Grantor Trust Administration (a) The Tax Administrator shall treat the Grantor Trust Pool, for tax return preparation purposes, as a Grantor Trust under the Code. The Tax Administrator shall also perform on behalf of the Grantor Trust Pool all reporting and other tax compliance duties that are the responsibility of such Grantor Trust Pool under the Code or any compliance guidance issued by the IRS or any state or local taxing authorities. The expenses of preparing and filing such returns shall be borne by the Tax Administrator.
(b) The Tax Administrator shall pay out of its own funds any and all routine tax administration expenses of the Trust Fund incurred with respect to the Grantor Trust Pool (but not including any professional fees or expenses related to audits or any administrative or judicial proceedings with respect to the Trust Fund that involve the IRS or state tax authorities which extraordinary expenses shall be payable or reimbursable to the Tax Administrator from the assets in the Grantor Trust Pool, unless otherwise provided in Section 10.02(e) or 10.02(f)).
(c) The Tax Administrator shall prepare or cause to be prepared, submit to the Trustee for execution (and the Trustee shall timely execute and timely return to the Tax Administrator) and timely file all of the Tax Returns in respect of the Grantor Trust Pool. The expenses of preparing and filing such returns shall be borne by the Tax Administrator without any right of reimbursement therefor. Except as provided in Section 10.02(h), 10.02(i) and 10.02(j), the Tax Administrator shall comply with such requirement by filing IRS Form 1041, indicating the name and address of the Trust and signed by the Tax Administrator but otherwise left blank, IRS Form 1099 or any other such form as may be applicable. There shall be appended to each such form a schedule for each Certificateholder indicating such Certificateholder’s share of income and expenses of the Trust for the portion of the preceding calendar year in which such Certificateholder possessed an Ownership Interest in a Certificate. Such form shall be prepared in sufficient detail to enable reporting on the cash or accrual method of accounting, as applicable, and to report on such Certificateholder’s fiscal year if other than the calendar year.
(d) The other parties hereto shall provide on a timely basis to the Tax Administrator or its designee such information with respect to the Grantor Trust Pool as is in its possession and reasonably requested by the Tax Administrator to enable it to perform its obligations under this Section 10.02. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Depositor, within ten (10) days following the Tax Administrator’s request therefor, shall provide in writing to the Tax Administrator such information as is reasonably requested by the Tax Administrator for tax purposes, and the Tax Administrator’s duty to perform its reporting and other tax compliance obligations under this Section 10.02 shall be subject to the condition that it receives from the Depositor such information possessed by the Depositor that is necessary to permit the Tax Administrator to perform such obligations.
(e) The Tax Administrator shall perform on behalf of the Grantor Trust Pool all reporting and other tax compliance duties that are required in respect thereof under the Code, the Grantor Trust Provisions or other compliance guidance issued by the IRS or any state or local taxing authority, including the furnishing to Certificateholders of the schedules described in Section 10.02(c).
(f) The Tax Administrator shall perform its duties hereunder so as to maintain the status of the Grantor Trust Pool as Grantor Trust under the Grantor Trust Provisions (and the Trustee, the Master Servicers and the Special Servicers shall assist the Tax Administrator to the extent reasonably requested by the Tax Administrator and to the extent of information within the Trustee’s, the Master Servicers’ or the Special Servicers’ possession or control). None of the Tax Administrator, Master Servicers, the Special Servicers or the Trustee shall knowingly take (or cause the Grantor Trust Pool to take) any action or fail to take (or fail to cause to be taken) any action that, under the Grantor Trust Provisions, if taken or not taken, as the case may be, could result in an Adverse Grantor Trust Event, unless the Tax Administrator has obtained or received an Opinion of Counsel (at the expense of the party requesting such action or at the expense of the Trust Fund if the Tax Administrator seeks to take such action or to refrain from taking any action for the benefit of the Certificateholders) to the effect that the contemplated action will not result in an Adverse Grantor Trust Event. None of the other parties hereto shall take any action or fail to take any action (whether or not authorized hereunder) as to which the Tax Administrator has advised it in writing that the Tax Administrator has received or obtained an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that an Adverse Grantor Trust Event could result from such action or failure to act. In addition, prior to taking any action with respect to the Grantor Trust Pool, or causing the Trust Fund to take any action, that is not expressly permitted under the terms of this Agreement, the Master Servicers and the Special Servicers shall consult with the Tax Administrator or its designee, in writing, with respect to whether such action could cause an Adverse Grantor Trust Event to occur. The Tax Administrator may consult with counsel to make such written advice, and the cost of same shall be borne by the party seeking to take the action not permitted by this Agreement, but in no event at the cost or expense of the Trust Fund, the Tax Administrator or the Trustee.
