The clock is ticking on the phrase-out of the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, a benchmark the mortgage market has relied on for the past few decades. Now comes the debate: is it something to worry about or no big deal? A new report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch suggests that when it comes to MBS at least, the changes will be felt, depending on the sector. “Certain agency MBS cash flows will be impacted directly,” BAML notes. “For example, underlying cash flows on LIBOR-indexed hybrid ARMs may change if an alternate index is chosen.” The researchers noted...
In the new world of risk retention and commercial real estate securitization, direct issuance could be a potential financing alternative should third-party risk-retention capital become inadequate to meet demand, according to a CRE debt market expert. Direct issuance and other alternative types of transactions may become increasingly viable in addressing the difficulty of refreshing on an ongoing basis the amount of capital necessary to float the commercial MBS industry, said Rick Jones, a partner with Dechert and co-chair of the firm’s finance and real estate group. Jones cited...
The transition from a market hot with refinances to a more traditional purchase market has made the industry ripe for new and old mortgage fraud schemes, according to CoreLogic. The company’s National Fraud Risk Index reached 133 in the second quarter, a slight uptick from the first quarter, but it represents the highest it’s been since the index was introduced in 2010. That number was 122 in the fourth quarter of last year. With all of the moving parts and players involved in a purchase transaction versus a refinance, CoreLogic said, there are...
Investors in certain residential MBS transactions backed by defaulted mortgages in the run-up to the financial crisis are a step closer to being made whole, more than four years after the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a settlement with JPMorgan Securities, Bear Stearns and some affiliates over allegations they misled investors and mishandled bulk settlement proceeds. The case involved is Securities and Exchange Commission v. J. P. Morgan Securities LLC, EMC Mortgage, LLC, Bear Stearns Asset Backed Securities I, LLC, Structured Asset Mortgage Investments II, Inc., SACO I, Inc., and J. P. Morgan Acceptance Corporation I, Case No. 12-CV-1862 (RLW). In November 2012, the SEC filed...
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its housing-finance reform proposal would likely have little impact on consumer mortgage costs. Whether costs to consumers are modestly higher or lower will depend on how the different components suggested for reform are determined through the political process, according to the MBA. “While the precise impact on consumer costs from true housing-finance reform may be difficult to gauge, we know...
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