Announcement - Servicer: Moody's affirms Bayview's residential and small balance commercial servicer assessments
U.S. Residential Mortgage Servicer Assessment Action
New York, August 11, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has affirmed Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC's (Bayview) servicer quality (SQ) assessments of SQ2 as Special Servicer of residential mortgage loans, and SQ2- as Special Servicer of small-balance commercial loans (SBC).
As of March 2020, Bayview's servicing portfolio consisted of approximately 152,353 residential mortgage loans and 5,133 small balance commercial loans. The company is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida with additional servicing sites in Bedford, Texas; Horsham, Pennsylvania; Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; and Tucson, Arizona.
We view Bayview's collection abilities as above average. Bayview improved its collection performance metrics for special servicing and SBC loans during the review period. Since the last review, the company implemented a Gamification program, a unique employee engagement tool used to motivate and reward employees with an interactive web-based platform. Also, the company enhanced its post-call analytics for compliance and customer satisfaction monitoring.
We assess the company's loss mitigation abilities for residential loans as strong and above average for SBC. The company has robust proprietary loss mitigation systems providing the ability to make regulatory and investor changes quickly. For borrowers affected by COVID-19, Bayview automated the borrower forbearance request process through its interactive voice response (IVR) system, website and mobile application. As of July 13, 2020, approximately 20,000 residential borrowers were on an active forbearance plan. After the forbearance period ends available options will be based on regulatory and investor guidelines.
We view Bayview's foreclosure and REO timeline management for residential loans as strong and above average for SBC. Bayview's foreclosure timeline performance metrics were strong compared to peers for residential loans. The company uses a daily dashboard report to enhance its foreclosure oversight process. During the review period, the company established a dedicated team to resolve contested foreclosure loans.
We assess Bayview's servicing stability as average. The stability assessment incorporates Bayview's history of consistent profitability, solid staffing ratios and investment in technology. The company had no material instances of non-compliance for its 2019 RegAB and USAP reports.
Due to COVID-19, the majority of servicing employees are working remotely at this time. Bayview enhanced its Virtual Private Network capacity to manage work from home capabilities. Remote staff has access to critical systems and key servicing information.
The framework used in this analysis was "Servicer Quality Assessments for Servicers of Residential Mortgages" published in December 2019 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBS_1122183. Alternatively, please see the Framework list at https://www.moodys.com//researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1178235 for a copy of this framework.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.
This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.
Francis Wissman Vice President - Senior Analyst Structured Finance Group Moody's Investors Service, Inc. 250 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10007 U.S.A. JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653 William Fricke VP - Senior Credit Officer Structured Finance Group JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service, Inc. 250 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10007 U.S.A. JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653
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