EXHIBIT 1.1
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ARGENT SECURITIES INC.
$____________ (Approximately)
Argent Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series ____-_
Class A $____________ _____%
Class R $____________ _____%
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
_____________________
_______________, _____
[Underwriter]
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Ladies and Gentlemen:
Argent Securities Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"),
proposes to sell to you (also referred to herein as the "Underwriter") Argent
Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series ____-__, Class A and Class R
Certificates other than a DE MINIMIS portion thereof (collectively, the
"Certificates"), having the aggregate principal amounts and Pass-Through Rates
set forth above. The Certificates, together with the Class M and Class B
Certificates of the same series, will evidence the entire beneficial interest in
the Trust Fund (as defined in the Pooling and Servicing Agreement referred to
below) consisting primarily of a pool (the "Pool") of conventional, fixed-rate,
one- to four-family residential mortgage loans (the "Mortgage Loans") as
described in the Prospectus Supplement (as hereinafter defined) to be sold by
the Company. A DE MINIMIS portion of the Class R Certificates will not be sold
hereunder and will be held by the Trustee.
The Certificates will be issued pursuant to a pooling and servicing
agreement (the "Pooling and Servicing Agreement") to be dated as of
__________________, ____ (the "Cut-off Date") among the Company, as seller,
[Name of Master Servicer], as master servicer (the "Master Servicer"), and
___________________________________________, as trustee (the "Trustee"). The
Certificates are described more fully in the Basic Prospectus and the Prospectus
Supplement (each as hereinafter defined) which the Company has furnished to you.
1. Representations, Warranties And Covenants.
1.1. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with
you that:
(a) The Company has filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "Commission") a registration
statement (No. 33-_____) on Form S-3 for the registration
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), of
Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates and Mortgage-Backed Notes
(issuable in series), including the Certificates, which
registration statement has become effective, and a copy of
which, as amended to the date hereof, has heretofore been
delivered to you. The Company proposes to file with the
Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the rules and
regulations of the Commission under the Act (the "1933 Act
Regulations") a supplement dated __________, ____ (the
"Prospectus Supplement"), to the prospectus dated __________,
____ (the "Basic Prospectus"), relating to the Certificates
and the method of distribution thereof. Such registration
statement (No. 33-_____) including exhibits thereto and any
information incorporated therein by reference, as amended at
the date hereof, is hereinafter called the "Registration
Statement"; and the Basic Prospectus and the Prospectus
Supplement and any information incorporated therein by
reference, together with any amendment thereof or supplement
thereto authorized by the Company on or prior to the Closing
Date for use in connection with the offering of the
Certificates, are hereinafter called the "Prospectus". Any
preliminary form of the Prospectus Supplement which has
heretofore been filed pursuant to Rule 424, or prior to the
effective date of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule
402(a), or 424(a) is hereinafter called a "Preliminary
Prospectus Supplement."
(b) The Registration Statement has become effective,
and the Registration Statement as of the effective date (the
"Effective Date"), and the Prospectus, as of the date of the
Prospectus Supplement, complied in all material respects with
the applicable requirements of the Act and the 1933 Act
Regulations; and the Registration Statement, as of the
Effective Date, did not contain any untrue statement of a
material fact and did not omit to state any material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading and the Prospectus, as of
the date of the Prospectus Supplement, did not, and as of the
Closing Date will not, contain an untrue statement of a
material fact and did not and will not omit to state a
material fact necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they
were made, not misleading; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that the Company
makes no representations or warranties as to the information
contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto
relating to the information identified by underlining or other
highlighting as shown in Exhibit E (the "Excluded
Information"); and PROVIDED, FURTHER, that the Company makes
no representations or warranties as to either (i) any
information in any Computational Materials or ABS Term Sheets
(each as hereinafter defined) required to be provided by the
Underwriter to the Company pursuant to Section 4.2, except to
the extent of any information set forth therein that
constitutes Pool Information (as defined below), or (ii) as to
any information contained in or omitted from the portions of
the Prospectus identified by underlining or other highlighting
as shown in Exhibit F (the "Underwriter Information"). As used
herein, "Pool Information" means information with respect to
the characteristics of the Mortgage Loans and administrative
and servicing fees, as provided by or on behalf of the Company
to the Underwriter in final form and set forth in the
Prospectus Supplement. The Company acknowledges that, except
for any Computational Materials, the Underwriter Information
constitutes the only information furnished in writing by you
or on your behalf for use in connection with the preparation
of the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or
the Prospectus, and you confirm that the Underwriter
Information is correct.
