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ASSIGNMENT, ASSUMPTION AND RECOGNITION AGREEMENT
This is an Assignment, Assumption and Recognition Agreement
("AAR
Agreement") made as of June 1, 2007, among Merrill Lynch
Mortgage Lending, Inc.,
("Assignor"), Merrill Lynch Mortgage Investors, Inc.,
("Assignee") and Wells
Fargo Bank, N.A., (the "Company").
WITNESSETH
WHEREAS, pursuant to that certain Servicing Rights Purchase and
Sale
Agreement, dated as of January 1, 2007 (the "Purchase
Agreement"), by and
between the Assignor and Wells Fargo Bank, the Assignor has
sold, and Wells
Fargo Bank has purchased, the servicing rights related certain
mortgage loans
(the "Serviced Mortgage Loans");
WHEREAS, the Company and Merrill Lynch Bank, USA ("MLBUSA"),
as
purchaser, entered into the Seller's Warranties and Servicing
Agreement (WFHM
Mortgage Loan Series 2006-W90), dated as of November 1, 2006
(the "Wells Fargo
Servicing Agreement"), between MLBUSA and the Company;
WHEREAS, the Company hereby agrees to service the mortgage
loans
listed on Attachment 1 hereto (the "Transferred Mortgage Loans")
as of the date
hereof and in accordance with the servicing provisions contained
in the Wells
Fargo Servicing Agreement, as amended by this AAR Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises
contained
herein, the parties hereto agree that the Transferred Mortgage
Loans shall be
subject to the terms of this AAR Agreement. Capitalized terms
used herein but
not defined shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the
Wells Fargo
Servicing Agreement.
Assignment and Assumption
1. Assignor hereby grants, sells, transfers and assigns to
Assignee all of
the right, title and interest of Assignor in the Transferred
Mortgage Loans.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein,
Assignor is retaining
the right to enforce the representations and warranties made by
the Company
prior to the date hereof with respect to the Transferred
Mortgage Loans and the
Company.
Representations, Warranties and Covenants
2. The following representations and warranties are hereby made
by the
Assignor to the Company and the Assignee as of the date
hereof:
(a) Attached hereto as Attachment 2 is a true and accurate
copy
of the Wells Fargo Servicing Agreement, which agreement is in
full force
and effect as of the date hereof and the provisions of which
have not been
waived, amended or modified in any respect, nor has any notice
of
termination been given thereunder;
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(b) The Assignor was the lawful owner of the Transferred
Mortgage
Loans with full right to transfer the Transferred Mortgage Loans
free and
clear from any and all claims and encumbrances; and upon the
transfer of
the Transferred Mortgage Loans to the Assignee as contemplated
herein, the
Assignee shall have good title to each and every Transferred
Mortgage Loan
free and clear of any and all liens, claims and
encumbrances;
(c) There are no offsets, counterclaims or other defenses
available to the Assignor with respect to the Wells Fargo
Servicing
Agreement;
(d) The Assignor has no knowledge of, and has not received
notice
of, any waivers under, or any modification of, any Transferred
Mortgage
Loan;
(e) The Assignor is duly organized, validly existing and in
good
standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its
incorporation, and has
all requisite power and authority to acquire, own and sell the
Transferred
Mortgage Loans;
(f) The Assignor has full corporate power and authority to
execute, deliver and perform its obligations under this AAR
Agreement, and
to consummate the transactions set forth herein. The
consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this AAR Agreement is in the
ordinary course
of the Assignor's business and will not conflict with, or result
in a
breach of, any of the terms, conditions or provisions of the
Assignor's
charter or by-laws or any legal restriction, or any material
agreement or
instrument to which Assignor is now a party or by which it is
bound, or
result in the violation of any law, rule, regulation, order,
judgment or
decree to which Assignor or its property is subject. The
execution,
delivery and performance by the Assignor of this AAR Agreement
and the
consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby, have
been duly
authorized by all necessary corporate action on part of the
Assignor. This
AAR Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the
Assignor and,
upon the due authorization, execution and delivery by the
Assignee and the
Company, will constitute the valid and legally binding
obligation of the
Assignor enforceable against the Assignor in accordance with its
terms
except as enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy,
reorganization,
insolvency, moratorium or other similar laws now or hereafter in
effect
relating to creditors' rights generally, and by general
principles of
equity regardless of whether enforceability is considered in a
proceeding
in equity or at law; and
(g) No consent, approval, order or authorization of, or
declaration, filing or registration with, any governmental
entity is
required to be obtained or made by the Assignor in connection
with the
execution, delivery or performance by the Assignor of this
Assignment, or
the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby.