(g) If any tax is imposed on the Grantor Trust Pool pursuant to the Code or any applicable provisions of state or local tax laws, then such tax, together with all incidental costs and expenses (including penalties and reasonable attorneys’ fees), shall be charged to and paid by: (i) the Trustee, if such tax arises out of or results from a breach of any of its obligations under Article IV, Article VIII or this Section 10.02 (which breach constitutes negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct); (ii) the Certificate Administrator, if such tax arises out of or results from a breach by the Certificate Administrator of any of its obligations under Article IV, Article VIII or this Section 10.02 (which breach constitutes negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct); (iii) the Tax Administrator, if such tax arises out of or results from a breach by the Tax Administrator of any of its obligations under Article IV, Article VIII or this Section 10.02 (which breach constitutes negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct); (iv) a Master Servicer, if such tax arises out of or results from a breach by such Master Servicer of any of its obligations under Article III or this Section 10.02 (which breach constitutes negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct); (v) a Special Servicer, if such tax arises out of or results from a breach by such Special Servicer of any of its obligations under Article III or this Section 10.02 (which breach constitutes negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct); or (vi) the Trust, out of the Trust Fund, in all other instances. Any such amounts payable by the Trust in respect of taxes shall be paid by the Trustee out of amounts on deposit in the Distribution Account.
(h) The Grantor Trust is a WHFIT that is a WHMT. The Tax Administrator will report as required under the WHFIT Regulations to the extent such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the Tax Administrator to do so is provided to the Tax Administrator on a timely basis. The Certificate Administrator shall provide such information in its possession to the Tax Administrator on a timely basis. With respect to the Class A-S, Class B, Class C and Class PEX Certificates, the Tax Administrator is hereby directed to assume that DTC is the only “middleman” as defined by the WHFIT Regulations unless the Depositor provides the Tax Administrator with the identities of other “middlemen” that are Certificateholders. The Tax Administrator will report as required under the WHFIT Regulations to the extent such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the Tax Administrator to do so, and is not in its possession, is provided to the Tax Administrator on a timely basis. The Tax Administrator will not be liable for any tax reporting penalties that may arise under the WHFIT Regulations as a result of a determination by the IRS that is contrary to the first sentence of this paragraph.
(i) The Tax Administrator, in its discretion, will report required WHFIT information using either the cash or accrual method, except to the extent the WHFIT Regulations specifically require a different method. The Tax Administrator will be under no obligation to determine whether any Certificateholder uses the cash or accrual method. The Tax Administrator will make available WHFIT information to Certificateholders annually. In addition, the Tax Administrator will not be responsible or liable for providing subsequently amended, revised or updated information to any Certificateholder, unless requested by the Certificateholder.
(j) The Tax Administrator shall not be liable for failure to meet the reporting requirements of the WHFIT Regulations nor for any penalties thereunder if such failure is due to: (i) the lack of reasonably necessary information being provided to the Tax Administrator or (ii) incomplete, inaccurate or untimely information being provided to the Tax Administrator. Each owner of a class of securities representing, in whole or in part, beneficial ownership of an interest in a WHFIT, by acceptance of its interest in such class of securities, will be deemed to have agreed to provide the Tax Administrator with information regarding any sale of such securities, including the price, amount of proceeds and date of sale. Absent receipt of such information, and unless informed otherwise by the Depositor, the Tax Administrator will assume there is no secondary market trading of WHFIT interests.