(c) The Company has been duly incorporated and is
validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the
laws of the State of Delaware and has the requisite corporate
power to own its properties and to conduct its business as
presently conducted by it.
(d) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed
and delivered by the Company.
(e) As of the Closing Date (as defined herein) the
Certificates will conform in all material respects to the
description thereof contained in the Prospectus and the
representations and warranties of the Company in the Pooling
and Servicing Agreement will be true and correct in all
material respects.
1.2. The Underwriter represents and warrants to and agrees
with the Company that:
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(a) No purpose of the Underwriter relating to the purchase of
any of the Class R Certificates by the Underwriter is or will be to enable the
Company to impede the assessment or collection of any tax.
(b) The Underwriter has no present knowledge or expectation
that it will be unable to pay any United States taxes owed by it so long as any
of the Certificates remain outstanding.
(c) The Underwriter has no present knowledge or expectation
that it will become insolvent or subject to a bankruptcy proceeding for so long
as any of the Certificates remain outstanding.
(d) No purpose of the Underwriter relating to any sale of any
of the Class R Certificates by the Underwriter will be to enable it to impede
the assessment or collection of tax. In this regard, the Underwriter hereby
represents to and for the benefit of the Company that the Underwriter intends to
pay taxes associated with holding the Class R Certificates, as they become due,
fully understanding that it may incur tax liabilities in excess of any cash
flows generated by the Class R Certificates.
(e) The Underwriter will, in connection with any transfer it
makes of any of the Class R Certificates, obtain from its transferee the
affidavit required by Section 5.02(g)(i)(B)(I) of the Pooling and Servicing
Agreement, will not consummate any such transfer if it knows or believes that
any representation contained in such affidavit is false and will provide the
Trustee with the Certificate required by Section 5.02(g)(i)(B)(II) of the
Pooling and Servicing Agreement.
(f) The Underwriter hereby certifies that (i) with respect to
any classes of Certificates issued in authorized denominations or Percentage
Interests of less than $______ or __%, as the case may be, the fair market value
of each such Certificate sold to any person on the date of initial sale thereof
by the Underwriter will not be less than $_______, and (ii) with respect to each
class of Certificates to be maintained on the book-entry records of The
Depository Trust Company ("DTC"), the interest in each such class of
Certificates sold to any person on the date of initial sale thereof by the
Underwriter will not be less than an initial Certificate Principal Balance of
$______.
(g) The Underwriter will use its best reasonable efforts to
cause Xxxxx & Co. to issue a commitment letter, prior to the Closing Date, to
DTC stating that Xxxxx & Co. will value the DTC Registered Certificates
(hereinafter defined) on an ongoing basis subsequent to the Closing Date.
(h) The Underwriter will have funds available at
__________________ _______________, in the Underwriter's account at such bank at
the time all documents are executed and the closing of the sale of the
Certificates is completed, except for the transfer of funds and the delivery of
the Certificates. Such funds will be available for immediate transfer into the
account of the Company maintained at such bank.
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(i) As of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date, the
Underwriter has complied with all of its obligations hereunder
including Section 4.2, and, with respect to all Computational Materials
and ABS Term Sheets provided by the Underwriter to the Company pursuant
to Section 4.2, if any, such Computational Materials and ABS Term
Sheets are accurate in all material respects when read in conjunction
with the Prospectus Supplement (taking into account the assumptions
explicitly set forth in the Computational Materials, except to the
extent of any errors therein that are caused by errors in the Pool
Information). The Computational Materials and ABS Term Sheets provided
by the Underwriter to the Company constitute a complete set of all
Computational Materials and ABS Term Sheets that are required to be
filed with the Commission.