Neither the
Assignor nor anyone acting on its behalf has offered,
transferred, pledged,
sold or otherwise disposed of the Transferred Mortgage Loans or
any
interest in the Transferred Mortgage Loans, or solicited any
offer to buy
or accept a transfer, pledge or other disposition of the
Transferred
Mortgage Loans, or any interest in the Transferred Mortgage
Loans or
otherwise approached or negotiated with respect to the
Transferred Mortgage
Loans, or any interest in the Transferred Mortgage Loans with
any Person in
any manner, or made any general solicitation by means of
general
advertising or in any
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other manner, or taken any other action which would constitute
a
distribution of the Transferred Mortgage Loans under the
Securities Act of
1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or which would render the
disposition of
the Transferred Mortgage Loans a violation of Section 5 of the
1933 Act or
require registration pursuant thereto.
3. The Assignee represents, warrants and covenants with the
Assignor and
the Company that:
(a) The Assignee is duly organized and is validly existing as
a
corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction
of its
formation and has full power and authority (corporate and other)
necessary
to acquire, own or purchase the Transferred Mortgage Loans and
to conduct
its business as now conducted by it and to enter into and
perform its
obligations under this AAR Agreement.
(b) It has the full corporate power and authority to
execute,
deliver and perform, and to enter into and consummate the
transactions
contemplated by this AAR Agreement and has duly authorized by
all necessary
corporate action on its part the execution, delivery and
performance of
this AAR Agreement; and this AAR Agreement, assuming the due
authorization,
execution and delivery hereof by the other parties hereto,
constitutes its
legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against it in
accordance
with its terms, except that (1) the enforceability hereof may be
limited by
bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, receivership and other
similar laws
relating to creditors' rights generally and (2) the remedy of
specific
performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief
may be
subject to equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court
before
which any proceeding therefor may be brought and further subject
to public
policy with respect to indemnity and contribution under
applicable
securities law.
(c) The execution and delivery of this AAR Agreement by it,
the
consummation of any other of the transactions contemplated by
this AAR
Agreement, and the fulfillment of or compliance with the terms
hereof are
in its ordinary course of business and will not (1) result in a
material
breach of any term or provision of its charter or by-laws, (2)
materially
conflict with, result in a material breach, violation or
acceleration of,
or result in a material default under, the terms of any other
material
agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it
may be bound,
or (3) constitute a material violation of any statute, order or
regulation
applicable to it of any court, regulatory body, administrative
agency or
governmental body having jurisdiction over it; and it is not in
breach or
violation of any material indenture or other material agreement
or
instrument, or in violation of any statute, order or regulation
of any
court, regulatory body, administrative agency or governmental
body having
jurisdiction over it which breach or violation may impair its
ability to
perform or meet any of its obligations under this AAR
Agreement.
(d) No litigation is pending or, to the best of its
knowledge,
threatened, against it that would materially and adversely
affect the
execution, delivery or enforceability of this AAR Agreement or
its ability
to perform any of its obligations under this AAR Agreement in
accordance
with the terms hereof.
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(e) No consent, approval, authorization or order of any court
or
governmental agency or body is required for its execution,
delivery and
performance of, or compliance with, this AAR Agreement or the
consummation
of the transactions contemplated hereby, or if any such consent,
approval,
authorization or order is required, it has obtained the
same.
4. The following representations, warranties and covenants are
hereby made
by the Company to the Assignor and the Assignee as of the date
hereof:
(a) The Company is duly organized, validly existing and in
good
standing under the laws of the United States of America, and has
all
requisite power and authority to service and administer the
Transferred
Mortgage Loans and otherwise to perform the obligations with
respect to the
Transferred Mortgage Loans set forth in the Wells Fargo
Servicing
Agreement.
(b) The Company has full power and authority to execute,
deliver
and perform its obligations under this AAR Agreement, and to
consummate the
transactions set forth herein. The consummation of the
transactions
contemplated by this AAR Agreement is in the ordinary course of
the
Company's business and will not conflict with, or result in a
breach of,
any of the terms, conditions or provisions of the Company's
charter or
by-laws or any legal restriction, or any material agreement or
instrument
to which the Company is now a party or by which it is bound, or
result in
the violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment or
decree to
which the Company or its property is subject. The execution,
delivery and
performance by the Company of this AAR Agreement and the
consummation by it
of the transactions contemplated hereby, have been duly
authorized by all
necessary action on the part of the Company. This AAR Agreement
has been
duly executed and delivered by the Company, and, upon the
due
authorization, execution and delivery by the other parties
hereto, will
constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of the
Company,
enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms
except as
enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, reorganization,
insolvency,
moratorium or other similar laws administered by the FDIC
affecting the
contract obligations of insured banks now or hereafter in
effect, and by
general principles of equity regardless of whether
enforceability is
considered in a proceeding in equity or at law.