(k) To the extent required by the WHFIT Regulations, the Tax Administrator will use reasonable efforts to publish on an appropriate website the CUSIPs for the Certificates that represent ownership of a WHFIT. The CUSIPs so published will represent the Rule 144A CUSIPs. The Tax Administrator will not publish any associated Regulation S CUSIPs. The Tax Administrator will make reasonable good faith efforts to keep the website accurate and updated to the extent CUSIPs have been received. Absent the receipt of a CUSIP, the Tax Administrator will use a reasonable identifier number in lieu of a CUSIP. The Tax Administrator will not be liable for investor reporting delays that result from the receipt of inaccurate or untimely CUSIP information.
Trust Administration The Adviser shall give the Trust the benefit of its best judgment, efforts and facilities in rendering its services. The Adviser shall at all times conform to: (i) all applicable provisions of the Act and any rules and regulations adopted thereunder; (ii) the provisions of the Registration Statement of the Trust under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Act as amended from time to time; (iii) the provisions of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust and the By-Laws of the Trust; and (iv) any other applicable provisions of state and federal law. Subject to the direction and control of the Trust, the Adviser shall supervise the Fund’s business affairs. In addition, to the extent not otherwise provided by other parties under agreements with the Trust, the Adviser shall supply: (i) non-investment related statistical and research data; (ii) the services of a Chief Compliance Officer for the Trust with respect to the Fund and (iii) executive and administrative services. The Adviser shall also assist with and/or supervise the preparation by the Trust’s administrator, transfer agent, and/or auditors of: (i) tax returns; (ii) reports to shareholders of the Fund; (iii) reports to, and filings with, the Securities and Exchange Commission, state securities commissions and Blue Sky authorities including preliminary and definitive proxy materials and post-effective amendments to the Trust’s registration statement; and (iv) necessary materials for meetings of the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The Adviser shall provide personnel to serve as officers of the Trust if so elected by the Board of Trustees. Executive and administrative services include, but are not limited to, the coordination of all third parties furnishing services to the Fund, review of the books and records of the Fund maintained by such third parties, and the review and submission to the officers of the Fund for their approval, of invoices or other requests for payment of Fund expenses; and such other action with respect to the Fund as may be necessary in the opinion of the Adviser to perform its duties hereunder.
Successor Trust Administrator Any successor trust administrator appointed as provided in Section 10.07 hereof shall execute, acknowledge and deliver to the Depositor and to its predecessor trust administrator an instrument accepting such appointment hereunder and thereupon the resignation or removal of the predecessor trust administrator shall become effective and such successor trust administrator, without any further act, deed or conveyance, shall become fully vested with all the rights, powers, duties and obligations of its predecessor hereunder, with the like effect as if originally named as trust administrator herein. The Depositor, upon receipt of all amounts due it hereunder, and the predecessor trust administrator shall execute and deliver such instruments and do such other things as may reasonably be required for more fully and certainly vesting and confirming in the successor trust administrator all such rights, powers, duties, and obligations. No successor trust administrator shall accept appointment as provided in this Section 10.08 unless at the time of such acceptance such successor trust administrator shall be eligible under the provisions of Section 10.06 hereof and its acceptance shall not adversely affect the then current rating of the Certificates. Upon acceptance of appointment by a successor trust administrator as provided in this Section 10.08, the Depositor shall mail notice of the succession of such trust administrator hereunder to all Holders of Certificates at their addresses as shown in the Certificate Register. If the Depositor fails to mail such notice within ten days after acceptance of appointment by the successor trust administrator, the successor trust administrator shall cause such notice to be mailed at the expense of the Depositor.
