The upgrade to Moody's originator assessment is due in large part to the improvement in Chase's early loan performance. Other positive factors include, but are not limited to, the increased clarity of Chase's underwriting guidelines for evaluating borrower income, debt and assets; the establishment of a link between loan officer compensation and loan performance; and the good tracking and low level of exceptions to the underwriting guidelines.
Moody's originator assessment scale consists of the following rankings: Strong, Above Average, Average, Below Average and Weak.
Moody's assesses Chase's loan performance as Strong
One of the key originator assessment components is Moody's assessment of early loan performance in comparison to those of other originators and to industry averages. Based on loan level information from Chase, Moody's found that only six of the approximately 10,700 jumbo loans Chase had originated between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2012 (the review period) had become 60-plus delinquent within 24 months of origination. In the three full years to 30 June 2012, only 11 of just over 12,500 jumbo loans Chase originated had become 60-plus delinquent within 24 months of origination. Chase held in its portfolio all of the jumbo loans it had originated over the past three years and therefore had no investor repurchase requests.
Moody's assesses Chase's originator ability as Above Average.
Moody's Above Average assessment of Chase's originator ability is based partly on Moody's Strong assessment of Chase's credit risk management. Moody's assessed all of the other components of Chase's originator ability as Above Average; these components include Chase's sales & marketing, underwriting, property valuation and closing practices, and third-party originator management.
Moody's assesses Chase's originator stability as Above Average.
Moody's Above Average assessment of Chase's originator stability is based on, among other things, Chase's Strong management strength & staff quality and technology. Moody's also assesses Chase's financial strength as Strong primarily because of the credit quality of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (deposit rating of Aa3 with stable outlook, a standalone bank financial strength rating of C, which maps to a3 on the long-term scale, with stable outlook, and a short-term rating of P-1). Moody's also assesses Chase's quality control & audit functions as Above Average. Finally, Moody's assesses Chase's legal & regulatory oversight as Average, largely because of a significant amount of litigation in comparison to other large originators who were active during the housing boom.
The methodology Moody's used for this assessment is "Moody's Enhanced Approach to Originator Assessments for U.S. Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS)," September 2009, which is available at http://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-Enhanced-Approach-to-Originator-Assessments-for-US-Residential-Mortgage--PBS_SF148785.
Moody's full originator assessment report for Chase is available at http://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBS_SF303937
Kathryn E Kelbaugh Vice President - Senior Analyst Structured Finance Group Moody'sInvestors Service, Inc.250 Greenwich StreetNew York, NY 10007 U.S.A. JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376 SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653Kruti Muni VP - Senior Credit Officer Structured Finance Group JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376 SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service, Inc.250 Greenwich StreetNew York, NY 10007 U.S.A. JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376 SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653(C) 2012 Moody's Investors Service, Inc. and/or its licensors and affiliates (collectively, "MOODY'S"). All rights reserved.
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