DBRS Assigns Provisional Ratings to Angel Oak Mortgage Trust I, LLC 2017-1

DBRS, Inc. (DBRS) has today assigned the following provisional ratings to the Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2017-1 (the Certificates) issued by Angel Oak Mortgage Trust I, LLC 2017-1 (the Trust):

-- $78.1 million Class A-1 at AAA (sf)
-- $19.3 million Class A-2 at AA (low) (sf)
-- $20.0 million Class A-3 at A (low) (sf)
-- $9.4 million Class M-1 at BBB (low) (sf)
-- $7.5 million Class B-1 at BB (low) (sf)
-- $5.6 million Class B-2 at B (sf)

The AAA (sf) ratings on the Certificates reflect the 46.65% of credit enhancement provided by subordinated Certificates in the pool. The AA (low) (sf), A (low) (sf), BBB (low) (sf), BB (low) (sf) and B (sf) ratings reflect 33.50%, 19.85%, 13.45%, 8.35% and 4.55% of credit enhancement, respectively.

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

This transaction is a securitization of a portfolio of fixed- and adjustable-rate, non-prime, primarily first-lien residential mortgages. The Certificates are backed by 529 loans with a total principal balance of $146,469,496 as of the Cut-Off Date (February 1, 2017).

Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions LLC (AOMS), Angel Oak Home Loans LLC (AOHL) and Angel Oak Prime Bridge LLC are the originators for 70.9%, 26.9% and 2.2% of the portfolio, respectively. The mortgages were originated under the following six programs:

(1) Portfolio Select (74.2%) – Made to borrowers with near-prime credit scores who are unable to obtain financing through conventional or governmental channels because (1) they fail to satisfy credit requirements; (2) they are self-employed and need an alternate income calculation using 24 months of bank statements to qualify; (3) they may have a credit score that is lower than that required by government-sponsored entity underwriting guidelines; or (4) they may have been subject to a bankruptcy or foreclosure 24 or more months prior to origination.

(2) Non-Prime General (6.4%) – Made to borrowers who have not sustained a housing event in the past 24 months, but whose credit reports show multiple 30+ and/or 60+ day delinquencies on any reported debt in the past 12 months.

(3) Non-Prime Recent Housing (6.5%) – Made to borrowers who have completed or have had their properties subject to a short sale, deed-in-lieu, notice of default or foreclosure. Borrowers who have filed bankruptcy 12 or more months prior to origination or have experienced severe delinquencies may also be considered for this program.

(4) Non-Prime Foreign National (6.3%) – Made to investment property borrowers who are citizens of foreign countries that do not reside or work in the United States. Borrowers may use alternative income and credit documentation. Income is typically documented by the employer or accountant, and credit is verified by letters from overseas credit holders.

(5) Non-Prime Investment Property (0.7%) – Made to real estate investors who may have financed up to five mortgaged properties with the originators (or 20 mortgaged properties overall).

(6) Investor Cash Flow (5.9%) – Made to real estate investors who are experienced in purchasing, renting and managing investment properties with an established five-year credit history and at least 24 months of clean housing payment history, but who are unable to obtain financing through conventional or governmental channels because (1) they fail to satisfy the requirements of such programs or (2) may be over the maximum number of properties allowed. Loans originated under the Investor Cash Flow program are considered business purpose and are not covered by the ability-to-repay (ATR) rules or TRID rule.

Select Portfolio Servicing Inc. (SPS) is the servicer for the loans. Angel Oak Home Loans LLC will act as Servicing Administrator, and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Wells Fargo) will act as the Master Servicer. U.S. Bank National Association will serve as Trustee and Custodian.

Although the mortgage loans were originated to satisfy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ATR rules, they were made to borrowers who generally do not qualify for agency, government or private label non-agency prime jumbo products for various reasons described above. In accordance with the CFPB Qualified Mortgage (QM) rules, none of the loans are designated as QM Safe Harbor, 5.0% as QM Rebuttable Presumption and 79.1% as non-QM. Approximately 16.0% of the loans are for investment properties and thus not subject to the QM rules.