(c) No consent, approval, order or authorization of, or
declaration, filing or registration with, any governmental
entity is
required to be obtained or made by the Company in connection
with the
execution, delivery or performance by the Company of this AAR
Agreement, or
the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated
hereby.
(d) The Company shall service the Transferred Mortgage Loans
in
accordance with the terms and provisions of the Wells Fargo
Servicing
Agreement, as modified by this AAR Agreement, for the exclusive
benefit of
the Trustee (as defined below), on behalf of the holders of the
Merrill
Lynch Alternative Note Asset Trust, Series 2007-A3, Mortgage
Pass-Through
Certificates (the "Certificateholders"). The Company shall
establish a
Custodial Account and an Escrow Account under the Wells
Fargo
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Servicing Agreement with respect to the Transferred Mortgage
Loans in favor
of the Trustee on behalf of the Certificateholders, and shall
remit
collections received on the Transferred Mortgage Loans to the
appropriate
account as required by the Wells Fargo Servicing Agreement. The
Custodial
Account and the Escrow Account each shall be entitled "Wells
Fargo Bank, N.
A., as Servicer, in trust for Wells Fargo Bank, N. A., as
Securities
Administrator for Merrill Lynch Alternative Note Asset Trust,
Series
2007-A3, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates" and shall be an
Eligible
Account.
(e) (1) No default or servicing related performance trigger
has
occurred as to any other securitization due to any act or
failure to act of
the Company; (2) except as indicated on the Company's 2006
Certification
Regarding Compliance with Applicable Servicing Criteria, no
material
noncompliance with applicable servicing criteria as to any
other
securitization has been disclosed or reported by the Company;
(3) the
Company has not been terminated as servicer in a residential
mortgage loan
securitization, either due to a servicing default or to
application of a
servicing performance test or trigger; (4) no material changes
to the
Company's servicing policies and procedures for similar loans
has occurred
in the preceding three years; (5) there are no aspects of the
Company's
financial condition that could reasonably be expected to have a
material
adverse impact on the performance by the Company of its
obligations
hereunder; (6) there are no legal proceedings pending, or known
to be
contemplated by governmental authorities, against the Company
that could be
material to investors in the securities issued; and (7) there
are no
affiliations, relationships or transactions relating to the
Company of a
type that are described under Item 1119 of Regulation AB (other
than with
respect to the Company's affiliation with the Custodian, the
Master
Servicer (as defined below) and the Securities
Administrator).
Recognition of Assignee
5. From and after June 1, 2007, the Company shall recognize the
Trustee, on
behalf of the Certificateholders, as owner of the Transferred
Mortgage Loans and
will service the Transferred Mortgage Loans in accordance with
the Wells Fargo
Servicing Agreement (as modified herein), the terms of which are
incorporated
herein by reference. The Company hereby acknowledges that the
Transferred
Mortgage Loans are part of a REMIC. In no event will the Company
service the
Transferred Mortgage Loans in a manner that would (i) cause the
REMIC to fail to
qualify as a REMIC or (ii) result in the imposition of a tax
upon the REMIC
(including but not limited to the tax on prohibited transactions
as defined in
Section 860F(a)(2) of the Code and the tax on contributions to a
REMIC set forth
in Section 860G(d) of the Code).
The Company hereby acknowledges that the Master Servicer,
acting
pursuant to the terms of the Pooling and Servicing Agreement,
dated as of March
1, 2007, among Merrill Lynch Mortgage Investors, Inc., as
depositor (the
"Depositor"), Wells Fargo Bank N.A., as master servicer (the
"Master Servicer")
and securities administrator (the "Securities Administrator"),
and HSBC Bank
USA, as trustee (the "Trustee") (the "Pooling and Servicing
Agreement"), has the
right to enforce all obligations of the Company, as they relate
to the
Transferred Mortgage Loans, under the Wells Fargo Servicing
Agreement, as
modified by this AAR Agreement. Such right will include, without
limitation, the
right to indemnification, the right to terminate the Company
under the Wells
Fargo Servicing Agreement upon the occurrence
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of an Event of Default thereunder and the right to exercise
certain rights of
consent and approval relating to actions taken by the Company
under the Wells
Fargo Servicing Agreement. In addition, any notice required to
be given by the
"Purchaser" pursuant to Section 10.01 of the Wells Fargo
Servicing Agreement
shall be given by the Master Servicer. The Company further
acknowledges that
pursuant to the terms of the Pooling and Servicing Agreement,
the Master
Servicer is required to monitor the performance of the Company
under the Wells
Fargo Servicing Agreement, as modified by this AAR Agreement.
