Servicing

The Washtenaw Group Inc., a holding company for Washtenaw Mortgage Co., a wholesaler based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has reported a net loss of approximately $1.7 million ($0.37 per share) for the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $3.1 million ($0.69 per share) a year earlier.Mortgage origination volume totaled $169 million in the first quarter, down 57% from $394 million in the first quarter of 2004. Charles C. Huffman, chairman and chief executive officer of Washtenaw, noted that the company has introduced "many of the newest mortgage products," such as zero-downpayment, interest-only, and alternative-A loans. "In fact, we are expanding the criteria for alt-A mortgages to cast a wider net and attract additional borrowers," he said. "We are well positioned from product, personnel, and technology standpoints to take advantage of any uptick in business activity."

The variable-rate class A insured notes of seven GMACCM Mortgage Trust I deals have been downgraded from AAA to AA-plus by Fitch Ratings as a result of a downgrade of the insurance company that provided credit enhancement for the transactions.The affected transactions were as follows: series 1999-A, 1999-B, 1999-C, 1999-D, 1999-E, 1999-F, and 1999-G. Fitch said the ratings reflect the credit enhancement provided by insurance policies issued by American International Specialty Lines Insurance Co., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group Inc. The subsidiary was downgraded by Fitch, and the ratings on the transactions are "solely dependent upon the underlying credit of the insurance policy provider," Fitch said. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Meanwhile, RealtyTrac, another online foreclosure marketplace based in Lake Forest, Calif., has reported that the number of new properties in some stage of foreclosure accelerated in March.The company's Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report indicates that approximately 62,400 new foreclosure properties were added to the rolls in March, a 17% increase from the February number. "While some of the increase can be attributed to new counties in our coverage area, foreclosures clearly increased from February to March," said Jim Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer. "We'll be watching the April numbers very carefully to see if this is the beginning of a trend, or a one-month aberration." The company said five states accounted for more than 45% of all March foreclosures: Florida, Utah, Georgia, Texas, and Colorado. RealtyTrac can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com.

The nationwide inventory of foreclosed residential properties declined 5% in April, according to Foreclosure.com, an online foreclosure listing service based in Boca Raton, Fla.There were 27,417 new foreclosed residential properties listed in the United States in April, and such properties totaled 76,786 overall, the company reported. "The slight decrease in foreclosure inventory represents a stabilization in the housing market over the last month," said Brad Geisen, president and chief executive officer of Foreclosure.com. "The continued high inventory reflects the current interest rates and the leveling off of home values. Foreclosures remain prevalent in areas of the country where home values continue not to rise, such as Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, and Michigan." The company can be found online at http://www.foreclosure.com.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's disclosure rules for asset-backed securities, which servicers must comply with beginning Jan. 1, 2006, were adopted to deal with the fact that "one size does not fit all asset classes," according to Jennifer Williams, an attorney adviser with the SEC's Office of Rulemaking.Speaking at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Asset Administration and Technology conference in Chicago, Ms. Williams noted that while the rules were effective as of March, a transition period is in effect during which the disclosures are voluntary. Ms. Williams clarified that servicers need not disclose all their procedural details and that disclosures are limited to "what a reasonable investor would find material." For instance, facts relating to a servicer's operating policies that are immaterial to investors need not be disclosed. In addition, "sensitive pricing information" doesn't need to be disclosed. This means that a servicer has to make a judgment call, she noted. If a servicer does not disclose something that turns out to be material, she advised that the best course of action would be to contact the SEC staff in the post-offering period.

If the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act is not extended this year, there could be a bigger impact than was felt immediately after 9/11, according to Daniel Rubock, a vice president/senior credit officer with Moody's Investors Service.Speaking at a panel session at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Asset Administration and Technology conference in Chicago, Mr. Rubock noted that about 50%-75% of properties have conditional terrorism coverage and so a large chunk of it could disappear, creating a market disruption. If they want borrowers to get stand-alone coverage, servicers could cite court decisions favoring lenders, he said. Erin Stafford, a senior vice president with Dominion Bond Rating Service, said her company is adopting a "cautious approach," taking into account the possibility that the coverage may not be extended. Stephanie Petosa, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, said the rating agency is reviewing fusion deals (which combine large deals with smaller ones) and finding that larger trophy properties do have stand-alone terrorism coverage. Kathy Marquardt, senior vice president at GMAC Commercial Holding Corp., said the servicer community "doesn't want to deal with this." Some pooling and servicing agreements are requiring special servicers of "B" pieces to make decisions, she said.

The credit ratings of home loan and auto lender GMAC have been lowered to "junk/speculative grade" status by Standard & Poor's due to financial woes at GMAC's automotive corporate parent.S&P lowered GMAC's long-term corporate credit rating, along with GM's, to BB -- effectively putting it in the "junk" or speculative-grade category. Before the downgrade, which reflected S&P's conclusion "that management's strategies may be ineffective in addressing GM's competitive disadvantages," GMAC's long-term corporate credit carried the lowest possible investment-grade rating of BBB-minus, according to S&P. The rating outlook at deadline time was negative. GM had not responded to a request for comment by MortgageWire's deadline on May 6.

General Motors Acceptance Corp., Detroit, has restructured its residential mortgage business, placing both GMAC Mortgage Corp. and Residential Funding Corp. under a new holding company, while giving the unit $2 billion and naming industry veteran Thomas Jacob to the board.The move came about a day before Standard & Poor's cut the credit ratings of General Motors Acceptance Corp. to "junk/speculative grade" status due to financial woes at its automotive corporate parent (see item below). The new holding company, formed earlier this year, is called Residential Capital Corp. ResCap will seek a stand-alone credit rating, and the company said in a statement that it "expects to execute an operating agreement among itself, GM and GMAC during the second quarter of 2005." GMAC and RFC are ranked seventh and 11th, respectively, among all residential loan producers, according to the Quarterly Data Report. Mr. Jacob is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp.

A record half a million workers are now employed in the mortgage banking and brokerage sectors, according to preliminary government figures released May 6.In March, mortgage/nonmortgage broker employment totaled 126,600 jobs and real estate credit professionals accounted for 375,100 full-time positions, bringing total industry employment to 501,700, an 0.8% gain from February's level. The March figure is believed to be the largest industry employment reading ever recorded. Four years ago about 350,000 workers made their livelihoods from mortgages. Residential production is expected to reach $2.9 trillion or so this year, a slight gain from last year's volume but still below the record year of 2003, when $3.9 trillion worth of loans were funded.

MERS, the industry-owned system for tracking ownership of mortgage loans and servicing rights, has registered 30 million loans, according to the organization.MERS said it hit the 30 million mark, a 35% increase from one year earlier, on April 6. Decision One Mortgage, a Charlotte, N.C.-based division of the HSBC Group, registered the 30 millionth loan. The company has over 200,000 loans registered on MERS. Electronic registration eliminates the need for paper assignments when trading loans and servicing rights. MERS can be found on the Internet at http://www.mersinc.org.