Loss Mitigation

Losses from defaults on commercial real estate loans maturing in the next few years could go as high as $300 billion, threatening to topple nearly 3,000 community banks nationwide, a federal watchdog group has concluded. Market analysis by the Congressional Oversight Panel, charged with keeping tabs on the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), shows that none of the banks classified by federal guidelines as having a ""CRE Concentration"" are among the nation's largest holding companies.

According to Los Angeles attorney Jerome S. Cohen, a chapter 11 specialist, many investors have found themselves unable to service debt due to vacancies, tenant defaults, and other problems that have arisen as a result of the struggling economy. However, banks are highly motivated to turn problems into performing loans, and Cohen says there is an opportunity to find creative solutions to this increasingly common issue.

With tumbling property values leaving nearly a quarter of borrowers owing more on their mortgage than the home is worth, some may find it tempting to walk away - either to get out from under the debt completely or to force the servicer's hand for a modification. This idea of ""strategic default"" has become a universal concern within the industry, but one New Jersey company says it has a plan to counter such calculated flights of exodus. According to the Loan Value Group LLC, it's time to pay current borrowers to stay that way.

BOK Financial Corp. in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has acquired the rights to service a $4.1 billion portfolio of mortgage loans from Albuquerque, New Mexico's Charter Bank. The acquisition boosts BOK's current $7.4 billion servicing portfolio by 46 percent. The loans are predominantly held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae, with approximately three quarters from customers in New Mexico.

Following the recent enhancements to the federal government's HOPE for Homeowners (H4H) program, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has updated its library of H4H mortgage documents and consumer education materials. HUD's enhanced program includes several provisions meant to increase lender and borrower participation, including reduced program fees, streamlined borrower certification requirements, and new underwriting guidelines.

Along with a growth of staff and office space last year, Denver-based LenderLive Network, Inc. said 2009 brought an expansion of product offerings to its LenderLive Settlement Services division. To help servicers reduce costs and complete more loan modifications, the company provides outsourced fulfillment services and is able to seamlessly bundle these services with its title and recording offerings.

One of America's largest homebuilders is getting into the loan restructuring business. Lennar Corporation has purchased two loan portfolios from the FDIC worth $3 billion. Lennar paid $243 million for the portfolios, which include 5,500 distressed residential and commercial real estate loans from 22 failed banks. The Miami-based builder says acquiring and working out troubled real estate loans was an ""extremely profitable"" part of its business during the last real estate down cycle.

Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) has introduced a new bill, the Mortgage E-Verify Act. As a condition for modification of a home loan held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), it would require a homeowner to be verified under the E-Verify program, a system run by the U.S. government to certify a person's legal status.

Following in the steps of its sibling company, Fannie Mae has announced that it too will be buying back bad loans from mortgage-backed securities (MBS) investors in bulk. The GSE said it will begin ""significantly"" picking up the pace of its purchases of loans that are at least 120 days past due, beginning in March. Fannie did not disclose an exact dollar amount of the repurchases, but did say that as of December 31, the total of such loans was $127 billion.

As one of the nation's largest mortgage servicers, CitiMortgage is still contending with a deluge of foreclosures that just doesn't seem to be abating. The company is launching a new pilot initiative Friday that will allow distressed CitiMortgage borrowers to avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes for six months if they agree to sign over their property deeds. Citi will also provide relocation assistance to ease the transition to another residence.