DBRS Morningstar Assigns Provisional Ratings to CFMT 2021-HB6, LLC

DBRS, Inc. (DBRS Morningstar) assigned provisional ratings to the following Asset-Backed Notes, Series 2021-2, to be issued by CFMT 2021-HB6, LLC:

-- $796.6 million Class A at AAA (sf)
-- $6.0 million Class M1 at AA (low) (sf)
-- $50.7 million Class M2 at A (low) (sf)
-- $49.2 million Class M3 at BBB (low) (sf)
-- $45.0 million Class M4 at BB (low) (sf)
-- $8.2 million Class M5 at B (high) (sf)

The AAA (sf) rating reflects 21.7% of credit enhancement. The AA (low) (sf), A (low) (sf), BBB (low) (sf), BB (low) (sf), and B (high) (sf) ratings reflect 15.1%, 10.1%, 5.2%, 0.8%, and 0.0% of credit enhancement, respectively.

Other than the specified classes above, DBRS Morningstar did not rate any other classes in this transaction.

Lenders typically offer reverse mortgage loans to people who are at least 62 years old. Through reverse mortgage loans, borrowers have access to home equity through a lump sum amount or a stream of payments without periodically repaying principal or interest, allowing the loan balance to accumulate over a period of time until a maturity event occurs. Loan repayment is required (1) if the borrower dies, (2) if the borrower sells the related residence, (3) if the borrower no longer occupies the related residence for a period (usually a year), (4) if it is no longer the borrower’s primary residence, (5) if a tax or insurance default occurs, or (6) if the borrower fails to properly maintain the related residence. In addition, borrowers must be current on any homeowners association dues if applicable. Reverse mortgages are typically nonrecourse; borrowers don’t have to provide additional assets in cases where the outstanding loan amount exceeds the property’s value (the crossover point). As a result, liquidation proceeds will fall below the loan amount in cases where the outstanding balance reaches the crossover point, contributing to higher loss severities for these loans.

As of the Cut-Off Date (May 31, 2021), the collateral has approximately $962.7 million in unpaid principal balance (UPB) from 4,048 performing and nonperforming home equity conversion mortgage reverse mortgage loans and real estate owned (REO) assets secured by first liens typically on single-family residential properties, condominiums, townhomes, multifamily (two- to four-family) properties, manufactured homes, and planned unit developments. A majority of the mortgage assets (3,677, or 91.3% of the pool balance) were previously securitized in CFMT 2019-HB1, CFMT 2020-HB2, and CFMT 2020-HB3 transactions. In addition to the mortgage assets, the transaction will benefit from the REO Trust Accounts from previous securitizations totaling approximately $55 million. The mortgage assets were originally originated between 1997 and 2016. Of the total assets, 1,613 have a fixed interest rate (40.71% of the balance), with a 5.17% weighted-average coupon (WAC). The remaining 2,435 assets have floating-rate interest (59.29% of the balance) with a 1.63% WAC, bringing the entire collateral pool to a 3.07% WAC.

As of the Cut-Off Date, the loans in this transaction are both performing and nonperforming (i.e., inactive). There are 645 performing loans representing 16.04% of the total UPB. For the 3,403 nonperforming loans, 1,576 loans are referred for foreclosure (45.55% of the balance), 227 are in bankruptcy status (5.49%), 531 are called due following recent maturity (13.20%), 311 are REO (5.71%), 95 are inactive (0.86%), and the remaining 663 are in default (13.14%). However, all these loans are insured by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which mitigates losses vis-à-vis uninsured loans. Because the insurance supplements the home value, the industry metric for this collateral is not the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) but rather the WA effective LTV adjusted for HUD insurance, which is 57.69% for the loans in this pool. To calculate the WA LTV, DBRS Morningstar divides the UPB by the maximum claim amount and the asset value.

Among the 645 performing assignable loans, 302 loans, representing 6.52% of the total UPB, are flagged to be assigned to HUD (the Intended Assignment set), and 343 loans, representing 9.52% of the total UPB, will be held, not assigned (the Strategically Held set).

The transaction uses a sequential structure. No subordinate note shall receive any principal payments until the senior notes (Class A notes) have been reduced to zero. This structure provides credit enhancement in the form of subordinate classes and reduces the effect of realized losses. These features increase the likelihood that holders of the most senior class of notes will receive regular distributions of interest and/or principal. All note classes have available fund caps.

For more information regarding rating methodologies and the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar publications: “DBRS Morningstar Provides Update on Rating Methodologies in Light of Measures to Contain Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19),” dated March 12, 2020; “DBRS Morningstar Global Structured Finance Rating Methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19),” dated March 20, 2020; and “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: March 2021 Update,” dated March 17, 2021.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework can be found in the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262.

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is U.S. Reverse Mortgage Securitization Ratings Methodology (May 8, 2020), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

For more information regarding rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357883.

For more information regarding structured finance rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/358308.

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the rating process for this rating action. DBRS Morningstar had access to the accounts and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with this rating action.

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at info@dbrsmorningstar.com.

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