The servicing administrator or servicer will generally fund advances of delinquent principal and interest on any mortgage until such loan becomes 180 days delinquent, and they are obligated to make advances in respect of taxes, insurance premiums and reasonable costs incurred in the course of servicing and disposing of properties.

On or after the distribution date in March 2019, the Depositor has the option to purchase all of the outstanding certificates at a price equal to the outstanding class balance plus accrued and unpaid interest, including any cap carryover amounts.

The transaction employs a sequential-pay cash flow structure with a pro rata principal distribution among the senior tranches. Principal proceeds can be used to cover interest shortfalls on the Certificates as the outstanding senior Certificates are paid in full. Further, excess spread can be used to cover realized losses first before being allocated to unpaid cap carryover amounts up to the Class M-1 Certificates.

The ratings reflect transactional strengths that include the following:
(1) Strong Underwriting Standards: Whether for prime or non-prime mortgages, underwriting standards have improved significantly from the pre-crisis era. All of the mortgage loans were underwritten in accordance with the eight underwriting factors of the ATR rules, although they may not necessarily comply with Appendix Q of Regulation Z.

(2) Robust Loan Attributes and Pool Composition:
-- The mortgage loans in this portfolio generally have robust loan attributes as reflected in combined loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, borrower household income and liquid reserves, including the loans in the Non-Prime programs that have weaker borrower credit.
-- LTVs gradually reduce as the programs move down the credit spectrum, suggesting the consideration of compensating factors for riskier pools.
-- The pool comprises 15.3% fixed-rate mortgages, which have the lowest default risk because of the stability of monthly payments. The pool comprises 84.7% hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) with an initial fixed period of five to ten years, allowing borrowers sufficient time to credit cure before rates reset. None of the loans are riskier hybrid ARMs with shorter teaser periods (two to three years).

(3) Satisfactory Third-Party Due Diligence Review: A third-party due diligence firm conducted property valuation and credit reviews on 100% of the loans in the pool. For 94.2% of the loans (i.e., the entire pool excluding the 77 Investor Cash Flow loans), a third-party due diligence firm performed a regulatory compliance review. Data integrity checks were also performed on the pool.

(4) Satisfactory Loan Performance to Date (Albeit Short): Angel Oak began originating non-agency loans in the fourth quarter of 2013. Of the approximately 1,644 mortgages originated, 12 were ever 30 days delinquent, one loan has been 60 days delinquent, four loans 90 days delinquent and six loans 120+ days delinquent. In addition, voluntary prepayment rates have been relatively high in previous Angel Oak securitizations, as these borrowers tend to credit cure and refinance into lower-cost mortgages.

(5) Strong Servicer: SPS, a strong residential mortgage servicer and a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Suisse, services the pool. In this transaction, AOHL, as the servicing administrator, or SPS, as the servicer, is responsible for funding advances to the extent required. In addition, the transaction employs Wells Fargo as the Master Servicer, which is rated AA (high) by DBRS. If the servicing administrator or the servicer fails in its obligation to make advances, Wells Fargo will be obligated to fund such servicing advances.

The transaction also includes the following challenges and mitigating factors:
(1) Geographic Concentration: Compared with other recent securitizations, the AOMT 2017-1 pool has a high concentration of loans located in Florida (37.3% of the pool). Mitigating factors include the following:
-- Although the pool is concentrated in Florida, the loans are well dispersed among the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The largest Florida MSA, Fort-Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield, represents only 7.2% of the entire transaction. DBRS does not believe the AOMT 2017-1 pool is particularly sensitive to any deterioration in economic conditions or the occurrence of a natural disaster in any specific region.
-- DBRS’s RMBS Insight model generates an elevated asset correlation, as determined by the loan size and geographic concentration, for this portfolio compared with pools with similar collateral, resulting in higher expected losses across all rating categories.

