MBA Servicing & Tech Conference (Day 1): Federal Legislation; REMIC Rules; FDIC Safe Harbor; & Regulation AB
(Blogging from the MBA Servicing & Technology Conference . . . )
One phrase describes the majority of the content today at the sessions attended by me at the MBA Servicing & Technology Conference: "Change is now . . . we just don't know all of the details."
My take away is that some very significant work needs to be completed before the "new" CMBS 2.0 will be implemented to any significant level.
Here are some examples from sessions today:
- Reconciliation of H.B. 4176 and S. 3217: Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) talked about the importance of the CRE market to the broader economy, and briefly mentioned the status of the reconciliation of the House Bill H.R. 4176 and the Senate Bill S. 3217 (prior posting on two bills). My take on her talk? Short on details on the all-important reconciliation, and not enough guidance on "where" we are going . . . but then this morphed into the general theme of the day. (The Congresswoman nailed it: so, change is now . . . we just don't know all of the details.)
- REMIC Rules Need More Change - Unilateral Releases of Collateral: One session raised the continuing need of the IRS to modify collateral release rules found in changes to real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC) regulations (Treasury Decision 9463). This topic has been the focus of much discussion because the Treasury rule had the effect of imposing additional restrictions on collateral releases, when compared to the prior law - even when the release is expressly permitted under the loan documents. Currently, the rumor is the that the IRS is prepared to issue a new announcement resolving this problem. So, change is now . . . we just don't know all of the details.
- FDIC Safe Harbor Only Part of the Story: While the FDIC on May 11 issued a proposed rule to clarify the safe harbor protection in a conservatorship or receivership for financial assets transferred by an insured depository institution in connection with a securitization or participation, the FDIC is not the only regulatory body with a voice on this issue. For example, FASB rules 166 and 167 may require consolidation of those same assets with the bank that originated the securitized loans. ln addition, the SEC and the IRS may weigh in on the same issue. So, change is now . . . we just don't know all of the details.
- Regulation AB - Much Work Ahead: While this summary is short, the SEC's proposed changes to Regulation AB is @ 667 pages, and contains @ 300 questions. One session here at the Conference devoted 15 minutes to generally describe the challenges in the proposal; and an entire session during Tuesday at the Conference will be devoted to (literally) working on it. And much, much more work is being done by industry volunteers in analyzing and responding to the proposed changes. So, change is now . . . we just don't know all of the details.
Some heavy listing needs to be accomplished.
Question: are you seeing this differently? Please post a comment below.
