$40B in Bulk, Flow Deals Coming.(mortgages)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

The market for "flow" servicing packages may be a bit weak, but the "bulk" market is showing signs of life once again.

As Mortgage Servicing News went to press this month, deals involving at least $40 billion in residential receivables were pending or had been recently finalized.

The largest of the batch is a $15 billion bulk deal involving Government National Mortgage Association rights that belonged to HomeSide Lending, Jacksonville, Fla.

Industry sources note that Cohane Rafferty Securities Inc., White Plains, N.Y., is offering the package, but so far CRSI officials have declined to talk about the sale.

Washington Mutual, Seattle, which bought most of HomeSide in March - sans its $178 billion servicing portfolio - is "subservicing" the portfolio for HomeSide's previous owner, National Australia Bank, Melbourne.

WaMu, according to servicing brokers, has first "right of refusal" on the GNMA package, a contractual clause that puts other potential bidders at a disadvantage.

One broker said he thought the winning bidder - unless it's WaMu - would have to pay a 10-basis-point "exit fee" to the subservicer (WaMu). "Ten basis points can be a lot of money on a package this large," he said.