1.3. The Underwriter covenants and agrees to pay directly, or
reimburse the Company upon demand for (i) any and all taxes (including penalties
and interest) owed or asserted to be owed by the Company as a result of a claim
by the Internal Revenue Service that the transfer of any of the Class R
Certificates to the Underwriter hereunder or any transfer thereof by the
Underwriter may be disregarded for federal tax purposes and (ii) any and all
losses, claims, damages and liabilities, including attorney's fees and expenses,
arising out of any failure of the Underwriter to make payment or reimbursement
in connection with any such assertion as required in (i) above. In addition, the
Underwriter acknowledges that on the Closing Date immediately after the
transactions described herein it will be the owner of the Class R Certificates
for federal tax purposes, and the Underwriter covenants that it will not assert
in any proceeding that the transfer of the Class R Certificates from the Company
to the Underwriter should be disregarded for any purpose.
2. Purchase And Sale.
Subject to the terms and conditions and in reliance upon the
representations and warranties herein set forth, the company agrees to sell to
you, and you agree to purchase from the Company, the Certificates (other than
for a de minimis portion of the Class R Certificates, which shall be transferred
by the Company to the Trustee) at a price equal to __________% of the aggregate
principal balance of the Certificates as of the Closing Date. There will be
added to the purchase price of the Certificates an amount equal to interest
accrued thereon from the Cut-off Date to but not including the Closing Date. The
purchase price for the Certificates was agreed to by the Company in reliance
upon the transfer from the Company to the Underwriter of the tax liabilities
associated with the ownership of the Class R Certificates.
3. Delivery And Payment.
Delivery of and payment for the Certificates shall be made at the
office of _______________________ at ___________________ time, on
______________, ____ or such later date as you shall designate, which date and
time may be postponed by agreement between you and the Company (such date and
time of delivery and payment for the Certificates being herein called the
"Closing Date"). Delivery of the Certificates (except for the Class R
Certificates (the "Definitive Certificates")) shall be made to you through the
Depository Trust Company ("DTC") (such Certificates, the "DTC Registered
Certificates"), and delivery of the Definitive Certificates shall be made in
registered, certified form, in each case against payment by you of the purchase
price thereof to or upon the order of the Company by wire transfer in
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immediately available funds. The Definitive Certificates shall be registered in
such names and in such denominations as you may request not less than two
business days in advance of the Closing Date. The Company agrees to have the
Definitive Certificates available for inspection, checking and packaging by you
in New York, New York not later than ___________ on the business day prior to
the Closing Date.
4. Offering By Underwriter.
4.1. It is understood that you propose to offer the
Certificates for sale to the public as set forth in the Prospectus and you agree
that all such offers and sales by you shall be made in compliance with all
applicable laws and regulations.
4.2. It is understood that you may prepare and provide to
prospective investors certain Computational Materials (as defined below) in
connection with your offering of the Certificates, subject to the following
conditions:
(a) The Underwriter shall comply with all applicable
laws and regulations in connection with the use of
Computational Materials, including the No-Action Letter of May
20, 1994 issued by the Commission to Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxx
Acceptance Corporation I, Xxxxxx, Peabody & Co. Incorporated
and Xxxxxx Structured Asset Corporation, as made applicable to
other issuers and underwriters by the Commission in response
to the request of the Public Securities Association dated May
24, 1994 (collectively, the "Xxxxxx/PSA Letter") as well as
the PSA Letter referred to below. The Underwriter shall comply
with all applicable laws and regulations in connection with
the use of ABS Term Sheets, including the No-Action Letter of
February 17, 1995 issued by the Commission to the Public
Securities Association (the "PSA Letter" and, together with
the Xxxxxx/PSA Letter, the "No-Action Letters").
(b) For purposes hereof, "Computational Materials" as
used herein shall have the meaning given such term in the
No-Action Letters, but shall include only those Computational
Materials that have been prepared or delivered to prospective
investors by or at the direction of the Underwriter. For
purposes hereof, "ABS Term Sheets" and "Collateral Term
Sheets" as used herein shall have the meanings given such
terms in the PSA Letter but shall include only those ABS Term
Sheets or Collateral Term Sheets that have been prepared or
delivered to prospective investors by or at the direction of
the Underwriter.
(c) All Computational Materials and ABS Term Sheets
provided to prospective investors that are required to be
filed pursuant to the No-Action Letters shall bear a legend on
each page including the following statement:
"THE INFORMATION HEREIN HAS BEEN PROVIDED SOLELY BY [Underwriter].
