Origination

Colonial BancGroup, the nation's largest warehouse provider, has received a $300 million capital commitment from mortgage banker Taylor, Bean & Whitaker and other investors, an infusion that will aid in the bank's near-term survival. Described as the lead investor in the deal, TBW is also a warehouse lending customer of Colonial's. The deal was announced late Tuesday afternoon and no other details were released concerning the other investors. Based in Ocala, Fla., TBW is a privately held S&L holding company. According to the Quarterly Data Report, TBW is the nation's eighth largest lender overall and second largest wholesaler. The Alabama-based bank needs to raise $300 million in private equity before it can become eligible for $550 million in Federal TARP funds. According to a statement released by the bank, TBW's investment is contingent upon the Treasury agreeing to infuse the $550 million into Colonial. Once the deal is completed the investor group led by TBW will control 75% of the Alabama bank. On Tuesday, National Mortgage News reported that Colonial had been approaching "mortgage banking companies" about being part of the investor group.

Colonial BancGroup, the nation's largest warehouse provider, has received a $300 million capital commitment from mortgage banker Taylor, Bean & Whitaker and other investors, an infusion that will aid in the bank's near-term survival.Described as the lead investor in the deal, TBW is also a warehouse lending customer of Colonial's. The deal was announced late Tuesday afternoon and no other details were released concerning the other investors. Based in Ocala, Fla., TBW is a privately held S&L holding company. According to the Quarterly Data Report, TBW is the nation's eighth largest lender overall and second largest wholesaler. The Alabama-based bank needs to raise $300 million in private equity before it can become eligible for $550 million in Federal TARP funds. According to a statement released by the bank, TBW's investment is contingent upon the Treasury agreeing to infuse the $550 million into Colonial. Once the deal is completed the investor group led by TBW will control 75% of the Alabama bank. Yesterday National Mortgage News reported that Colonial had been approaching "mortgage banking companies" about being part of the investor group.

For several years now reverse mortgage originators have been anxiously awaiting the "reverse for purchase" program from The Federal Housing Administration. On Jan. 1, 2009, that wait was over as the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 made this a reality. More accurately called, HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) for Purchase, it will allow seniors age 62 and over to use a reverse mortgage insured by FHA to purchase a principal residence.

Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Arlington, Va., has received a waiver from the lenders of its senior credit facility through June 30.The waiver covers a violation of the facility's terms that require Interstate's common stock maintain its listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The NYSE suspended trading of Interstate's stock on March 12 after the company failed to meet the minimum $15 million market capitalization requirement. The real estate investment trust currently trades on the over-the-counter market as it waits for the NYSE to rule on its appeal. As part of the waiver agreement, the interest rate on the credit facility was increased 75 basis points to LIBOR plus 350 basis points. In addition, the company paid a 50 basis point fee to consenting lenders, and the facility size was permanently reduced to $173.3 million from $198.0 million. The new facility size provides for $10 million of borrowing capacity, of which $6 million is available through June 30. The company does not expect to draw on the facility during the waiver period.

Prior to the recent sale of the government-owned IndyMac FSB to an investor group, Fannie Mae settled a $1 billion-plus buyback dispute with the thrift but all the parties involved are keeping the settlement secret.Representatives from IndyMac's new owners (Dune Capital), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and Fannie all confirmed that the dispute was settled but have declined to say on what terms. A source familiar with the matter said the amount of loans Fannie wanted IndyMac to repurchase totaled about $1 billion. Loan buyback requests typically come about when a buyer of mortgages discovers that the portfolio acquired has early payment defaults or higher-than-anticipated delinquencies.

Colonial BancGroup, the nation's largest warehouse provider, is talking to an investor group that includes some of its mortgage customers about supplying much-needed capital to the bank, a source familiar with the matter told National Mortgage News. The Alabama-based bank needs to raise $300 million in private equity before it can become eligible for $550 million in Federal TARP funds. The source, requesting anonymity, said Colonial is approaching "mortgage banking companies" about being part of the investor group. The Wall Street Journal reported that non-bank lender Taylor Bean & Whitaker, Ocala, Fla., is part of that group and that TBW has a thrift affiliate that would be part of the deal. The newspaper says that the plan would be to convert Colonial from a commercial bank into a thrift. At press time officials from both Colonial and TBW declined to comment or had not returned telephone calls about the matter.

Pennant Capital Management, the largest shareholder in PHH Corp., Mt. Laurel, N.J., is seeking to install former Freddie Mac CEO Greg Parseghian and another candidate on the lender's board.In a new public filing Pennant, a hedge fund, says it wants Mr. Parseghian and Allan Z. Loren elected as directors at the PHH annual meeting in June. A proxy filing is forthcoming. Mr. Loren is the former chairman of Dun & Bradsheet, a business information publisher. Mr. Parseghian left Freddie Mac under a cloud in the summer of 2003 in the midst of a $5 billion accounting scandal. An independent report said Mr. Parseghian, while serving as a Freddie Mac executive, approved accounting treatments for different transactions that had the effect of the GSE under-reporting earnings. It is unclear from the SEC filing what ties Messrs. Parseghian and Loren have to Pennant. A spokesman from Pennant did not return a telephone call. At press time PHH — the nation's 10th largest residential servicer — had no comment on the matter. Pennant owns 9.97% of PHH's common.

The common stock of Walter Investment Management Co., the surviving entity of a merger between Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings Inc., Edison, N.J., and the mortgage financing business of Walter Industries, Tampa, Fla., will be listed on the NYSE Amex exchange. This transaction is expected to close on April 17 and the new stock, using the symbol WAC, will begin trading on April 20. Starting on March 27, the surviving company stock began trading on NYSE Amex on a "when issued" basis using the symbol WAC-WI. It closed on at $8.50 per share on that day; on the same day Hanover closed at $0.19 per share. Hanover is holding a special meeting on April 15 for its shareholders to approve the transaction. Walter shareholders do not have to approve the deal. Terms of the deal have every 50 shares of Hanover becoming a single share of Walter Investment Management.

JER Investors Trust Inc., a commercial real estate investment trust, said the New York Stock Exchange will permanently delist its common stock on Tuesday. The delisting will occur prior to the opening of trading that day, the REIT said. Its stock will continue to trade in the over-the-counter market. The delisting resulted from the REIT's failure to maintain a 30-day trailing average global equity market capitalization of at least $15 million as required by the NYSE. The REIT had $743.5 million in CRE mortgage-backed securities as of Sept 30, 2008. JER Investors Trust also said it has cancelled a previously planned public offering of $150 million in a new class A common stock due to market conditions. In addition, the REIT said it is discontinuing its regular quarterly dividend and will replace it with an annual dividend. JER is associated the J.E. Roberts Cos., McLean, Va.

The Rouse Co. LP failed to secure minimum acceptance levels for a consent solicitation from holders of unsecured notes issued under the 2006 senior credit agreement. However, Rouse's parent General Growth Properties Inc., Chicago, said it was continuing discussions with the ad hoc committee of the note holders and its syndicate of lenders. The solicitation would have given Rouse a forbearance of a payment default; the notes would have been due in April and May and acceptance of the solicitation would have delayed payment of the principal until the end of the year. The consent solicitation expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 27, 2009. "Although we did not achieve the minimum acceptance levels for each series of notes, we did receive a significant number of consents from the holders of all five series," said Adam Metz, chief executive of GCP. A recent note by Fitch Ratings on this solicitation said that without the exchange, Rouse is likely to file for bankruptcy.