BlackRock Inc. and Highfields Capital Management have sponsored a new company that will acquire and restructure distressed residential mortgage loans in response to the ongoing dislocation in the U.S. mortgage market. The new firm, Private National Mortgage Acceptance Co. LLC (PennyMac), includes a management team of mortgage industry veterans led by Stanford L. Kurland, PennyMac's chairman and CEO.
The company says it will raise capital from private investors, acquire loans from financial institutions seeking to reduce their mortgage exposures, and seek to create value for both borrowers and investors through distinctive loan servicing.
Kurland was president and chief operating officer of Countrywide Financial Corp. until his departure in October 2006. The PennyMac management team also includes David Spector, chief investment officer, who is former co-head of global residential mortgages for Morgan Stanley.
PennyMac's loan servicing activities will be managed through a proprietary servicing operation based in southern California.