Opinion ID: 2658401
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Transfer Of The Rights Connected To The Loan

Text: In October 2005, one month after the origination of the loan, E-Loan transferred all of its rights — both its servicing rights3 and its beneficial interest4 — to IndyMac Bank. E-Loan endorsed the Promissory Note in blank,5 and IndyMac Bank later added its name to the endorsement. MERS internally recorded the transfer of the Deed of Trust and remained the nominal beneficiary of record, but was now the nominee for IndyMac Bank, not E-Loan. 2 A “nominee” is “[a] person designated to act in place of another” or “[a] party who holds bare legal title for the benefit of others.” BLACK ’S LAW D ICTIONARY 1149 (9th ed. 2009). 3 A mortgage “servicer” is an entity that performs services for the beneficiary such as collecting monthly payments. Id. at 1105. 4 The “beneficial interest” is the “right or expectancy in something (such as a trust or an estate), as opposed to legal title to that thing,” Id. at 885; in other words, the beneficial interest is the ultimate right to be repaid on the loan. A “beneficiary” is the “person for whose benefit property is held in trust.” Id. at 176. 5 “In blank” (of an endorsement) is “not restricted to a particular indorsement.” Id. at 828. Black’s Law Dictionary also defines “blank indorsement” as an “indorsement that names no specific payee, thus making the instrument payable to the bearer and negotiable by delivery only.” Id. at 844. “Indorsement” is an alternate spelling for “endorsement.” Id. at 607. The Alaska Statutes use the word “endorsement,” and we follow this convention. See, e.g., AS 45.03.205. -4- 6885 Shortly after acquiring the rights to the Espelands’ loan, IndyMac Bank and Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. signed a pooling6 and servicing agreement securitizing 7 the mortgage. This agreement sold the Promissory Note and the beneficial interest under the Deed of Trust to Deutsche Bank; the contractual servicing rights remained with IndyMac Bank. The original Promissory Note was transferred from IndyMac Bank to Deutsche Bank at this time, again endorsed in blank. MERS, still the nominee, although now for Deutsche Bank, internally recorded the transfer of the beneficial interest in the Deed of Trust. After this transfer, Deutsche Bank held the Promissory Note and the beneficial interest under the Deed of Trust, MERS continued to be listed in the public record as the nominal holder of the beneficial interest under the Deed of Trust, and IndyMac Bank continued to be the servicing agent for the loan.