Secondary Market

The Manhattan-based asset management and capital markets firm NewOak Capital has announced the appointment of Rachel Gould as both general counsel and managing director, focusing on expansion of the company's solutions and advisory platform, which provides analytical and portfolio construction services to institutional investors and managers.

Freddie Mac announced Tuesday that beginning in January 2011, the company will begin disclosing pool-level delinquency data on a monthly basis for all single-family Freddie Mac Participation Certificate (PC) and Giant PC securities. Freddie Mac says providing this delinquency disclosure data at the pool level will make the company's delinquency disclosures consistent with an industry practice previously established by Ginnie Mae.

The recent optimism surrounding delinquencies on commercial real estate loans bundled into investment bonds has been hit with a blast of cold water. The rate of past due loans suddenly jumped in November after a big decline the month before. According to data from Trepp LLC, the percentage of loans held in U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) that were 30 or more days delinquent, in foreclosure, or REO rose 35 basis points in November to 8.93 percent, putting the value of delinquent loans at $60.3 billion.

CoreLogic Credco recently introduced FinalCheck, an automated, fully ""decisionable"" suite of prefunding risk evaluation products that instantly verify credit, application, and fraud data in an easy-to-read report for lenders. The company says FinalCheck is designed to help lenders satisfy GSE requirements, reduce repurchase risk, and increase loan delivery confidence.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have seen a steady falloff in the rate of loans 90 or more days overdue since early this year, but their latest figures show the rate continuing to head down for one, up for the other. Both GSEs have dialed up the pressure lately for big banks to buy back bad loans. But the lenders themselves are doing their own dialing up, only it's in the form of stronger resistance to repurchase requests. The two mortgage giants are planning to implement new lending guidelines and fee structures for riskier loans.

Clayton Holdings now offers loan administration and asset management services to investors in small balance commercial real estate loans via its Quantum Servicing unit. Quantum's commercial servicing division will primarily handle non-performing commercial loans - including acquisition, development, and construction (ADC); multi-family; and shopping center assets - valued at $5 million or less. Clayton says the division is already servicing approximately 6,000 small balance loans.

Two industry reports point to positive trends in the commercial property sector that experts are attributing to improved credit conditions. Moody's tracked a 4.3 percent increase in commercial property prices during September, marking the first rise in the company's index since May. Real Capital reports the volume of commercial real estate deals grew 5.9 percent from September to October, and the company is predicting an even stronger fourth quarter.

Berkadia Commercial Mortgage is expanding its commercial real estate financing options offered through its nationwide mortgage banking network. The addition of fixed-rate loans for inclusion in the new generation of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) is expected to be available in early 2011. Also under development is a short-term floating-rate loan program, which will provide temporary financing to select multifamily borrowers with pending Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac executions.

David Johnson will resign from his position of EVP and CFO at Fannie Mae by the end of the year, the GSE said in a regulatory filing this week. Until a successor is named, Johnson's No. 2, Deputy CFO David Hisey, will assume his responsibilities. Johnson stepped into the role two months after Fannie Mae was seized by the federal government in September 2008.

Mortgage Cadence, LLC announced it will support Fannie Mae's Loan Quality Initiative (LQI) with the direct integration of EarlyCheck. According to the company, the integration will validate critical data prior to delivering a loan to Fannie Mae and reduce funding and pooling delays after submission. EarlyCheck was developed by the GSE to ensure that delivered loans meet standard and negotiated terms with fewer delivery stops by providing identity checks, property and occupancy checks, and eligibility verification.