Exams by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2015 uncovered a number of problems at rating services large and small, according to a report released by the SEC at the end of December. However, the firms weren’t identified by name because the exams aren’t public. The report is a laundry list of findings involving the 10 nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, six of which are involved in the MBS and ABS markets. The findings came from exams that focused on activities in 2014. Offending rating services generally were referred to solely based on their size, with Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s referred to as “larger” rating services and the other companies referred to as “smaller” rating services. The SEC said...
A case in bankruptcy court regarding the priority of payment provisions for collateralized debt obligations could have broad ramifications for derivatives transactions at the heart of the structured finance industry, according to the Structured Finance Industry Group and other industry groups. In late December, SFIG filed an amicus brief in Lehman Brothers Special Financing v. Bank of America, which is being heard in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association filed a separate brief, making points similar to those raised by SFIG. LBSF is suing...
The prospects for consumer ABS in 2016 are a bit mixed. Auto ABS – especially subprime – appear susceptible to the Federal Reserve’s promised raising of interest rates this year and beyond, but credit card ABS are strong and performing well. “Rising interest rates could pressure U.S. auto ABS transactions, especially first on subprime deals,” analysts at Fitch Ratings said in a recent client note. While they expect last month’s initial rate increase by the Fed to have only a marginal near-term impact on borrowers, they said the plan to raise rates gradually over four years could increase the monthly debt burden on auto loan borrowers. “Although the rate increases are expected to affect the entire market, Fitch believes...
Freddie Announces New Alliance with Lenders One. Freddie Mac has teamed up with Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative, based in St. Louis, to give Lenders One members who are Freddie seller/servicers pricing and execution benefits, enhanced access to mortgage products, and professional training and development opportunities. Freddie did not provide additional details on specific pricing benefits .Chris Boyle, senior vice president of single-family sales and relationship management at Freddie, said Freddie Mac is pleased to “help its members reach more eligible borrowers, achieve new efficiencies in the origination process and build strong, competitive businesses.” In related news, Lenders One is still...
Although the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently issued a “clarifying” letter on errors tied to the so-called TRID integrated disclosure rule, deep concerns remain among originators that fund non-agency product for sale into the secondary market. Moreover, according to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance over the past week, some nonbank lenders are seeing noticeable increases in origination costs because loans are taking longer to close and therefore remain on warehouse lines for an extended period of time. Because nonbanks fund almost all of their production using warehouse credit, the implication boils down...
Mortgage industry representatives are meeting this week with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray in another attempt to squeeze out additional clarification to help lenders comply with the bureau’s integrated disclosure rule, which took effect Oct. 3, 2015. The ambiguity and confusion engendered by the rule continues to contribute to mortgage closing delays throughout the country, according to many top industry officials. Executives of the Independent Community Bankers of America were scheduled...
Quicken Loans is considering its next move – possibly a change of litigation venue – following last week’s ruling by a Michigan federal district court dismissing the lender’s lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Justice Department for failure to state a claim. The lawsuit, which challenged the DOJ’s use of the False Claim Act and HUD’s use of statistical sampling in post-endorsement loan reviews, was filed in April 2015, a week before the DOJ sued Quicken for allegedly filing false claims on FHA mortgages and other violations. Quicken’s lawsuit claimed...
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