York, has announced a merger agreement to acquire Fixed Income Discount Advisory Co., an affiliated investment adviser, for stock valued at $40.5 million to $90.0 million, depending on FIDAC's future revenues and pretax profits.Annaly said the New York-based FIDAC is a fee-based asset management business that managed, assisted in managing, or supervised approximately $13.1 billion in gross assets as of Sept. 30. Under the merger pact -- which provides for the merger of FIDAC into a newly formed Annaly subsidiary -- Annaly would issue common stock worth $40.5 million (as of Dec. 31) upon the consummation of the merger and would pay up to $49.5 million in additional common shares to FIDAC stockholders if FIDAC meets certain revenue and pretax profit targets over the next three years. Annaly, a mortgage real estate investment trust, can be found on the Internet at http://www.annaly.com.

Fitch Ratings has raised the residential primary servicer rating of CitiFinancial Mortgage Co., Dallas, from RPS3-plus to RPS2 for subprime loans.The upgrade was based on CFMC's "experienced management team, reliable loan administration processing and controls, effective default management strategies, and continued success in managing and resolving its delinquent portfolio," Fitch said. The rating agency also cited the financial strength of CFMC's parent, Citigroup, which is rated AA-plus by Fitch.

The residential master servicer rating of CitiMortgage Inc., St. Louis, has been raised by Fitch Ratings from RMS2-plus to RMS1-minus for prime loans.The rating agency also affirmed CitiMortgage's residential primary servicer rating at RPS1. Fitch said the upgrade of the master servicer rating was based on CitiMortgage's "continued effective performance in managing its $10 billion master servicing portfolio" and the "numerous efficiencies and enhanced reporting capabilities" created since the company completed its acquisition of First Nationwide Mortgage Corp.'s master servicing platform in November 2002. Fitch rates residential servicers on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest rating. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

A stock index of multifamily companies has hit a record high and outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index in 2003, according to the National Association of Home Builders.The NAHB-created multifamily stock index showed a gain of 20%, compared with a 15% gain by the S&P 500 (with dividends reinvested). "Investors are looking at multifamily companies as good, long-term investments and, despite some weakness in the rental market over the past two years, these stocks continue to perform well," said NAHB economist Elliot Eisenberg. The NAHB stock index includes 24 real estate investment trusts and four other publicly traded companies that derive 50% of their revenues from rental properties. Mr. Eisenberg created the index two years ago. The NAHB can be found online at http://www.nahb.com.

Freddie Mac has announced the deadlines for submitting stockholder proposals and director nominations to be included in the proxy statement for its annual stockholders' meeting and for qualifying to introduce proposals and nominations from the floor.To be considered for inclusion in the proxy statement, stockholder proposals must be submitted in writing to Freddie Mac and received by Jan. 30, the government-sponsored enterprise said. The deadline for receipt of written proposals and nominations to be introduced from the floor is Feb. 8. Freddie Mac said it expects to provide an annual report for 2002 at the stockholders' meeting, which it said will be held in the first quarter. Submissions should be sent to Corporate Secretary, Freddie Mac, 8200 Jones Branch Drive MS 200, McLean, Va. 22102. Procedural requirements for submissions can be found on Freddie Mac's website at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Peoples Bancorp, Marietta, Ohio, has reported the recent sale of approximately $55 million of mortgage-backed securities as part of a restructuring of its assets that will result in a pretax loss of $1.9 million in the fourth quarter.Peoples said it will reinvest the proceeds of the sales into other MBS that are expected to improve the yield on the approximately $53 million in net reinvestment by about 100 basis points. That is expected to increase interest income by about $530,000 in 2004, or about $0.03 per share after tax, the company said. "This asset restructuring complements our recent prepayment of select long-term liabilities," said Robert E. Evans, chairman and chief executive officer of Peoples. "While these actions lower current-year earnings, we believe it positions Peoples for long-term success." The company can be found on the Web at http://www.peoplesbancorp.com.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas has announced the appointment of seven new members to its advisory council.The new members are: Mary Ann Chavez, executive director of the Socorro County [N.M.] Housing Authority; Helena Cunningham, president of the Louisiana Housing Finance Authority; Mac Dodson, president of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority; Phillip Eide, vice president of the Enterprise Corp of the Delta in Jackson, Miss.; Shari Flynn, executive director of the Lubbock [Texas] Housing Finance Corp.; Wiley Hopkins, executive director of the Housing Authority of Travis County in Austin, Texas; and Sharron Welsh, executive director of the Santa Fe [N.M.] Housing Trust. The council consists of 15 representatives from state, community, and nonprofit organizations that advise the FHLBank's board of directors on affordable housing and economic development. The FHLBank can be found online at http://www.fhlb.com.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded six subordinate classes of securities from WMC Mortgage Loan Pass-Through Certificates series issued between 1997 and 2000.Moody's rating action stems from the subprime collateral's "weaker than anticipated performance" which led to downgrades in some classes. The downgraded classes are: the class M-2 (Baa2 from A2) and class B (B1 from Baa3) certificates in series 1997-2; the class M-2 (Baa1 from A2) and class B (Ba1 from Baa3) certificates in series 1998-1; and class M-2 (Baa1 from A2) and the class B (Ba1 from Baa3) certificates in series 1998-A. Moody's can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.

American Home Mortgage Investment, Melville, N.Y., has filed a universal shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the issuance of up to $500 million in equity and debt securities.Michael Strauss, chairman and CEO, AHMI, said in a statement released by the real estate investment trust that "the purpose of this shelf registration statement is to provide American Home with additional financial liquidity and flexibility to access the capital markets on a timely and cost effective basis. Once the registration statement is effective, depending on market conditions, we will have the ability to periodically raise capital for financing mortgage portfolio investments, increasing the size of our lending operations and for other general corporate purposes." The registration was not yet effective as of the morning of Dec. 24, according to the REIT.