KBRA has assigned preliminary ratings to four classes of mortgage pass-through notes from Verus Securitization Trust 2022-6 (Verus 2022-6), a $524.5 million non-prime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction.
Verus 2022-6 is a $524.5 million non-prime RMBS transaction sponsored by VMC Asset Pooler LLC. VMC Asset Pooler, and Verus Mortgage Capital are affiliates of Invictus Capital Partners, a real estate credit-focused alternative asset manager.
The underlying collateral, comprising 973 residential mortgages, is characterized by a significant concentration of loans underwritten using alternative income documentation. Borrowers in the subject pool possess a non-zero weighted average (WA) original credit score of 734 and exhibit moderate equity in each mortgaged property, with WA loan-to-value (LTV) and combined LTV (CLTV) ratios of 71.9%.
The collateral consists of mortgages originated by various lenders, only one of which comprises more than 10% of the pool (Castle Mortgage Corp.). All loans in the transaction will be serviced by New Rez LLC d/b/a Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing, and Fay Servicing LLC.
The mortgage loans, seasoned approximately 3 months, include both fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs; 90.5%) and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs 9.5%). Additionally, approximately 22.5% of the pool has an initial interest-only period. Approximately 58.5% of the loans were categorized as non-qualified mortgages (Non-QM) under the Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage (ATR/QM) rule. The remaining loans were exempt from the ATR/QM rule due to being originated for business purposes (41.5%).
KBRA assigned preliminary ratings as follows:
- A-1: AAA
- A-2: AA+
- A-3: A
- M-1: BBB-
- B-1, B-2, B-3, A-IO-S, XS, DA, R: Not rated.
KBRA said its rating approach incorporated loan-level analysis of the mortgage pool through its KBRA RMBS Credit Model, an examination of the results from third-party loan file due diligence, cash flow modeling analysis of the transaction’s payment structure, reviews of key transaction parties, and an assessment of the transaction’s legal structure and documentation.
You can read the full report at www.kbra.com (registration required).