NEITHER THE ISSUER OF THE CERTIFICATES NOR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES MAKES ANY
REPRESENTATION AS TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN. THE
INFORMATION HEREIN IS PRELIMINARY, AND WILL BE SUPERSEDED BY THE APPLICABLE
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT AND BY ANY
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OTHER INFORMATION SUBSEQUENTLY FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION."
In the case of Collateral Term Sheets, such legend shall also include
the following statement:
"THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN WILL BE SUPERSEDED BY THE DESCRIPTION
OF THE MORTGAGE POOL CONTAINED IN THE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT RELATING TO THE
CERTIFICATES AND [Except with respect to the initial Collateral Term Sheet
prepared by the Underwriter] SUPERSEDES ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED IN ANY
COLLATERAL TERM SHEETS RELATING TO THE MORTGAGE POOL PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED BY [the
Underwriter]."
The Company shall have the right to require additional specific legends
or notations to appear on any Computational Materials or ABS Term Sheets, the
right to require changes regarding the use of terminology and the right to
determine the types of information appearing therein.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, this subsection (c) will be satisfied if
all such Computational Materials and ABS Term Sheets bear a legend in the form
set forth in Exhibit I hereto.
(d) The Underwriter shall provide the Company with
representative forms of all Computational Materials and ABS Term Sheets
prior to their first use; to the extent such forms have not previously
been approved by the Company for use by the Underwriter. The
Underwriter shall provide to the Company, for filing on Form 8-K as
provided in Section 5.9, copies (in such format as required by the
Company) of all Computational Materials that are required to be filed
with the Commission pursuant to the No-Action Letters. The Underwriter
may provide copies of the foregoing in a consolidated or aggregated
form including all information required to be filed. All Computational
Materials and ABS Term Sheets described in this subsection (d) must be
provided to the Company not later than 10:00 a.m. New York time one
business day before filing thereof is required pursuant to the terms of
this Agreement. The Underwriter agrees that it will not provide to any
investor or prospective investor in the Certificates any Computational
Materials or ABS Term Sheets on or after the day on which Computational
Materials and ABS Term Sheets are required to be provided to the
Company pursuant to this Section 4.2(d) (other than copies of
Computational Materials or ABS Term Sheets previously submitted to the
Company in accordance with this Section 4.2(d) for filing pursuant to
Section 5.9), unless such Computational Materials or ABS Term Sheets
are preceded or accompanied by the delivery of a Prospectus to such
investor or prospective investor.
(e) All information included in the Computational Materials
shall be generated based on substantially the same methodology and
assumptions that are used to generate the information in the Prospectus
Supplement as set forth therein; PROVIDED that the Computational
Materials and ABS Term Sheets or ABS Term Sheets, as the case may be,
may include information based on alternative assumptions if specified
therein. If any
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Computational Materials or ABS Term Sheets that are required to be
filed were based on assumptions with respect to the Pool that differ
from the final Pool Information in any material respect or on
Certificate structuring terms that were revised prior to the printing
of the Prospectus, the Underwriter shall prepare revised Computational
Materials or ABS Term Sheets, as the case may be, based on the final
Pool Information and structuring assumptions, circulate such revised
Computational Materials and ABS Term Sheets to all recipients of the
preliminary versions thereof that indicated orally to the Underwriter
they would purchase all or any portion of the Certificates and include
such revised Computational Materials and ABS Term Sheets (marked, "as
revised") in the materials delivered to the Company pursuant to
subsection (d) above.
(f) The Company shall not be obligated to file any
Computational Materials that have been determined to contain any
material error or omission. In the event that any Computational
Materials or ABS Terms Sheets are determined, within the period which
the Prospectus relating to the Certificates is required to be delivered
under the Act, to contain a material error or omission, the Underwriter
shall prepare a corrected version of such Computational Materials or
ABS Term Sheets, shall circulate such corrected Computational Materials
to all recipients of the prior versions thereof that indicated orally
to the Underwriter they would purchase all or any portion of the
Certificates and shall deliver copies of such corrected Computational
Materials and ABS Term Sheets (marked, "as corrected") to the Company
for filing with the Commission in a subsequent Form 8-K submission
(subject to the Company's obtaining an accountant's comfort letter in
respect of such corrected Computational Materials, which shall be at
the expense of the Underwriter), PROVIDED that if any such letter is
required to be revised solely because of a change in the Pool
Information, fifty percent of any additional expenses for such letter
resulting from the change in Pool Information shall be paid by each of
the Underwriter and the Company.
