Servicing

Anthracite Capital Inc., New York, has announced a $93.5 million capital investment in its common and preferred stock by DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners Inc. Anthracite reported that it has issued and sold to DLJ RECP $23.4 million of common stock at $6.69 per share and $70.1 million of cumulative redeemable convertible preferred stock. In connection with the preferred stock investment, Anthracite's board has been expanded to include Andrew P. Rifkin, managing partner of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners. Richard M. Shea, Anthracite's president and chief operating officer, said the transaction positions the company to respond to "the dislocations in the global credit markets." He noted that the investment by DLJ RECP represents the resumption of a strategic partnership that began in 1999 and ended in 2002. Anthracite, which is managed by Black/Rock Financial Management, can be found online at http://www.anthracitecapital.com.

Strategic Recovery Group LLC, a national mortgage asset recovery company based in Plano, Texas, has launched a special servicing unit, Acqura Loan Services, to meet the growing needs of lenders, hedge funds, and investors in distressed debt. Acqura, which began hiring personnel and developing proprietary scoring and servicing technology in mid-2007, offers a full spectrum of servicing, loss mitigation, and collection services and creates a customized risk-management solution for each of its clients, the parent company said. "At this stage in the credit cycle, lenders, Wall Street, and MBS/ABS investors realize they are facing a triple threat: the prospect of recession, the credit/liquidity problems, and falling home prices," said David Vida, chief executive officer of both Acqura and its parent. "What investors and issuers are looking for now are focused, innovative partners who can commit to higher service levels and deliver experienced asset managers and the latest technology to achieve better outcomes for both borrowers and investors."

Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Spring, Texas, has announced plans to expand its operations as a technology systems provider. A start-up just one year ago, the multifaceted company has come of age just as the leading edge of the 80 million-member baby boom generation enter their twilight years and has built a servicing portfolio of 7,500 loans. RMS says it will soon roll out a front-end reverse mortgage origination system dubbed RM Compass. "It's fully integrated with the servicing components in what we think is a better solution than what has been out there," chief operating officer Marc Helm said at the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association's eastern regional conference in Philadelphia. "We have had the opportunity to stand back, look at the industry, and build a state-of-the-art, integrated origination system and servicing system from scratch."

The troubled Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank is formulating a plan to continue to operate on a "stand-alone" basis now that merger discussions with the Dallas FHLBank have ended, and its president and chief executive, Mike Thomas, is stepping down as of April 11. The merger talks blew hot and cold over the past seven months as the Chicago FHLBank's financials continued to deteriorate. The Chicago bank recently said it expects to report a loss in the first quarter. "After extensive analysis and due diligence of the feasibility of combining the banks' business operations, the FHLB Chicago was unable to reach an agreement to merge with the Dallas Bank that would have maximized value to FHLB Chicago members," chairman David Kuhl said in a letter to the Chicago bank's members. Executive vice president Matthew Feldman will serve as acting president while a search is conducted to replace Mr. Thomas, who will receive a $1.1 million lump sum severance payment. Mr. Thomas was hired in August 2004 after a federal supervisor halted the growth of the bank's mortgage purchase program. Meanwhile, the Chicago bank is working on several initiatives, including a "new capital plan to stabilize the capital base and to restructure the balance sheet to improve long-term profitability," Mr. Kuhl said.

Texas Pacific Group, an investment fund managed by a former director of Washington Mutual, is talking to the Seattle thrift about injecting money into the troubled institution, industry sources have told MortgageWire. "We're trying to get it done quickly," said one source, requesting anonymity, "but there's no deal yet." It's expected that WaMu chief Kerry Killinger will stay with the organization, but there could be a wholesale restructuring of the savings-and-loan institution, the nation's largest. Other investors are involved as well, said one banker. In trading on Monday, WaMu's share price skyrocketed 25% to $12.76. News of Texas Pacific's interest in WaMu was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. David Bonderman, founding partner of Texas Pacific, served on WaMu's board but left in 2002. Mr. Bonderman used to work for the Bass Brothers, which at one point owned American Savings, a large California S&L that WaMu eventually purchased.

Forty-six tranches in seven subprime transactions issued by First Franklin Mortgage Loan Trust have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. The downgrades were attributed to a growing proportion of severely delinquent loans. "Timing of losses and in some cases, pending stepdown, will cause the protection available to the subordinated bonds to be diminished," Moody's said. The collateral consists primarily of first-lien subprime mortgage loans.

Ninety-six tranches from 16 alternative-A transactions issued by J.P. Morgan have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. Forty downgraded tranches remain on review for possible further downgrade, and eight other tranches were placed on review for possible downgrade. The negative rating actions, in general, were based on higher-than-expected rates of delinquency, foreclosure, and real estate owned in the underlying collateral relative to credit enhancement levels, Moody's said. The collateral consists primarily of first-lien, alt-A mortgage loans.

Moody's has placed 23 tranches from 11 residential mortgage-backed securitizations under review for possible downgrade following a review of jumbo prime residential MBS deals issued in 2006 and 2007. The actions were based on higher-than-expected rates of delinquency in the collateral relative to credit enhancement levels, Moody's said. Noting that downgrades in the jumbo sector have been rare in the past, the rating agency said the actions affect 5% of the total number of 2006 and 2007 jumbo transactions rated by Moody's. Despite weaker delinquency trends for the 2006-2007 vintages, Moody's said projected cumulative losses based on pipeline delinquencies in jumbo mortgage pools remain within original expectations. "Jumbo mortgages originated in 2006 and 2007 have demonstrated weaker performance than any vintage since 2001, primarily because they did not benefit from home price appreciation and the resulting build-up of homeowner equity," Moody's said. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.

Huntington Bancshares, Columbus, Ohio, has been designated the "Bear of the Day" for April 4 by Zacks Equity Research, Chicago. The Bear of the Day is a stock expected to underperform the markets over the next three to six months. "The merger with Sky Financial has weighed on the share price in the current quarter, with the potential for negative implications over the next several quarters," Zacks said. "The relationship with Franklin, inherited with the aforementioned acquisition, contributed significantly to this loss." The research firm noted the weaknesses in the housing and credit environment and said they "are expected to overhang the market in 2008." Zacks can be found online at http://www.zacks.com, and Huntington can be found at http://www.huntington.com.

Radian Guaranty, a Philadelphia-based mortgage insurer, has announced the introduction of Radian FastAdvance, a program aimed at helping servicers assist distressed homeowners via loan modifications and customized repayment plans. "Since there is no single solution that will help every borrower, Radian is advancing funds to servicers so they can take the specific action required to keep borrowers in their homes rather than proceeding with a stressful and costly foreclosure process," the company said. Radian also announced a partnership with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley that will provide education, customized assistance, and a method of direct communication between borrowers and servicers using the Radian FastAdvance program. Radian can be found online at http://www.radian.biz.