Moody's Cites Impact of Not Extending TRIA

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.