(g) If the Underwriter does not provide any Computational
Materials or ABS Term Sheets to the Company pursuant to subsection (d)
above, the Underwriter shall be deemed to have represented, as of the
Closing Date, that it did not provide any prospective investors with
any information in written or electronic form in connection with the
offering of the Certificates that is required to be filed with the
Commission in accordance with the No-Action Letters, and the
Underwriter shall provide the Company with a certification to that
effect on the Closing Date.
(h) In the event of any delay in the delivery by the
Underwriter to the Company of all Computational Materials and ABS Term
Sheets required to be delivered in accordance with subsection (d)
above, or in the delivery of the accountant's comfort letter in respect
thereof pursuant to Section 5.9, the Company shall have the right to
delay the release of the Prospectus to investors or to the Underwriter,
to delay the Closing Date and to take other appropriate actions in each
case as necessary in order to allow the Company to comply with its
agreement set forth in Section 5.9 to file the Computational Materials
and ABS Term Sheets by the time specified therein.
(i) The Underwriter represents that it has in place, and
covenants that it shall maintain internal controls and procedures which
it reasonably believes to be
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sufficient to ensure full compliance with all applicable legal
requirements of the No-Action Letters with respect to the generation
and use of Computational Materials and ABS Term Sheets in connection
with the offering of the Certificates.
4.3. You further agree that on or prior to the sixth day after
the Closing Date, you shall provide the Company with a certificate,
substantially in the form of Exhibit G attached hereto, setting forth (i) in the
case of each class of Certificates, (a) if less than 10% of the aggregate
principal balance of such class of Certificates has been sold to the public as
of such date, the value calculated pursuant to clause (b)(iii) of Exhibit G
hereto, or, (b) if __% or more of such class of Certificates has been sold to
the public as of such date but no single price is paid for at least __% of the
aggregate principal balance of such class of Certificates, then the weighted
average price at which the Certificates of such class were sold expressed as a
percentage of the principal balance of such class of Certificates sold, or (c)
the first single price at which at least __% of the aggregate principal balance
of such class of Certificates was sold to the public, (ii) the prepayment
assumption used in pricing each class of Certificates, and (iii) such other
information as to matters of fact as the Company may reasonably request to
enable it to comply with its reporting requirements with respect to each class
of Certificates to the extent such information can in the good faith judgment of
the Underwriter be determined by it.
5. Agreements.
The Company agrees with you that:
5.1. Before amending or supplementing the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus with respect to the Certificates, the Company will
furnish you with a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement.
5.2. The Company will cause the Prospectus Supplement to be
transmitted to the Commission for filing pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act
by means reasonably calculated to result in filing with the Commission pursuant
to said rule.
5.3. If, during the period after the first date of the public
offering of the Certificates in which a prospectus relating to the Certificates
is required to be delivered under the Act, any event occurs as a result of which
it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus, as then amended or
supplemented, in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading,
or if it shall be necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with
the Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, the Company promptly will prepare and
furnish, at its own expense, to you, either amendments or supplements to the
Prospectus so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or
supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus is
delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Prospectus will comply
with law.
5.4. The Company will furnish to you, without charge, a copy
of the Registration Statement (including exhibits thereto) and, so long as
delivery of a prospectus by an underwriter or dealer may be required by the Act,
as many copies of the Prospectus, any documents incorporated by reference
therein and any amendments and supplements thereto as you may reasonably
request.
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5.5. The Company agrees, so long as the Certificates shall be
outstanding, or until such time as you shall cease to maintain a secondary
market in the Certificates, whichever first occurs, to deliver to you the annual
statement as to compliance delivered to the Trustee pursuant to Section 3.18 of
the Pooling and Servicing Agreement and the annual statement of a firm of
independent public accountants furnished to the Trustee pursuant to Section 3.19
of the Pooling and Servicing Agreement, as soon as such statements are furnished
to the Company.