Trust Administrator May Own Certificates The Trust Administrator in its individual or any other capacity may become the owner or pledgee of Certificates with the same rights as it would have if it were not the Trust Administrator.
Duties of Trust Administrator The Trust Administrator, prior to the occurrence of an Event of Default of which a Responsible Officer of the Trust Administrator shall have actual knowledge and after the curing or waiver of all Events of Default that may have occurred, undertakes with respect to the Trust Fund to perform such duties and only such duties as are specifically set forth in this Agreement. In case an Event of Default of which a Responsible Officer of the Trust Administrator shall have actual knowledge has occurred and remains uncured, the Trust Administrator shall exercise such of the rights and powers vested in it by this Agreement, and use the same degree of care and skill in their exercise, as a prudent person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such person’s own affairs. Any permissive right of the Trust Administrator set forth in this Agreement shall not be construed as a duty. The Trust Administrator, upon receipt of all resolutions, certificates, statements, opinions, reports, documents, orders or other instruments furnished to the Trust Administrator that are specifically required to be furnished pursuant to any provision of this Agreement shall examine them to determine whether they conform to the requirements of this Agreement. The Trust Administrator shall have no duty to recompute, recalculate or verify the accuracy of any resolution, certificate, statement, opinion, report, document, order or other instrument so furnished to the Trust Administrator. If any such instrument is found not to conform in any material respect to the requirements of this Agreement, the Trust Administrator shall notify the Certificateholders of such instrument in the event that the Trust Administrator, after so requesting, does not receive a satisfactorily corrected instrument. No provision of this Agreement shall be construed to relieve the Trust Administrator from liability for its own negligent action, its own negligent failure to act or its own misconduct, its negligent failure to perform its obligations in compliance with this Agreement, or any liability which would be imposed by reason of its willful misfeasance or bad faith; provided, however, that:
(a) prior to the occurrence of an Event of Default of which a Responsible Officer of the Trust Administrator shall have actual knowledge, and after the curing or of all such Events of Default that may have occurred, the duties and obligations of the Trust Administrator shall be determined solely by the express provisions of this Agreement, the Trust Administrator shall not be personally liable except for the performance of such duties and obligations as are specifically set forth in this Agreement, no implied covenants or obligations shall be read into this Agreement against the Trust Administrator and the Trust Administrator may conclusively rely, as to the truth of the statements and the correctness of the opinions expressed therein, upon any certificates or opinions furnished to the Trust Administrator and conforming to the requirements of this Agreement which it reasonably believed in good faith to be genuine and to have been duly executed by the proper authorities respecting any matters arising hereunder;
(b) the Trust Administrator shall not be personally liable for an error of judgment made in good faith by a Responsible Officer or Responsible Officers of the Trust Administrator, unless the Trust Administrator was negligent in ascertaining or investigating the pertinent facts;
(c) the Trust Administrator shall not be personally liable with respect to any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it in good faith in accordance with this Agreement or at the direction of the Holders of Certificates evidencing greater than 50% of the Voting Rights allocated to each Class of Certificates relating to the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trust Administrator, or exercising any trust or power conferred upon the Trust Administrator, under this Agreement; and
(d) no provision of this Agreement shall require the Trust Administrator to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability in the performance of any of its duties hereunder or in the exercise of any of its rights or powers if it shall have reasonable grounds for believing that repayment of such funds or adequate indemnity against such risk or liability is not reasonably assured to it. The Trust Administrator shall have no duty (A) to see to any recording, filing or depositing of this Agreement or any agreement referred to herein or any financing statement or continuation statement evidencing a security interest, or to see to the maintenance of any such recording, filing or depositing or to any rerecording, refiling or redepositing of any thereof, (B) to see to any insurance, or (C) to see to the payment or discharge of any tax, assessment or other governmental charge or any lien or encumbrance of any kind owing with respect to, assessed or levied against, any part of the Trust Fund other than from funds available in the Certificate Account. Except