Secondary Market

Attorneys general and federal regulators sat down with major servicers this week to discuss the details of the robo-signing settlement. Both sides have submitted their own version of what they believe a settlement should look like, and this week's meeting is just the first in what will likely be a long period of negotiations. Banks have repeatedly spoken out against what they believe to be terms that are too harsh and may even encourage moral hazard. Mortgage investors are also weighing in on the proposed terms.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced this week that Thomas T. Kim will serve as the association's new VP of commercial regulatory policy beginning April 14. He will manage activities relating to commercial regulatory issues, serve as the staff representative to the Commercial Risk Retention Task Force, and advance and promote commercial policy with a focus on federal financial regulatory reform and bank oversight. Prior to joining MBA, Kim was associate general counsel at Freddie Mac.

Blueberry Systems, LLC, a provider of mortgage production solutions to the financial services industry, recently enhanced its proprietary Conductor technology, a component of the company's flagship loan production platform, RELAY. The firms says the update gives mortgage lenders greater control over their loan data, which lowers the risk of errors and costly loan repurchases from mortgage investors.

In a legislative hearing scheduled for Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee will listen to eight proposals centered around winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on a faster timeline than proposed by the Obama administration last month. The eight proposals include measures to raise guarantee fees the GSEs will charge for mortgage-backed securities they insure and to prevent the GSEs from offering any new products while they are under conservatorship.

According to R. Aaronson, CEO of Hilco Real Estate LLC, the company will launch Hilco Real Estate Acquisitions Group to originate, underwrite, and acquire assets across a range of property classes and stages, including those in workout, foreclosure, and REO. Acquisition capital will come from various sources, including Hilco and investor partners selected for each transaction. The group's primary acquisition targets will be industrial and retail properties.

Allonhill, an independent third-party review firm specializing in mortgage due diligence and credit risk management, has hired Craig Wildrick as COO. Wildrick, a 20-year financial services veteran, is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations as well as the implementation and management of the company's due diligence and credit risk management services. He was formerly COO for Aurora Bank.

A push for servicers to implement principal write-downs and provide screening for as many modification options as possible before proceeding to foreclosure has been met with stiff resistance from servicers and some lawmakers. Meanwhile, the number of loan modifications pales in comparison to the number of foreclosures. But new data suggests that modifications and even write-downs in certain cases might actually be more beneficial to investors as well as struggling borrowers.

Opposition to the proposed servicer settlement developed a stronger stance this week as four attorneys general released a letter to Iowa's Tom Miller, who is leading the states' investigation. Attorneys general from Virginia, Texas, Florida, and South Carolina said while they support actions to correct problems unearthed by the robo-signing scandal, the proposal includes mandates and suggestions that are out of the scope of their enforcement role. They expressed particular uneasiness over the provisions surrounding principal write-downs.

Fitch Ratings has reviewed all U.S. subprime mortgage securitizations rated by the agency and found little change in expected losses for the bond investors as default risk improved slightly. However, the agency says loss severities have increased due to longer foreclosure timelines and still-declining home prices. Fitch says the average time to liquidate a distressed loan has increased by roughly six months from a year ago and now exceeds 20 months. Timelines are expected to increase further in 2011 as foreclosures continue to face procedural challenges.

The nation's second largest mortgage company says early workouts are central to its game plan for 2011. This ""nip it in the bud"" mindset can be key to getting in front of delinquencies before they turn into lost-cause foreclosures, and Freddie Mac says it's making changes to the way it evaluates the performance of mortgage servicers in order to ensure problem loans are tackled early on and increase the odds of getting borrowers back to performing status. Namely, the GSE is pushing servicers to make contact with homeowners by the third day of delinquency.