WinWater sets out with US$250m debut jumbo RMBS
(Adds background on company and RMBS volume)
By Joy Wiltermuth and Charles Williams
NEW YORK, June 4 (IFR) - WinWater Home Mortgage, a private firm started last year by a former head of Deutsche Bank's mortgage business, is rolling out its first private-label RMBS next week.
The company has mandated JP Morgan and Bank of America to sell its inaugural deal, a roughly US$250m prime jumbo securitization.
The 144A transaction, called WIN 2014-1, will pool home mortgages with an average 760 FICO score and 71% loan-to-value.
WinWater joins a handful of other non-bank issuers like Redwood Trust and Shellpoint Partners that have bundled home loans into privately issued bonds since the financial crisis.
It plans on becoming a regular issuer in the RMBS market.
Anilesh Ahuja, the chief executive officer of hedge fund Premium Point Investments, started WinWater in 2013 to buy home loans on the secondary market, a person familiar with the platform told IFR.
Ahuja headed Deutsche Bank's RMBS business for four years prior to the 2008 mortgage crisis. A call requesting comment was not immediately returned.
A strong bank bid for home loans and the ongoing dominance of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the US mortgage market has kept private RMBS issuance in check.
Roughly US$5bn in private RMBS has been issued this year, a figure that also includes agency risk-sharing deals, non-performing loan securitizations and prime jumbo transactions, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Standard & Poor's expects volume to reach US$15m by year-end, of which US$7.5bn is expected to pool prime jumbo collateral.
Unlike Shellpoint, WinWater doesn't have a loan origination arm but instead buys loans on the secondary market.
Investor conference calls start Thursday. S&P, Kroll Bond Rating Agency and DBRS will be rating the deal.
(Reporting by Joy Wiltermuth and Charles Williams; Editing by Marc Carnegie)