Skip to Content

Reinventing mortgage due diligence

Rating Agencies Under Fire- Again

The New Republic has posted an article by Alex Klein this week on failed (so far) efforts to enact a more rational regulatory framework for the rating agencies, which are in the news again as the threat of a downgrade for America’s AAA credit rating looms.

Bank of America Settlement: Turning Point for RMBS Investors

Bank of America’s $8.5 billion settlement with 22 mortgage-bond investors this week marks an important turning point for our industry, erasing some of the uncertainty that continues to drag down the RMBS sector.

It is the largest settlement with investors of its kind since the housing collapse and promises to pave the way for others. That is welcome news to investors who have for years now been pressing to be repaid for losses they believe they should not have taken.

The Golden Rule of Mortgage Loans

One thing investors all know is the golden rule of mortgage loans: a loan that pays is worth more than one that doesn’t pay.  The ways that a loan can pay are easy to list:

Meet Jim Wallace

-By Molly Bash, Manager of Corporate Communications-

I scheduled a meeting with Jim Wallace, a senior analyst at Allonhill, telling him “we’ve decided to begin profiling one interesting employee each month for the blog.  We’d like the first profile to be of you.”  Jim accepted my meeting invite without any questions, a testament to his laid-back, go-with-the-flow demeanor.

David Cooper's Story

My friend and former employee, David Cooper, was featured with his service dog, Parnelli (named for race car driver Parnelli Jones), on a National Geographic Wild documentary series “Blue Collar Dogs” this week.

David lost his sight when he was 17, in a warm-up run for a ski race on Aspen Mountain. I first met him in June 2001, when he applied for a summer internship with my first company, Murrayhill. I was impressed by David’s desire to learn the mortgage industry and hired him, thinking he would eventually make a good analyst on our credit risk management team.

On Jobs, and I Don't Mean Employment

Steve Jobs is taking another medical leave of absence from his day-to-day duties as CEO of Apple this week, and I am deeply moved by it.

The vision and principle Jobs poured into Apple helped inspire me to start my own company.

Due Diligence Firms as Experts

Should due diligence firms be viewed as experts on mortgage securitizations, in much the same way accounting firms are viewed as experts on audited financial statements?  Some in our industry say no.  I say yes.  Here's why.

Allonhill Academy

About six weeks ago, I ran into Colorado State Senator Chris Romer at a charity function.  He asked me how things were going, and I did what I do best: I left off the sugar-coating and told him how I really felt.

Hyper Growth at the Hill

Up until last Thursday, when we've wanted to get together as a company for a meeting or for training, we've had to use makeshift space in our offices.  Our offices were opportunistically leased from a company that had too much space in the bad market of 2009.  We took it furnished and finished, and it was much nicer than we probably would have been willing to spend money on.  But it was the back office space of the prior tenant, so it didn't come with some of the basics you expect in an office, like a reception area or conference rooms.

RMBS Fallout: Were Investors Duped?

One positive outcome from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission so far is the increased attention to the mortgage due diligence process for residential mortgage-backed securities.

Syndicate content