with respect to an Event of Default described in clause (a) of Section 8.01, the Trust Administrator shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any Event of Default or event which, with notice or lapse of time, or both, would become an Event of Default, unless a Responsible Officer of the Trust Administrator shall have received written notice thereof from the Master Servicer or a Servicer, the Depositor, or a Certificateholder, or a Responsible Officer of the Trust Administrator has actual notice thereof, and in the absence of such notice no provision hereof requiring the taking of any action or the assumption of any duties or responsibility by the Trust Administrator following the occurrence of any Event of Default or event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would become an Event of Default, shall be effective as to the Trust Administrator. The Trust Administrator shall have no duty hereunder with respect to any complaint, claim, demand, notice or other document it may receive or which may be alleged to have been delivered to or served upon it by the parties as a consequence of the assignment of any Mortgage Loan hereunder; provided, however, that the Trust Administrator shall use its best efforts to remit to the Master Servicer or the Servicer upon receipt of any such complaint, claim, demand, notice or other document (i) which is delivered to the Corporate Trust Office of the Trust Administrator, (ii) of which a Responsible Officer has actual knowledge, and (iii) which contains information sufficient to permit the Trust Administrator to make a determination that the real property to which such document relates is a Mortgaged Property.
Trust Administrator Not Liable for Certificates or Mortgage Loans The recitals contained herein shall be taken as the statements of the Depositor or the Master Servicer or a Servicer, as the case may be, and the Trust Administrator assumes no responsibility for their correctness. The Trust Administrator makes no representations as to the validity or sufficiency of this Agreement, the Certificates or of any Mortgage Loan or related document. The Trust Administrator shall not be accountable for the use or application by the Depositor, the Sellers, the Master Servicer or the Servicers of any funds paid to the Depositor or the Master Servicer or any Servicer in respect of the Mortgage Loans or deposited in or withdrawn from the Certificate Account by the Depositor, the Sellers or the Master Servicer or the Servicers. The Trust Administrator shall not be responsible for the legality or validity of this Agreement or the validity, priority, perfection or sufficiency of the security for the Certificates issued or intended to be issued hereunder. The Trust Administrator shall have no responsibility for filing any financing or continuation statement in any public office at any time or to otherwise perfect or maintain the perfection for any security interest or lien granted to it hereunder or to record this Agreement.
Certain Matters Affecting the Trust Administrator (a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 10.01:
(i) the Trust Administrator may request and rely upon and shall be protected in acting or refraining from acting upon any resolution, Officer’s Certificate, certificate of auditors, Servicing Officers or any other certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, consent, order, appraisal, bond or other paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties;
(ii) the Trust Administrator may consult with counsel, financial advisors or accountants and any advice of such Persons or opinion of counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection in respect of any action taken or suffered or omitted by it hereunder in good faith and in accordance with such advice or opinion of counsel;
(iii) the Trust Administrator shall be under no obligation to exercise any of the trusts or powers vested in it by this Agreement or to institute, conduct or defend any litigation hereunder or in relation hereto at the request, order or direction of any of the Certificateholders pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, unless such Certificateholders shall have offered to the Trust Administrator reasonable security or indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities which may be incurred therein or thereby; nothing contained herein shall, however, relieve the Trust Administrator of the obligation, upon the occurrence of an Event of Default of which a Responsible Officer of the Trust Administrator shall have actual knowledge (which has not been cured or waived), to exercise such of the rights and powers vested in it by this Agreement, and to use the same degree of care and skill in their exercise as a prudent person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such person’s own affairs;
(iv) the Trust Administrator shall not be personally liable for any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in good faith and believed by it to be authorized or within the discretion or rights or powers conferred upon it by this Agreement;
