Servicing

In February the U.S. economy suffered its worst employment drop since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- but the mortgage industry continued to add jobs like there's no tomorrow.Mortgage employment totaled 421,000 full-time positions in February, a 1.8% gain from January's total and a stunning 17.5% increase from that of a year earlier, according to the Labor Department. Countrywide Home Loans chief Angelo Mozilo told MortgageWire March 5 that loan volumes continue to be strong at his shop. "We're gaining market share," he said. First Collateral's Lynn Merkle said his firm recently had its best day ever, funding 2,000 loans. "February is usually the low point in the cycle, but not this year," Mr. Merkle said. (First Collateral is a warehouse funder that finances mortgage bankers.) Application volumes slowed briefly in early February, lenders reported, but picked up again in recent weeks as mortgage rates fell to new lows.

The securitization of nonperforming and reperforming government-guaranteed loans is a fast-growing segment of the residential mortgage-backed securities market, according to Moody's Investors Service.Moody's said $20 billion of nonperforming and reperforming loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs were securitized in 2002, up from $7 billion in 2001. "The reperforming and nonperforming loans typically have been repurchased out of Ginnie Mae pools," said Warren Kornfeld, a Moody's analyst. He said the credit quality of the loans is "comparable to that of weaker-than-average subprime" MBS transactions. Moody's can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.

Washington Mutual Inc.'s fixed-income institutional broker-dealer has reported that it plans to expand its sales office in New York to include trading, compliance, and support functions.By expanding the office to include trading, WaMu Capital Corp. will have better access to Wall Street firms and increased market opportunities, Washington Mutual said. WaMu Capital is finalizing a midtown Manhattan location and expects the new office to open by the end of June. Washington Mutual can be found online at http://www.wamu.com.

First Republic Bank, San Francisco and its subsidiary, Trainer Wortham & Co., has reported that they have completed a $300 million collateralized bond obligation, the net proceeds of which have been used to purchase a portfolio of mortgage-related securities.The diversified portfolio purchased consists primarily of asset-backed, investment grade securities. These ABS are primarily residential mortgage-backed securities and commercial MBS. First Republic can be found online at http://www.firstrepublic.com.

Fannie Mae has priced $4 billion of three-year Benchmark Notes with a 2.125% coupon at 99.707.The joint lead managers for the issue (CUSIP 31359MQZ9) were HSBC Securities Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., and Morgan Stanley & Co. There were nine co-managers and a designated selling group comprised of 11 additional dealers. The issue is due April 15, 2006 and yields 2.223% at a spread of 65.5 basis points over the 5.625% U.S. Treasury due February 15, 2006. Settlement is scheduled for Feb. 28, and coupon payments will be made each April 15 and Oct. 15, beginning in April of 2003. Fannie Mae can be found on the Web at http://www.fanniemae.com.

The portfolio churning associated with refinancing appears to be reducing the productivity of loan servicing shops, according to research from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.The research was presented by Tony Ebers, executive vice president of IndyMac at the MBA's national servicing conference in New Orleans. The number of loans serviced per employee fell 11% in 2001 as the refinancing share of lending activity picked up steam. Lenders serviced 1,034 loans per employee in 2001, down from 1,162 in 2000. The MBA's website address is http://www.mbaa.org.

MCAP Financial Corp., Toronto has been added to the Standard & Poor's Select Servicer List as an "above average" primary servicer and as an "average" special servicer.S&P said MCAP's ranking is based on "the stability and experience of its management team and the high quality of the training and support provided to staff; its solid systems that provide for very good management of all key facets of mortgage application, administration and investor reporting; and stringent internal controls that ensure continuous review and audit of all procedures." MCAP is part of the MCAP group of companies, which operates in Canada and originates, funds and manages residential, commercial, and construction mortgage loans. The company also purchases and resells mortgages to third-party investors through its mortgage warehouse facility; and packages and securitizes mortgages for capital markets.

Callable securities have become a "cornerstone" in Fannie Mae's strategies, chief financial officer Timothy Howard said in a Webcast conference the morning of Feb. 27 that, among other things, highlighted efforts the company has undertaken to manage its risk and provide assurance to global debt investors.Mr. Howard said over 50% of Fannie's debt is "effectively" callable, allowing the company to get the optionality it needs. He also detailed the ways Fannie Mae has tested its ability to manage risk in various interest rate scenarios, during the Salomon Smith Barney conference. Mr. Howard said Fannie Mae focuses on such efforts due to its size, involvement in the international market and prominence in the U.S. financial system, all of which necessitate "the highest level of confidence" from its investor base. "We need to raise billions (of dollars) across the world in short period of time without questions about whether our debt is money good," he said.

Refinancing is likely to account for 23 -25% of loan origination activity even after interest rates start rising, according to Doug Duncan, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's chief economist.Mr. Duncan told attendees at the association's servicing conference in New Orleans that this will likely come as a surprise to many lenders as in the past refis have only reached level around 17%-18% in a rising rate scenario. He attributed to this to changing mortgage market dynamics that include an increase in cash-out refinance loans. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.

Countrywide chairman, chief executive and president Angelo Mozilo told investors on Feb. 25 that the company has met with regulators and is confident that it is using a conservative approach in valuing its mortgage servicing rights.Referencing a report issued earlier that day that indicated regulators would be stepping up their examinations of large servicing shops due to runoff concerns, Mr. Mozilo reassured investors during a Webcast forum that the company's valuations are in line with regulatory goals. He added that the company's MSR valuations have been more cautious than those of its peers. Countrywide can be found online at http://www.countrywide.com.