The biggest cost ahead for large mortgage servicers may not be “robosigning” settlements or buying back bad debt – it’s the follow-on mortgage products like home-equity loans that take longer to go sour. A report on Monday by CreditSights is the latest sign that the biggest cost to banks from the mortgage crisis could be home-equity loans – whose credit-card-like aspects tend to keep borrowers current long after they’ve maxed out the first mortgage. CreditSights estimates that Wells Fargo has the most exposure to home-equity costs, at $7.8 billion. JPMorgan Chase is right behind with $7.2 billion, followed by Bank of America at $4.9 billion and Citigroup at $3.6 billion. However, the expected lag in performance has allowed big servicers to prepare for the coming HELOC write-offs.
Jacob Gaffney is formerly Editor-in-Chief of HousingWire and HousingWire.com. He previously covered securitization for Reuters and Source Media in London before returning to the United States in 2009. While in Europe for nearly a decade, he covered bank loans and the high yield market, in addition to commercial paper, student loan, auto and credit card space(s).see full bio
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Jacob Gaffney is formerly Editor-in-Chief of HousingWire and HousingWire.com. He previously covered securitization for Reuters and Source Media in London before returning to the United States in 2009. While in Europe for nearly a decade, he covered bank loans and the high yield market, in addition to commercial paper, student loan, auto and credit card space(s).see full bio