5.6. The Company will endeavor to arrange for the
qualification of the Certificates for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions
as you may reasonably designate and will maintain such qualification in effect
so long as required for the initial distribution of the Certificates; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, that the Company shall not be required to qualify to do business in any
jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified or to take any action that would
subject it to general or unlimited service of process in any jurisdiction where
it is not now so subject.
5.7. If the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are
consummated, the Company will pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to
the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement, and will
reimburse you for any reasonable expenses (including reasonable fees and
disbursements of counsel) reasonably incurred by you in connection with
qualification of the Certificates for sale and determination of their
eligibility for investment under the laws of such jurisdictions as you have
reasonably requested pursuant to Section 5.6 above and the printing of memoranda
relating thereto, for any fees charged by investment rating agencies for the
rating of the Certificates, and for expenses incurred in distributing the
Prospectus (including any amendments and supplements thereto) to the
Underwriter. Except as herein provided, you shall be responsible for paying all
costs and expenses incurred by you, including the fees and disbursements of your
counsel, in connection with the purchase and sale of the Certificates.
5.8. If, during the period after the Closing Date in which a
prospectus relating to the Certificates is required to be delivered under the
Act, the Company receives notice that a stop order suspending the effectiveness
of the Registration Statement or preventing the offer and sale of the
Certificates is in effect, the Company will advise you of the issuance of such
stop order.
5.9. The Company shall file the Computational Materials and
ABS Term Sheets (if any) provided to it by the Underwriter under Section 4.2(d)
with the Commission pursuant to a Current Report on Form 8-K by ___________ on
the morning the Prospectus is delivered to the Underwriter or, the case of any
Collateral Term Sheet required to be filed prior to such date, by ____________
on the second business day following the first day on which such Collateral Term
Sheet has been sent to a prospective investor; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that prior to
such filing of the Computational Materials and ABS Term Sheets (other than any
Collateral Term Sheets that are not based on the Pool Information) by the
Company, the Underwriter must comply with its obligations pursuant to Section
4.2 and the Company must receive a letter from _______________, certified public
accountants, satisfactory in form and substance to the Company and its counsel,
to the effect that such accountants have performed certain specified procedures,
all of which have been agreed to by the Company, as a result of which they
determined that all information that is included in the Computational Materials
(if any) provided by the Underwriter to the Company for filing on Form 8-K, as
provided in Section 4.2 and this Section 5.9, is accurate without exception. The
foregoing letter shall be at the sole expense of
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the Underwriter. The Company shall file any corrected Computational Materials
described in Section 4.2(f) as soon as practicable following receipt thereof.
The Company also will file with the Commission within fifteen days of the
issuance of the Certificates a Current Report on Form 8-K (for purposes of
filing the Pooling and Servicing Agreement).
6. CONDITIONS TO THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE UNDERWRITER.
The Underwriter's obligation to purchase the Certificates shall be
subject to the following conditions:
6.1. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement shall be in effect, and no proceedings for that purpose
shall be pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the
Commission; and the Prospectus Supplement shall have been filed or transmitted
for filing, by means reasonably calculated to result in a filing with the
Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act.
6.2. Since _________ 1, ____ there shall have been no material
adverse change (not in the ordinary course of business) in the condition of the
Company.
6.3. The Company shall have delivered to you a certificate,
dated the Closing Date, of the President, a Senior Vice President or a Vice
President of the Company to the effect that the signer of such certificate has
examined this Agreement, the Prospectus, the Pooling and Servicing Agreement and
various other closing documents, and that, to the best of his or her knowledge
after reasonable investigation:
(a) the representations and warranties of the Company
in this Agreement and in the Pooling and Servicing Agreement are true
and correct in all material respects; and
(b) the Company has, in all material respects,
complied with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on
its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to the
Closing Date.
6.4. You shall have received the opinions of Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
& Xxxx, counsel for the Company and the Master Servicer, dated the Closing Date
and substantially to the effect set forth in Exhibit A-1 and Exhibit A-2, and
the opinion of [counsel to Master Servicer], dated the Closing Date and
substantially to the effect set forth in Exhibit B.
