Investors in high-coupon mortgage-backed securities and mortgage servicing rights can sleep a little easier at night.
Despite all the ballyhoo, Countrywide Mortgage Conduit has gathered only about $10 million in mortgages into its celebrated 100% loan-to-value program, according to Mike Perry, president of the Pasadena-based conduit.
Though the program may seem a godsend to consumers stuck in devalued homes with high mortgage rates, investors often buy such paper seeking a long-lived asset on the theory that the mortgagee is unable to refinance.
When the program was announced last summer, there was some grumbling from servicers and investors who feared that they would be stripped of some of their most valuable and longest-lasting assets.
No matter what happens, though, Countrywide will be protected: It has allowed only its servicees access to the program and only through itself, thus assuring that the asset stays in the family.
