Performing Loan Reviews in Conjunction with Defined Trigger Events

A financial services provider serving as Trust Agent sought Oakleaf Group’s services as a trusted due diligence firm to perform required independent loan reviews in conjunction with defined trigger events. Trigger events are defined within the Pooling and Servicing Agreement (PSA) for each transaction, and lead to the review of loans, for example, at liquidation and at the end of the Warranty Period for all loans that were modified. Independent loan reviews are prescribed as a requirement of the PSA to protect the interests of the Trust, and through these independent loan reviews, the client is able to both fulfill its responsibilities and protect the interests of the Trust.

In this case, the Trust Agent delivered a Review Notice to Oakleaf for loans requiring review following the expiration of the Warranty Period for the Trust. A trigger had occurred due to modification of the loans by the Servicer during the Warranty Period. This notice included 640 loans that required review.

Our Approach

In order to assess whether any material breach in contract had occurred with respect to the Mortgage Loan in question, Oakleaf performed an analysis to ensure that all documents were available within the loan servicing file, and to confirm that the defined Representations and Warranties within the PSA had been met by the Seller. Oakleaf’s analysis identified that critical documentation was absent in several loans, thereby preventing our team from determining that the underlying properties, in this case condominiums, were properly covered by a valid and existing hazard insurance policy as required.

Oakleaf delivered the required Missing Document Notices to the required parties including the Trust Agent, Seller, and Servicer. The Servicer, in the process of obtaining the missing evidence of insurance, identified a gap in its internal process of tracking hazard insurance for condominiums and initiated a new process to ensure that proper tracking would take place. The Servicer was then able to deliver the missing evidence of hazard insurance, including condominium association master hazard insurance policies. Oakleaf was then able to confirm that the Representation and Warranty had been met, thereby protecting the interests of the Trust.

Results

Oakleaf performed comprehensive and careful loan review analyses, which included issuing notices to the required parties and submitting our Independent Reviewer’s Report (confirming whether material breaches had been identified).
As a result of the Independent Review completed by Oakleaf, a gap was identified in the Servicer’s internal process of tracking evidence of insurance for condominium properties. The Servicer was then able to implement a new process to closely monitor the ongoing evidence of insurance for the condominium property type.
Oakleaf delivered its Independent Reviewer’s Report with a finding of no material breaches, confirming that no losses were realized by the Trust as a result of violation of the Representations and Warranties made by the Seller to the Trustee.
Oakleaf delivered the required loan reviews within the prescribed timelines with accuracy in our analysis and findings.
As a result of Oakleaf Group’s diligence and accuracy, to date Oakleaf Group has been designated the Independent Reviewer by the Trust Agent for 14 trusts that have closed.