6.5. You shall have received from ________________________,
counsel for the Underwriter, an opinion dated the Closing Date in form and
substance satisfactory to the Underwriter.
6.6. The Underwriter shall have received from
________________________, certified public accountants, a letter dated the date
hereof and satisfactory in form and substance to the Underwriter and the
Underwriter's counsel, to the effect that they have performed certain specified
procedures, all of which have been agreed to by the Underwriter, as a result of
which they determined that certain information of an accounting, financial or
statistical nature set forth in the Prospectus Supplement under the captions
"Description of the Mortgage Pool", "Pooling
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and Servicing Agreement", "Description of the Certificates" and "Certain Yield
and Prepayment Considerations" agrees with the records of the Company excluding
any questions of legal interpretation.
6.7. The Certificates shall have been rated "AAA" by [Standard
& Poor's Ratings Services] and [Fitch Investor's Service, L.P.]
6.8. You shall have received the opinion of [Trustee's
Counsel], dated the Closing Date, substantially to the effect set forth in
Exhibit C.
6.9. You shall have received from Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx & Xxxx,
counsel to the Company, reliance letters with respect to any opinions delivered
to Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and Fitch Investor Services, L.P.
The Company will furnish you with conformed copies of the above opinions,
certificates, letters and documents as you reasonably request.
7. Indemnification And Contribution.
7.1. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless you and
each person, if any, who controls you within the meaning of either Section 15 of
the Act or Section 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, from and against
any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities caused by any untrue
statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the
Registration Statement for the registration of the Certificates as originally
filed or in any amendment thereof or other filing incorporated by reference
therein, or in the Prospectus or incorporated by reference therein (if used
within the period set forth in Section 5.3 hereof and as amended or supplemented
if the Company shall have furnished any amendments or supplements thereto), or
caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in
light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except
insofar as such losses, claims, damages, or liabilities are caused by any such
untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission based upon
any information with respect to which the Underwriter has agreed to indemnify
the Company pursuant to Section 7.2; PROVIDED, that neither the Company, or you
will be liable in any case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or
liability arises out of or is based upon any such untrue statement or alleged
untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made therein relating to the
Excluded Information.
7.2. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its
directors or officers and any person controlling the Company to the same extent
as the indemnity set forth in clause 7.1 above from the Company to you, but only
with respect to (i) the Underwriter Information and (ii) the Computational
Materials and ABS Term Sheets, except to the extent of any errors in the
Computational Materials or ABS Term Sheets that are caused by errors in the Pool
Information. In addition, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Company
its directors or officers and any person controlling the Company against any and
all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses (including, without
limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees) caused by, resulting from, relating to,
or based upon any legend regarding original issue discount
11
on any Certificate resulting from incorrect information provided by the
Underwriter in the certificates described in Section 4.3 hereof.
7.3. In case any proceeding (including any governmental
investigation) shall be instituted involving any person in respect of which
indemnity may be sought pursuant to either clause 7.1 or 7.2, such person (the
"indemnified party") shall promptly notify the person against whom such
indemnity may be sought (the "indemnifying party") in writing and the
indemnifying party, upon request of the indemnified party, shall retain counsel
reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified
party and any others the indemnifying party may designate in such proceeding and
shall pay the reasonable fees and disbursements of such counsel related to such
proceeding. In any such proceeding, any indemnified party shall have the right
to retain its own counsel, but the reasonable fees and expenses of such counsel
shall be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (i) the indemnifying
party and the indemnified party shall have mutually agreed to the retention of
such counsel or (ii) the named parties to any such proceeding (including any
impleaded parties) include both the indemnifying party and the indemnified party
and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate
due to actual or potential differing interests between them. It is understood
that the indemnifying party shall not, in connection with any proceeding or
related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees
and expenses of more than one separate firm for all such indemnified parties.