(v) prior to the occurrence of an Event of Default hereunder and after the curing or waiver of all Events of Default that may have occurred, the Trust Administrator shall not be bound to make any investigation into the facts or matters stated in any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, consent, order, approval, bond or other paper or document, unless requested in writing so to do by Holders of Certificates evidencing greater than 50% of the Voting Rights allocated to each Class of Certificates; provided, however, that if the payment within a reasonable time to the Trust Administrator of the costs, expenses or liabilities likely to be incurred by it in the making of such investigation is, in the opinion of the Trust Administrator, not reasonably assured to the Trust Administrator by the security afforded to it by the terms of this Agreement, the Trust Administrator may require reasonable indemnity against such expense or liability as a condition to taking any such action; the reasonable expense of every such investigation shall be paid (A) by the Master Servicer or by the applicable Servicer in the event that such investigation relates to an Event of Default by the Master Servicer or by such Servicer, respectively, if an Event of Default by the Master Servicer or such Servicer shall have occurred and is continuing, and (B) otherwise by the Certificateholders requesting the investigation;
(vi) the Trust Administrator may execute any of the trusts or powers hereunder or perform any duties hereunder either directly or by or through agents or attorneys and the Trust Administrator shall not be responsible for any misconduct or negligence on the part of any such agent or attorney appointed with due care;
(vii) the Trust Administrator shall not be required to expend its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability in the performance of any of its duties hereunder if it shall have reasonable grounds for believing that repayment of such funds or adequate indemnity against such liability is not assured to it;
(viii) the Trust Administrator shall not be liable for any loss on any investment of funds pursuant to this Agreement except as provided in Section 3.05(e);
(ix) the right of the Trust Administrator to perform any discretionary act enumerated in this Agreement shall not be construed as a duty, and the Trust Administrator shall not be answerable for other than its negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of such act; and
(x) The Trust Administrator shall not be required to give any bond or surety in respect of the execution of the Trust Fund created hereby or the powers granted hereunder.
(b) All rights of action under this Agreement or under any of the Certificates, enforceable by the Trust Administrator, may be enforced by it without the possession of any of the Certificates, or the production thereof at the trial or other proceeding relating thereto, and any such suit, action or proceeding instituted by the Trust Administrator shall be brought in its name for the benefit of all the Holders of such Certificates, subject to the provisions of this Agreement.
Eligibility Requirements for Trust Administrator The Trust Administrator hereunder shall at all times be a corporation or association organized and doing business under the laws the United States of America or any state thereof, authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust powers, having a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000, subject to supervision or examination by federal or state authority and with a credit rating of at least investment grade. If such corporation or association publishes reports of condition at least annually, pursuant to law or to the requirements of the aforesaid supervising or examining authority, then for the purposes of this Section 9.06 the combined capital and surplus of such corporation or association shall be deemed to be its combined capital and surplus as set forth in its most recent report of condition so published. In case at any time the Trust Administrator shall cease to be eligible in accordance with the provisions of this Section 9.06, the Trust Administrator shall resign immediately in the manner and with the effect specified in Section 9.07 hereof. The entity serving as Trust Administrator may have normal banking and trust relationships with the Depositor and its affiliates or the Trustee and its affiliates.
Merger or Consolidation of the Trustee or the Certificate Administrator Any entity into which the Trustee or the Certificate Administrator may be merged or converted, or with which the Trustee or the Certificate Administrator, as applicable, may be consolidated, or any entity resulting from any merger, conversion or consolidation to which the Trustee or the Certificate Administrator, as applicable, shall be a party, or any entity succeeding to the corporate trust business of the Trustee or the Certificate Administrator, as applicable, shall be the successor of the Trustee or the Certificate Administrator, as applicable, hereunder, provided such entity shall be eligible under the provisions of Section 8.06 without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of any of the parties hereto, anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding.
Payments to Owner Trustee Any amounts paid to the Owner Trustee pursuant to this Article VIII shall be deemed not to be a part of the Owner Trust Estate immediately after such payment.
