Fitch Ratings has upgraded Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp.'s (TBW) U.S. residential servicer rating(s) as follows:
--Primary servicer rating for Prime product to 'RPS3+' from 'RPS3';
--Primary servicer rating for Alt-A product to 'RPS3+' from 'RPS3'.
The rating actions reflect TBW's continued investment in its integrated technology and its established training programs and effective servicing platform. The ratings are also based on TBW's highly experienced senior management team, which averages 20 years industry experience and 10 years company tenure. Additionally, TBW has worked to lower its staff turnover rate to 13% from 26% in 2007. Fitch does not publicly rate the credit or financial strength of TBW. However, Fitch's financial institutions group did review TBW's financial statements to provide an internal assessment, as a company's financial condition is an important component of Fitch's servicer rating analysis.
Headquartered in Ocala, Fl, TBW is a privately held mortgage banking firm specializing in the origination and servicing of prime and Alt-A residential mortgage loans. Established in 1982 and privately acquired in 1991, the company increased its presence to become a full-service mortgage banking firm serving community banks and brokers.
As of Dec. 31, 2007, TBW serviced more than 359,587 loans totaling $59.9 billion. TBW has been servicing residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) for more than two years and its current RMBS portfolio totals more than $3.6 billion. The company's Alt-A portfolio totaled $4.8 billion.
TBW has over 40 branch offices and nine operation centers for underwriting and closings. The company's servicing locations are in Ocala, Fl and Cincinnati, OH with a call center in Salt Lake City, UT. The new facilities in Cincinnati and Salt Lake City provide the company with increased capacity, geographic diversity and access to additional labor markets.
Fitch's review confirmed that TBW has a capable servicing platform with integrated technology and established training programs, policies, and procedures in place to manage its primary servicing operations. Fitch will continue to monitor TBW's efforts to maintain performance in a rising delinquency environment
Fitch rates residential mortgage primary, master, and special servicers on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest rating. Within some of these rating levels, Fitch further differentiates ratings by plus (+) and minus (-) as well as the flat rating. For more information on Fitch's residential servicer rating program, please see Fitch's report 'Rating U.S. Residential Mortgage Servicers', dated Nov. 29, 2006, which is available on the Fitch Ratings web site at www.fitchratings.com.
Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.
