AG Mortgage drops as co suspends dividend, sells agency residential portfolio
30/03/2020 13:25
** AG Mortgage Investment Trust MITT.N drops 27.1% to
$2.88 premarket as co suspends its dividend payments and sells
its agency residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS)
portfolio
** Late Friday, co says suspended qtrly dividends on common
stock and preferred stocks Series A,B and C to conserve cash and
improve liquidity during current market volatility urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nBwbMnhlSa
** Also says nets $38 mln of cash in sale of residential MBS
on Mar 23, after satisfying ~$880 mln of repurchase financing
obligations
** As a result, MITT no longer owns any whole pool agency
MBS as of close of business Friday, has ~$78 mln of cash/cash
equivalents on hand
** Says continues to dispute Royal Bank of Canada's RY.TO
RY.N default notice, and disputes some default notices
received from several other financing counterparties
** Talks continue with financing counterparties with regard
to entering into forbearance agreements, MITT says
** Last Monday, MITT plunged 38% after co warned it wouldn't
be able to meet near-term margin calls due to market disruptions
created by COVID-19 pandemic
** Mortgage REITs, which have been slammed in March,
rebounded last week and volatility subsided Friday, as the Fed
started its new commercial MBS buying program, though concerns
persist urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2BM04Q
** MITT shares have fallen 74% this month. The Dow Jones
U.S. Mortgage REITs index and iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF
REM.N have dropped ~43% and ~48%, respectively, in March
(Reporting by Lance Tupper and Sinead Carew)
((lance.tupper.tr.com@reuters.net
lance.tupper@tr.com 646-223-5017
sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com; +1 (646) 223 6186; Reuters
Messaging: sinead.carew.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))