(2) Representations and Warranties (R&W) Framework and Provider: Although slightly stronger than other comparable non-QM transactions rated by DBRS, the R&W framework for AOMT 2017-1 is weaker compared with post-crisis prime jumbo securitization frameworks. Instead of an automatic review when a loan becomes seriously delinquent, this transaction employs a mandatory review upon less immediate triggers. In addition, the R&W provider, guarantor or backstop provider are either unrated or have limited performance history in non-QM securitizations and may potentially experience financial stress that could result in the inability to fulfill repurchase obligations. DBRS notes the following mitigating factors:
-- Satisfactory third-party due diligence was conducted on 100% of the loans included in the pool with respect to credit, property valuation and data integrity. A regulatory compliance review was performed on all but 77 Investor Cash Flow loans. A comprehensive due diligence review mitigates the risk of future R&W violations.
-- An independent third-party R&W reviewer, Clayton Services LLC, is named in the transaction to review loans for alleged breaches of representations and warranties.
-- DBRS conducted an on-site originator review of AOHL and AOMS and deems the mortgage companies to be operationally sound.
-- Notwithstanding the above, DBRS adjusted the originator scores downward to account for the potential inability to fulfill repurchase obligations, the lack of performance history as well as the weaker R&W framework. A lower originator score results in increased default and loss assumptions and provides additional cushions for the rated securities.

(3) Non-Prime, QM-Rebuttable Presumption or Non-QM Loans: As compared with post-crisis prime jumbo transactions, this portfolio contains mortgages originated to borrowers with weaker credits or who have prior derogatory credit events, as well as QM-rebuttable presumption or non-QM loans. In addition, certain loans were underwritten to 24-month bank statements for income (21.8%) or as business purpose loans (5.9%). DBRS notes the following mitigating factors:
-- All loans were originated to meet the eight underwriting factors as required by the ATR rules.
-- Underwriting standards have improved substantially since the pre-crisis era.
-- Bank statement as income and business purpose loans are treated as less-than-full documentation in the RMBS Insight model, which increases expected losses on those loans.
-- The RMBS Insight model incorporates loss severity penalties for non-QM and QM Rebuttable Presumption loans, as explained further in the Key Loss Severity Drivers section of the report.
-- For loans in this portfolio that were originated through the Non-Prime General and Non-Prime Recent Housing Event programs, borrower credit events had generally happened, on average, 46 months and 23 months, respectively, prior to origination. In its analysis, DBRS applies additional penalties for borrowers with recent credit events within the past two years.

(4) Servicer Advances of Delinquent Principal and Interest: The servicing administrator or servicer will advance scheduled principal and interest on delinquent mortgages until such loans become 180 days delinquent. This will likely result in lower loss severities to the transaction because advanced principal and interest will not have to be reimbursed from the trust upon the liquidation of the mortgages but will increase the possibility of periodic interest shortfalls to the certificateholders. Mitigating factors include that principal proceeds can be used to pay interest shortfalls to the Certificates as the outstanding senior Certificates are paid in full, as well as the fact that subordination levels are greater than expected losses, which may provide for payment of interest to the Certificates. DBRS ran cash flow scenarios that incorporated principal and interest advancing up to 180 days for delinquent loans; the cash flow scenarios are discussed in more detail in the Cash Flow Analysis section of the report.

The DBRS ratings of AAA (sf) and AA (low) (sf) address the timely payment of interest and full payment of principal (excluding interest-only classes) by the legal final maturity date in accordance with the terms and conditions of the related Certificates. The DBRS ratings of A (low) (sf), BBB (low) (sf), BB (low) (sf) and B (sf) address the ultimate payment of interest and full payment of principal by the legal final maturity date in accordance with the terms and conditions of the related Certificates.

The full description of the strengths, challenges and mitigating factors are detailed in the related report. Please see the related appendix for additional information regarding sensitivity of assumptions used in the rating process.

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

The principal methodologies are RMBS Insight 1.2: U.S. Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Model and Rating Methodology, Unified Interest Rate Model for Rating U.S. Structured Finance Transactions, Third-Party Due Diligence Criteria for U.S. RMBS Transactions, Representations and Warranties Criteria for U.S. RMBS Transactions and Legal Criteria for U.S. Structured Finance, Assessing U.S. RMBS Pools Under the Ability-to-Repay Rules, Operational Risk Assessment for U.S. RMBS Originators, Operational Risk Assessment for U.S. RMBS Servicers, which can be found on dbrs.com under Methodologies.

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

The full report providing additional analytical detail is available by clicking on the link to the right under Related Research or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.

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