The Master
Servicer shall have the right to receive all remittances
required to be made by
the Company under the Wells Fargo Servicing Agreement, the right
to receive all
monthly reports and other data required to be delivered by the
Company under the
Wells Fargo Servicing Agreement, as modified by this AAR
Agreement, the right to
examine the books and records of the Company pertaining to the
Transferred
Mortgage Loans under the Wells Fargo Servicing Agreement and the
right to
indemnification under the Wells Fargo Servicing Agreement. In
addition, if the
Company shall fail to remit any payment pursuant to the Wells
Fargo Servicing
Agreement, as modified by this AAR Agreement, the Master
Servicer shall notify
the Company of such failure as set forth in Section 10.01 of the
Wells Fargo
Servicing Agreement.
6. In connection therewith, the Company hereby agrees that all
remittances
required to be made with respect to the Transferred Mortgage
Loans pursuant to
the Wells Fargo Servicing Agreement will be made in accordance
with the
following wire transfer instructions:
Bank: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
ABA Routing Number: 121-000-248
Account Name: Corporate Trust Clearing
Account Number: 3970771416
For Credit to: MANA Series 2007-A3, Acct# 53138700
and the Company shall deliver all reports required to be
delivered under the
Wells Fargo Servicing Agreement to the Master Servicer at:
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
9062 Old Annapolis Road
Columbia, Maryland 21045
Attention: Client Services Manager - MANA 2007-A3
It is the intention of the parties hereto that this AAR
Agreement shall be
binding upon and inure to the benefit of the respective
successors and assigns
of the parties hereto.
Modification of the Wells Fargo Servicing Agreement
7. In connection with the servicing and administration of the
Transferred
Mortgage Loans, the Wells Fargo Servicing Agreement shall be
modified as
follows:
(a) The definition of "Remittance Date" in Article I is
modified
by deleting the words "immediately following" and replacing them
with
"immediately preceding".
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(b) Article I is modified by deleting the definition of
"Business
Day" in its entirety and replacing it with the following:
"Business Day: Any day other than (i) a Saturday or Sunday,
or
(ii) a day on which the New York Stock Exchange or Federal
Reserve is
closed or on which banking and savings and loan institutions in
the
State of Maryland, State of Minnesota or State of California
are
authorized or obligated by law or executive order to be
closed."
(c) The following definition is added to Article I:
"Prepayment Interest Shortfall: On any Remittance Date, the
sum
of the differences between (a) interest actually received in a
Due
Period as a result of a full principal prepayment or partial
principal
prepayment or other unscheduled receipt of principal (including
as a
result of a liquidation) on each Transferred Mortgage Loan as to
which
such a payment is received and (b) the scheduled interest
portion of
the Monthly Payment of such Transferred Mortgage Loan, adjusted
to the
applicable Mortgage Loan Remittance Rate."
(d) Article III (with the Company restating as of the date
hereof
each of the representations and warranties in Section 3.01) is
hereby
amended as follows:
i. Section 3.01(b) shall be replaced with the following:
"The consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement are in the ordinary course of business of the Company,
who
is in the business of selling and servicing loans;"
ii. Section 3.01(c) shall be replaced with the following:
"Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the
transactions contemplated hereby, nor the fulfillment of or
compliance
with the terms and conditions of this Agreement will conflict
with or
result in a breach of any of the terms, articles of association
or
by-laws or any legal restriction or any agreement or instrument
to
which the Company is now a party or by which it is bound, or
constitute a default or result in the violation of any law,
rule,
regulation order, judgment or decree to which the Company or
its
property is subject, or impair the ability of the Purchaser to
realize
on the Mortgage Loans, or impair the value of the Mortgage
Loans;"
iii. Section 3.01(f) shall be replaced with the following:
"The Company does not believe, nor does it have any reason
or
cause to believe, that it cannot perform each and every
covenant
contained in this Agreement. The Company is solvent;"
iv. Section 3.01(h) shall be replaced with the following:
"No consent, approval, authorization or order of any court
or
governmental agency or body is required for the execution,
delivery
and performance by the Company
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of or compliance by the Company with this Agreement or if
required,
such approval has been obtained prior to the Transfer Date (as
defined
in the Purchase Agreement);"
v. Sections 3.01(i) - Selection Process, (k) - Sale Treatment
and
(m) - No Broker's Fee shall be deleted in their entirety and
replaced
with the following:
"[Reserved]."
(e) Section 3.02 is modified by deleting such section in its
entirety and replacing
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