MOODY'S RATES GMAC-RFC' RALI 2003-QS15 30-YEAR ALT-A DEAL Aaa
Approximately $504.4 Million of Mortgage-Backed Securities Rated.
New York, September 03, 2003 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a rating of Aaa to the senior certificates
issued in RALI Series 2003-QS15 Trust, GMAC-RFC's
securitization of 30-year, fixed-rate, Alternative-A
(Alt-A) residential mortgage loans.
The loans underlying the transaction have better-than-average
credit quality for the Alt-A product. The ratings are based
on the credit quality of the underlying mortgage loans, the credit
enhancement available from subordination, the structure of the transaction,
and RFC's ability as master servicer.
The loans were purchased from various sellers under RFC's Expanded Criteria
Program, which was established primarily for reduced documentation
loans, loans backed by non-owner-occupied properties,
loans having higher loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, and
loans that otherwise do not conform to RFC's Jumbo-A Loan Program's
guidelines. However, several favorable characteristics partially
offset the risk associated with these factors.
Strong borrower quality, evident in the borrowers' clean mortgage
histories and their high FICO scores, sufficiently offsets the risk
of reduced documentation. The pool's weighted-average FICO
of 723 is relatively high for the Alt-A product. The scores'
distribution is also favorable. Only 2.0% of the
loan pool has a FICO score lower than 640, while the scores of 69.2%
are greater than 700.
The pool's weighted-average LTV of 74.0% is consistent
with the Alt-A product. Also, all the loans with an
LTV greater than 80% (about 15.5% of the pool) are
covered by mortgage insurance, which will reduce severity of loss
if the loans should default.
The loans backed by non-owner-occupied properties constitute
approximately 19.5% of the pool. These loans tend
to be more risky than similar loans backed by owner-occupied properties.
Especially under stressed economic conditions, the performance of
non-owner-occupied property loans may be more volatile.
However, the stronger borrower quality and loan documentation as
well as the lower percentage of cash-out loans partially offset
the risk associated with the non-owner-occupied property
loans.
Despite the riskier characteristics of the Alt-A product,
GMAC-RFC's pools have experienced low rates of loss and delinquency.
The transactions' favorable performance is largely attributable to the
company's effective business practices and risk management processes,
as well as to RFC's ability as master servicer of the mortgage loans.
The complete rating actions are as follows:
Depositor: Residential Accredit Loans, Inc.
Issuer: RALI Series 2003-QS15 Trust
Securities: Mortgage Asset-Backed Pass-Through Certificates,
Series 2003-QS15
Class A-1 $289,569,000 4.00%,
rated Aaa
Class A-2 $6,485,000 5.50%,
rated Aaa
Class A-3 $65,000,000 5.50%,
rated Aaa
Class A-4 $32,264,000 5.50%,
rated Aaa
Class A-5 Interest Only 5.50%, rated Aaa
Class A-6 $62,904,000 5.50%,
rated Aaa
Class A-7 $12,593,000 5.50%,
rated Aaa
Class A-8 $30,598,000 5.50%,
rated Aaa
Class A-P $4,939,362 Principal Only, rated
Aaa
Class A-V Interest Only Variable Rate, rated Aaa
Class R-I $100 5.50%, rated Aaa
Class R-II $100 5.50%, rated Aaa
RFC, the master servicer in the transaction, will manage the
subservicers that provide primary servicing of the loans. RFC has
Moody's highest master servicer rating of SQ1. HomeComings Financial
Network, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of RFC, is subservicing
approximately 77.9% of the loan pool. HomeComings
is considered a highly capable primary servicer of residential mortgage
loans and is rated SQ1 by Moody's as a primary servicer of residential
mortgage loans.
Additional research will be available on www.moodys.com.
New York
Pramila Gupta
Managing Director
Structured Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
New York
Phoebe Yu
Associate Analyst
Structured Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653