TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/105753
the latest Or ig i nat ion SECONDARY MARKET CRE Financing Shows 'Sharp' Uptick Concluding 2012 on a high note, online transaction metrics displayed a rise in commercial lending activity. s e c on da r y m a r k e t a na ly t ic s se r v ic i ng C UBS Makes Second Attempt to Block FHFA Lawsuit Though the bank already failed in its first effort to have the suit dismissed, UBS has re-filed, accusing the FHFA of trying to "shift" blame for the mortgage crisis. A fter losing a previous bid earlier last year, UBS is making another attempt to shut down a lawsuit from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The bank is one of a number of defendants facing suits from the FHFA over the sales of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The securities cost the GSEs billions of dollars when they collapsed during the housing crash. The FHFA alleges the banks that sold the securities misrepresented the underwriting and stability of the loans they contained. In its argument to dismiss, UBS says the FHFA 72 | The M Report took too long to act on its claims, which expired in 2010. The agency first brought claims against UBS in 2011. District Judge Denise Cote ruled against UBS' motion to dismiss in May, saying the law that established the FHFA gives it three years from the start of its conservatorship to pursue losses over the allegedly misrepresented securities. Since that time, Cote has rejected motions to dismiss from several other banks under fire from the FHFA, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit. While UBS may have lost that battle, it hasn't bowed out of the war yet. The bank argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan, once again stressing that the lawsuit may open itself and other banks up to claims that have otherwise expired. In a brief filed with the appeals court, UBS calls the FHFA's suit "a belated attempt by the two largest and most sophisticated issuers and purchasers of MBS in the world to shift blame for losses they suffered as a result of the nationwide housing crisis in which they played a critical role." In its response, the FHFA argued that placing an expiration date on the agency's claims would limit its ability to pursue losses brought on the GSEs and taxpayers. apdominus, the largest Web-based capital markets platform for commercial real estate (CRE) finance, announced that the total volume of CRE financings on its platform turned up sharply in the final months of 2012. According to the company, volume on its platform rose 77 percent in the first 45 days of Q 4 versus Q 3. In addition, the total number of financings leapt 46.5 percent over the same period, signaling an expected increase in year-end financing activity. The increase appears to be driven by multifamily property financing, according to Capdominus' transaction metrics. Multifamily properties represent more than one-third of pending transactions, three times that of any other property type. Additionally, more than half of the proposed financings were stabilized properties, with 40 percent split evenly between ground-up construction and value-add repositioning projects. Most proposed financings of development and repositioning projects were limited to the core markets, while more than 60 percent of the financings for properties outside of the core markets were either multifamily properties or fully leased retail properties. Since Capdominus' launch in July 2012, the company reports more than $5 billion in CRE debt and equity financings have been marketed on its platform, and more than 18,000 commercial mortgage lenders and real estate private equity funds are now represented on its network.