Individuals and groups who invested in residential mortgage-backed securities are calling for servicers to pursue repurchases on loans with defective affidavits.
The request was made in a news release Friday from the Association of Mortgage Investors.
The Washington, D.C.-based association says it represents private investors, public and private pension funds, and endowments.
RMBS trustees are being called upon “to perform their fiduciary responsibilities” as some of the biggest U.S. mortgage servicers announce irregularities in the processing of legal affidavits.
“Trustees should publicly state to investors how they are responding to these problems,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. acknowledged that its unit is suspending some foreclosures to review how employees in its mortgage-foreclosure operations sign affidavits about loan documents.
GMAC Mortgage LLC made similar disclosures in a Sept. 17 memo to some of its real estate brokers and agents.
“Large mortgage servicers pursuing foreclosure actions have given courts inadequate and legally defective affidavits,” the Association of Mortgage Investors said in today’s news release. “This deficient approach undermines the integrity and the operational framework of the housing finance and mortgage system.”
So the group is demanding that RMBS servicers immediately pursue repurchases by parties that originated loans whenever the underlying loan files do not have the legal documents required under RMBS pooling and servicing agreements.
AMI is also requesting that RMBS trustees “promptly” audit and review losses to RMBS trusts as a result of defective servicer operations. Mortgage servicers should be held accountable, according to the investors.
“The capacity constraints at our nation’s largest servicers continue to be an issue of great concern to investors,” Association of Mortgage Investors Executive Director Chris Katopis state in the release. “We urge Ally, JP Morgan Chase, and all other servicers to invest the time and resources necessary to improve their operational infrastructure and to avoid situations where efficient mortgage servicing and collection practices are compromised.
“Furthermore, investors are deeply concerned about possible documentation inconsistencies related to mortgages that banks are controlling.”
Katopis said the capital of fixed-income investors is being destroyed by operational breakdowns.
