Servicing

Michael Commaroto, who oversees the mortgage group at Deutsche Bank (including its whole-loan trading desk), is leaving the firm effective Jan. 1, according to industry sources.At deadline time, Mr. Commaroto, who is listed in Securities and Exchange Commission documents as president of Deutsche Mortgage Securities, had not returned a telephone message. A spokeswoman for DB also could not be reached. One source, requesting that his name not be used, said significant changes are coming to Deutsche Bank's mortgage trading operation. Last year, DB bought MortgageIT, a fast-growing mortgage banking firm that funded nonprime and prime loans through different production channels. Deutsche Bank can be found online at http://www.deutsche-bank.com.

NeighborWorks America has announced that it trained more than 200 homeownership counselors in foreclosure intervention at a recent NeighborWorks Training Institute, the highest number the organization has trained in foreclosure at such an institute.The organization said it has trained over 3,300 foreclosure counselors in the last four years, and expects to award 2,800 professional certificates to foreclosure counselors in 2008. "With more than two million adjustable-rate mortgages expected to reset in 2008, we are working to equip more counselors with the knowledge and skills they need to help homeowners in their communities avoid foreclosure and sustain homeownership," said Ken Wade, chief executive officer of NeighborWorks America. The organization can be found online at http://www.nw.org.

Two classes of Amortizing Residential Collateral mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.Class M1 of series 2001-BC5 was downgraded from BB-plus to CCC/DR2, and class M9 of series 2004-1 was downgraded from BB-plus to CCC/DR1. In addition, class M8 of series 2004-1 was placed on Rating Watch Negative, and the ratings on nine other classes in the two transactions were affirmed. The negative rating actions reflect deterioration in the relationship between credit enhancement and expected losses, Fitch said.

Three classes of Structured Asset Securities Corp. series 2003-AL1 mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: class B3, from BBB to BBB-minus; class B4, from BB to B (and placed on Rating Watch Negative); and class B5, from B to B-minus/DR1 (and removed from Rating Watch Negative). Fitch said the negative rating actions were based on deterioration in the relationship between credit enhancement and expected losses.

Eight classes of Finance America mortgage pass-through certificates from series 2004-1 and series 2004-3 have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.Fitch also placed three classes on Rating Watch Negative, removed two classes from Rating Watch Negative, and affirmed the ratings on 10 other classes in the two deals. The negative rating actions were attributed to deterioration in the relationship between credit enhancement and expected losses.

Sixty classes of mortgage-backed securities from four issuers have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings as a result of changes to its subprime loss forecasting assumptions.Fitch also placed seven classes on Rating Watch Negative, removed two classes from Rating Watch Negative, and affirmed the ratings on classes with outstanding balances of approximately $6.8 billion. Securities affected by the latest downgrades were as follows: 28 classes from five issues of SAIL mortgage pass-through certificates; 26 classes from eight issues of Morgan Stanley mortgage pass-throughs; five classes from one issue of Saxon Asset Securities Trust mortgage pass-throughs; and one class of SASCO mortgage pass-throughs. The rating actions were attributed to changes in Fitch's subprime loss forecasting assumptions that "better capture the deteriorating performance of pools from 2006 and late 2005 with regard to continued poor loan performance and home price weakness."

The long- and short-term Issuer Default Ratings of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings, which cited the bank's exposure to subprime residential mortgage-backed securities.The bank's IDRs stand at AA-minus/F1-plus. (Certain other ratings of CIBC and Canadian Imperial Holdings Inc. were also placed on Rating Watch Negative.) CIBC has "significant exposure" to U.S. collateral debt obligations composed largely of subprime RMBS, and its portfolio has been hedged with credit default swaps, Fitch reported. A "significant portion" of the swap protection, $3.5 billion, was written by a now-weak financial guarantor, and the bank will "most likely take a significant charge" against the exposure, Fitch said.

Citing sensitivity to the residential mortgage market, Fitch Ratings has revised the rating outlook on Bank of America Corp. and its subsidiaries from stable to negative, while affirming all their outstanding ratings.The rating agency noted that the management of BoA recently announced that it will "increase provisions substantially to offset deterioration in home equity loans, and negative mark-to-market valuations in its mortgage-related holdings of collateralized debt obligations will be larger than previously anticipated." BoA said its earnings in the fourth quarter will decline "substantially" from previous levels. Fitch said it believes that unfavorable conditions in the credit markets will continue beyond the fourth quarter and "could put significant pressure on earnings into 2008." Fitch can be found on the Web at http://www.fitchratings.com.

The Individual rating of Fifth Third Bancorp has been lowered from A/B to B by Fitch Ratings, which cited concerns about the company's exposure in its home equity and commercial mortgage portfolios, among other factors.The rating outlook for Fifth Third has been revised from stable to negative, although its long- and short-term Issuer Default Ratings have been affirmed at AA-minus/F1-plus. The negative rating actions stem from "deteriorating trends in asset quality and expectations for higher credit costs that will continue to pressure earnings," Fitch said. (Individual ratings, assigned only to banks, assess how a bank would be viewed if it could not rely on external support, and are designed to assess a bank's exposure to and management of risk, Fitch says.) The rating agency said there had been "broad-based deterioration" in net chargeoffs and nonperforming assets since March. "While Fitch had anticipated some deterioration given the Midwestern footprint and exposure to residential and construction lending, the unprecedented stress (particularly in Florida) and difficult market conditions exceeded Fitch internal estimates and support Fitch's outlook revision," the rating agency said.

The Federal Trade Commission has published a four-page report advising consumers to continue making mortgage payments "as usual" in the event that their lender closes or files for bankruptcy.The FTC informed consumers that loans and the rights to service loans are often bought and sold, so that the originating lender may not end up servicing its loan. The FTC noted that even if a servicer files for bankruptcy, its assets are typically sold under the supervision of a bankruptcy court and the servicing rights will be transferred to another lender.