Standard & Poor’s approved Opus Capital Markets Consultants (Opus CMC) as a third-party due diligence provider for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transactions. S&P’s approval of the third-party consultant firm is the latest step toward improved quality and transparency of MBS, Opus CMC said. The approval of due diligence providers for MBS transactions will ultimately give investors greater confidence that the underlying collateral received adequate analysis, according to Opus CMC principal Jennifer LaBud. “We have witnessed a shift in the way people view due diligence,” LaBud said, adding that issuers and investors alike are placing greater value on loan-level and operational reviews as part of the risk mitigation process. Opus CMC, which acquired the due diligence unit of Mortgage Data Management Co. in June, provides operational and loan-level consulting to investment banks, hedge funds, originators, servicers and insurance providers. Write to Diana Golobay.