Groups Urge Updating of REMIC Regs

Regulations governing real estate mortgage investment conduits are outdated and should be amended, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association and other trade groups in the commercial real estate arena.In a comment letter to the Internal Revenue Service, the groups argue that the current regulations were adopted 15 years ago and don't address situations that now arise in the market for securitized commercial mortgage loans. The groups are urging the IRS to "amend the REMIC regulations to include additional types of permitted loan modifications that are responsive to situations that now arise regularly in the context of commercial loans." Some of the changes the groups want include additional flexibility in making changes in loan collateral, in the time a loan can be prepaid, and in the recourse/nonrecourse nature of a loan. The other signatories to the letter include the American Securitization Forum, the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association, and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.