Bair: Servicers Have Latitude to Restructure Deals

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair says accounting firms and industry groups have concluded that there is latitude in the accounting rules governing securitizations that allow servicers to actively restructure subprime loans facing foreclosure.She noted that the industry groups are committed to working with borrowers to prevent foreclosures and with community activists to reach borrowers that need to restructure their loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association has asked the Financial Accounting Standards Board for guidance on the FAS 140 servicing issues. "MBA believes restructurings of certain securitized residential mortgage loans that are widely anticipated to go into default will not cause qualified special-purpose entities holding restructured loans to be disqualifying, thereby forcing the transferors to record a repurchase of the loans," the association said. The FDIC chairman also reported that the regulators are near agreement on the subprime lending guidance when it comes to curbing stated-income loans and other issues. She said she expects the guidance to be issued no later than July.