Such firm shall be designated in writing by you, in the case of parties
indemnified pursuant to clause 7.1 and by the Company, in the case of parties
indemnified pursuant to clause 7.2. The indemnifying party may, at its option,
at any time upon written notice to the indemnified party, assume the defense of
any proceeding and may designate counsel reasonably satisfactory to the
indemnified party in connection therewith provided that the counsel so
designated would have no actual or potential conflict of interest in connection
with such representation. Unless it shall assume the defense of any proceeding
the indemnifying party shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding,
effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if
there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to
indemnify the indemnified party from and against any loss or liability by reason
of such settlement or judgment. If the indemnifying party assumes the defense of
any proceeding, it shall be entitled to settle such proceeding with the consent
of the indemnified party or, if such settlement provides for release of the
indemnified party in connection with all matters relating to the proceeding
which have been asserted against the indemnified party in such proceeding by the
other parties to such settlement, without the consent of the indemnified party.
7.4. If the indemnification provided for in this Section 7 is
unavailable to an indemnified party under clause 7.1 or 7.2 hereof or
insufficient in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred
to therein, then the indemnifying party, in lieu of indemnifying such
indemnified party, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such
indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, in
such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits
received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other from
the offering of the Certificates but also the relative fault of the Company on
the one hand and of the Underwriter, on the other in connection with the
statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or
liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The
relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Underwriter on the
other shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the
untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged
omission to state
12
a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or by the
Underwriter, and the parties' relative intent, knowledge, access to information
and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
7.5. The Company and the Underwriter agree that it would not
be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined
by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take
account of the considerations referred to in clause 7.4, above. The amount paid
or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages
and liabilities referred to in this Section 7 shall be deemed to include,
subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other expenses
reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating
or defending any such action or claim except where the indemnified party is
required to bear such expenses pursuant to clause 7.4; which expenses the
indemnifying party shall pay as and when incurred, at the request of the
indemnified party, to the extent that the indemnifying party believes that it
will be ultimately obligated to pay such expenses. In the event that any
expenses so paid by the indemnifying party are subsequently determined to not be
required to be borne by the indemnifying party hereunder, the party which
received such payment shall promptly refund the amount so paid to the party
which made such payment. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation
(within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to
contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent
misrepresentation.
7.6. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in
this Section 7 and the representations and warranties of the Company in this
Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i)
any termination of this Agreement, (ii) any investigation made by the
Underwriter or on behalf of the Underwriter or any person controlling the
Underwriter or by or on behalf of the Company and its respective directors or
officers or any person controlling the Company and (iii) acceptance of and
payment for any of the Certificates.
8. Termination.
This Agreement shall be subject to termination by notice given to the
Company, if the sale of the Certificates provided for herein is not consummated
because of any failure or refusal on the part of the Company to comply with the
terms or to fulfill any of the conditions of this Agreement, or if for any
reason the Company shall be unable to perform their respective obligations under
this Agreement. If you terminate this Agreement in accordance with this Section
8, the Company will reimburse you for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses
(including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel) that shall have been
reasonably incurred by the Underwriter in connection with the proposed purchase
and sale of the Certificates.
9. Certain Representations And Indemnities To Survive.
The respective agreements, representations, warranties, indemnities and
other statements of the Company or the officers of the Company, and you set
forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and
effect, regardless of any investigation, or statement as to the results thereof,
made by you or on your behalf or made by or on behalf of the Company or any of
its officers, directors or controlling persons, and will survive delivery of and
payment for the Certificates.
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10. Notices.
All communications hereunder will be in writing and effective only on
receipt, and, if sent to the Underwriter will be mailed, delivered or
telegraphed and confirmed to you at ___________________________________________,
Attention: ____________________________ or if sent to the Company, will be
mailed, delivered or telegraphed and confirmed to it at Argent Securities Inc.,
____________________.
11. Successors.
This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the
parties hereto and their respective successors and the officers and directors
and controlling persons referred to in Section 7 hereof, and their successors
and assigns, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.
12. Applicable Law.
This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the
laws of the State of New York.
13. Counterparts.
This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of
which shall be deemed an original, which taken together shall constitute one and
the same instrument.
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our
agreement, please sign and return to us a counterpart hereof, whereupon this
letter and your acceptance shall represent a binding agreement between the
Company and you.
Very truly yours,
ARGENT SECURITIES INC.
By:
___________________________
Name:
Title:
The foregoing Underwriting Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted
as of the date first above written.
___________________________
By:
___________________________
Name:
Title:
