Email this pagePrint Archive - 2004
January 5 January 12 January 19 January 26 February 2 February 9 February 16 February 23 March 1 March 8 March 15 March 22 March 29 April 5 April 12 April 19 April 26 May 3 May 10 May 17 May 24 May 31 June 7 June 14 June 21 June 28 July 12 July 19 July 26 August 2 August 9 August 16 August 23 August 30 September 6 September 13 September 20 September 27 October 4 October 11 October 13 October 18 October 25 November 1 November 8 November 15 November 29 December 6 December 13 December 20January 5, 2004
Did Freddie Speculate on Rates?
January 5, 2004An investigation into Freddie Mac's $5 billion accounting scandal discovered the giant mortgage company speculated on interest rates - and it paid off handsomely. (Read More)
Was Wells a Half-Trillion Baby?
January 5, 2004Did mega-lender Wells Fargo Home Mortgage crack the $500-billion mark in 2003? (Read More)
The Top Five
January 5, 2004(Dollars in Billions) (part 1 of 2) Lender 1Q Prod 2Q Prod 3Q Prod Wells Fargo $103 $135 $161 WaMu $109 $126 $133 Countrywide $102 $130 $126 Chase $62 $78 $94 Bank of America $33 $40 $40 Totals: $409 $509 $554 (part 2 of 2) Lender 4Q Prod(e) FY '03 Totals(e) Wells Fargo $80 $479 WaMu $66 $434 Countrywide $63 $421 Chase $47 $281 Bank of America $20 $133 Totals: $276 $1,748 Notes: (e) Estimate. NMN assumes that fourth quarter production will be 50% less than the record third quarter of 2003. (Read More)
Fannie Mae Forms PAC
January 5, 2004Fannie Mae has formed a political action committee so that the company can make direct contributions to congressional and presidential candidates who support its housing mission. (Read More)
At a Glance: Fannie's '02 'Soft Money' Political Donations
January 5, 2004Total: $1.8 million Republicans: $967,736 Democrats: $863,100 Source: Fannie Mae Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
SEC: Commitments Are Liabilities
January 5, 2004The Securities and Exchange Commission believes loan commitments should be recognized as "liabilities only" and it wants mortgage lenders to stop booking LCs as assets after March 31. (Read More)
At a Glance: '04 Begins as '03 Began
January 5, 2004Average 30-year FRM at start of '04: 5.85% Average 30-year FRM at start of '03: 5.85% Average 30-year FRM at start of '02: 7.14% Average 30-year FRM at start of '01: 7.07% Source: Freddie Mac Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Start of 2004 Looks a Lot Like Start of 2003
January 5, 2004At the end of 2003, mortgage industry executives must have been feeling a sense of deja vu. (Read More)
Radian Shuts Down Settlement Subsidiary
January 5, 2004Radian Group Inc. here plans to shut down its struggling mortgage services subsidiary over the next three months in order to give itself enough time to complete transactions in the works with existing customers, negotiate an end to employment contracts for 113 positions within the unit and close the division's Dayton, Ohio, headquarters. (Read More)
HUD Prepares to Finalize Appraisal Accountability Rules
January 5, 2004The Department of Housing and Urban Development is sticking to its regulatory agenda of making Federal Housing Administration lenders more accountable for the performance of their originations. (Read More)
New Year, Old Problem
January 5, 2004"The Department of Housing and Urban Development's long-expected comprehensive revision to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act [RESPA] could become as effective as early as this summer or more likely sometime this autumn." (Read More)
Signs Continue to Be Positive
January 5, 2004Excerpts of Mr. Brown's comments from the recent FDIC quarterly banking profile press briefing are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Originators See Opportunity Despite Expected Rate Challenges in 2004
January 5, 2004When it comes to the origination side of the business, market participants tend to acknowledge that there are likely to be some challenges if the interest rate and bond market trends expected in 2004 pan out. But they still doggedly believe that there will be some opportunities. (Read More)
NY Senator Clinton Proposes Raising FHA Loan Limit
January 5, 2004Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., whose interest in affordable housing is earning the appreciation of industry veterans here, said at the recent 30th Annual New York and National Housing Conference Award Luncheon that she will introduce new FHA legislation. (Read More)
Freddie Mac Helps New Mexico Lenders
January 5, 2004Freddie Mac has joined a statewide coalition of lenders and housing organizations here in launching the $100-million "Homes for the Holidays" campaign, consisting of three separate initiatives designed to assist about 600 local residents become homeowners by Christmas 2004. (Read More)
Wilmington Gets $50M Commitment
January 5, 2004Freddie Mac has partnered with the Wilmington Housing Authority and other local nonprofits pledging to purchase up to $50 million in eligible mortgages for low- to moderate-income Wilmington families. (Read More)
Pru Offers Tax-Exempt Financing
January 5, 2004Prudential Mortgage Capital is expanding its affordable housing financing activities through a newly formed affiliate, Red Stone Partners. (Read More)
MacArthur Foundation Targets Preservation
January 5, 2004The MacArthur Foundation has announced a commitment to provide $50 million to help purchase and preserve 100,000 units of affordable rental housing. (Read More)
Survey Finds Borrowers Eager to Manage Finances Online
January 5, 2004The days are numbered on borrower reluctance to transact a mortgage loan online. That was the message of a study just completed by online specialist Amerisave Mortgage, Atlanta. (Read More)
At a Glance: Amerisave Customers Are Managing Money on the Internet
January 5, 2004Pay Bills Online: 71% Do Banking Online: 70% Invest Online: 57% Obtain Insurance Online: 16% Source: Amerisave Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
LendingTree Buys Realty Site's Assets
January 5, 2004LendingTree, Inc. here has purchased certain assets of RealEstate.com from Primedia Inc. (Read More)
OneFee Gaining Traction at ABN Amro
January 5, 2004Garth E. Graham, senior vice president of e-commerce and customer relationship management for Ann Arbor, Mich.-based ABN Amro approached the audience at Thomson Media's 5th Annual Mortgage EC Conference here with hat in hand. He admitted that he had been wrong at last year's conference when he told attendees that reform of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act was imminent. But he added that ABN Amro's continued success with its OneFee program is a clear indication that borrowers want a simpler way to close a mortgage loan. (Read More)
eAppraiseIT Product Verifies Valuations
January 5, 2004eAppraiseIT LLC here has introduced its Limited Reconciliation Report, a product designed to give lenders the opportunity to substantiate a property's value. This product is used to determine if there has been any misrepresentation in the valuation of a property and at which stage of the origination process. It seeks to identify what causes a disparity among a number of valuations. (Read More)
People
January 5, 2004CALIFORNIA Carson-Lissa Marie Cinat has been appointed assistant general counsel for Document Systems Inc. Ms. Cinat joined DSI after gaining experience with both national and international law firms. (Read More)
Moody's Study Tallies Defaults, Finds Interest Shortfalls to Blame in CMBS
January 5, 2004Less than 3% of the 13,419 U.S. structured finance securities issued since 1993 have defaulted, according to a structured finance default study by Moody's Investors Service. The study included 167 asset-backed securitizations, 80 commercial mortgage-backed securitizations and 143 residential mortgage-backed securitizations. (Read More)
Default & Loss Mitigation: A Consultant's Approach
January 5, 2004The good news: a strengthening economy may put downward pressure on delinquencies. The bad news: not all boats are going to be lifted by this rising tide. (Read More)
End of Refinancing Boom Could Weaken Loan Quality
January 5, 2004Over the last two years, rapidly rising home values and heavy refinancing dramatically improved the credit quality of home loans packaged into securities, according to Standard & Poor's. (Read More)
At a Glance: Average FICO Score on Subprime Loan Securities Transactions in the 3rd Quarter
January 5, 2004(A Sample) Firm Avg FICO Score Citicorp Mortgage 667 Ameriquest Mortgage 652 First Franklin 642 Fremont Investment & Loans 632 RASC 619 Credit Suisse First Boston 608 Source: S&P. Covers subprime, fixed-rate transactions only. (Read More)
'Delinquencies Fell, Foreclosures Rose'
January 5, 2004While the commercial mortgage delinquency picture has improved, the number of loans entering foreclosures still rose in the second quarter, according to data compiled by the American Council of Life Insurers. (Read More)
Report: 90 Days Past Due Does Not Equal Foreclosure
January 5, 2004Delinquent commercial real estate loans show significant movement between different phases of delinquency, and even loans that are more than 90 days past due only have about a 30% change of moving into foreclosure or REO status within the next 12 months, according to a study from Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
At a Glance: CMBS Delinquency Buckets
January 5, 2004Firm Share of Delinquencies 60 days 9.4% 90 days 56.2% In Foreclosure 8.1% REO 26.4% Source: Moody's. Delinquency share based on dollar volume of delinquent loans. (Read More)
Fraud Detection Technology May Have Applicability in Sizing Up Defaults
January 5, 2004When it comes to default and loss mitigation, there are some lessons to be learned from technologies used more often to mitigate risks on the front end than on the back end, according to Connie Wilson, an executive vice president at AppIntell, Weldon Spring, Mo.. (Read More)
'Default Recoveries 19%-62% for RMBS'
January 5, 2004Residential mortgage-backed securities that default are expected to have a principal recovery rate of between 19% and 62%, depending on the year of default, according to Standard & Poor's. (Read More)
Ryland Expects Steady Loan Income
January 5, 2004Ryland Group Inc. is betting income from its mortgage operations will remain steady at about 15% of revenue in 2003 even if interest rates rise. (Read More)
Bill Dallas in Deal to Buy Mortgage Firm
January 5, 2004Bill Dallas, one of the most well-known names in the mortgage banking industry, is returning to the business after a two-and-one-half year absence. (Read More)
Aging Boomers Fuel Home Building Market
January 5, 2004A new baby boomer turns 50 every nine seconds. That aging pace is going to keep Pulte Homes Inc. going strong even if interest rates rise. (Read More)
California Home Sale Gain Hits $150,000
January 5, 2004The median gain for California homesellers totaled a record $150,000 in 2003, according to the California Association of Realtors. (Read More)
LandAmerica Promotes Alpert
January 5, 2004LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. has promoted Janet A. Alpert from president to vice chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2004. (Read More)
New Mexico Lenders Seek Changes to Law
January 5, 2004The head of the New Mexico Financial Services Association is urging the state legislature to make changes in the predatory lending law that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2004. (Read More)
Bank Pares Back Home Lending Business
January 5, 2004A pair of offices of Bay Mortgage have become early casualties of the end of the refinance boom. Cowlitz Bank here said it is realigning its Bay Mortgage subsidiary in order to direct resources towards the parent's growing commercial banking business. (Read More)
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January 12, 2004
Congressional Anger Over RESPA
January 12, 2004The chairman of the House Small Business Committee held a special hearing last week to protest the Department of Housing and Urban Development's decision to move ahead with a final RESPA rule. (Read More)
OCC Pre-Empts the States
January 12, 2004The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has approved two controversial rules that free national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries from complying with state predatory lending laws. (Read More)
A Huge Spike In FHA Claims
January 12, 2004In their zeal to increase the U.S. homeownership rate, the Bush and Clinton administrations liberalized FHA underwriting guidelines - but now the chickens are coming home to roost. (Read More)
As Refis Wane...
January 12, 2004Company Name/Symbol Mortgage Short Pos. % Chg from Sector at 12/15/03 11/14/2003 Saxon Mortgage (SAXN) Subprime 941,073 161% NovaStar (NFI) Subprime 5,443,904 142% Impac Mortgage (IMH) Alt A 1,776,052 87% Thornburg Mortgage (TMA Jumbo 2,321,952 52% Ocwen Financial (OCN) Spec. serv. 550,522 42% Notes: This is a sample table of publicly-traded, mortgage-related firms and is not meant to be all inclusive of the industry. Percentage changes are rounded. New short position figures for mid-January 2004 will be available by the end of the month. Spec. serv. = specialty servicer Source: Dow Jones/further compiling by NMN. (Read More)
CFC: Diversity Won't Curb Mortgages
January 12, 2004Countrywide Financial Corp. here has promoted Stanford L. Kurland to president, and the long-time executive has reconfirmed Countrywide's commitment to the mortgage business even as it continues to diversify. (Read More)
AFSA Wins a Review of Oakland's Predatory Ordinance
January 12, 2004The California Supreme Court has agreed to review the American Financial Service Association's appeal in its case against a predatory lending ordinance enacted in 2001 by the city of Oakland. (Read More)
Veterans Get Boost from Increase in Ginnie Mae Loan Ceiling
January 12, 2004Military veterans will be able to use their government benefits to purchase more expensive houses as a result of an increase in the limit on GI loans that are bundled into securities for sale to investors on the secondary mortgage market. (Read More)
Better Late
January 12, 2004The Bush administration deserves some congratulations on the recent passage of the American Dream Downpayment Assistance Act. The $200 million authorized and signed into law by President Bush for each of four fiscal years will help low-income renters, especially those in public housing, qualify for affordable housing mortgages by helping them overcome the biggest financial hurdle to home finance: the downpayment and closing costs. (Read More)
Pre-Emption Benefits Consumers
January 12, 2004Ms. Williams spoke before the Consumer Federation of America's 15th Annual Consumer Financial Services Conference in Washington recently. Excerpts of her remarks are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Outlook: If Yield Curve Flattens, MBS Demand Will Lessen
January 12, 2004I've aired some relatively optimistic views of how this year is likely to pan out in recent columns. This week I'd like to focus on what some experts think this year's challenges might be. (Read More)
Wachovia Pays $42.5 Million for Lend Lease Mortgage
January 12, 2004Wachovia Bank has acquired Lend Lease Mortgage Capital in a $42.5 million deal that will strengthen Wachovia's presence in the multifamily lending and servicing arena. (Read More)
CRE Transactions at a Glance
January 12, 2004* MetLife has sold 11 Madison Avenue in New York City to private investors for a reported $675 million. (Read More)
HEI Hires Clark To Guide Growth
January 12, 2004HEI Hospitality, a hotel investment and operating company, plans to make up to an additional $750 million in hotel acquisitions. To further this goal, the company has tapped Roger Clark for the position of senior vice president, acquisitions. (Read More)
Life Insurers Create CRE Loan Index
January 12, 2004A group of life insurance companies has released performance data for commercial mortgage loans based on an index which is the first benchmark for the private commercial mortgage market, according to the companies. (Read More)
Luminent Plans Public Stock Offering
January 12, 2004Luminent Mortgage Capital, an investor in mortgage-backed securities, is making an initial public offering of 9.5 million shares of common stock, with Friedman, Billings, Ramsey as the managing underwriter to the offering. (Read More)
Portland Market Shows Resilience
January 12, 2004The economy in Oregon is sluggish and the unemployment rate remains high, but that isn't preventing some large projects from taking place in the Portland area. (Read More)
E-Lending: Secondary Market Players Expect Slow but Steady Progress
January 12, 2004The process of creating a truly electronic mortgage has been excruciatingly, but necessarily slow, key secondary market players said here earlier this month. (Read More)
Illinois Lender Raises $13.6 Million
January 12, 2004United Financial Mortgage has priced an offering for just over two million shares of its common stock at a price of $6.67 per share, raising gross proceeds of approximately $13.6 million. Maxim Group, the sole underwriter, has been granted an option, which the underwriter expects to exercise, to purchase an additional 305,881 shares from United Financial Mortgage's largest shareholder to cover overallotments. (Read More)
Bank Headed by Ranieri Prices IPO
January 12, 2004Franklin Bank Corp. here, a savings and loan holding company chaired by mortgage-backed securities pioneer and former Bank United Corp. executive Lewis S. Ranieri, has priced an initial public offering of 7.45 million shares of common stock at $14.50 per share. (Read More)
Latin America Sees Jump in MBS Volume
January 12, 2004Cross-border Latin American mortgage- and asset-backed securities issuance last year increased 45% over the previous year's issuance, according to Moody's Investors Service here. (Read More)
GE Brings TPO Tool To Canadian Market
January 12, 2004Technology that has been used in the United States to handle the flow of documents between third-party originators and lenders is now being made available north of the U.S. border through GE Mortgage Insurance Canada here. (Read More)
U.K. Lenders Lobby For Homeownership
January 12, 2004Government officials in the United Kingdom have been eyeing the creation of rental units as means of addressing the U.K.'s housing deficit, but the Council of Mortgage Lenders here believes the proposed strategy would only "partially" solve the problem. (Read More)
HUD Cancels GSE 'Bonus Points' for Apartment Loans
January 12, 2004The Department of Housing and Urban Development has decided not to extend the bonus points Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have used over the past three years to meet their affordable housing goals. (Read More)
BoA Earmarks $750M for Communities
January 12, 2004Bank of America Corp. has pledged $750 billion in community development over the next 10 years. The largest national initiative so far, it represents the expanded joint contribution of BoA and FleetBoston Financial once the banks merge sometime in the second quarter. (Read More)
Flagstar Settles Discrimination Case
January 12, 2004What started out as an employment discrimination case filed by a Flagstar Bank loan officer fired two-and-a-half years ago, recently turned into a $1.1 million class-action settlement that the bank will pay for mortgage lending discrimination against non-minority borrowers. (Read More)
President's Homeownership Initiative Puts Focus on Emerging Markets
January 12, 2004Ever since the 2000 census data came out, the refinancing boom slowed down and the Bush administration launched its $5.5 billion commitment to minority homebuyers, the mortgage industry is placing unprecedented attention to affordable housing and the so-called emerging markets, a trend expected to "explode" in 2004. But be aware, veterans say, demand will continue to surpass supply as funds remain scarce and financing becomes more complex. (Read More)
Website Caters to Spanish Speakers
January 12, 2004Bilingual Scout, an Internet marketing firm here, has developed Micasaprestamos.com to guide Spanish speaking U.S. residents interested in becoming homeowners in finding Spanish-speaking mortgage lenders nationwide. (Read More)
Dorado Expands Site To Serve New Markets
January 12, 2004Dorado Corp. has diversified its Web-based ChannelMaster product offerings to better serve the needs of underserved, minority and low-income borrowers nationwide. (Read More)
Brendsel Key to Street's Role in Scandal?
January 12, 2004The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight thinks ousted Freddie Mac CEO Leland Brendsel may hold the key to unraveling Wall Street's role in the company's accounting scandal - but for now he doesn't want to talk. (Read More)
Short Positions on Nonconforming Rise
January 12, 2004The boom in mortgage originations appears to be over and that means short sellers are starting to target mortgage stocks, in particular, nonconforming lenders and servicers. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
January 12, 2004MIEC Index: 188.6 Change: -0.7 (part 1 of 2) 12/11/2003 1/8/2004 Wkly % Chg 52 wk/lo Countrywide Financial Corp.(CFC) 101.27 70.81 -30% 37.86 Capstead Mtg. (CMO) 16.25 16.71 3% 10.78 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 2.58 3.01 17% 1.89 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) 34.94 38.65 11% 20.13 Centex Corp. (CTX) 105.62 99.54 -6% 48.30 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 39.54 39.00 -1% 27.23 Fannie Mae (FNM) 70.44 73.42 4% 58.40 Freddie Mac (FRE) 54.86 59.50 8% 46.48 Golden West (GDW) 97.65 100.80 3% 68.64 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 51.40 52.78 3% 35.50 MGIC (MTG) 56.15 58.31 4% 35.30 New Century (NCEN) 39.29 38.74 -1% 17.18 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 28.04 29.42 5% 17.65 PNC Finl. Svc. (PNC) 53.39 53.88 1% 41.63 Wells Fargo (WFC) 57.00 57.47 1% 43.27 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 36.78 38.17 4% 24.03 Radian Group (RDN) 48.99 48.71 -1% 30.02 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 12.84 13.80 7% 8.83 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 47.00 51.07 9% 30.93 Washington Mutual (WM) 39.40 39.94 1% 32.40 (part 2 of 2) 52 wk/hi % Chg fr 52 P/E Ratio wk/lo(1) Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 81.81 87% 6.29 Capstead Mtg.(CMO) 24.23 55% 5.44 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 7.20 59% 7.16 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) 38.26 92% 17.97 Centex Corp. (CTX) 113.08 106% 9.08 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 40.77 43% 25.16 Fannie Mae (FNM) 75.95 26% 11.78 Freddie Mac (FRE) 64.78 28% na Golden West (GDW) 103.95 47% 14.71 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 53.18 49% 4.28 MGIC (MTG) 58.77 65% 10.96 New Century (NCEN) 41.10 125% 6.43 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 31.97 67% 10.46 PNC Finl. Svc. (PNC) 55.55 29% 15.22 Wells Fargo (WFC) 59.18 33% 16.14 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 39.38 59% 11.32 Radian Group (RDN) 53.34 62% 10.49 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 15.55 56% 12.21 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 52.24 65% 14.42 Washington Mutual (WM) 46.85 23% 9.24 Household was bought out by HSBC. Last trading date was March 28, 2003. (1) % change from 52-week low. Notes: Compares Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Former Treasury Aide Joins BlackRock
January 12, 2004Peter R. Fisher, a former undersecretary for domestic finance at the U.S. Treasury, has joined investment and risk management firm BlackRock Inc. here, a company with a high-profile client list that includes Freddie Mac and a number of other mortgage industry leaders. (Read More)
FHA Insurance Claims
January 12, 2004Not a Pretty Picture ($ in billions) Category 2003 2002 Pct Chg # of Claims Filed 85,186 65,026 31% Claims Paid $7.8 $5.5 42% Source: KPMG Audit/Table by NMN Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
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January 19, 2004
Countrywide Breaks $400 Billion
January 19, 2004Countrywide Financial Corp. became the first lender in history to officially cross the finish line with more than $400 billion in annual home loan volume, according to data released by the company last week. (Read More)
Bank One: Domino Effect?
January 19, 2004J.P. Morgan Chase's $60 billion purchase of Bank One Corp., may change the face of commercial banking but, for now, it will have a negligible effect on the residential mortgage business. (Read More)
JPM Chase Buying Bank One
January 19, 2004(Dollars in Millions) Residential Production Res Prod Prod Res Prod Institution Vol 3Q Rank Mkt Share Chase Home Fin. $93,620 4 7.78% Bank One $6,430 27 0.53% Combined: $100,050 4 8.31% Residential Servicing Res Serv Serv Res Serv Institution at 3Q Rank Mkt Share Chase Home Fin. $454,866 4 6.66% Bank One $45,370 19 0.66% Combined: $500,236 4 7.32% Source: NMN/Quarterly Data Report. Questions? Email: Paul.Muolo
BridgeSpan Shuts, Fires 200 Workers
January 19, 2004Reports at deadline say BridgeSpan, a title company and online closing specialist, has ceased operations and closed its doors. More than two hundred BridgeSpan employees were given notice the day before the closure, according to a brief item in The Title Report. (Read More)
Industry Spotlight: Brian Fitzpatrick
January 19, 2004Mr. Fitzpatrick has been named chief executive officer at Decade Systems, Corp. in Jacksonville, Fla. Mr. Fitzpatrick previously served as Decade's executive vice president of sales and marketing and has more than 15 years of sales and management experience in the mortgage industry. (Read More)
Ugly Times for Fairbanks
January 19, 2004Fairbanks Capital Corp. here, which has been under fire for its servicing practices, is now hemorrhaging contracts and plans to close one of its four platforms. (Read More)
Top Online Originators In Q3 2003
January 19, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name, Location 1 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 2 ABN Amro Mortgage Ann Arbor, MI 3 Chase Home Finance Edison, NJ 4 CitiMortgage, Inc., St. Louis, MO 5 Principal Res Mtg, Des Moines, IA 6 New Century Fin'l, (BC) Irvine, CA 7 IndyMac Bancorp, Pasadena, CA 8 Ohio Savings Bank, Cleveland, OH 9 GreenPoint Mortgage, Novato, CA 10 SunTrust Mortgage, Richmond, VA (part 2 of 2) Online Orig Online Orig Percent Rk Vol Q3/03 Vol Q3/02 Change 1 $34,823 $25,334 37% 2 $25,231 $21,149 19% 3 $22,320 $5,836 282% 4 $16,725 $4,827 246% 5 $11,553 $5,520 109% 6 $6,025 $653 823% 7 $5,983 $3,623 65% 8 $5,519 $3,882 42% 9 $4,753 $3,278 45% 10 $3,576 $2,298 56% Notes: QDR defines an online origination as any new loan where the consumer applied or pre-applied online. Some firms include their tele-sales numbers in with their online volume which will cause distortions in these results. (BC) company is heavily involved in subprime lending. Countrywide Financial would not report results. (Read More)
'03 MBS, ABS Reach $1.5T
January 19, 2004Mortgage-backed securities underwriting volume in the United States totaled $900.15 billion in 2003, up 11.8% from the $805.34 billion recorded in 2002, according to Thomson Financial, a National Mortgage News affiliate. Another $580 billion was recorded in asset-backed securities. (Read More)
New Member Joins Finance Board as SEC Debate Heats Up
January 19, 2004Alicia R. Castaneda is the newest member of the Federal Housing Finance Board, replacing Timothy O'Neill who served on the board for nearly eight years. (Read More)
Freddie Spent Almost $6 Mil on Lobbying
January 19, 2004Freddie Mac spent $5.9 million lobbying elected officials during the first half of last year, ranking 10th among all U.S. firms, according to figures compiled by Political Money Line. (Read More)
GMAC Settlement Highlights Risk to Buyers of 'High-Cost' Loans
January 19, 2004A major predatory lending settlement is making some in the mortgage loan industry take a step back to ponder how high-risk loans can be a dangerous risk for a capital markets purchaser, according to one Washington attorney. (Read More)
The Seven-Year Cycle
January 19, 2004As the best and the brightest in mortgage technology prepare to come to Miami this week for the seventh annual Thomson Media Mortgage Technology Conference, we went back to the agenda for the original MTC in 1998 to see what the technologists in the industry were thinking about back then. (Read More)
RESPA Reform Will Lower Costs
January 19, 2004Mr. Weicher recently attempted to testify before the House Committee on Small Business, but was allowed only to place his statement into the record. Excerpts of his statement are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Refis Make a Comeback but Economic Recovery Expectations Remain
January 19, 2004Despite all the talk of economic recovery and an eventual rise in rates - which persists - we've now had at least one week in which rate-indicative bond yields have fallen and refinancing levels have risen. (Read More)
Merrill Lynch: Outlook for Mortgage Firms Is 'All about the Fed'
January 19, 2004Analysts at Merrill Lynch say they are "neutral" on the outlook for mortgage firms this year, with the industry's fate hanging in the balance of Federal Reserve Board interest rate moves. (Read More)
Letter to the Editor
January 19, 2004To the editor: Having only now caught up with some publications that gathered just before the holidays, my response to your question in the Dec. 15 issue of NMN is yes, absolutely, the entire Freddie Mac board should resign. According to the OFHEO report, none among the directors proved much more than an echo for Leland (Brendsel), not his board, CFO or president. (Read More)
Stone Leaves Fidelity's Board
January 19, 2004Patrick F. Stone, the former chief executive of Fidelity National Information Solutions, has resigned from the board of directors of Fidelity National Financial Inc. here. (Read More)
State Banks Get a Break in New Mexico
January 19, 2004The New Mexico Financial Institutions Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department has exempted state-chartered banks from the New Mexico Home Loan Protection Act. The regulation, which went into effect Jan. 1, permits state-chartered banks to have the same power and authority as federally chartered institutions. (Read More)
First American Buys Seattle Title Firm
January 19, 2004First American Title Insurance Co. here has agreed to acquire 100% of the stock of Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Title Holding Co. and its subsidiaries. (Read More)
Consultant: Kill GSEs, Create MHS
January 19, 2004Industry consultant Bert Ely predicted three years ago that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would take "the initiative to privatize," a forecast that appears unlikely. But now, Mr. Ely, a frequent critic of the GSEs, has a new idea - to do away with Fannie and Freddie and create a nation full of "mortgage holding" subsidiaries or what he calls MHS. (Read More)
1st Federal Buys Walton Mortgage
January 19, 2004Walton Mortgage Inc. here has been purchased by First Federal of the South FSB and its subsidiary SouthFirst Mortgage Inc., Sylacauga, Ala., for $100,000 in cash. (Read More)
Prepay Speeds Steady
January 19, 2004Prepayment rates of Fannie and Freddie mortgage-backed securities were mixed in the December reporting period, and changes were generally small on a percentage basis, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. Analysts Dale Westhoff and Bruce Kramer said nearly all changes were under 10% in 30-year coupons of 6.5% and above. Prepayment speeds were slightly higher than expected for conventional loans. (Read More)
Selected 30-year Fixed-rate Prepayments (Dec 2003 Period)
January 19, 2004Cpn Year WAC Factor Dec '03 Nov '03 Fannie Mae 5.5 2003 5.95 0.896 10.6 8.8 Fannie Mae 5.5 2002 6.02 0.724 17.0 15.2 Fannie Mae 5.5 2001 6.13 0.544 21.7 21.8 Fannie Mae 5.5 1998 6.20 0.373 23.5 26.2 Freddie Mac 5.5 2003 5.95 0.895 9.2 8.5 Freddie Mac 5.5 2002 6.02 0.700 16.3 15.0 Freddie Mac 5.5 2001 6.10 0.538 24.8 23.1 Freddie Mac 5.5 1998 6.12 0.403 25.2 28.9 Source: Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Roundup: WMC Deal Gets a Downgrade
January 19, 2004Moody's Investors Service has downgraded six subordinate classes of certificates issued by WMC Mortgage Loan Pass-Through Certificates series between 1997 and 2000. (Read More)
Wells Deal Downgraded
January 19, 2004Class II-B5 of Wells Fargo Asset Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-2 pool 2, has been downgraded from C to D by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Conseco Bonds on Review
January 19, 2004Eleven certificates from four transactions issued by Conseco Finance Home Equity Loan Trust in 2000 have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
MH Deal Performs Poorly
January 19, 2004The rating on class B-1 of the Conseco-related Manufactured Housing Contract Senior/Sub Pass-Through Certificates, series, has been lowered from B-minus to CCC-minus by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. (Read More)
Appraisal Vendor a la mode Unveils Appraisal Institute Compliance Forms
January 19, 2004A La Mode inc. here has announced itself as the only appraisal software vendor to offer every AI Ready-compliant form appraisers can use to do business with the AI Residential Database and AppraisalPort. a la mode's WinTOTAL software, used by more than half of U.S. appraisers, shares the Appraisal Institute's 2.5 (highest) compliance-level rating, but is the only firm that offers the complete list of forms, above and beyond the level required for the 2.5 level. (Read More)
TransUnion Buys Visionary Systems
January 19, 2004TransUnion, an information solutions company that offers customer management and collections technology to the mortgage industry, has acquired Visionary Systems, a firm that specializes in analytic and decision engine technology. (Read More)
Promotion Spotlight: Kevin Gugenheim
January 19, 2004Mr. Gugenheim has been named president and chief operating officer of Stewart Mortgage Information, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp., Houston. Mr. Gugenheim joined SMI as senior vice president in January 2000. During the 2001 business year, he accepted the position of executive vice president and chief operating officer. (Read More)
Canadian REIT Buys Stake in Retail Center
January 19, 2004RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust has entered a joint venture with an unnamed Canadian pension fund by purchasing a 50% interest in the Millcroft Shopping Center in Burlington, Ontario, for $23 million. (Read More)
Europeans Skeptical about GSE Model
January 19, 2004Some European market participants have been increasingly eyeing the U.S. government-sponsored enterprise model's applicability to their own market, but there remains a certain amount of resistance to creating a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac equivalent in Europe, particularly in the German market. (Read More)
Fitch Spurns 'High Cost' Loans in New Mexico
January 19, 2004Fitch Ratings will not rate residential mortgage-backed securities transactions containing high-cost home loans originated in New Mexico as of Jan. 1, when the Home Loan Protection Act, a law addressing predatory lending issues, became effective in the state. (Read More)
Argent Speeds Ahead with Promotional Help from Race Car Driver
January 19, 2004Argent Mortgage Co. LLC, the subprime lender based here known for sponsoring race car driver Danica Patrick, is expanding its sports sponsorship program in 2004. Ms. Patrick, who races in the Toyota Atlantic series for car owners Bobby Rahal and David Letterman, has made personal appearances and has appeared in advertisements for the subprime wholesaler. (Read More)
Oakwood MH Bonds Downgraded by Fitch
January 19, 2004Fifty-six classes from 20 Oakwood Homes manufactured housing transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
REITs Face More Challenging Environment in 2004
January 19, 2004Since the stock market decline started in 2000, the real estate investment trust sector has been turning in a better performance than other equity sectors, but analysts believe that it may not be so easy for REITs to pull off the feat in 2004. (Read More)
REIT Transactions at a Glance
January 19, 2004* Host Marriott Corp. is repaying about $295 million of debt, including about $77 million of mortgage debt and the redemption of $218 million of 8.45% senior notes due 2008, with the proceeds obtained from the resolution of the issues on the New York Marriott WTC and Financial Center hotels. (Read More)
Real Estate Firms Seek Advantage with Public Stock Offerings
January 19, 2004Commercial real estate finance interest in the equity market is heating up, with several new issues in the works. (Read More)
MF Transactions at a Glance
January 19, 2004* Freddie Mac is purchasing a portfolio of multifamily mortgages from Citibank in loan swap transaction for up to $5 billion in Freddie Mac participation certificates. (Read More)
AIMCO Uses Venture To Unload Some Debt
January 19, 2004Apartment Investment and Management Co. and GE Real Estate have formed a multifamily joint venture to which AIMCO has transferred interests in 33 of its properties. (Read More)
Legislation Modifies Definition of REMIC
January 19, 2004The Commercial Mortgage Securities Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association and other real estate-related trade groups are eyeing proposed legislation that, if enacted, would modify the definition of a real estate mortgage investment conduit. (Read More)
Subservicing: Need a Helping Hand?
January 19, 2004Three years of heavy refinancing activity have put a strain on servicing shops. Heavy portfolio churning means that loan boarding and loan payoff departments are stretched to the max. A plethora of new state lending laws, which increasingly have ramifications for servicers as well as loan originators, have only added to the administrative and regulatory burden. (Read More)
Inside
January 19, 2004Interim Servicing 24 LoanCare finds that as more brokers become mortgage bankers, they need help with loan servicing. (Read More)
Subservicing Helps Brokers Become Bankers
January 19, 2004According to Greg Harney, vice president of LoanCare Servicing Center, many mortgage brokers are transforming themselves into mortgage bankers to increase their profits and gain greater control of their business. (Read More)
Lenders Urged to Examine Practices in Light of 'Predatory' Accusations
January 19, 2004In the wake of increased litigation against prominent loan servicers and subservicers, companies in the loan administration business should review their practices to ensure they are not leaving themselves exposed to litigation, two attorneys who represent mortgage lending clients told NMN. (Read More)
Litigation Puts Focus on Ocwen's Servicing Practices
January 19, 2004Suing subprime firms for "predatory" servicing is a growth industry and class-action attorneys appear to have set their sites on a new target: Ocwen Federal FSB of West Palm Beach, Fla., the nation's sixth largest subservicer of nonprime mortgage loans. (Read More)
Roundup: Option One Gets High Grades from Fitch Ratings
January 19, 2004Option One Mortgage Corp., based in Irvine, Calif., the nation's third largest subservicer of nonprime mortgage loans, has had its top ratings for residential primary servicing of subprime affirmed by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Cendant's HE Rating Upgraded
January 19, 2004Cendant Mortgage Corp., Mount Laurel, N.J., has received an upgrade in its ratings as a servicer of prime credit quality mortgage loans, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. (Read More)
Wells Gets Top Rating
January 19, 2004Fitch Ratings has affirmed its top rating for Wells Fargo's capabilities as a master servicer of residential mortgage loans. (Read More)
Top Subservicers Continue to Grow
January 19, 2004The nation's leading subservicers saw their business volume grow substantially during the peak of the refinancing boom, according to data collected by National Mortgage News. (Read More)
Top Subservicers At 9/30/03
January 19, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Dovenmuehle Mortgage (E) Schaumburg, IL 2 Aurora Loan Services, Inc. Aurora, CO 3 Cenlar, FSB Ewing, NJ 4 Wendover Financial Services Greensboro, NC 5 Alliance Mortgage Company Jacksonville, FL 6 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage San Francisco, CA 7 Countrywide Financial Corp. Calabasas, CA 8 Flagstar Bank, FSB Troy, MI 9 Impac Funding Corporation Newport Beach, CA 10 Downey S & L Assn. (E) Newport Beach, CA 11 Ohio Savings Bank, F.S.B. Cleveland, OH 12 GMAC Residential Holdings Horsham, PA 13 Cendant Mortgage Mt. Laurel, NJ 14 LoanCare Servicing Center Norfolk, VA 15 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Pasadena, CA 16 CUNA Mortgage Corp. (E) Madison, WI 17 Waterfield Mortgage Fort Wayne, IN 18 M & I Mortgage Cedarburg, WI 19 Graystone Mortgage Corp. Sudbury, MA 20 Security Savings Mtg. Corp. Canton, OH (part 2 of 2) Subservicing Subservicing Percent Market Rk Vol 9/30/03 Vol 9/30/02 Change Share 1 $47,800 $44,000 9% 13.69% 2 $38,862 $20,155 93% 11.13% 3 $30,000 $30,000 0% 8.59% 4 $21,986 $19,261 14% 6.30% 5 $17,462 $10,816 61% 5.00% 6 $17,435 $44,379 -61% 4.99% 7 $11,446 $11,031 4% 3.28% 8 $10,489 $10,863 -3% 3.00% 9 $9,153 $5,581 64% 2.62% 10 $9,125 $7,502 22% 2.61% 11 $9,103 $5,557 64% 2.61% 12 $8,330 $7,583 10% 2.39% 13 $6,254 $1,750 257% 1.79% 14 $5,614 $2,997 87% 1.61% 15 $4,614 $2,067 123% 1.32% 16 $4,410 $3,411 29% 1.26% 17 $2,875 $1,793 60% 0.82% 18 $2,639 $2,521 5% 0.76% 19 $2,336 $1,715 36% 0.67% 20 $2,104 $2,029 4% 0.60% Top 20 Totals: $262,037 $235,011 11% 75.07% Submitted Totals: $268,517 $390,015 -31% 76.92% Notes: Subprime subservicers listed separately in this issue. (E) Estimate based on previously reported numbers. (Read More)
Top Subprime Subservicers At 9/30/03
January 19, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Fairbanks Capital Corp. Salt Lake City, UT 2 HomEq Servicing Corp. North Highlands, CA 3 Option One Mortgage Corp. Irvine, CA 4 Mortgage Lenders Network, USA Middletown, CT 5 Wendover Financial Services Greensboro, NC 6 Ocwen Financial Corp. West Palm Beach, FL 7 Saxon Mortgage Glen Allen, VA 8 Wilshire Credit Corp. Beaverton, OR 9 Chase Home Finance (E) Woodcliff Lake, NJ 10 Countrywide Financial Corp. Calabasas, CA (part 2 of 2) Subservicing Subservicing Percent Rk Vol 9/30/03 Vol 9/30/02 Change 1 $46,958 $36,046 30% 2 $17,314 $12,508 38% 3 $10,614 $7,144 49% 4 $4,742 $2,949 61% 5 $4,607 $6,077 -24% 6 $4,331 $7,849 -45% 7 $4,249 $3,872 10% 8 $3,567 $2,380 50% 9 $2,946 $1,910 54% 10 $2,921 $2,891 1% Top 10 Totals: $102,249 $83,626 22% Submitted Totals: $103,591 $89,014 16% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose subprime subservicing receivables. (E) Estimate. (Read More)
GCC Servicing Has New Name, New Look
January 19, 2004Glenn Computer Company has changed its name to GCC Servicing, and the company's president said the changes are more than just cosmetic. (Read More)
BlackRock Sees Need for Consulting
January 19, 2004The consulting services that BlackRock Inc. here provides to large- and medium-sized mortgage servicers are among the current growth opportunities for the company, according to executives at the firm. BlackRock works with five of the 20 largest servicers in the industry, according to Sudha Yerneni, a managing director at the company. (Read More)
Fidelity May Be Hungry for Deals
January 19, 2004Mortgage processing giant Fidelity National Financial Inc. has indicated that it has been gearing up for future acquisitions by filing a shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing will allow the company to offer and sell up to an aggregate $500 million in debt securities, preferred stock, depositary shares and common stock, or any combination thereof, from time to time. (Read More)
CFC Among First with Dual Listing
January 19, 2004Countrywide Financial Corp. became one of the first firms with a dual listing of its stock on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Composite Index last week. Countrywide is the only major player in the mortgage industry among the six companies that are participating in the new dual listing program. The other firms are Hewlett Packard, Charles Schwab, Walgreens, Apache Oil and Cadence. (Read More)
New Index Tracks Community Banks
January 19, 2004America's Community Bankers, a trade association for community banks, has teamed up with the Nasdaq composite index to create a diversified stock index for community banks. (Read More)
Losses Put Dent In MGIC's Earnings
January 19, 2004MGIC Investment Corp. here saw its fourth-quarter and annual income decline when compared to the prior period as a result of higher-paid and incurred losses, company management said. (Read More)
Regulators Approve Washtenaw Spin Off
January 19, 2004The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the application of Pelican Financial Inc. here to spin off Washtenaw Mortgage Co., also here, into a separate publicly traded company. (Read More)
Hanover's 3rd Qtr Net Diluted by Recent Offering
January 19, 2004Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings here reported net earnings of $1.84 million in the third quarter, up from $1.51 million in the third quarter of last year. (Read More)
People
January 19, 2004CALIFORNIA Los Angeles-The Los Angeles office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP has appointed Peter Smyslowski as a director concentrating on debt placement. In his more than 10 years of experience in the industry, Mr. Smyslowski has closed more than $500,000,000 in debt, mezzanine and equity transactions. (Read More)
FASB Starts New Project on MSRs
January 19, 2004The Financial Accounting Standards Board wants to consider the pros and cons of applying fair-value accounting to mortgage servicing rights. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
January 19, 2004MIEC Index: 193.5 Change: 4.9 (part 1 of 2) 1/8/2004 1/15/2004 Wkly % Chg Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 70.81 73.65 4% Capstead Mtg.(CMO) 16.71 16.88 1% E-Loan Inc (EELN) 3.01 3.07 2% J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) 38.65 39.07 1% Centex Corp. (CTX) 99.54 100.44 1% Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 39.00 38.77 -1% Fannie Mae (FNM) 73.42 73.80 1% Freddie Mac (FRE) 59.50 60.33 1% Golden West (GDW) 100.80 99.95 -1% LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 52.78 52.37 -1% MGIC (MTG) 58.31 68.97 18% New Century (NCEN) 38.74 43.86 13% IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 29.42 29.83 1% PNC Finl. Svc. (PNC) 53.88 54.44 1% Wells Fargo (WFC) 57.47 56.63 -1% PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 38.17 40.01 5% Radian Group (RDN) 48.71 48.79 0% NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 13.80 14.31 4% Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 51.07 54.28 6% Washington Mutual (WM) 39.94 41.95 5% (part 2 of 2) 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi % Chg fr 52 P/E Ratio wk/lo(1) Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 37.86 81.81 95% 6.55 Capstead Mtg.(CMO) 10.78 22.20 57% 5.49 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 1.89 7.20 63% 7.31 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) 20.13 39.33 94% 18.17 Centex Corp. (CTX) 48.30 113.08 108% 9.16 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 27.23 40.77 42% 25.01 Fannie Mae (FNM) 58.40 75.95 26% 11.84 Freddie Mac (FRE) 46.48 64.78 30% na Golden West (GDW) 68.64 103.95 46% 14.59 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 35.50 53.35 48% 4.25 MGIC (MTG) 35.30 70.39 95% 13.82 New Century (NCEN) 17.18 43.73 155% 7.28 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 17.65 31.97 69% 10.61 PNC Finl. Svc. (PNC) 41.63 55.55 31% 15.37 Wells Fargo (WFC) 43.27 59.18 31% 15.90 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 24.03 40.50 67% 11.87 Radian Group (RDN) 30.02 53.34 63% 10.51 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 8.83 15.55 62% 12.66 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 30.93 54.60 75% 15.33 Washington Mutual (WM) 32.40 46.85 29% 9.71 Household was bought out by HSBC. Last trading date was March 28, 2003. (1) % change from 52-week low. Notes: Compares Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Queries to Thrifts Go Unanswered
January 19, 2004A study just released by the Customer Respect Group (www.customerrespect.com) here, reveals that a full-third of Internet inquiries made by consumers to U.S. savings institutions received no reply whatsoever. The Winter 2004 Online Customer Respect Study of 76 of the largest financial services firms identified response time as a critical factor in attracting new customers on the Web. (Read More)
HUD's Jackson Gets 'Union City Blues'
January 19, 2004Acting HUD secretary Alphonso Jackson is under scrutiny for chewing out union employees at a department meeting in October. (Read More)
Radian Adds $96 Million Reserve
January 19, 2004The Radian Group Inc. here announced it is adding $96 million to its loss reserves as a result of expected claims from a single manufactured housing transaction originated and serviced by Conseco Finance Corp., St. Paul, Minn. (Read More)
Refi Rates in Q3 2003
January 19, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 NowLending Bristol, CT 2 Mortgage Investors Corp. St. Petersburg, FL 3 Midfirst Bank/Midland Mtg. Oklahoma City, OK 4 Greenlight Financial Svcs Irvine, CA 5 Amerisave Atlanta, GA 6 Flagstar Bank, FSB Troy, MI 7 Guardian Mortgage Co. Richardson, TX 8 E*Trade Arlington, VA 9 Ridgewood Savings Bank Ridgewood, NY 10 Union Bank of California San Diego, CA 11 Nationwide Advantage Mtg W. Des Moines, IA 12 CUNA Mortgage Corp. (E) Madison, WI 13 America First CU Riverdale, UT 14 Bank of America Charlotte, NC 15 GMAC Residential Holdings Horsham, PA 16 Alliance Mortgage Co. Jacksonville, FL 17 Midwest Loan Services Houghton, MI 18 Mortgage Financial Svcs Tewksbury, MA 19 CitiMortgage, Inc. St. Louis, MO 20 Cimarron Mortgage Jackson, MS (part 2 of 2) Refi Rates Refi rates Pct Orig Vol Orig Vol Rk Q3/03 Q3/02 Chg Q3/03 Q3/02 1 100.00% 70.00% 43% $1 $2 2 100.00% 100.00% 0% $2,198 $631 3 97.30% 78.50% 24% $593 $189 4 97.00% 96.00% 1% $1,600 na 5 94.10% 85.90% 10% $841 $11 6 89.50% 78.60% 14% $16,027 $10,864 7 87.00% 73.00% 19% $488 $228 8 87.00% 73.00% 19% $4,269 $2,938 9 86.40% 67.00% 29% $144 $46 10 86.00% 75.00% 15% $1,654 $861 11 86.00% 48.60% 77% $675 $137 12 84.00% 82.00% 2% $950 $561 13 84.00% 73.00% 15% $106 $95 14 83.10% 73.00% 14% $39,536 $23,920 15 83.00% 78.60% 6% $38,287 $18,781 16 82.50% 65.00% 27% $534 $445 17 82.00% 77.90% 5% $17 $12 18 82.00% 85.00% -4% $578 $559 19 81.00% 60.00% 35% $37,824 $13,565 20 80.00% 75.00% 7% $98 $47 Top 20 totals: 83.90% 73.20% 15% $146,421 $73,893 Total of All Firms Reporting: 74.00% 64.00% 16% $1,006,552 $574,007 Notes: Some firms would not disclose their refi rates. (E) Estimate Source: NMN/Quarterly Data Report. Questions? Email: Paul.Muolo
Restatement for NCC
January 19, 2004National City Corp., a $114 billion asset bank here, said the application of Financial Accounting Standard 133 to its mortgage servicing rights required a restatement of its previously stated earnings. (Read More)
U.s. Mortgage-Backed Securities
January 19, 2004(UBS Tops Ranks for Third Straight Year) (part 1 of 2) 1/1/03 - 12/31/2003 Proceeds* Market # of Managers ($Mil) Rank Share Issues UBS 104,061.60 1 11.6 98 Goldman Sachs & Co 98,226.80 2 10.9 88 Lehman Brothers 93,149.20 3 10.4 126 Bear Stearns & Co Inc 92,176.10 4 10.2 118 Credit Suisse First Boston 81,177.80 5 9 120 Banc of America Securities LLC 74,662.10 6 8.3 81 Citigroup 68,955.90 7 7.7 75 Morgan Stanley 66,457.50 8 7.4 79 Royal Bank of Scotland Group 48,258.60 9 5.4 58 Merrill Lynch & Co Inc 44,062.20 10 4.9 61 Industry Total 900,153.40 - 100 1,203 (part 2 of 2) 1/1/02 - 12/31/2002 Proceeds* Market # of Managers ($Mil) Rank Share Issues UBS 106,453.60 1 13.2 103 Goldman Sachs & Co 76,919.70 5 9.6 75 Lehman Brothers 91,943.90 3 11.4 150 Bear Stearns & Co Inc 97,863.40 2 12.2 160 Credit Suisse First Boston 90,471.60 4 11.2 122 Banc of America Securities LLC 49,692.40 8 6.2 83 Citigroup 73,691.80 6 9.2 76 Morgan Stanley 35,949.00 9 4.5 48 Royal Bank of Scotland Group 57,230.20 7 7.1 77 Merrill Lynch & Co Inc 35,916.80 10 4.5 52 Industry Total 805,335.10 - 100 1,023 *Full to Book Manager (Equal if Joint) Source: Thomson Financial Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Fairbanks Capital-Servicing Balances Slip
January 19, 2004(Dollars in Miliions) Servicing Type 12/31/03 12/31/02 Percent Change Servicing $46 $124 63% Subservicing contracts $40,912 $49,189 17% Total Servicing $40,957 $49,313 17% Notes: Subservicing represents contracts to service loans for others. The subservicer, unlike the servicer, does not own the servicing "strip." (Read More)
HUD Disciplines 15 FHA Lenders
January 19, 2004The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced disciplinary action against 15 Federal Housing Administration lenders with high, early default rates. (Read More)
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January 26, 2004
Wells Raises Bar to $470 Bil
January 26, 2004For the second time in two weeks, a lender has announced shattering all previous single-company mortgage lending records. (Read More)
Ax Falls Hard at WaMu
January 26, 2004Washington Mutual, faced with declining mortgage volume in the fourth quarter, slashed 4,500 positions from its home loan workforce in the fourth quarter, and the downsizing isn't over yet. (Read More)
Bush to Offer Zero Down FHAs
January 26, 2004Thousands of would-be home buyers without any money for a downpayment would be eligible for government-insured financing under a proposal that will be offered by President Bush in his fiscal 2005 budget. (Read More)
Refis Fell, But Forecast Is Up
January 26, 2004The two-year-old production boom hit a brick wall in the fourth quarter as loan fundings fell sequentially by 53%, according to preliminary survey figures compiled by this newspaper. (Read More)
As Expected, 4th Qtr Fundings Swooned
January 26, 2004($ in Millions) A Sample (part 1 of 2) Q4/03 Q4/02 Q4/04 Organization Name, Location Orig Vol. Orig Vol. % Chg American Mtg Network, San Diego, CA $1,855 $1,943 -5% Astoria FS & LA, Lake Success, NY $1,026 $1,303 -21% Branch B & T Co., Wilson, NC $2,284 $5,462 -58% Capitol FS & LA, Topeka, KS $240 $383 -37% Charter Bank, Albuquerque, NM $204 $298 -32% Cherry Creek Mtg, Greenwood Village, CO $302 $641 -53% First Republic Bank, San Francisco $456 $645 -29% First Savings Mtg, Vienna, VA $490 $786 -38% Flagstar Bank, FSB Troy, MI $7,801 $15,577 -50% Irwin Mtg Corp., Indianapolis, IN $2,662 $4,564 -42% Ivanhoe Financial, Orlando, FL $404 $643 -37% Molton Allen & Williams, Fairfax, VA $200 $430 -53% Navy FCU Merrifield, VA $1,472 $1,823 -19% People's Bank, Bridgeport, CT $512 $903 -43% Principal Res Mtg, Des Moines, IA $7,895 $16,535 -52% (part 2 of 2) Q3/03 Q4/03 Organization Name, Location Orig Vol. % Chg American Mtg Network, San Diego, CA $3,033 -39% Astoria FS & LA, Lake Success, NY $1,735 -41% Branch B & T Co., Wilson, NC $5,887 -61% Capitol FS & LA, Topeka, KS $817 -71% Charter Bank, Albuquerque, NM $365 -44% Cherry Creek Mtg, Greenwood Village, CO $633 -52% First Republic Bank, San Francisco $771 -41% First Savings Mtg, Vienna, VA $774 -37% Flagstar Bank, FSB Troy, MI $16,027 -51% Irwin Mtg Corp., Indianapolis, IN $7,066 -62% Ivanhoe Financial, Orlando, FL $748 -46% Molton Allen & Williams, Fairfax, VA $675 -70% Navy FCU Merrifield, VA $2,245 -34% People's Bank, Bridgeport, CT $1,062 -52% Principal Res Mtg, Des Moines, IA $18,128 -56% Notes: Lenders listed alphabetically. This is a sample table only. Lenders are still filing surveys with NMN. A final ranking will appear in February. (Read More)
Another Record Seen Possible
January 26, 2004Based on the recent and somewhat surprising decline in mortgage rates and the continued disappointing employment numbers, the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders now believes housing could see record home sales again in 2004. (Read More)
Earnings: Fannie Prevails in 2003
January 26, 2004Fannie Mae managed to overcome 2003's business challenges, including declines in its mortgage portfolio, and reported a 71% increase in net income to about $7.9 billion for the year. (Read More)
White House Pulls Brickell Nomination, OFHEO to Move on Freddie Capital
January 26, 2004The White House has withdrawn the nomination of investment banker and lobbyist Mark Brickell to be chief regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)
Merrill Lynch to Buy WFSG Servicing Unit
January 26, 2004Wilshire Financial Services Group has agreed to sell its mortgage servicing unit, Wilshire Credit, to Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital. Merrill Lynch will pay WFSG $52 million before transaction fees and expenses, Wilshire said. (Read More)
Legal Roundup: U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Review TILA Case
January 26, 2004The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a Truth in Lending Act case that could, unless overturned, significantly increase the penalties home equity lenders would have to pay for disclosure violations under TILA. (Read More)
Settlement Offer in NY AG Suit
January 26, 2004First Horizon Home Loan Corp., a subsidiary of the nationally chartered bank, First Tennessee National Corp., has offered to absorb loan payments and reimburse a Rensselaer County homeowner who alleges the bank illegally threatened to foreclose on his home. The move comes after Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a lawsuit earlier this week on behalf of the consumer, Richard Hall, of East Greenbush, N.Y. (Read More)
SEC Eyes MCA Auditors
January 26, 2004The Securities and Exchange Commission here is coming down on the two companies that were the auditors for the failed MCA Financial Corp., Southfield, Mich. It has started public administrative proceedings and cease-and-desist proceedings against the two auditors. (Read More)
A Great Idea
January 26, 2004Two congressmen have spearheaded an initiative to set up a caucus for rural housing issues. This is a great idea, and we hope it gets working right away. (Read More)
Tax Cuts Help Housing, Economy
January 26, 2004Secretary Snow recently addressed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Excerpts of his remarks are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
For Now, Originations Remain Strong Despite Upward Rate Projections
January 26, 2004Bond market conditions were still pretty much in line with the previous week at press time last Thursday when the rate-indicative 10-year Treasury was continuing to trade close to or just below 4%. (Read More)
Housing Economists: Federal Reserve Won't Tighten Until the Summer
January 26, 2004If there are upward pressures on interest rates this year, they probably won't come from the Federal Reserve Board, a panel of top housing economists agreed here last week. Participating in a conference call sponsored by the Homeownership Alliance, the chief economists of the education and advocacy group's five founding members said if the Fed does tighten monetary policy in 2004, it won't start turning the screws until summer. (Read More)
Large Servicing Seller Hires Top Analyst
January 26, 2004Ohio Savings Bank here, a major seller of servicing rights, has hired a new capital markets chief whose chores include evaluating the company's history of being a seller. (Read More)
Fifth Third Weathers Decline in Volume
January 26, 2004Fifth Third Bancorp here saw its earnings rise 11% in the fourth quarter despite a decline in mortgage banking income, which accounts for only about 13% of the company's net. (Read More)
TCF Financial Ups Dividend by 15%
January 26, 2004TCF Financial here raised its dividend 15% to 37.5 cents per share, but the company also saw its income fall last year, partially due to faster-than-expected mortgage prepayments. (Read More)
B of A Has Record Mortgage Year
January 26, 2004Bank of America reported earning a record $10.8 billion last year - a 17% increase from a year earlier - with a boost from strong mortgage lending. (Read More)
For Moody's, Complications Arise When Rating Split Note Securitizations
January 26, 2004The splitting up of senior notes of large loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities deals into parallel pieces that are securitized into different pools has given rise to some concerns for Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
CMBS Concern Tied To Terror Insurance
January 26, 2004Even after the enactment of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act at the end of 2002, litigation relating to the "force placement" of terrorism insurance is not yet done. (Read More)
'Office Vacancies to Gradually Decline'
January 26, 2004Vacancy rates in the beleaguered office sector will decline gradually over the next three years, after peaking last year at about 17.5%, as supply gets more in step with demand, according to Prudential Real Estate Investors. (Read More)
Vestin Group: Byrne Resigned from Post
January 26, 2004Vestin Group, a commercial mortgage lender and asset manager, has reported the resignation of Steve Byrne as chief operations officer and director of the company. (Read More)
Wells RE Funds to Launch REIT II
January 26, 2004Wells Real Estate Funds, a real estate investment management firm, has launched its latest offering, the Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II. (Read More)
Community Reinvestment Act Requirements May Be Undergoing Change
January 26, 2004Federal regulators are proposing symbolic changes to their Community Reinvestment Act rules while increasing the number of small banks that are exempt from many CRA requirements. (Read More)
Community Development Reactions to BoA's Merger with Fleet Are Mixed
January 26, 2004The acquisition of FleetBoston Financial Corp. by Bank of America here has generated mixed reactions from affordable housing market participants. (Read More)
BoA Puts $6 Billion Into NACA Venture
January 26, 2004Days after pledging $750 billion in community development over the next 10 years, Bank of America Corp. has set up a $6 billion Internet-based affordable housing partnership with Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America. (Read More)
Roundup: OCC Pre-Emption Provides Credit Enhancement Break at Fitch
January 26, 2004The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's new rule that generically pre-empts state predatory lending laws is already starting to pay benefits for national banks. (Read More)
TBMA Ends merger talks with SIA
January 26, 2004The Bond Market Association, which represents mortgage-backed securities dealers and other sell-side debt market participants, has discontinued talks about a possible consolidation with a trade group that represents stock exchange firms and investment bankers. (Read More)
C-BASS Completes $435 Mil deal
January 26, 2004C-BASS here has completed a real estate mortgage investment conduit deal backed by approximately $435 million of residential mortgages. (Read More)
One dLJ CMBS CLASS affirmed
January 26, 2004The B-minus rating on class B-8 of DLJ Commercial Mortgage Corp. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-CG1, has been affirmed and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. The rating agency also affirmed the ratings on 13 other classes in the deal. (Read More)
Three DLJ Classes Downgraded
January 26, 2004Three classes of DLJ Mortgage Acceptance Corp. mortgage pass-through certificate, series 2000-1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Ca Loan Insurance Unit Rating Cut
January 26, 2004The insurer financial strength rating of Cal-Mortgage Loan Insurance Division has been lowered from A to BBB by Fitch Ratings based on its recent downgrade of the state of California's general obligation bonds from A to BBB. The rating remains on Rating Watch Negative, Fitch said. (Read More)
Roundup: Prospects for Securitization in Asia Are Mixed, Reports Say
January 26, 2004Efforts to securitize mortgages and other assets are making some headway in Asia, but they still face some challenges, according to two recent reports on the outlook for the market. (Read More)
U.K. Group Has Basel II Concerns
January 26, 2004Like some real estate/lending associations in the United States, a mortgage trade group in the United Kingdom has some concerns about how its country's regulators have planned to implement proposed international risk standards. (Read More)
Debtx Makes A Move In Canada
January 26, 2004DebtX here has begun offering commercial loan sale advisory services in Canada. J.D. (Read More)
HOTELoc Classes On Review
January 26, 2004Moody's Investors Service's office here has placed on review for possible downgrade approximately PN191.2 million (about $350 million) of notes secured by 32 properties operated by Thistle Hotels PLC in the United Kingdom. (Read More)
AETOS Fund Acquiring Assets
January 26, 2004Aetos Capital Asia, a $740 million fund formed to acquire real estate and related assets in Japan, plans to acquire over $3 billion in assets going forward. (Read More)
Subprime Lender's Stock Heats Up, Rumors Company Is in Play Abound
January 26, 2004The stock price of Delta Financial, a subprime lender that almost crashed and burned a few years back, heated up earlier this month along with rumors that it might be in play. (Read More)
Fitch Ratings Revises High-Cost Loan Criteria
January 26, 2004Fitch Ratings has revised its random-sample criteria for deciding whether to rate mortgage-backed securities supported in part by home loans from jurisdictions with unlimited assignee liability. (Read More)
Roundup: Several Manufactured Housing Transactions Face Downgrades
January 26, 2004Fitch Ratings has downgraded 164 classes in 57 Conseco Finance/Green Tree Finance manufactured housing transactions. Fitch also affirmed its ratings on 117 classes in the 57 deals. The rating agency said the downgrades reflect the poor performance of the MH pools. (Read More)
S&P Eyeing Conseco MH Deals
January 26, 2004The ratings on over 180 classes in 45 Conseco Finance Corp. and Conseco-related manufactured housing deals have been placed on CreditWatch with negative implications by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. The actions stem from "continued poor performance" by the underlying pools of manufactured housing contracts and the resulting decline in credit enhancement since S&P's last rating actions in mid-2003, the rating agency said. (Read More)
Oakwood B-1 Classes' Ratings Slip
January 26, 2004Ratings on the B-1 classes of Oakwood Mortgage Investors Inc. pass-through certificates series 1998-A and four series of OMI Trust, as well as the rating on class M-2 of OMI Trust 2000-D, have been lowered by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. The B-1 classes of OMI Trust 2000-C, OMI Trust 2001-D and OMI Trust 2001-E were downgraded from CC to D, and class B-1 of OMI Trust 2000-A was downgraded from CCC-minus to CC, S&P said. Class M-2 of OMI Trust 2000-D was downgraded from CC to D. (Read More)
Some Oakwood Classes On Watch
January 26, 2004The ratings on 68 classes from 18 Oakwood Mortgage Investors Inc. and OMI Trust manufactured housing transactions have been placed on CreditWatch with negative implications by S& The rating agency attributed the CreditWatch placements to adverse performance by the underlying collateral pools of manufactured housing loans, and the resulting deterioration in credit enhancement, since S&P's last rating actions in mid-2003. (Read More)
At a Glance: WaMu's Earnings Per Share
January 26, 2004Ticker 4Q/03 All of 03 4Q/02 All of 02 WM $0.93 $4.21 $1.00 $4.02 Source: WaMu Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
The Big Three Funders
January 26, 2004(Dollars in Billions) Lender 2003 Res. 2002 Res. Percentage Market Name Fundings Fundings Change Share Wells Fargo Home $470 $333 41% 12.25% Countrywide $435 $252 73% 11.34% Washington Mutua $384 $279 40% 10.01% Totals: $1,289 $864 49% 33.60% Notes: Market share is based on estimated 2003 industry wide fundings of $3.835 trillion. These three residential lenders fund production through three channels: retail, wholesale, and correspondent. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
January 26, 2004MIEC Index: 200.4 Change: 6.9 (part 1 of 2) 1/15/2004 1/22/2004 Wkly % 52 wk/lo Chg Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 73.65 82.67 12% 37.86 Capstead Mtg.(CMO) 16.88 17.42 3% 10.78 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 3.07 3.54 15% 1.89 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) 39.07 39.91 2% 20.13 Centex Corp. (CTX) 100.44 108.80 8% 48.30 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 38.77 37.75 -3% 27.23 Fannie Mae (FNM) 73.80 79.32 7% 58.40 Freddie Mac (FRE) 60.33 64.27 7% 46.48 Golden West (GDW) 99.95 100.52 1% 68.64 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 52.37 54.35 4% 35.50 MGIC (MTG) 68.97 68.92 0% 35.30 New Century (NCEN) 43.86 51.20 17% 17.18 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 29.83 32.56 9% 17.65 PNC Finl. Svc. (PNC) 54.44 54.83 1% 41.63 Wells Fargo (WFC) 56.63 57.02 1% 43.27 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 40.01 39.82 0% 24.03 Radian Group (RDN) 48.79 46.25 -5% 30.02 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 14.31 12.93 -10% 8.83 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 54.28 53.59 -1% 30.93 Washington Mutual (WM) 41.95 43.00 3% 32.40 (part 2 of 2) 52 wk/hi % Chg fr P/E Ratio 52 wk/lo(1) Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 81.81 118% 7.35 Capstead Mtg.(CMO) 17.98 62% 5.67 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 7.20 87% 8.42 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) 40.10 98% 12.31 Centex Corp. (CTX) 113.08 125% 9.42 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 40.77 39% 24.35 Fannie Mae (FNM) 75.95 36% 10.27 Freddie Mac (FRE) 64.00 38% na Golden West (GDW) 103.95 46% 14.67 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 54.62 53% 4.41 MGIC (MTG) 70.80 95% 13.81 New Century (NCEN) 46.10 198% 8.50 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 31.97 84% 11.58 PNC Finl. Svc. (PNC) 55.55 32% 15.48 Wells Fargo (WFC) 59.18 32% 15.62 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 41.72 66% 11.81 Radian Group (RDN) 53.34 54% 9.96 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 15.55 46% 11.44 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 54.99 73% 15.13 Washington Mutual (WM) 46.85 33% 10.43 Household was bought out by HSBC. Last trading date was March 28, 2003. (1) % change from 52-week low. Notes: Compares Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
MBA Seeking FHA Improvements
January 26, 2004The Mortgage Bankers Association plans to push for legislation this year that makes structural changes at the Federal Housing Administration to improve the performance of the agency's single-family and multifamily insurance programs. (Read More)
ARIT Anticipates loss
January 26, 2004Citing increased competition among residential mortgage lenders, California wholesaler American Residential Investment Trust now anticipates a loss for the fourth quarter. (Read More)
MH Defaults Hurt Radian
January 26, 2004As expected, defaults on a manufactured housing loan transaction guaranteed by the Radian Group here have had a major impact on the company's fourth-quarter profitability. The mortgage insurer and financial guarantee company reported net income of $55.5 million, or $0.58 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2003, down from $107.8 million, or $1.14 per share, for the same period the year prior. (Read More)
Progress Made on AD&C Secondary
January 26, 2004Fannie Mae is awaiting final clearance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to purchase participations in single-family construction loans on a permanent basis. (Read More)
Freddie Mac Prices EuroReference Note
January 26, 2004Freddie Mac has priced a 4 billion euro (about $5 billion) offering of new 10-year EuroReference Note securities due on Jan. 15, 2013. (Read More)
Correction
January 26, 2004In the Jan. 19 issue, National Mortgage News incorrectly identified the first name of the head of investor relations for Delta Financial of Woodbury, N.Y. The head of investor relations for the company is Jayne Cavuoto-Krafchik. We regret the error. (Read More)
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February 2, 2004
OFHEO Asks Freddie for 30% Surplus
February 2, 2004The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has asked Freddie Mac to maintain a 30% surplus over its minimum capital requirement, a measure that, for now, will have little immediate impact on the company. (Read More)
Bond Yields Spike
February 2, 2004A sudden jump in rate-indicative bond market yields surprised and alarmed mortgage originators last week, who previously had been enjoying relative lower rates. (Read More)
'Pre-Emption' Issue Heats Up
February 2, 2004The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's "pre-emption" plans came under attack at a congressional hearing last week, but key Republicans defended the rules, which exempt national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries from state predatory lending laws. (Read More)
Servicers Report Decent Growth in 4Q
February 2, 2004(Dollars in Millions) A Sample Name of Res Servicer Serv Vol Serv Vol Percentage at 12/03 at 12/02 Change Flagstar Bank FSB $33,764 $29,418 15% Ivanhoe Financial $818 $184 345% Loan Care Serv. Ctr. $5,563 $3,347 66% Plymouth Savings $2,514 $2,508 0% Principal Res. $118,692 $107,745 10% State Employees CU $6,409 $4,870 32% Thornburg Mortgage $4,740 $2,039 117% U.S. Bank Home Mort. $62,263 $52,387 19% VNB Mortgage $3,599 $3,195 13% Washington Federal $5,242 $5,082 3% TOTALS: $243,604 $210,775 16% Notes: Firms listed alphabetically. This is a sample table only. Servicers are still compiling their results for 4Q. Final rankings will appear in NMN later this month. (Read More)
Changing of Guard at E-Loan
February 2, 2004The chief operating officer of E-Loan resigned last Thursday, a day in which the company revealed that fourth-quarter earnings plunged 95% and its stock skidded by as much as 20%. (Read More)
U.S. Mortgage Insurance Firms
February 2, 2004(Dollars in Millions) Name of Policies-in-for Rank by Pol. Is MI Unit Mortgage Insurer at 9/30/03 Written in 3Q Publicly Traded? (Read More)
Correction-BridgeSpan/Still in Business
February 2, 2004Our earlier report in the Jan. 19 issue of NMN that BridgeSpan had ceased all operations was incorrect. We regret the error. The BridgeSpan website has relaunched, after having been taken down in the wake of the closure of Bridgespan Title. The company said 150, not 200 plus, had been laid off, all at BridgeSpan Title. (Read More)
UP Merger Creates Top 20 Servicer
February 2, 2004When Regions Financial here merges with Union Planters Corp., Memphis, Tenn., it will create a Southeast-based regional mortgage giant that will rank 20th among all residential servicers nationwide, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News. (Read More)
M&A Result
February 2, 2004(Dollars in Millions) UP and Regions Merger Servicing Bank Name Serv at 9/30 Mkt Sh Rk Union Planters Mort $28,818 0.42% 28 Regions Mortgage $16,030 0.23% 38 Combined: $44,848 0.67% 20 Production Bank Name Prod in 3Q Mkt Sh Rk Union Planters Mort $4,777 0.40% 32 Regions Mortgage $1,697 0.14% 58 Combined: $6,474 0.54% 27 Notes: Results as of Sept. 30. (Read More)
Banking Industry Opposes Required SEC Stock Registration by FHLBs
February 2, 2004The banking industry is throwing cold water on a Federal Housing Finance Board proposal that would require the Federal Home Loan Banks to "voluntarily" register their stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)
Emerging Technology
February 2, 2004Technology can help target and qualify the emerging markets candidates lenders will need to remain successful in this decade. That's the compelling argument of David Flaxman, chief e-solutions technology officer of Fannie Mae and one of the keynote speakers at the recent Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami. (Read More)
Examining the GSEs
February 2, 2004Mr. Falcon recently testified before a House Financial Services Subcommittee on OFHEO's December report of the special examination of Freddie Mac. Excerpts of his statement are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
MBA Seeking Stronger GSE Oversight and a National Lending Standard
February 2, 2004Strengthening federal oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and getting Congress to pass a national lending standard that protects consumers from predatory lending tops the Mortgage Bankers Association's legislative agenda this year. (Read More)
IRS Targeting Real Estate Fraud
February 2, 2004Guess who's going after the property flippers and crooked mortgage brokers? None other than the Internal Revenue Service. (Read More)
1st Republic Does CBO
February 2, 2004First Republic Bank here and its Trainer Wortham & Co. subsidiary have completed a $275 million collateralized bond obligation, the net proceeds of which have been used to purchase a securities portfolio that consists primarily of mortgage-related debt. (Read More)
Lipper: Returns in Fan/Fred Funds Top '03 Rankings
February 2, 2004Mutual funds invested mainly in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities topped the rankings of mortgage funds in 2003, reporting an average cumulative total return of 2.50%, according to data from Lipper Inc., New York. (Read More)
Selected National Mortgage Fund Performance
February 2, 2004(part 1 of 3) Latest Tot 1 Year Fund Net Assets 12/31/02-12/31/03 Prim Name ($Mil) Cum Tot Ret(%) Rank Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Funds Evergreen Adj Rt;I 2500 2.09 1 Evergreen Adj Rt;IS 1042.8 1.85 2 Evergreen Adj Rt;A 1616.9 1.81 3 Federated Adj Rt;Inst 542.8 1.61 4 Tr Credit Un:Govt 1495.9 1.59 5 AMF:Adj Rate Mortgage 4108.4 1.49 6 SB Adj Rate;Sm Brny Y 69.8 1.37 7 Federated Adj Rt;Insv 66.9 1.36 8 Franklin Inv:Adj US Gv;A 620 1.22 9 Evergreen Adj Rt;C 2444.6 1.08 10 Evergreen Adj Rt;B 850.6 1.08 10 SB Adj Rate;Sm Brny A 676.3 1.08 10 Average/Total 16977.8 1.35 14 Ginnie Mae Funds Dreyfus Basic US Mtg Sec 258.6 3.54 1 BlackRock:GNMA;BR 35 3.37 2 PIMCO:GNMA;Inst 108.4 3.35 3 BlackRock:GNMA;Inst 165 3.22 4 PaydenFunds:GNMA 146.7 3.06 5 PIMCO:GNMA;D 7.5 2.98 6 PIMCO:GNMA;A 63.6 2.93 7 BlackRock:GNMA;Svc 1.7 2.81 8 ING GNMA Inc;Q 0.1 2.76 9 BlackRock:GNMA;IA 20.4 2.72 10 Average/Total 57953 1.96 63 U.S. Mortgage Funds Dreyfus Mortgage Shrs 9.7 7.81 1 Huntington:Mtge;Tr 43.9 7.02 2 Huntington:Mtge;Inv A 1.2 6.71 3 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;Inst 64.7 4.2 4 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;Admn 15.2 3.95 5 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;D 102.9 3.8 6 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;A 32.1 3.79 7 Ivy:Mortgage Secs;A 132.8 3.76 8 Fidelity Adv Mtge Sec 1310.5 3.55 9 Fidelity Adv Mtge;Ins 14.1 3.54 10 Average/Total 15611.5 2.5 77 (part 2 of 3) 1 Quarter Fund 9/30/03-12/31/03 Prim Name Cum Tot Ret(%) Rank Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Funds Evergreen Adj Rt;I 0.22 8 Evergreen Adj Rt;IS 0.16 13 Evergreen Adj Rt;A 0.15 14 Federated Adj Rt;Inst 0.35 4 Tr Credit Un:Govt 0.37 3 AMF:Adj Rate Mortgage 0.54 1 SB Adj Rate;Sm Brny Y 0.39 2 Federated Adj Rt;Insv 0.29 7 Franklin Inv:Adj US Gv;A 0.22 8 Evergreen Adj Rt;C -0.03 15 Evergreen Adj Rt;B -0.03 15 SB Adj Rate;Sm Brny A 0.31 5 Average/Total 0.24 16 Ginnie Mae Funds Dreyfus Basic US Mtg Sec 0.66 18 BlackRock:GNMA;BR 1.07 1 PIMCO:GNMA;Inst 1.01 3 BlackRock:GNMA;Inst 1.03 2 PaydenFunds:GNMA 0.92 6 PIMCO:GNMA;D 0.95 5 PIMCO:GNMA;A 0.9 8 BlackRock:GNMA;Svc 0.96 4 ING GNMA Inc;Q 0.34 46 BlackRock:GNMA;IA 0.91 7 Average/Total 0.47 66 U.S. Mortgage Funds Dreyfus Mortgage Shrs 3.03 1 Huntington:Mtge;Tr 1.63 2 Huntington:Mtge;Inv A 1.5 4 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;Inst 1.19 5 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;Admn 1.13 6 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;D 1.09 7 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;A 1.09 7 Ivy:Mortgage Secs;A 0.14 74 Fidelity Adv Mtge Sec 0.58 42 Fidelity Adv Mtge;Ins 0.49 57 Average/Total 0.64 79 (part 3 of 3) 5 Years Fund 12/31/98-12/31/03 Prim Name Cum Tot Ret(%) Rank Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Funds Evergreen Adj Rt;I 29.72 1 Evergreen Adj Rt;IS 28.14 Evergreen Adj Rt;A N/A N/A Federated Adj Rt;Inst 23.96 7 Tr Credit Un:Govt 26.49 3 AMF:Adj Rate Mortgage 24.46 4 SB Adj Rate;Sm Brny Y N/A N/A Federated Adj Rt;Insv 22.43 8 Franklin Inv:Adj US Gv;A 24.11 6 Evergreen Adj Rt;C N/A N/A Evergreen Adj Rt;B N/A N/A SB Adj Rate;Sm Brny A 24.39 5 Average/Total 24.59 10 Ginnie Mae Funds Dreyfus Basic US Mtg Sec 38.57 2 BlackRock:GNMA;BR N/A N/A PIMCO:GNMA;Inst 45.06 1 BlackRock:GNMA;Inst 38.51 3 PaydenFunds:GNMA N/A N/A PIMCO:GNMA;D N/A N/A PIMCO:GNMA;A N/A N/A BlackRock:GNMA;Svc 36.33 4 ING GNMA Inc;Q N/A N/A BlackRock:GNMA;IA 35.76 8 Average/Total 31.44 44 U.S. Mortgage Funds Dreyfus Mortgage Shrs N/A N/A Huntington:Mtge;Tr 38.21 5 Huntington:Mtge;Inv A 36.47 10 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;Inst 44.24 1 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;Admn N/A N/A PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;D 41.47 3 PIMCO:Tot Ret Mtge;A N/A N/A Ivy:Mortgage Secs;A 40.05 4 Fidelity Adv Mtge Sec 37.79 7 Fidelity Adv Mtge;Ins 37.34 9 Average/Total 31.93 57 Source: Lipper Inc. (Read More)
Judge Rules NYC Anti-Predatory Lending Law Pre-Empted
February 2, 2004In a ruling falling on the side of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York City Council's anti-predatory lending law was invalidated by Justice Michael D. Stallman of Manhattan Supreme Court last week. Some in the industry say they are glad Local Law 36 never went into effect because it would have had a negative effect on the market. (Read More)
Roundup: Canadian Housing Starts Hit Highest Level Seen Since 1988
February 2, 2004Housing starts in Canada have reached their highest level since 1988, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. has reported. (Read More)
EMEA: RMBS Largest asset class
February 2, 2004Residential mortgage-backed securities became the largest structured finance asset class in Europe, the Middle East and Africa during 2003, according to recent report written by Judit Seymour, a vice president and senior analyst at Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
European RE 'Modestly Good'
February 2, 2004Many real estate investors anticipate "modestly good" profitability in European markets this year, according to a report released by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP at the ULI's European Property Development and Invesment conference here. (Read More)
RE fund increases capital
February 2, 2004The capital of the Credit Suisse real estate fund Siat, which invests in residential property, has been increased by 106.3 million Swiss francs (about $83.9 million), Credit Suisse Asset Management has reported. (Read More)
Earnings Roundup: Downey Net Income Down, Servicing Performance Up
February 2, 2004Downey Financial Corp. here reported that net income for the fourth quarter fell to $23.8 million, or $0.85 per share, from $40 million, or $1.43 per share in the fourth quarter of 2002. (Read More)
Golden West Earnings Top $1B
February 2, 2004Golden West Financial here, parent of World Savings Bank, reported record net earnings in excess of $1 billion for 2003. (Read More)
First Horizon's Income Rises
February 2, 2004First Tennessee National Corp. here said its First Horizon Home Loans mortgage subsidiary had pretax income of $428.7 million for all of 2003, up 58% from $271.9 million for 2002. (Read More)
New Century Earnings Set Record
February 2, 2004New Century Financial Corp. here has reported record net earnings of $245.5 million ($6.56 per share) for 2003, compared with $179.7 million ($4.62 per share) the year before. (Read More)
Flagstar Earnings
February 2, 2004Flagstar Bancorp Inc. here reported fourth-quarter earnings of $36.7 million (earnings per share $0.57), up from $32.1 million (EPS $0.51) in the same period of 2002. While lower refinancing rates did take a toll on mortgage originations, a higher servicing volume tipped revenue up. (Read More)
RAIT Net Income On Upswing
February 2, 2004RAIT Investment Trust had net income of $13.5 million ($0.60 per share) for the fourth quarter, a 15.4% increase over the net income of $11.7 million ($0.63 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2002. (Read More)
Branch Expansion Affects Amcore
February 2, 2004Amcore Financial Inc. here reported fourth-quarter 2003 earnings per share of $0.39, compared to $0.49 for the same period in 2002, a decline the company said was due to "expenses incurred from branch expansion, significantly lower mortgage revenues, severance costs and higher health care expenses." (Read More)
Earnings Loan Vols Back Trend
February 2, 2004Loan volumes reported recently in conjunction with lenders' earnings continue to bear out previous expectations that year-end results would show that the boom in originations seen last year slowed during the last quarter of 2003. (Read More)
Study: Keeping Tabs on Land Availability Makes Smart Growth Smarter
February 2, 2004Buy land, Will Rogers once said. They ain't making any more of it. (Read More)
Looking at Affordable Housing as a 'Workforce' Issue
February 2, 2004Bobby Rayburn, the new president of the National Association of Home Builders, hopes to do for the term "workforce housing" what his predecessors have done for the phrase "smart growth." (Read More)
Commercial/MF Lending: Mixed Scenario Ahead
February 2, 2004The year ahead might well turn out to be a good news/bad news scenario for commercial real estate. The good news is that an improving economy is likely to translate into higher job formation, which will benefit all the property types. (Read More)
Inside
February 2, 2004CMBS Interest Shortfall Fixes 20 The industry has come up with some solutions to deal with the issue, but it remains to be seen how they hold up. (Read More)
Commercial MBS Interest Shortfall Solutions a Short Term Fix?
February 2, 2004The commercial mortgage-backed securities industry is making progress in dealing with the issue of interest shortfalls on deals, but it is possible that the issues could crop up later in a different form. (Read More)
Moody's Sees Strengthening CRE
February 2, 2004The worst may be over for commercial real estate, according to Moody's Investors Service. Based on its quarterly Red-Yellow-Green report, both multifamily and shopping centers are expected to perform well over the next year, the hotel sector is strengthening, while office buildings and industrial facilities are holding their own. (Read More)
Economic Recovery May Not Translate into CRE Investment Gains
February 2, 2004An improving U.S. economy, which makes for increased demand and better fundamentals for most property types, bodes well for the commercial real estate outlook, according to Prudential Real Estate Investors. (Read More)
Top Commercial Servicers at 9/30/03
February 2, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. Horsham, PA 2 Midland Loan Svc/PNC RE Finance Overland Park, KS 3 GEMSA Loan Services, L.P. Houston, TX 4 NorthMarq Capital, Inc. Bloomington, MN 5 Principal Real Estate Investors Des Moines, IA 6 Heartland Bank St. Louis, MO 7 Laureate Capital, LLC Charlotte, NC 8 Capstone Realty Advisors, LLC Cleveland, OH 9 Collateral Mortgage Capital, LLC Birmingham, AL 10 Churchill Mortgage Corp. Los Angeles, CA 11 Allfirst Mortgage Corp. Baltimore, MD 12 Dwyer-Curtlett & Co. Los Angeles, CA 13 First Fidelity Mortgage Corp. Atlanta, GA 14 Republic Bancorp Inc. Owosso, MI 15 Capital Advisors, Inc. Charlotte, NC 16 Newmark Realty Capital, Inc. San Francisco, CA 17 ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co. Calabasas Hills, CA 18 Gershman Investment Corp. St. Louis, MO 19 Great Lakes Financial Group Cleveland, OH 20 Fidelity Bank Wichita, KS (part 2 of 2) Rk 3Q/03 3Q/02 % Chg 1 $249,394 $156,927 59% 2 $79,813 $73,675 8% 3 $59,310 $57,924 2% 4 $21,852 $10,502 108% 5 $15,571 $14,174 10% 6 $1,401 $875 60% 7 $6,465 $5,825 11% 8 $5,880 $4,952 19% 9 $4,751 $3,541 34% 10 $4,463 $4,104 9% 11 $2,908 $2,453 19% 12 $1,810 $1,511 20% 13 $1,757 $1,763 0% 14 $1,474 $1,477 0% 15 $1,390 $1,392 0% 16 $1,375 $1,052 31% 17 $1,000 $9,902 -90% 18 $492 $397 24% 19 $348 $369 -6% 20 $260 $253 3% Totals: $461,714 $201,580 59% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not provide commercial servicing numbers. (Read More)
Investor Targets Growth by Acquisition
February 2, 2004HEI Hospitality has plans to increase its hotel investments to more than $1 billion, according to the company. (Read More)
Top Commercial Mortgage Lenders in 3Q/03
February 2, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. Horsham, PA 2 Wachovia Charlotte, NC 3 Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L. P. Houston, TX 4 NorthMarq Capital, Inc. Bloomington, MN 5 Principal Real Estate Investors Des Moines, IA 6 Collateral Mortgage Capital, LLC Birmingham, AL 7 ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co. Calabasas Hills, CA 8 New York Life Insurance Co. New York, NY 9 Pacific Life Insurance Co. Newport Beach, CA 10 American Property Financing New York, NY 11 Laureate Capital, LLC Charlotte, NC 12 BankAtlantic Fort Lauderdale, FL 13 Churchill Mortgage Corp. Los Angeles, CA 14 Midland Loan Svcs/PNC RE Finance Overland Park, KS 15 National Mortgage Co. Portland, OR 16 Capstone Realty Advisors, LLC Cleveland, OH 17 Capital Advisors, Inc. Charlotte, NC 18 Dwyer-Curtlett & Co. Los Angeles, CA 19 Republic Bancorp Inc. Owosso, MI 20 Dwinn Schaffer & Co. Chicago, IL (part 2 of 2) 3Q 2003 3Q 2002 Percent Rk Volume Volume Change 1 $5,893 $4,678 26% 2 $5,211 $4,499 16% 3 $4,480 $2,662 68% 4 $1,264 $832 52% 5 $1,013 $555 82% 6 $626 $300 109% 7 $531 $380 40% 8 $477 $362 32% 9 $435 $209 108% 10 $406 $248 64% 11 $353 $240 47% 12 $277 $161 72% 13 $264 $435 -39% 14 $250 $250 0% 15 $203 $44 358% 16 $176 $239 -26% 17 $163 $93 76% 18 $133 $190 -30% 19 $121 $145 -17% 20 $104 $62 68% Totals: $22,380 $16,585 35% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not provide commercial production numbers. (Read More)
CMBS Issuance to Benefit from Rates, Refis
February 2, 2004Issuance of commercial mortgage-backed securities is likely to stay flat or drop from its 2003 level of approximately $75 billion, according to Standard & Poor's. (Read More)
Loan Loss Reserve Project Sees Shift
February 2, 2004The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has decided to change the focus of its loan loss reserve project, which had run into strong objections from federal banking regulators and the banking industry. (Read More)
GE IPO Docs: Groundwork Laid in Europe
February 2, 2004When a firm files an "S1" statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it usually includes all of its hopes, dreams and fears as the company prepares to sell its shares to the public. (Read More)
Freddie Purchases Hit 17-Month Low
February 2, 2004Loan purchases by Freddie Mac hit a 17-month low in December, reflecting the slowdown in originations in the primary market. However, the news isn't all bad. Purchase commitments rose for the second month in a row. (Read More)
Senate Passes OFHEO/FHA MF Bill
February 2, 2004The Senate has passed the $820 billion omnibus appropriations bill that provides additional funding for the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and new loan commitment authority for the Federal Housing Administration multifamily program. (Read More)
Publicly Traded 'Subprime' Related Firms
February 2, 2004B&C Stock Price Index: 259.7 Change: -18.1 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 1/29/2004 Aames (AMSF) 1.11 3.47 3.15 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 2.96 13.88 4.01 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 1.36 11.50 9.55 HSBC Holding (HBC) 50.70 81.99 77.49 IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 11.05 21.28 19.95 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 6.99 43.25 33.65 New Century (NCEN) 17.18 51.80 45.06 Novastar (NFI) 13.90 53.95 48.86 Ocwen (OCN)(*) 2.60 11.50 10.16 Provident Financial (PFGI) 19.90 34.66 34.45 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 10.76 30.10 27.29 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 0.21 2.25 1.16 (part 2 of 2) Company Weekly %Chg from P/E Ratio % Chg. 52-wk Lo Aames (AMSF) -2% 184% 6.80 American Business Fin. (ABFI) -2% 35% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) -7% 602% 2.70 HSBC Holding (HBC) -3% 53% na IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 1% 81% 8.80 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) -19% 381% 8.50 New Century (NCEN) -12% 162% 6.90 Novastar (NFI) -7% 252% 12.50 Ocwen (OCN)(*) -10% 291% na Provident Financial (PFGI) 2% 73% 17.90 Saxon Capital (SAXN) -4% 154% 22.20 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) -6% 452% 3.00 Household was bought out by HSBC. Last trading date was March 28, 2003. (*)Ocwen is a subprime subservicer. (1)% change from 52-week low. Notes: Compares Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Countrywide Tops the Charts in 4Q
February 2, 2004A slowdown in mortgage lending volume during the fourth quarter did little to dent Countrywide Financial Corp.'s earnings momentum or its ambitious plan to increase market share. In fact, the company originated more home loans than any other lender in the fourth quarter, edging out Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual, which reported total loan volume of $71 billion and $70 billion, respectively, to reclaim the top spot for the first time in almost a decade. (Read More)
OCC Comments on the States
February 2, 2004Since 1863, the OCC has supervised national banks to ensure a safe, sound and competitive banking system, according to Kevin Mukri, spokesperson for the department. The office follows one uniformed set of federal regulations in all 50 states, and it's up to the consumer to choose whether they want to deal with a national or state bank when they take out a mortgage loan. (Read More)
Yields, Rates to Spike on February 6?
February 2, 2004Doug Duncan, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, says he expects the federal government to revise employment data upward soon, and that could portend a further increase in the 10-year Treasury yield and mortgage rates. (Read More)
People
February 2, 2004CALIFORNIA Folsom-Central Pacific Mortgage promoted Ed Fuchs, who previously held the position of senior vice president of finance and secondary marketing, to executive vice president of finance and secondary marketing. (Read More)
Correction
February 2, 2004Tanner Cornett joined Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Inc., Cincinnati, as a home mortgage consultant. Her name as stated in the Jan. 19 issue of NMN was incorrect. We regret the error. (Read More)
'Thrifts Should Prepare for Rate Rise'
February 2, 2004The Office of Thrift Supervision wants thrifts to prepare for rising interest rates and the agency plans to issue new guidance to the industry soon. (Read More)
Fannie Retains Whitewater Prosecutor
February 2, 2004Fannie Mae, which is being audited by its regulator for its accounting practices, has retained the legal services of former Whitewater prosecutor, Kenneth Starr, and his law firm. (Read More)
FHA Sets Deadline for Scorecard Link
February 2, 2004All automated underwriting systems must be linked to the Federal Housing Administration's TOTAL Scorecard by May 1 to continue processing FHA single-family loans, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (Read More)
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February 9, 2004
Bush Budget Inflexible on GSEs
February 9, 2004Judging by the new federal budget, the Bush administration has no plans whatsoever to back down from creating a tough new regulator for all three housing GSEs. (Read More)
A $2 Trillion Market
February 9, 2004The banner mortgage year of 2003 for residential originations has extended into the commercial side of the business as well. The Mortgage Bankers Association announced at its Commercial Real Estate Financing convention in Orlando, Fla., last week that 2003 commercial mortgage and multifamily volume set a new record of $116 billion, breaking $100 billion for the first time. (Read More)
MBA: GMACCM Is Still No.1
February 9, 2004The latest ranking of commercial mortgage servicers by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows little change at the top compared to the MBA's previous ranking. (Read More)
MBA Commercial Mortgage Servicer Rankings '03
February 9, 2004Rk Company ($ Million) No. of Loans 1 GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. $213,726 60,683 2 Wachovia Securities $120,228 16,304 3 Midland Loan Services, Inc./PNC RE Finance $83,336 13,263 4 GEMSA Loan Services LP $60,952 8,162 5 Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Servicing $41,785 6,325 6 Prudential Asset Resources $35,543 5,784 7 Washington Mutual $31,187 32,975 8 ORIX Capital Markets, LLC $29,822 6,605 9 Bank of America $27,222 8,720 10 Key Commercial Mortgage $25,408 4,468 Notes: The MBA Commercial Mortgage Servicing Survey only includes member firms servicing loans for third parties or affiliated organizations. (Read More)
The 'Very Small' Buying Loans
February 9, 2004Thrifts and banks were as active secondary mortgage market players as ever last year, but more "very small" institutions than ever sold their loans, according to a real estate lending survey by America's Community Bankers. (Read More)
Rresidential Servicers Ranked by Number of Loans
February 9, 2004(part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 2 Countrywide Fin'l Corp. Calabasas, CA 3 Wells Fargo Home Mtg San Francisco 4 Chase Home Finance Edison, NJ 5 Bank of America Charlotte, NC 6 GMAC Res Holdings Horsham, PA 7 ABN Amro Mortgage Ann Arbor, MI 8 CitiMortgage, Inc. St. Louis, MO 9 National City Mtg Miamisburg, OH 10 Principal Res Mtg Des Moines, IA (part 2 of 2) # Lns Serviced # Lns Serviced Pct Market Rk 9/30/03 9/30/02 Chg Share 1 5,841,973 6,656,661 -12% 10.95% 2 4,834,943 3,706,320 30% 9.06% 3 4,662,912 4,408,777 6% 8.74% 4 3,976,201 4,097,597 -3% 7.45% 5 2,244,782 2,639,140 -15% 4.21% 6 1,893,548 2,110,652 -10% 3.55% 7 1,614,040 1,575,660 2% 3.02% 8 1,567,245 914,688 71% 2.94% 9 1,092,583 917,499 19% 2.05% 10 956,473 885,064 8% 1.79% Note: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose number of loans serviced. (Read More)
Dot-Com Office Vacancies at 28.26%
February 9, 2004Do you know the way to San Jose? If you're looking for cheap office space you may want to head for this city, once the epicenter of the dot-com boom. (Read More)
Court: Ex-GSE CEO Must Cooperate
February 9, 2004A federal judge has ordered former Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive Leland Brendsel to testify before the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which continues to probe the mortgage giant's $5 billion accounting scandal. (Read More)
Homeownership Rate Hits New Record High
February 9, 2004The U.S. homeownership rate ended 2003 at a record rate of 68.6%, according to the government, and minority homeownership rose above 50% for the first time. The Census Bureau reported that homeownership rates rose from 68.4% in the third quarter to 68.6% in the fourth quarter. The percentage of homeowners in the U.S. at the end of the fourth quarter of 2002 was 68.3%. (Read More)
Promotion Spotlight: Tim Anderson
February 9, 2004Dexma Inc., Edina, Minn., has named Mr. Anderson its executive vice president for business solutions. He previously was an EVP at DocuTech. Mr. Anderson has received an award from NMN affiliate Mortgage Technology, recognizing him as an innovator for his work in building the eMortgage Alliance. (Read More)
Corrections
February 9, 2004* The commercial servicing volume rankings as of the end of September 2003 included the following companies: Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, Dallas, had $12 billion in servicing and ranked sixth; ARCS Commercial Mortgage, Calabasas, Calif., had $11 billion in commercial servicing rights on its books and ranked seventh nationwide; and Heartland Bank of St. Louis ranked 18th. The rankings of these companies, as published in the Feb. 2 NMN, were misreported due to data input mistakes. (Read More)
Fannie Mae Ceases Buying of B&C Loans with Mandatory Arbitration Clauses
February 9, 2004In order to combat predatory lending, Fannie Mae said it will stop purchasing subprime mortgages with mandatory arbitration clauses and will prohibit prepayment penalties longer than three years. The move is an extension of Fannie's American Dream Commitment plan, which focuses on long-term mortgage solutions for helping families stay in their homes. (Read More)
Tiberi Introduces 'Zero Down' Bill
February 9, 2004Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, has introduced a bill to create a federally insured zero downpayment mortgage to increase homeownership opportunities for borrowers who do not have the cash for a downpayment or closing costs. (Read More)
In Support of Pre-Emption
February 9, 2004Rep. Oxley, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's regulations to pre-empt state predatory lending laws, made his remarks on Jan. 28 at a hearing by the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. His opening remarks are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Rate-Indicative Treasury Yield Fell Back But Was Poised for Possible Change
February 9, 2004The rate-indicative 10-year Treasury note yield at press time last Thursday had receded back to levels near where it had been before it had spiked on news that the Federal Open Market Committee changed the wording of its policy statement, leading many market participants to believe the FOMC was closer to raising rates than it previously had been. (Read More)
'Rumor' Boosts Greenpoint Stock
February 9, 2004GreenPoint Financial Corp.'s share price jumped suddenly last Wednesday, reaching a 52-week high of $44.85, according to Yahoo! Finance. (Read More)
Survey Says: Affluent Believe in a Real Estate Bubble
February 9, 2004A growing number of affluent Americans are worried that there is a real estate bubble brewing, according to a study conducted for the McDonald Financial Group, a subsidiary of KeyCorp here. (Read More)
MGIC Index Shows Stability
February 9, 2004Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp.'s national Market Trends Index did not change between the third and fourth quarters 2003, remaining at 6.58. (Read More)
MFP Volume Up 158%
February 9, 2004The Federal Home Loan Banks Mortgage Partnership Finance program funded $72.1 billion of loans last year, up 158% from the year before. (Read More)
Triad Stands Out Among Mortgage Insurers When It Comes to Earnings
February 9, 2004Triad Guaranty Inc., Winston-Salem, N.C., bucked the trend of the other three publicly traded mortgage insurance companies by reporting higher year-over-year earnings for the full year and the fourth quarter of 2003. (Read More)
Fannie Mae Invested $36 Billion in Multifamily in '03
February 9, 2004Fannie Mae made a total investment of about $36 billion in multifamily housing last year, the government-sponsored enterprise has reported. More than 85% of the multifamily units financed by Fannie Mae last year were in the affordable housing category - affordable to families at or below area median income - according to the company. (Read More)
GSEs, Countrywide Re-Up With ACB
February 9, 2004America's Community Bankers has renewed its secondary mortgage market partnerships with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Countrywide Home Loans. ow in its fourth year, the pact with Fannie Mae is the cornerstone of the ACB's mortgage solutions program, which is designed to allow community banks to provide their customers with loan options they might not otherwise be able to offer. (Read More)
Bank Finds Money Talks When Adding Home Equity Lines of Credit
February 9, 2004When Pulaski Bank decided to grow its portfolio by offering borrowers home equity lines of credit to go along with their first mortgages four years ago, the St. Louis-based thrift thought it had the perfect fit for its customers. (Read More)
Roundup: BridgeSpan Says Top Exec Departing, Fidelity to Buy Sanchez
February 9, 2004BridgeSpan Inc., a title company and online closing specialist that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has announced that Larry Walker will resign as president and chief executive officer next month. (Read More)
Fidelity to Acquire Sanchez
February 9, 2004Fidelity National Financial here has agreed to acquire Malvern, Penn.-based Sanchez Computer Associate, FNF reported. (Read More)
Fiserv Reports Record Earnings
February 9, 2004Fiserv Inc. here has reported record net income of about $81.974 million ($0.42 per basic share) for the fourth quarter, compared with $68.228 million ($0.36 per basic share) for the same quarter a year earlier. (Read More)
Midland Launches 'Enterprise!'
February 9, 2004Midland Services Inc. here has gone live with its new Web-based Enterprise! loan management system. To its credit, $90 billion in commercial real estate loans were being serviced on the Enterprise! platform at press time. (Read More)
GMAC-RFC Seeks Local Partners in Germany
February 9, 2004GMAC-RFC is looking for local German business partners to work in conjunction with its recently established mortgage lending effort in that country, an executive from the company, based here, told National Mortgage News. (Read More)
Roundup: A Big Yen For Yen, Etc.
February 9, 2004The American mortgage market will need to attract more money than ever from overseas to meet the demand for housing in the coming years, a top secondary market official said last week. (Read More)
Canada to see CMBS growth?
February 9, 2004Canadian commercial mortgage-backed securities issuance is expected to grow by 20% to 30% in 2004, Moody's Investors Service has reported. (Read More)
'Offshore Savings Can Reach 25%'
February 9, 2004Taking some of your mortgage processes offshore to India could reduce your costs by 25% on those processes, according to David Rogers, chief technology officer for GreenPoint Mortgage, Novato, Calif. (Read More)
Speaker Puts Focus On Fraud Prevention
February 9, 2004You may have seen him depicted by Leonardo DiCaprio in the Steven Spielberg movie, "Catch Me If You Can," but in real life, Frank Abagnale is drawing worldwide attention for his lectures on forgery, embezzlement and secure documents. On Feb. 18, he will open the general session of the National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo, beginning at 8:45 a.m. (Read More)
Liebowitz: FHLB MPF Program Could Bring New Players to the Game
February 9, 2004Executives from GCC Servicing Systems, based in Southfield, MI, will unveil a new look for its software at this year's MBA conference as well as spend time talking to other attendees about industry trends. (Read More)
At a Glance: Upcoming Campus MBA Events
February 9, 2004Topic Date Location Advanced Fraud Seminar March 4-5 San Antonio School of Mortgage Banking Course I March 14-19 New Orleans FHA Risk Management Workshop March 23-24 Phoenix RESPA Reform Seminar March 22 Tampa Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
MBA Partners with 'E-Education' Firm
February 9, 2004The Mortgage Bankers Association has teamed up with Blackboard Inc., Washington, to offer Web-based training designed for midsize and large financial institutions. (Read More)
Fidelity Says Outsourcing Abroad Will Add to Efficiency
February 9, 2004Fidelity Information Services, based in Jacksonville, FL, plans to let those attending the Mortgage Bankers Association's national servicing conference this year know that it has literally been looking far and wide in its efforts to give the clients the technologically driven efficiencies they seek as they cope with the pressures of consolidation. (Read More)
U.S. Recordings Sees Growth in Electronic Filing of Property Records
February 9, 2004San Diego-based U.S. Recordings has one goal to meet at the MBA Servicing Conference this year, and that is to show the industry, including current and prospective customers, the company's electronic real estate filing system. (Read More)
Interlinq Hopes Servicing Conference Will Add to Momentum
February 9, 2004Harland Financial Solutions, based in Atlanta, plans to use the MBA servicing conference as a springboard to build on momentum the company established last year. (Read More)
Early Birds May Get Chance to See Tiger
February 9, 2004If you want to see Tiger Woods in action, plan to arrive at the MBA servicing conference a few days early. (Read More)
MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo Schedule of Events
February 9, 2004Tuesday, February 17, 2004 07:30 a.m. - 07:00 p.m. (Read More)
Met Mortgage Filing for Bankruptcy?
February 9, 2004Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities was expected to file a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during the week of Feb. 2. (Read More)
Met Mortgage Securities Buyers File Suit
February 9, 2004Purchasers of securities issued by Metropolitan Mortgage and Securities Co. Inc. and Summit Securities Inc., two related companies headquartered here, have filed suit in Federal Court here seeking up to $300 million in damages. (Read More)
NYMT Files with SEC to Conduct IPO
February 9, 2004New York Mortgage Trust Inc. here has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct an initial public offering as part of its plan to acquire New York Mortgage Co. LLC here. (Read More)
American Home: 1st REIT Year a Good One
February 9, 2004American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. here gave its first quarterly earnings report as a real estate investment trust, with full-year earnings of $73.8 million or $4.07 per share, up from $39.5 million or $2.65 per share in 2002. (Read More)
Irwin's Net Income Fell In 4Q But Was Up in '03
February 9, 2004Irwin Financial Corp., a bank focusing on mortgage banking, small business lending and home equity lending, has reported net income of $16.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2003, compared with $27.2 million for the same period in 2002. Earnings for the full year were $72.8 million in 2003, compared with $53.3 million in 2002, with an increase in earnings per share of 30%. (Read More)
Federal Housing Administration Backing Creation of More New Homes
February 9, 2004Steps taken by the Federal Housing Administration to appeal to homebuilders appear to be paying off. (Read More)
Standard C2P Form Created by NARCL
February 9, 2004A group of specialists in construction-to-permanent lending has created a model information questionnaire it hopes will bring much-needed standardization to their field. (Read More)
People
February 9, 2004ARIZONA Tucson-First Magnus Financial Corp. has hired Ed F. Wallace Jr. as senior vice president of its Corporate Wholesale Lending Division. First Magnus said Mr. Wallace will oversee its wholesale expansion efforts in 32 states currently served through the company's centralized wholesale operation. (Read More)
Congresswoman May Release Comp Data
February 9, 2004Rep. Janice Schakowsky, D-Ill., is considering releasing compensation information on Fannie Mae's top 20 executives, a move that would anger the mortgage giant. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
February 9, 2004MIEC Index: 197.2 Change: 0.7 (part 1 of 3) 1/29/04 2/5/04 Astoria Federal (AF) 38.76 40.22 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 82.21 83.23 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 2.72 2.65 Centex Corp. (CTX) 103.76 94.56 Doral Financial (DRL) 31.97 32.85 Delta Financial (DFC) 9.60 10.00 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 37.21 37.21 Fannie Mae (FNM) 76.45 77.57 Fidelity National (FNF) 39.66 41.23 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 18.07 19.25 Freddie Mac (FRE) 61.72 62.71 Golden West (GDW) 102.56 104.40 Kaufman & Broad 67.06 66.98 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 54.57 52.93 New Century (NCEN) 45.01 45.26 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 30.08 31.76 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 38.58 38.56 Radian Group (RDN) 47.01 45.81 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 11.47 11.31 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 52.00 53.07 Washington Mutual (WM) 43.31 43.80 (part 2 of 3) Wkly % Chg 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi Astoria Federal (AF) 4% 23.23 40.50 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 1% 37.87 88.89 E-Loan Inc (EELN) -3% 2.04 7.20 Centex Corp. (CTX) -9% 48.30 113.08 Doral Financial (DRL) 3% 18.73 34.94 Delta Financial (DFC) 4% 1.43 11.50 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 0% 27.23 40.77 Fannie Mae (FNM) 1% 58.40 80.05 Fidelity National (FNF) 4% 24.40 42.40 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 7% 16.51 20.70 Freddie Mac (FRE) 2% 46.48 65.15 Golden West (GDW) 2% 68.64 105.30 Kaufman & Broad 0% 42.75 74.96 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) -3% 35.50 57.73 New Century (NCEN) 1% 17.18 51.80 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 6% 17.65 32.94 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 0% 24.03 41.72 Radian Group (RDN) -3% 30.02 53.34 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) -1% 8.83 15.55 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 2% 30.93 55.00 Washington Mutual (WM) 1% 32.40 46.85 (part 3 of 3) % Chg fr 52 wk/lo(1) P/E Ratio Astoria Federal (AF) 73% 16.15 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 120% 6.24 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 30% 7.79 Centex Corp. (CTX) 96% 8.19 Doral Financial (DRL) 75% 12.07 Delta Financial (DFC) 599% 2.86 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 37% 23.11 Fannie Mae (FNM) 33% 10.04 Fidelity National (FNF) 69% 6.66 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 17% na Freddie Mac (FRE) 35% na Golden West (GDW) 52% 14.62 Kaufman & Broad 57% 7.61 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 49% 4.29 New Century (NCEN) 163% 6.89 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 80% 10.37 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 60% 11.82 Radian Group (RDN) 53% 11.22 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 28% 10.87 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 72% 15.07 Washington Mutual (WM) 35% 10.63 Household was bought out by HS (1) % change from 52-week low. Notes: Compares Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Office Vacancy Rates for Class 'A' Space in Cities Where Technology Jobs Are Prominent
February 9, 2004Name of City Vacancy Rate for Class 'A' Office Space San Jose 28.26% San Francisco 18.68% Wash./No. Va. (1) 18.22% Boston 15.84% Denver 14.96% Colorado Springs 14.15% Wash./Sub. MD. (2) 13.67% Seattle 13.01% New York City (3) 11.88% San Diego 11.57% Notes: Vacancies represent open space in the city and not the surrounding suburbs except for Washington/Northern Virginia (1), and Washington/Maryland (2). (3) The vacancy rate is for the borough of Manhattan only. (Read More)
Publicly Traded 'Subprime' Related Firms
February 9, 2004B&C Stock Price Index: 256.5 Change: -3.2 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 2/5/04 Aames (AMSF) 1.11 3.47 3.15 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 2.96 13.67 3.96 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 1.43 11.5 10.1 HSBC Holding (HBC) 50.7 81.99 76.78 IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 11.05 21.28 19.8 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 6.99 43.25 33.64 New Century (NCEN) 17.18 51.8 45.06 Novastar (NFI) 13.9 53.95 47.73 Ocwen (OCN)(*) 2.6 11.5 9.63 Provident Financial (PFGI) 19.9 34.66 33.77 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 10.76 30.1 26.1 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 0.21 2.25 1.17 (part 2 of 2) Weekly %Chg from Company % Chg. 52-wk Lo P/E Ratio Aames (AMSF) 0% 184% 5.1 American Business Fin. (ABFI) -1% 34% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 6% 606% 2.9 HSBC Holding (HBC) -1% 51% na IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) -1% 79% 8 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 0% 381% 6.8 New Century (NCEN) 0% 162% 6.9 Novastar (NFI) -2% 243% 9.9 Ocwen (OCN)(*) -5% 270% 137.6 Provident Financial (PFGI) -2% 70% 17.6 Saxon Capital (SAXN) -4% 143% 12.1 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 1% 457% 3 Household was bought out by HSBC. Last trading date was March 28, 2003. (Read More)
Two FHA Programs Called for in Budget
February 9, 2004President George Bush's budget proposal calls on Congress to approve two new Federal Housing Administration loan programs - one for first-time homebuyers and another for subprime borrowers. (Read More)
Abernathy Questions 'Stature' of FHFB
February 9, 2004The Federal Housing Finance Board does not have the "stature" to be an effective regulator of the Federal Home Loan Banks, a Treasury Department official said. (Read More)
OFHEO Recommends CEO/Chair Split
February 9, 2004If the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has its way, Fannie Mae chairman and chief executive Franklin Raines may be out of a job soon - well, one of them at least. (Read More)
'CRE Starting to Look Good to Banks'
February 9, 2004Commercial banks are starting to make more loans on office, retail, and industrial properties in response to improving market conditions and more competition from other lenders, according to a Federal Reserve Board survey. (Read More)
MBA Speaker Sizes Up Economy
February 9, 2004The year ahead will be a very good one for the U.S. economy, one which will see job creation and a modest rise in interest rates, the way Anthony J. Pierson sees it. Mr. Pierson, managing director, strategy and research, CIGNA Realty Investors, and "featured speaker" at the second general session of the Mortgage Bankers Association commercial/multifamily convention here, said at the session that he expects a series of interest rate hikes starting this August and continuing through 2005. (Read More)
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February 16, 2004
CFC Aiming for $1.5T Servicing
February 16, 2004Countrywide Financial Corp. said that its servicing portfolio increased to $657.5 billion at the end of January, an increase of 40% from a year earlier and $13 billion from the prior month. And it revealed a modest goal to more than double that amount, to $1.5 trillion. (Read More)
At a Glance
February 16, 2004Jan. 2004: $657.5 billion Dec. 2003: $644.5 billion Jan. 2003: $469.2 billion Source: Countrywide Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
MSR Gains Become Elusive
February 16, 2004Not only has the refi boom of the past two years caused massive servicing "run-off" for mortgage bankers, it's also made it increasingly difficult for them to grow their market share. (Read More)
Top Residential Servicers (Dec. 31, 2003)
February 16, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 2 Wells Fargo Home Mtg. San Francisco 3 Countrywide Fin'l Corp. Calabasas, CA 4 Chase Home Finance Edison, NJ 5 Bank of America Charlotte, NC 6 ABN Amro Mortgage Ann Arbor, MI 7 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO 8 GMAC Res Hldngs Horsham, PA 9 National City Mtg Miamisburg, OH 10 Cendant Mtg Mt. Laurel, NJ 11 Principal Residential Mtg. Des Moines, IA 12 Golden West Fin'l/World Oakland, CA 13 Homecomings/GMAC-RFC Bloomington, MN 14 SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. Richmond, VA 15 First Horizon Home Loans Irving, TX 16 U.S. Bank Home Motgage Bloomington, MN 17 HSBC Mortgage Corp. Depew, NY 18 Aurora Loan Services (1) Aurora, CO 19 Dovenmuehle Mtg. (E) Schaumburg, IL 20 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Pasadena, CA 21 Branch B & T Co. Wilson, NC 22 Flagstar Bank, FSB Troy, MI 23 Alliance Mortgage Co. Jacksonville, FL 24 GreenPoint Mtg Funding Novato, CA 25 Fifth Third Mortgage Cincinnati, OH (part 2 of 2) Serv Vol. Serv Vol. Pct Mkt Rk 12/31/2003 12/31/2002 Chg Sh 1 $726,216 $723,147 0% 10.26% 2 $664,049 $570,312 16% 9.38% 3 $644,855 $452,405 43% 9.11% 4 $470,040 $426,020 10% 6.64% 5 $246,450 $264,520 -7% 3.48% 6 $207,140 $184,456 12% 2.93% 7 $204,568 $115,400 77% 2.89% 8 $201,191 $198,637 1% 2.84% 9 $152,205 $123,099 24% 2.15% 10 $138,618 $115,847 20% 1.96% Serv Vol. Serv Vol. Pct Mkt Mkt Share Rk 12/31/2003 12/31/2002 Chg Sh % pt +/- 11 $118,692 $107,745 10% 1.68% -0.03% 12 $78,311 $69,448 13% 1.11% 0.00% 13 $76,943 $62,355 23% 1.09% 0.10% 14 $68,957 $57,087 21% 0.97% 0.07% 15 $68,914 $55,993 23% 0.97% 0.09% 16 $62,263 $52,387 19% 0.88% 0.05% 17 $54,910 $44,350 24% 0.78% 0.07% 18 $49,270 $28,437 73% 0.70% 0.24% 19 $48,000 $45,000 7% 0.68% -0.04% 20 $37,066 $29,138 27% 0.52% 0.06% 21 $36,567 $34,829 5% 0.52% -0.04% 22 $33,764 $29,418 15% 0.48% 0.01% 23 $33,000 $25,881 28% 0.47% 0.06% 24 $31,949 $29,583 8% 0.45% -0.02% 25 $30,011 $32,479 -8% 0.42% -0.09% Submitted Totals: $4,483,950 $3,877,973 16% 63.32% 1.82% Total Outstanding Receivables: $7,081,000 $6,305,000 12% Notes: Includes subservicing contracts. Market share based on total estimated U.S. housing receivables of $7.081 trillion at 12/31/03. Results may be incomplete because some firms would not respond. (1) Aurora is owned by Lehman Bros. (E) Estimate. (Read More)
India, TX Are In, CA Out
February 16, 2004The cost of hiring mortgage employees in California has become so prohibitive that Countrywide Home Loans here is committed to growing its worker base in Texas, Arizona and India. (Read More)
HMDA Changes Hit LOS
February 16, 2004While Home Mortgage Disclosure Act changes in the past 10 years haven't really been problematic, the 2004 updates are muddying the waters by adding 19 new fields of data to the reporting process, which is requiring LOS vendors to play catch-up in order to keep their clients compliant. (Read More)
Servicing Deals Now Heating Up
February 16, 2004Six to eight "bulk" servicing deals are expected to bid during the next week or so, a sign that some type of recovery in the mortgage receivables market might be underway. (Read More)
January Rate Dip Makes 2004 Look Like Another Boom Year
February 16, 2004This was supposed to be the year that home purchase lending stole the spotlight from refinancing. (Read More)
Another $2 Trillion Year?
February 16, 2004MBA: $2.0 trillion Fannie Mae: $1.9 trillion Freddie Mac: $2.4 trillion Source: MBA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Fannie Willing to Buy 5% Downpayment Manufactured Home Loans
February 16, 2004In an attempt to prop up the sagging manufactured housing sector, Fannie Mae last week said it will once again buy 30-year loans with as little as 5% down on factory-built houses. (Read More)
Never Too Late to Learn
February 16, 2004The fourth annual "How to Turn On Your Million Dollar Brain" mortgage sales seminar held in Florida recently by Foundation Marketing has to be rated a resounding success. (Read More)
GSE Oversight Is 'Inadequate'
February 16, 2004Excerpts of Mr. Abernathy's recent remarks on GSE regulation before the American Enterprise Institute in Washington are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
ACORN Files Lawsuit Challenging Home Equity Rules in Texas
February 16, 2004ACORN has filed a lawsuit in District Court here against two state agencies, the Texas Finance and Credit Union commissions, claiming they have improperly applied a constitutional amendment voters approved last September on home equity lending. (Read More)
Cleveland Ordinance Passes Muster with Rating Agency Fitch
February 16, 2004In light of the Cleveland predatory lending ordinance, Fitch will continue to rate residential mortgage-backed securities that include mortgage loans originated in the city of Cleveland. (Read More)
ABN Amro Racks Up $125 Billion in Volume for 2003
February 16, 2004ABN Amro Mortgage Group Inc. here had total volume for 2003 of $125.4 billion, up $6 billion or 5% from the previous year. (Read More)
Job Growth Better Than Data Suggests
February 16, 2004The jobless economic recovery may not be so jobless after all, according to an economic consultant who spoke at last week's National Real Estate Lending Conference here. (Read More)
Realignment of Mortgage Unit Puts Cowlitz Bank in the Red
February 16, 2004Cowlitz Bancorporation's strategy to realign its mortgage business resulted in a net loss of $1.1 million in fourth quarter earnings last year, according to data recently released by the company, which earned net income of $394,000 for the same period in 2002. (Read More)
Fed Wants to Cut GSE Float
February 16, 2004Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks will no longer be able to the use the Federal Reserve payment system as a source of intraday float on billions of dollars of securities payments, starting July 2006. The decision by the Federal Reserve Board will increase the government-sponsored enterprises' cost of operations and it signals another attempt to chip away at the GSEs' special privileges. (Read More)
U.K. Central Bank Raises Key Rate
February 16, 2004The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee has raised the bank's repo rate by 0.25% to 4.0%, a move that the United Kingdom's Council of Lenders believes the majority of consumers will probably be able to absorb in the short term. (Read More)
CMBS Volume Falls in Japan
February 16, 2004Japan's commercial mortgage-backed securities issuance has declined for the first time in 2003, Moody's Investors Service here has reported. (Read More)
Saxon Capital Doubles Income in '03
February 16, 2004Subprime mortgage lender Saxon Capital here earned $65.1 million last year, or $2.16 per diluted share, compared to $27.4 million, or $0.94 per share, during 2002. (Read More)
1st Republic Offers Preferred Stocks
February 16, 2004First Republic Bank here has priced a $65 million offering of depositary shares representing interests in $6.70% noncumulative, perpetual series "A" preferred shares, the company announced last week. (Read More)
Farmer Mac Sees Higher Income
February 16, 2004Farmer Mac reported net income of $25.1 million in 2003, or $2.08 per common share, up 18% from the year before. (Read More)
Union Financial Loses $1.2 Million
February 16, 2004Union Financial Bancshares Inc. here took a loss of $1.2 million or $0.58 per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2003, as a result of a balance sheet restructuring. For the same period the previous year, the company reported profits of $452,000 or $0.22 per share. (Read More)
Shelby Wants 'Stand Alone' GSE Agency
February 16, 2004Senate Banking Committee chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is calling for a new "standalone" agency to regulate Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, which runs counter to the Bush administration's recommendation to place the new regulator under the Treasury Department. (Read More)
United Guaranty's Income Edges Up
February 16, 2004United Guaranty Corp., the mortgage insurance subsidiary of American International Group, New York, had fourth-quarter pretax operating income of $87.4 million. This represented an increase of nearly 2% from the $85.7 million earned for the same three months in 2002. (Read More)
First American Nearly Doubles Net Income
February 16, 2004The First American Corp. achieved record financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year in 2003, the company reported last week. But it also advised that the end of the refinancing boom means that seasonal factors will once again affect its quarterly results. (Read More)
Oil States Look Prime for B&C Lending
February 16, 2004States where the oil industry has a significant foothold are the best states for nonprime lenders to originate mortgage loans in, according to the fall 2003 Nonprime Mortgage Report which was issued in January by University Financial Associates LLC here. (Read More)
Met Mortgage for Files Bankruptcy
February 16, 2004Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co. Inc and its affiliate Summit Securities Inc. here have filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington, also here. (Read More)
HomeFirst Changes Name to FlexPoint
February 16, 2004HomeFirst Mortgage Corp., a subprime mortgage lender here, has changed its name to FlexPoint Funding Corp. (Read More)
Accredited Examines Hybrid REITs
February 16, 2004The top executives from Accredited Home Lenders, in town to celebrate the one-year anniversary of their initial public offering, said they are paying close attention to the debate about whether a hybrid REIT organizational structure makes sense for mortgage lenders. (Read More)
Pennsylvania Notary Faces 60 Counts of Fraud Related to Signatures
February 16, 2004Pennsylvania attorney general Jerry Pappert has filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court here against a former Pennsylvania notary for 60 counts of fraud. (Read More)
Paramax Capital Group to Add New Conduit
February 16, 2004Paramax Capital Group plans to launch a new multiseller, asset-backed commercial paper program, Paramax Capital Funding. (Read More)
Roundup: More Problems Afflict Manufactured Housing
February 16, 2004Thirteen classes of IndyMac Manufactured Housing Contract pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Lehman Deal Downgraded
February 16, 2004Three classes of Lehman Manufactured Housing 1998-1 have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Origen Deal Downgraded
February 16, 2004Six classes of Origen Financial Inc. manufactured housing contracts, series 2001-A, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
CRE Transactions at a Glance
February 16, 2004* Investcorp has acquired, in partnership with affiliates of RFR Holding and Sutton East Corp., Desert Passage, a 475,000 Las Vegas retail property, for $241.5 million. (Read More)
MBA Sees Several Regulatory Threats
February 16, 2004At a roundtable discussion on potential regulatory issues at the Mortgage Bankers Association's commercial real estate finance/multifamily housing convention here, Alison Utermohlen, the MBA's senior director, government affairs, indicated that the Financial Accounting Standards Board is working on a project to determine if companies should report their mortgage servicing rights at fair value in their financial statements. A major concern is that a possible "mark-to-market" approach for valuing mortgage servicing rights could cause significant changes to the reported earnings and financial statements of mortgage lenders. (Read More)
CapitalStream Buys Commercial Mortgage Technology Provider CapitalThinking
February 16, 2004CapitalStream, a player in the office automation solutions industry, has acquired CapitalThinking, a provider of technology solutions for the commercial mortgage industry. (Read More)
Post Sees Fallout From Control Battle
February 16, 2004Post Properties has reported net income of $5.8 million ($0.15 per share) compared to $9.6 million ($0.26 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2002. (Read More)
DocMagic Now Adds HELOCs
February 16, 2004Document Systems, Carson, Calif., has extended its "DocMagic" product line with the introduction of a Home Equity Line of Credit loan package. The developer of loan documentation-related software and Web-based systems said that the new package is written and created by the company's in-house attorneys as an addition to its existing library of forms and standards for the mortgage industry. (Read More)
Documentum Wins CFC as New Client
February 16, 2004Countrywide Financial Corp. here has selected Documentum 5, the latest version of the Documentum ECM platform, which provides digital asset management and records management functionality. (Read More)
TrueClose Creates Web-based, Paperless Origination Solution
February 16, 2004TrueClose here has launched a paperless platform designed to help mortgage bankers and brokers originate loans entirely online. (Read More)
VMP Unveils Updated Version of SMART Document Technology
February 16, 2004At its February user conference in Las Vegas, Fraser, Mich.-based VMP Mortgage Solutions unveiled version 2.0 of its SMART Document viewer. (Read More)
Education Program for Puerto Rico
February 16, 2004Freddie Mac and R&G Financial here have launched CreditSmart Espanol, an extensive credit education initiative designed to educate Puerto Rican families about homeownership. (Read More)
AmeriDream Places Cap On Fees
February 16, 2004AmeriDream Inc. here, one of the nation's largest downpayment assistance providers, announced it has placed a $500 cap to the processing fee paid by sellers who use its gift program. (Read More)
SHFAs Report Drop In Assets and Debt
February 16, 2004For the first time since Fitch Ratings started reporting state housing finance agencies, the fiscal year 2003 report includes financial results for 35 SHFAs. For fiscal 2003, the total amount of assets of these agencies declined compared to the prior fiscal year. (Read More)
AH, Emerging Markets Remain Strong
February 16, 2004The housing market will remain strong, even though interest rates will inch upwards, Fannie Mae's chief economist David Berson stated at a mortgage conference sponsored by Hibernia National Bank here. Consequently, and due to increased investor interest, affordable housing and lending to emerging markets will follow suit. (Read More)
Wells Fargo to Hire 400 in LA
February 16, 2004Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco, has announced plans to hire over 400 employees in Los Angeles this year, including more than 100 home mortgage loan consultants, terming it the company's "most aggressive hiring plan in recent memory" in any of its markets. (Read More)
Credit Offered for Rent Payments
February 16, 2004Pay Rent Build Credit Inc. here, created to enable apartment renters to build credit with rental payments the same as homeowners build credit based on their mortgage payments, seems to have struck a chord with many. (Read More)
NAR Seeking More Ownership
February 16, 2004The National Association of Realtors and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Council for the New American City have announced the "Realtors Ambassador to Cities" initiative designed to expand urban affordable homeownership opportunities across the country "in a city-by-city basis," NAR said. (Read More)
Fannie Puts Focus On Minorities
February 16, 2004Fannie Mae announced it is renewing and expanding its American Dream Commitment pledging to increase the minority homeownership rate by over 6% and to address the "toughest housing problems facing America." During the first phase of the new commitment, Fannie will focus on creating six million first-time homeowners over the next 10 years, including 1.8 million minority homeowners. (Read More)
Rental Housing also a Fannie Priority
February 16, 2004Fannie Mae said that the second phase of its expanded $2 trillion American Dream Commitment, designed to facilitate homeownership for 18 million targeted American families by the end of the decade, will focus on rental housing assistance. During this phase, Fannie will further promote affordable housing initiatives aiming to build housing for midlife and older Americans, as well as help families at risk of losing their homes. (Read More)
Georgia Group Launches New Internet Tool for Affordable Housing
February 16, 2004In cooperation with TechBridge and thanks to grants from two local banks, the Georgia State Trade Association of Nonprofit Housing Developers has launched the Affordable Housing Venue, a multifunctional Internet-based tool for its members. (Read More)
Freddie, Partners Form NY Initiative
February 16, 2004Freddie Mac has partnered with the Affordable Housing Partnership, HSBC Mortgage Corp. and HSBC Bank USA in a $25 million initiative that will provide affordable homeownership to New York state residents in Albany, Schenectady and Troy. (Read More)
Downgrades for CMBS, MH Deals
February 16, 2004Many downgrades of manufactured housing and commercial mortgage securities have been issued recently. (Read More)
Prepayments Slow during January
February 16, 2004Prepayment rates for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities slowed in January across virtually all coupons and vintages, resulting in "the flattest refinancing curve we have observed since early in 2001," according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. (Read More)
Selected 30-year Fixed-rate Prepayments
February 16, 2004(For January 2004 Period) Cpn Year WAC Factor 4-Jan 3-Dec Fannie Mae 6 2003 6.5 0.823 19.3 21 Fannie Mae 6 2002 6.51 0.484 26.3 32 Fannie Mae 6 2001 6.58 0.317 28.5 35.5 Fannie Mae 6 1998 6.64 0.204 26.8 34.4 Freddie Mac 6 2003 6.44 0.855 16.9 18.1 Freddie Mac 6 2002 6.47 0.469 23.2 30.1 Freddie Mac 6 2001 6.57 0.312 26.7 35.7 Freddie Mac 6 1998 6.67 0.2 25.6 35.1 Source: Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Servicers Ranked By Number Of Loans Serviced (12/31/03)
February 16, 2004(part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 2 Countrywide Financial Corp. Calabasas, CA 3 Wells Fargo Home Mtg San Francisco 4 Chase Home Finance Edison, NJ 5 Bank of America Charlotte, NC 6 GMAC Residential Hldngs Horsham, PA 7 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO 8 ABN Amro Mortgage Ann Arbor, MI 9 National City Mortgage Miamisburg, OH 10 Principal Residential Mtg Des Moines, IA 11 Cendant Mortgage Mt. Laurel, NJ 12 Homecomings/GMAC-RFC Bloomington, MN 13 U.S. Bank Home Motgage Bloomington, MN 14 SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. Richmond, VA 15 First Horizon Home Loans Irving, TX 16 AmSouth Mortgage Birmingham, AL 17 HSBC Mortgage Corp. USA Depew, NY 18 Aurora Loan Services, Inc. Aurora, CO 19 Branch Banking & Trust Co. Wilson, NC 20 Union Planters Mortgage Cordova, TN 21 Fifth Third Mortgage Cincinnati, OH 22 Charter One Bank Cleveland, OH 23 Alliance Mortgage Co. Jacksonville, FL 24 Cenlar, FSB Ewing, NJ 25 Flagstar Bank, FSB Troy, MI (part 2 of 2) No. Loans No. Loans Serviced Serviced Pct Mkt Mkt Share Rk 12/31/03 12/31/02 Chg Sh % pt +/- 1 5,843,921 6,281,151 -7% 11.35% -1.63% 2 5,080,621 3,970,896 28% 9.87% 1.66% 3 4,797,275 4,419,798 9% 9.32% 0.18% 4 4,059,850 3,979,283 2% 7.89% -0.34% 5 2,215,425 2,510,570 -12% 4.30% -0.89% 6 1,911,428 2,027,958 -6% 3.71% -0.48% 7 1,643,992 917,592 79% 3.19% 1.30% 8 1,622,241 1,585,719 2% 3.15% -0.13% 9 1,122,461 972,542 15% 2.18% 0.17% 10 958,231 919,668 4% 1.86% -0.04% 11 939,073 828,495 13% 1.82% 0.11% 12 696,420 599,317 16% 1.35% 0.11% 13 624,680 575,062 9% 1.21% 0.02% 14 550,619 486,959 13% 1.07% 0.06% 15 506,222 445,068 14% 0.98% 0.06% 16 368,490 328,788 12% 0.72% 0.04% 17 368,056 328,580 12% 0.72% 0.04% 18 348,114 263,299 32% 0.68% 0.13% 19 326,580 330,480 -1% 0.63% -0.05% 20 313,521 325,222 -4% 0.61% -0.06% 21 311,624 355,996 -12% 0.61% -0.13% 22 297,066 308,052 -4% 0.58% -0.06% 23 280,609 257,456 9% 0.55% 0.01% 24 270,000 275,000 -2% 0.52% -0.04% 25 245,804 198,817 24% 0.48% 0.07% Totals Submitted: 35,702,323 33,491,768 7% 69.36% 0.12% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose number of loans serviced. (Read More)
Top Residential Correspondent Lenders (Jan-Sept '03)
February 16, 2004(part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. Calabasas, CA 2 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 3 Chase Home Finance Edison, NJ 4 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage San Francisco, CA 5 GMAC Residential Holdings Horsham, PA 6 CitiMortgage, Inc. St. Louis, MO 7 Homecomings/GMAC-RFC Bloomington, MN 8 Principal Residential Mortgage Des Moines, IA 9 Ohio Savings Bank, F.S.B. Cleveland, OH 10 Flagstar Bank, FSB Troy, MI (part 2 of 2) Corr Vol Corr Vol Percent Rk 2003 2002 Change 1 $186,969 $64,796 189% 2 $162,197 $78,004 108% 3 $104,516 $36,030 190% 4 $101,639 $59,293 71% 5 $42,709 $18,950 125% 6 $36,308 $13,311 173% 7 $34,707 $25,425 37% 8 $33,043 $20,732 59% 9 $16,932 $12,505 35% 10 $15,788 $9,338 69% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose production breakdowns. Correspondent production entails the purchase of loans after they have already been funded by someone else. (Read More)
Top Subprime Correspondent Lenders (Jan-Sept '03)
February 16, 2004(part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Homecomings/GMAC-RFC Bloomington, MN 2 Household Financial Services (E) Prospect Heights, IL 3 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 4 Countrywide Financial Corp. Calabasas, CA 5 CitiFinancial Baltimore, MD 6 Equity One, Inc. Marlton, NJ 7 Chase Home Finance Woodcliff Lake, NJ 8 Aegis Mortgage Corporation (E) Houston, TX 9 Saxon Mortgage Glen Allen, VA 10 Option One Mortgage Corp. Irvine, CA (part 2 of 2) Correspondent Correspondent Volume Volume Percent Rk 2003 2002 Change 1 $8,497 $7,222 18% 2 $7,500 $6,145 22% 3 $5,688 $4,767 19% 4 $5,522 $3,251 70% 5 $4,801 $3,053 57% 6 $1,495 $682 119% 7 $1,488 $394 278% 8 $1,150 $512 125% 9 $715 $579 24% 10 $501 $392 28% Top 10 Totals: $37,357 $26,996 38% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose production breakdowns. Correspondent production entails the purchase of loans after they have already been funded by someone else. (E) Estimate. (Read More)
Top Subprime Wholesale Lenders (Jan-Sept '03)
February 16, 2004(part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 New Century Financial Corp. Irvine, CA 2 First Franklin Financial San Jose, CA 3 Option One Mortgage Corp. Irvine, CA 4 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 5 Decision One Mortgage Charlotte, NC 6 Ameriquest Mortgage Corp. (E) Orange, CA 7 Accredited Home Lenders San Diego, CA 8 WMC Mortgage Corp. Woodland Hills, CA 9 BNC Mortgage, Inc. Irvine, CA 10 Household Financial Services (E) Prospect Heights, IL 11 NovaStar Mortgage, Inc. Kansas City, MO 12 Countrywide Financial Corp. Calabasas, CA 13 Encore Credit Corporation Irvine, CA 14 Aegis Mortgage Corporation (E) Houston, TX 15 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage San Francisco, CA 16 Chase Home Finance Woodcliff Lake, NJ 17 Aames Financial Corporaton (E) Los Angeles, CA 18 Finance America Corporation Irvine, CA 19 Meritage Mortgage Lake Oswego, OR 20 Mortgage Lenders Network, USA Middletown, CT (part 2 of 2) Correspondent Correspondent Volume Volume Percent Rk 2003 2002 Change 1 $16,877 $8,271 104% 2 $13,341 $6,809 96% 3 $12,825 $7,989 61% 4 $8,540 $6,750 27% 5 $6,629 $3,056 117% 6 $5,877 $2,719 116% 7 $4,982 $2,625 90% 8 $4,982 $2,648 88% 9 $4,914 $2,359 108% 10 $4,709 $1,441 227% 11 $3,277 $1,444 127% 12 $3,230 $920 251% 13 $3,001 $752 299% 14 $2,625 $2,824 -7% 15 $2,374 $1,168 103% 16 $2,207 $1,835 20% 17 $2,197 $1,383 59% 18 $2,090 $1,217 72% 19 $1,553 $1,362 14% 20 $1,205 $361 234% Top 20 Totals: $107,435 $57,932 85% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose production breakdowns. (E) Estimates involved. (Read More)
Top Residential Wholesale Lenders (Jan-Sept '03)
February 16, 2004(part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. Calabasas, CA 2 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 3 ABN Amro Mortgage Ann Arbor, MI 4 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage San Francisco, CA 5 Chase Home Finance Edison, NJ 6 National City Mortgage Miamisburg, OH 7 Bank of America Charlotte, NC 8 Flagstar Bank, FSB Troy, MI 9 GreenPoint Mortgage Funding Novato, CA 10 CitiMortgage, Inc. St. Louis, MO 11 First Horizon Home Loans Irving, TX 12 Homecomings/GMAC-RFC Bloomington, MN 13 HSBC Mortgage Corp. USA Depew, NY 14 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Pasadena, CA 15 SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. Richmond, VA 16 Principal Residential Mortgage Des Moines, IA 17 First Magnus Financial Corp. Tucson, AZ 18 Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Ocala, FL 19 U.S. Bank Home Motgage Bloomington, MN 20 Union Planters Mortgage Cordova, TN (part 2 of 2) Wholesale Vol Wholesale Vol Percent Rk 2003 2002 Change 1 $80,046 $43,120 86% 2 $78,913 $59,640 32% 3 $73,519 $60,379 22% 4 $72,261 $58,756 23% 5 $54,515 $22,615 141% 6 $43,393 $25,284 72% 7 $32,589 $18,399 77% 8 $27,624 $15,899 74% 9 $23,314 $19,724 18% 10 $19,801 $8,669 128% 11 $15,223 $6,824 123% 12 $14,593 $9,058 61% 13 $13,645 $8,385 63% 14 $13,369 $8,571 56% 15 $11,337 $5,794 96% 16 $11,331 $6,093 86% 17 $9,440 $4,530 108% 18 $8,987 $6,361 41% 19 $8,880 $4,401 102% 20 $8,584 $5,062 70% Top 20 Totals: $621,365 $397,564 56% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose production breakdowns. (Read More)
MortgageIT Sees Growth Opportunity
February 16, 2004MortgageIT here is large enough to be funding $1 billion per month, but it is small compared to the companies it considers to be direct competitors, such as Washington Mutual, Chase Manhattan Mortgage and Countrywide Home Loans. (Read More)
AmNet Starts Subprime Program
February 16, 2004American Residential Investment Trust Inc. and its American Mortgage Network subsidiary here have launched a subprime initiative. (Read More)
Two B&C Lenders Consider Converting Ownership to REIT Status
February 16, 2004A pair of the nation's leading nonconforming mortgage lenders are considering conversion to a real estate investment trust structure. (Read More)
MIT Hires Kaplan for B&C Unit
February 16, 2004Wholesale and correspondent originator MIT Lending has opened a subprime division headed by former Home America Lending Inc. executive Steven W. Kaplan. (Read More)
Wholesale Competition Heats Up
February 16, 2004The president of mortgage services for H&R Block, Kansas City, Mo., told an investor conference the company held here that the wholesale mortgage market is more competitive today than it had been in the past. (Read More)
Subprime Pricing Makes Lenders Nervous
February 16, 2004The pricing data that must be reported on subprime loans under the new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requirements are starting to make some lenders nervous, according to a consultant. (Read More)
New PA Director of Supervision
February 16, 2004Pennsylvania secretary of banking William Schenck has appointed Tim Blase as director of supervision and enforcement. (Read More)
People
February 16, 2004CALIFORNIA Dublin-Ellie Mae Inc. has named Craig S. Davis to the company's board of directors. Mr. Davis brings more than 25 years of senior management experience in the mortgage and financial services industry to Ellie Mae. (Read More)
Combined Market Share Of Top Five Servicers
February 16, 2004Group Market Share Period Top 5 38.87% 4Q 2003 Top 5 39.05% 3Q 2003 Top 5 38.31% 2Q 2003 Top 5 38.08% 1Q 2003 Top 5 38.70% 4Q 2002 Notes: Market share is based on servicers' percentage of all outstanding residential receivables in the U.S. at the end of a given quarter. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
February 16, 2004MIEC Index: 203.0 Change: 5.8 (part 1 of 2) 2/5/2004 2/12/2004 Wkly 52 wk/lo % Chg Astoria Federal (AF) 40.22 41.74 4% 23.23 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CF) 83.23 88.41 6% 37.87 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 2.65 2.89 9% 2.04 Centex Corp. (CTX) 94.56 100.31 6% 48.30 Doral Financial (DRL) 32.85 33.10 1% 19.13 Delta Financial (DFC) 10.00 9.86 -1% 1.62 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 37.21 38.90 5% 27.23 Fannie Mae (FNM) 77.57 79.41 2% 58.40 Fidelity National (FNF) 41.23 39.49 -4% 22.25 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 19.25 18.52 -4% 16.51 Freddie Mac (FRE) 62.71 63.72 2% 46.48 Golden West (GDW) 104.40 106.92 2% 68.64 Kaufman & Broad 66.98 69.65 4% 42.75 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 52.93 54.56 3% 35.79 New Century (NCEN) 45.26 49.22 9% 17.18 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 31.76 33.33 5% 17.65 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 38.56 39.44 2% 24.03 Radian Group (RDN) 45.81 45.67 0% 30.02 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 11.31 12.06 7% 8.83 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 53.07 53.87 2% 30.93 Washington Mutual (WM) 43.80 44.97 3% 32.40 (part 2 of 2) 52 wk/hi % Chg fr P/E Ratio 52 wk/lo(1) Astoria Federal (AF) 42.17 80% 16.76 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CF) 89.90 133% 6.63 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 7.20 42% 8.49 Centex Corp. (CTX) 113.08 108% 8.69 Doral Financial (DRL) 34.94 73% 12.16 Delta Financial (DFC) 11.50 509% 2.82 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 40.77 43% 24.16 Fannie Mae (FNM) 80.05 36% 10.28 Fidelity National (FNF) 43.63 77% 7.01 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 20.70 12% na Freddie Mac (FRE) 65.15 37% na Golden West (GDW) 107.25 56% 14.97 Kaufman & Broad 74.96 63% 7.91 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 57.73 52% 4.43 New Century (NCEN) 51.80 186% 7.50 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 33.15 89% 10.89 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 41.72 64% 12.09 Radian Group (RDN) 53.34 52% 11.19 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 15.55 37% 11.59 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 55.00 74% 15.30 Washington Mutual (WM) 46.85 39% 10.91 Notes: (1) NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (Read More)
Publicly-Traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
February 16, 2004B&C Stock Price Index: 272.0 Change: 15.5 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 2/12/2004 Aames (AMSF) 1.11 3.90 3.85 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 2.96 13.67 4.00 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 1.62 11.50 9.87 HSBC Holding (HBC) 50.70 81.99 80.03 IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 11.05 21.28 20.31 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 6.99 43.25 35.66 New Century (NCEN) 17.18 51.80 49.12 Novastar (NFI) 13.90 53.95 51.73 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 2.60 11.50 10.49 Provident Financial (PFGI) 19.90 35.00 34.65 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 10.76 30.10 28.77 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 0.22 2.25 1.10 (part 2 of 2) Company Weekly %Chg from P/E Ratio % Chg. 52-wk Lo Aames (AMSF) 22% 247% 6.20 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 1% 35% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) -2% 509% 2.80 HSBC Holding (HBC) 4% 58% na IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 3% 84% 8.30 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 6% 410% 7.20 New Century (NCEN) 9% 186% 7.50 Novastar (NFI) 8% 272% 10.70 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 9% 303% 149.90 Provident Financial (PFGI) 3% 74% 18.00 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 10% 167% 13.30 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) -6% 400% 2.80 NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (1)IMPAC is mostly an Alt-A lender and servicer. (2)Ocwen is a subprime servicer and subservicer. (Read More)
FHA to Sell 4,000 REO Properties
February 16, 2004The Federal Housing Administration is selling 4,000 foreclosed homes on Feb. 27-28 in a special Internet auction, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD is listing the properties on its website and advertising the sale in major newspapers. HUD said the homes will be open for inspection so that potential buyers can comparison-shop. (Read More)
Justice May Look at FHLBank Stock Issue
February 16, 2004The controversy over the Federal Home Loan Banks registering their stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission may be decided by the Department of Justice. (Read More)
GAO Criticizes Fannie's Board Composition
February 16, 2004The composition of Fannie Mae's board of directors is not consistent with principles of good corporate governance, according to the General Accounting Office. (Read More)
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February 23, 2004
Industry Just Misses $4 Trillion in Production
February 23, 2004The nation's residential lenders funded a record $3.9 trillion in home mortgages last year, as refinancings accounted for 75% of all loans originated in the U.S., according to exclusive survey figures compiled by this newspaper. (Read More)
Holy Production, Batman
February 23, 2004($ in billions) Quarter Production Refi% 4Q 03 $682 60.6% 3Q 03 $1,203 73.9% 2Q 03 $1,114 74.0% 1Q 03 $913 76.7% TOTALS: $3,912 71.3% (a) Total purchase originations: $1.123 tril Total Refi originations: $2.789 tril Quarter Production Refi% 4Q 02 $964 75.8% 3Q 02 $729 64.1% 2Q 02 $522 59.4% 1Q 02 $572 66.1% TOTALS: $ 2,787 66.35% (a) Total purchase originations: $938 bil Total Refi originations: $1.849 tril Notes: Based on exclusive survey data collected by NMN. (a) average refi rate for the year. (Read More)
Which NY Lender Is Next?
February 23, 2004Now that GreenPoint Financial is set to be gobbled up by its Long Island neighbor, which New York-based mortgage lender is next? Astoria Financial? (Read More)
Top Residential Originators in Q4 03
February 23, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Countrywide Fin'l Corp. Calabasas,CA 2 Wells Fargo Home Mtg San Francisco 3 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 4 Chase Home Finance Edison, NJ 5 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO 6 GMAC Res Holdings Horsham, PA 7 Bank of America Charlotte, NC 8 ABN Amro Mtg Ann Arbor, MI 9 Homecomings Bloomington, MN 10 National City Mtg Miamisburg, OH 11 Cendant Mortgage Mt. Laurel, NJ 12 Provident Funding Assoc (E) Burlingame, CA 13 Golden West Fin'l Corp./World Oakland, CA 14 GreenPoint Mtg Funding (1) Novato, CA 15 Aurora Loan Services, Inc. Aurora, CO 16 Principal Residential Mtg Des Moines, IA 17 Flagstar Bank, FSB Troy, MI 18 HSBC Mortgage Corp. USA Depew, NY 19 First Horizon Home Loans Irving, TX 20 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Pasadena, CA 21 SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. Richmond, VA 22 RBC Mortgage Chicago, IL 23 Bank One Corp. Fishers, IN 24 American Home Mortgage Melville, NY 25 Ohio Savings Bank, F.S.B. Cleveland, OH 26 U.S. Bank Home Motgage Bloomington, MN 27 Wachovia/First Union Mtg. Charlotte, NC 28 Ryland Mortgage Company Columbia, MD 29 Netbank Columbia, SC 30 Impac Funding Corporation Newport Beach, CA (part 2 of 2) Orig Vol Orig Vol Pct Mkt Rk Q4/03 Q4/02 Chg Sh 1 $76,320 $102,103 -25% 11.19% 2 $71,551 $112,581 -36% 10.49% 3 $67,727 $108,600 -38% 9.93% 4 $51,054 $60,857 -16% 7.49% 5 $23,313 $15,052 55% 3.42% 6 $19,390 $25,144 -23% 2.84% 7 $18,386 $31,880 -42% 2.70% 8 $17,028 $40,580 -58% 2.50% 9 $15,704 $17,229 -9% 2.30% 10 $15,114 $29,488 -49% 2.22% Orig Vol Orig Vol Pct Mkt Mkt Share Rk Q4/03 Q4/02 Chg Sh % pt +/- 11 $14,942 $19,203 -22% 2.19% 0.23% 12 $13,600 $16,892 -19% 1.99% 0.27% 13 $10,900 $7,601 43% 1.60% 0.82% 14 $8,588 $9,775 -12% 1.26% 0.26% 15 $7,965 $6,442 24% 1.17% 0.51% 16 $7,895 $16,535 -52% 1.16% -0.53% 17 $7,801 $15,577 -50% 1.14% -0.45% 18 $7,213 $6,900 5% 1.06% 0.35% 19 $7,072 $13,682 -48% 1.04% -0.36% 20 $6,293 $6,410 -2% 0.92% 0.27% 21 $6,279 $11,270 -44% 0.92% -0.23% 22 $4,244 $9,752 -56% 0.62% -0.37% 23 $4,200 $6,992 -40% 0.62% -0.10% 24 $4,153 $4,635 -10% 0.61% 0.14% 25 $4,105 $6,915 -41% 0.60% -0.10% 26 $3,879 $8,870 -56% 0.57% -0.34% 27 $3,561 $6,888 -48% 0.52% -0.18% 28 $3,411 $3,235 5% 0.50% 0.17% 29 $3,281 $4,708 -30% 0.48% 0.00% 30 $3,116 $1,693 84% 0.46% 0.28% Total of Top 30: $508,085 $727,489 -30% 84.96% 0.00% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms did not provide production volumes. Market share cut based on estimated Q4 2003 production of $681.99 billion. NMN/QDR assumes the top 100 control 85% of the market. (1) Greenpoint is in the process of being bought by North Fork Bancorp. (2) SIB's parent bank is being bought by Independence. (3) Merrill outsources its production through Cendant. (E) Estimate. (Read More)
Not Liking Pricing, Fannie Shuns MBS
February 23, 2004In January, Fannie Mae sent a message to banks and other investors who have been gobbling up mortgage-backed securities like there's no tomorrow: be my guest. (Read More)
Fannie Mae Mortgage Purchases 2002-2003
February 23, 2004($ in Mils) (part 1 of 4) Year/ Mort. Port Portfolio Multi- MBS Month Holdings Growth Rate Family(1) Purch Jan-02 $715,847 19.50% $710 $27,252 Feb $730,268 26.20% $321 $26,122 Mar $731,716 3.80% $1,015 $13,738 Apr $737,951 9.20% $582 $12,506 May $740,096 3.00% $737 $8,396 June $740,590 -0.50% $414 $8,231 July $743,369 3.80% $413 $10,618 August $746,744 5.10% $473 $14,447 Sept $751,423 8.90% $406 $19,204 Oct $751,347 -0.10% $556 $19,043 Nov $760,759 16.10% $676 $33,535 Dec $790,800 59.20% $1,188 $51,947 Total 02 na 11.90% $7,492 $245,039 (part 2 of 4) Year/ Tot Port MBS MBS Acq Total Pur Month Purch(2) Issued(3) By Others Bus Vol(4) Jan-02 $36,392 $60,606 $33,354 $69,746 Feb $33,249 $59,481 $33,359 $66,609 Mar $21,305 $53,829 $40,091 $61,395 Apr $23,175 $47,369 $34,863 $58,038 May $17,432 $41,453 $33,057 $50,489 June $16,310 $43,220 $34,989 $51,299 July $17,586 $42,349 $31,731 $49,317 August $23,123 $50,489 $36,042 $59,165 Sept $33,518 $64,023 $44,819 $78,338 Oct $32,853 $81,323 $62,280 $95,132 Nov $47,807 $81,326 $47,791 $95,599 Dec $67,891 $97,831 $45,884 $113,775 Total 02 $370,641 $723,299 $478,260 $848,902 (part 3 of 4) Fannie Mae Holdings/Purchases (2002-2004) Year/ Mort. Port. Portfolio Multi- MBS Month Holdings Growth Rate Family(1) Purchases Jan-03 $810,609 31.00% $879 $42,858 Feb $816,747 8.30% $606 $27,530 Mar $815,964 -0.20% $683 $18,252 Apr $817,894 3.20% $633 $25,648 May $815,560 -3.40% $954 $23,180 June $812,467 -3.60% $877 $21,655 July $836,104 40.40% $2,201 $48,266 August $863,170 46.80% $1,401 $54,295 Sept $917,123 100.50% $1,111 $73,504 Oct $912,658 -5.70% $1,256 $9,110 Nov $906,380 -7.90% $1,056 $2,888 Dec $898,438 -10.00% $1,526 $1,226 Total 03 na 13.10% $13,183 $348,413 Jan-04 $886,665 -14.60% $577 $268 YTD na 14.60% $557 $268 %chg 01/03-01/04 9% na -34% -99% (part 4 of 4) Fannie Mae Holdings/Purchases (2002-2004) Year/ Total MBS MBS Acq Total Purch Month Purch(2) Issued(3) By Others Bus Vol(4) Jan-03 $57,281 $106,646 $63,788 $121,068 Feb $40,420 $93,185 $65,555 $106,075 Mar $34,304 $92,742 $74,490 $108,794 Apr $43,028 $121,643 $95,995 $139,024 May $43,749 $108,436 $85,256 $129,005 June $41,183 $122,906 $101,251 $142,434 July $72,447 $119,965 $71,699 $144,146 August $82,656 $109,662 $55,367 $138,023 Sept $98,804 $120,297 $46,793 $145,597 Oct $27,609 $81,774 $72,664 $100,273 Nov $17,596 $60,497 $57,609 $75,205 Dec $13,775 $60,863 $59,637 $73,412 Total 03 $572,852 $1,198,617 $850,204 $1,423,056 Jan-04 $8,573 $44,794 $44,527 $53,100 YTD $8,573 $44,794 $44,527 $53,100 %chg 01/03-01/04 -85% -58% -30% -56% Notes: (1) Multifamily volume listed above represents portfolio purchases only. (2) Includes mortgage securities purchased. (3) MBSs originated by lenders only. (4) Total purchases includes product purchased for portfolio and MBS acquired by others. (Read More)
Lessons from Fairbanks Case
February 23, 2004Officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Trade Commission were quick to say that they are not trolling for potential investigation targets at the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference here last week. (Read More)
Thrift Originations Fall, In Line With Other Sectors
February 23, 2004Thrift originations of 1-4 family loans plunged 37% in the fourth quarter as refinancings dropped, but earnings were better than expected due to a boost in servicing fee income. (Read More)
Fannie and Freddie Exceed '03 Targets
February 23, 2004Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they have exceeded their affordable housing goals for 2003 even though both secondary market agencies claimed late last year that it would be a "stretch" due to the record level of refinancings. (Read More)
FHFB Won't Ask Legal Opinion on Registration
February 23, 2004The Federal Housing Finance Board has shot down a resolution to seek an outside legal opinion on the board's legal authority to compel the Federal Home Loan Banks to register their stock. (Read More)
Smart Hiring
February 23, 2004Everyone agrees that the emerging markets are going to be the key to maintaining or adding loan volume over the next decade or two. And the mortgage lenders that will do the best in attracting these populations will be the ones that hire and train minority and immigrant loan officers. (Read More)
Pre-Emption Queries Unanswered
February 23, 2004Rep. Kelly, chairwoman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, made her remarks at the opening of a hearing on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's regulations to pre-empt state predatory lending laws. Her remarks are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Globalization of MRBs a Trend Worth Keeping An Eye On
February 23, 2004Between everything I heard from investment bank researchers last week about the effect of globalization on mortgage-related bond markets and the fact that I just returned from a vacation in Asia, I was thinking at press time last week that the cliche about this being "a small world after all" has been more true than ever of late. (Read More)
Smaller DPAs May Be Heading for the Exits
February 23, 2004Reflecting changes in legislation and the industry as a whole, in 2004 downpayment assistance providers expect to see smaller-size DPAs leave the marketplace while the larger players will diversify their services gearing toward financial education. (Read More)
FHA Capital Ratio Rises, But Reserves Stay Essentially Flat
February 23, 2004The Federal Housing Administration's capital ratio rose to 5.21% in fiscal year 2003 from 4.52% in FY 2002, but capital reserves rose by only $100 million to $22.7 billion, according to the annual actuarial report prepared by Deloitte & Touche. (Read More)
Low Mortgage Rates Spun Illinois Sales
February 23, 2004Fueled by low mortgage rates and high demand, Illinois home sales closed out a record-breaking year in 2003, according to recent data from the Illinois Association of Realtors. (Read More)
OFHEO Picks Deloitte for Forensic Audit
February 23, 2004The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has picked Deloitte & Touche LLP to spearhead a year-long audit into the accounting policies and practices of Fannie Mae. (Read More)
REIT's Income in Big Turnaround
February 23, 2004Trizec Properties has reported net income of $71 million ($0.47 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2003, compared to a net loss of $16.5 million ($0.11 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2002. (Read More)
Moody's Names Chief Credit Officer
February 23, 2004Moody's Investors Service, New York, has promoted Nicolas Weill to the position of chief credit officer, in which he will oversee the asset finance group's credit decisions. (Read More)
WMMSC Sues IndyMac Over Sale
February 23, 2004A contract dispute has resulted in a $50 million lawsuit filed by Washington Mutual Mortgage Securities Corp. against IndyMac Bancorp Inc. (Read More)
Multifamily Outlook Keeps Improving
February 23, 2004Conditions in the multifamily industry continue to improve, according to the latest survey by the National Multi Housing Council. (Read More)
Domania Driving Consumers to Site
February 23, 2004Domania, whose flagship product is called Home Price Check, has launched Domania Real Estate Polls with the goal of driving consumers to the company's website. (Read More)
Capital Title Moves into Appraisals
February 23, 2004Capital Title Group Inc. here is looking to move into the appraisal business as well. It has agreed to purchase Nationwide Appraisal Services Corp., Pittsburgh. Besides being in the appraisal business, Nationwide will help Capital expand its title agency business as it is licensed as an agent to sell title policies in 35 states. (Read More)
FHFB Chairman Subject of Criminal Probe?
February 23, 2004The chief regulator who oversees the Federal Home Loan Bank System is the subject of a criminal probe regarding possible obstruction of justice charges, according to a report by Dow Jones. (Read More)
SBC Gathering Information on GSE Regulation
February 23, 2004Senate Banking Committee chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is holding two hearings this week before he turns to the challenging task of drafting a bill to strengthen the regulation of the housing government-sponsored enterprises. (Read More)
S&P Now to Rate NC High-Cost Loans
February 23, 2004Standard & Poor's has decided to rate structured finance transactions that include North Carolina loans governed by the state's usury statute, or anti-predatory lending law. Based on its review, high-cost home loans and consumer home loans will be rated in accordance with specific criteria a lender must follow. (Read More)
24% of Population Face Housing Problems
February 23, 2004About 65 million low-income Americans, representing 24% of the entire U.S. population, have housing problems including "cost burdens, substandard conditions, overcrowding, or homelessness," according to a report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. (Read More)
Stewart Has 'Make-Your-Own' Bundled Services
February 23, 2004Stewart Mortgage Information here is now allowing lenders, mortgage brokers, Realtors and whomever else can participate in packaging the opportunity to create their own bundle of services, a company executive said. (Read More)
Stewart Title Looks To Target RE Firms
February 23, 2004Stewart Title Co. here has created a new unit to offer a package of services to realty firms in the United States. (Read More)
CNL Acquiring KSL Recreation
February 23, 2004CNL Hospitality Properties is acquiring KSL Recreation, a La Quinta, Calif.-based owner and operator of "upscale destination resorts," for $1.37 billion. (Read More)
CB Richard Ellis Is Going Public
February 23, 2004CB Richard Ellis Group is planning an initial public offering of its common shares and has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to this. (Read More)
Johnson Capital Has New York Location
February 23, 2004Johnson Capital has opened an office in New York that will do commercial mortgage loan sales and syndication, with Daniel Lisser and William Nichols as managing directors and co-heads of the company, the real estate investment advisory firm reports. (Read More)
Are Manufactured Homes the Answer to California Housing Crisis?
February 23, 2004As economists and planners search for answers to California's housing crisis, citing a shortfall of inventory and skyrocketing home costs, factory-built housing is emerging as an efficient, cost-effective option, according to the California Manufactured Housing Institute. (Read More)
Appraisals/AVMS: Taking A Closer Look
February 23, 2004There are a number of developments in the appraisal industry forcing participants at all levels to take a closer look at what is happening. The use of automated valuation models is still a rather controversial topic. Yet there are a number of new product offerings that seek to combine the best of both worlds - the AVM and the full appraisal. (Read More)
Inside
February 23, 2004MISMO vs. AI Ready 18 Supporters of MISMO say the AI Ready standard is becoming obsolete. (Read More)
MISMO Supporters Say AI Ready Outdated
February 23, 2004As adoption of the work of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization becomes more widespread, compliance with Appraisal Institute Ready data transmission standard is dropping out of favor fast. (Read More)
Consumers Get Value Reports From Lenders' Sites
February 23, 2004ClickRSVP and ILS/Fiserv have introduced HomeValueBot, a product that allows online visitors to get free home value reports directly from lenders' websites. (Read More)
Veros Partnership Helps Informative Research Meet Client Demands
February 23, 2004Informative Research, whose stated passion is to be the best credit reporting agency in the mortgage industry, is working to achieve company growth through strategic partnerships, a diversified product mix and broader acceptance of technology, particularly automated valuation models, by mortgage brokers. Over a year ago, researching products that would complement the credit reporting services the company offers in the origination side, recalled Jeff Lau, IR director of marketing, the company found a perfect fit in the AVM options offered by Veros Software Inc., Irvine, Calif. The partnership with Veros and a newly integrated website has helped IR respond better to its broker base and wider mortgage market demand. Clients include "lenders who typically hold their own paper, such as credit unions, or lenders who do not necessarily sell off many of their loans, because it is less work intensive when it comes to approving AVMs," Mr. Lau said. Currently, IR said it is focusing on "brokers that may have from one to three different submission choices." Partnering with Veros, whose client base includes some of the top lenders in the country, has added an incentive for brokers who decide to receive AVM options in addition to an appraisal, flood certification, the "credit score review," or other products and services. (Read More)
AMCO Introduces Digital Photograph Valuation Product
February 23, 2004AMCO, an appraisal management firm based in Cleveland, has introduced a new product, eView, which adds a current digital photograph to the valuation report. (Read More)
Synergistic Renamed As SharperLending
February 23, 2004Synergistic Software Systems here has changed its name to SharperLending LLC, which is the name of its Web-based platform. (Read More)
Servicers Want National Standard
February 23, 2004Mortgage servicers have joined other industry voices and are advocating for one set of national rules governing "predatory lending" as the issue continues to spread into their sphere of business. (Read More)
Making Free Mortgages?
February 23, 2004Ever fantasized about living someplace rent-free? Or better yet, getting paid to own a home? And if you're a lender, did you ever imagine you might be giving away free mortgage money? (Read More)
Klein: Don't Rush to Cut Servicing Fee
February 23, 2004Terry Klein, the former head of First Nationwide Mortgage who now works as an industry consultant, says mortgage companies could live to regret reducing mortgage servicing fees the next time a real estate recession surfaces. (Read More)
Subprime Servicing Costs May Rise
February 23, 2004Additional regulatory scrutiny and litigation risk inevitably may push up the cost of servicing subprime loans, some of the industry's leading experts said at the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference here last week. And the added risk is causing subprime lenders to redouble quality assurance and customer service oversight. (Read More)
People
February 23, 2004CALIFORNIA Brea-ResMAE Financial Corp. said that Robert E. Dean and Richard A. Mirro have been elected as independent members to its board of directors. (Read More)
Two Bank Deals in Spotlight
February 23, 2004Cendant Corp., New York, has yet to find a buyer for its mortgage subsidiary, but last week two large bank-related deals captured the market's attention. (Read More)
Statistics at a Glance
February 23, 2004($ in millions) 2003 res. loan production: $38,548 2003 res. Production rank: 14th % Prod, retail, whol., corres.: 4%/72%/24% 'Alt A' rank: 4th Res. Servicing at year-end: $30,302 Residential servicing rank: 24th Notes: 'Alt A' rank is for the third quarter. Production channel percentages are based on 4Q results. (Read More)
Conseco Unit Targets Commercial
February 23, 2004Conseco Mortgage Capital, a subsidiary of Conseco that has been renamed 40/86 Mortgage Capital, is planning a $1 billion investment in commercial mortgage loans over the next three years. (Read More)
Two Valuation Consultants Named
February 23, 2004eAppraiseIT LLC here has named Michael Martin and DeAnna McCann directors of valuation consulting for the eastern and western regions, respectively. (Read More)
Pre-Emption Starting to Gain Ground?
February 23, 2004The idea of creating a national lending standard to deal with the problems of predatory lending is starting to get more traction in Congress. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
February 23, 2004MIEC Index: 200.8 Change: -2.3 (part 1 of 2) 2/12/04 2/19/04 Wkly 52 wk/lo % Chg Astoria Federal (AF) 41.74 40.49 -3% 23.23 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CF) 88.41 88.51 0% 37.87 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 2.89 2.73 -6% 2.05 Centex Corp. (CTX) 100.31 101.83 2% 48.30 Doral Financial (DRL) 33.10 32.82 -1% 20.00 Delta Financial (DFC) 9.86 9.85 0% 1.62 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 38.90 38.24 -2% 27.23 Fannie Mae (FNM) 79.41 79.83 1% 58.40 Fidelity National (FNF) 39.49 38.22 -3% 22.55 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 18.52 18.55 0% 16.51 Freddie Mac (FRE) 63.72 64.31 1% 46.48 Golden West (GDW) 106.92 109.78 3% 68.64 Kaufman & Broad 69.65 69.54 0% 42.75 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 54.56 47.50 -13% 35.79 New Century (NCEN) 49.22 47.29 -4% 17.18 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 33.33 33.29 0% 17.65 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 39.44 38.82 -2% 24.03 Radian Group (RDN) 45.67 45.61 0% 30.02 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 12.06 12.17 1% 8.83 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 53.87 54.29 1% 31.36 Washington Mutual (WM) 44.97 44.84 0% 32.40 (part 2 of 2) % Chg fr 52 wk/hi 52 wk/lo(1) P/E Ratio Astoria Federal (AF) 42.55 74% 16.26 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 91.00 134% 6.63 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 7.20 33% 8.02 Centex Corp. (CTX) 113.08 111% 8.82 Doral Financial (DRL) 34.94 64% 12.06 Delta Financial (DFC) 11.50 508% 2.82 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 40.77 40% 23.75 Fannie Mae (FNM) 80.05 37% 10.34 Fidelity National (FNF) 39.90 70% 6.79 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 20.70 12% na Freddie Mac (FRE) 65.15 38% na Golden West (GDW) 108.20 60% 15.37 Kaufman & Broad 74.96 63% 7.90 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 57.73 33% 3.85 New Century (NCEN) 51.80 175% 7.20 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 33.90 89% 10.87 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 41.72 62% 11.90 Radian Group (RDN) 53.34 52% 11.17 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 15.55 38% 11.70 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 56.85 73% 15.42 Washington Mutual (WM) 46.85 38% 10.88 Notes: (1) NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (Read More)
T-E Bond Funds LA Affordables
February 23, 2004ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co. here has closed on a $17.2 million tax-exempt variable bond financing for an affordable housing portfolio in the Los Angeles area. (Read More)
Publicly-Traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
February 23, 2004B&C Stock Price Index: 273.3 Change: 1.3 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 2/19/04 Aames (AMSF) 1.11 5.40 5.19 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 2.96 13.67 3.34 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 1.62 11.50 9.85 HSBC Holding (HBC) 50.70 82.83 82.19 IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 11.60 21.28 20.26 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 7.19 43.25 34.46 New Century (NCEN) 17.18 51.80 47.18 Novastar (NFI) 15.17 53.95 50.99 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 2.60 11.50 10.04 Provident Financial (PFGI) 19.90 39.19 39.15 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 10.76 30.10 27.35 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 0.22 2.25 1.08 (part 2 of 2) Company Weekly %Chg from P/E Ratio % Chg. 52-wk Lo Aames (AMSF) 35% 368% 8.40 American Business Fin. (ABFI) -17% 13% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 0% 508% 2.80 HSBC Holding (HBC) 3% 62% na IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 0% 75% 8.20 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) -3% 379% 6.90 New Century (NCEN) -4% 175% 7.20 Novastar (NFI) -1% 236% 10.50 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) -4% 286% 143.40 Provident Financial (PFGI) 13% 97% 20.40 Saxon Capital (SAXN) -5% 154% 12.70 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) -2% 391% 2.80 NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (Read More)
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March 1, 2004
Greenspan Raps Fannie, Freddie on Risk
March 1, 2004Proving once again that he's no friend of the GSEs, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan last week implored Congress to curb their growth and even privatize them. (Read More)
Independent Regulator Coming?
March 1, 2004Over the next few weeks, the Senate Banking Committee will be working behind closed doors drafting a bill to create a strong regulatory agency to oversee the housing government-sponsored enterprises. (Read More)
At a Glance: Fannie and Freddie's Market Shares Rise in '03
March 1, 20042003 Results ($ in billions) Conventional production(e): $3,172 FHA/VA production(e1): $220 Subprime production: $385 Alt A/all other production(e): $140 Total '03 residential Production: $3,917 Fannie purchases in 2003: $1,423 Freddie purchases in 2003: $826 Total '03 loans purchased By Fannie/Freddie: $2,249 Fan/Fred share of total '03 mkt: 57.4% Fan/Fred share of '03 conv. mkt.: 70.9% Fan/Fred share of total '02 mkt: 53.5% Fan/Fred share of '02 conv. mkt.: 65.5% Notes: Subprime and Alt A/all other production is based on exclusive survey data collected and compiled by NMN/Quarterly Data Report. (e1) estimate based on single-family GNMAs issued in 2002 and 2003. (Read More)
GSEs Rebut Debt Caps
March 1, 2004The chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said limiting their growth by placing constraints on their portfolios and curbing their debt issuance would result in higher mortgage rates for consumers. (Read More)
B&C Strong, 'A' Swooned in 4Q
March 1, 2004In the fourth quarter, the residential production party enjoyed by conventional lenders abruptly ended - but not for firms that make their living in the subprime niche. (Read More)
Subprime Residential Lending Volume Leaders Q4/03
March 1, 2004($ in Mils) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Ameriquest Mtg Corp.(E) Orange, CA 2 New Century Fin'l Corp. Irvine, CA 3 Countrywide Fin'l Corp. Calabasas, CA 4 First Franklin Fin'l San Jose, CA 5 Household Fin'l (E)(1) Prospect Hts, IL 6 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 7 Wells Fargo Home Mtg San Francisco 8 Option One Mtg Corp. Irvine, CA 9 CitiFinancial Baltimore, MD 10 Homecomings Bloomington, MN 11 Decision One Mortgage (2) Charlotte, NC 12 WMC Mortgage Corp. Woodland Hills, CA 13 Accredited Home Lenders San Diego, CA 14 BNC Mortgage, Inc. Irvine, CA 15 Aegis Mortgage Corp. (E) Houston, TX 16 Chase Home Finance Woodcliff Lake, NJ 17 Aames Financial Corp. Los Angeles, CA 18 NovaStar Mortgage, Inc. Kansas City, MO 19 Encore Credit Corp. Irvine, CA 20 Equity One, Inc. Marlton, NJ (part 2 of 2) B&C Vol B&C Vol Percent Market Rk Q4/03 Q4/02 Change Share 1 $8,946 $5,069 76% 7.95% 2 $8,252 $4,478 84% 7.33% 3 $6,710 $3,203 109% 5.96% 4 $6,173 $3,575 73% 5.48% 5 $6,100 $5,400 13% 5.42% 6 $5,618 $4,988 13% 4.99% 7 $5,342 $2,383 124% 4.75% 8 $5,298 $3,734 42% 4.71% 9 $4,860 $5,975 -19% 4.32% 10 $4,580 $2,817 63% 4.07% 11 $2,878 $1,695 70% 2.56% 12 $2,707 $1,383 96% 2.40% 13 $2,373 $1,418 67% 2.11% 14 $2,138 $1,205 77% 1.90% 15 $1,800 $1,725 4% 1.60% 16 $1,755 $1,248 41% 1.56% 17 $1,659 $1,306 27% 1.47% 18 $1,587 $950 67% 1.41% 19 $1,412 $734 92% 1.25% 20 $1,305 $622 110% 1.16% Top 20 Totals: $81,493 $53,907 51% 65.38% Submitted Totals: $93,808 $62,348 50% 73.58% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not provide volumes. Market share based on estimated subprime production of $112.56 billion in Q4 03. (E) Estimate. (1) Household was sold to HSBC in late March. (2) Decision One is part of Household. (Read More)
Market Share: 7 of Every 10
March 1, 2004Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which last week were criticized by the nation's central banker as being too big to fail, bought seven out of every 10 conventional loans originated last year, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News. (Read More)
OFHEO IDs 70 Flawed Accounting Systems at Fannie Mae
March 1, 2004The chief regulator of Fannie Mae said the mortgage giant uses more than 70 flawed accounting systems in its financial reporting division, a unit that was responsible for a $1.1 billion accounting mistake back in October. (Read More)
RESPA Rule an Issue At Jackson Hearing
March 1, 2004Alphonso Jackson's bid to become the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development may be blocked if the Bush administration continues to press ahead with its Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule. (Read More)
Snow Is 'Hopeful' on GSE Regulation
March 1, 2004During a tour of the J.P. Morgan Chase trading floor here last Tuesday U.S. Treasury secretary John W. Snow expressed support for Washington officials' efforts to regulate the residential mortgage industry. (Read More)
Freddie Mac Survey: ARMs Have Evolved
March 1, 2004Adjustable-rate mortgage product offerings have evolved to meet lender, borrower and capital market needs, said Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft in a release accompanying the company's 20th adjustable-rate mortgage survey. (Read More)
Staying the Course
March 1, 2004This editor has just passed the 20-year mark in covering the mortgage industry. Since that time involves three decades, four (at least) real estate cycles, two centuries and two millennia, some reflections may be in order. (Read More)
In Favor of State Regulation
March 1, 2004Ms. Taylor recently testified before House Financial Services Subcommittee. Excerpts of her remarks are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
MBS Relatively Sanguine in Face of Federal Reserve Chief's Comments
March 1, 2004It appeared at press time last week that we would be looking back at February as a month in which the mortgage-backed securities market was so characterized by inertia that not even direct comments on it by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan could do much to affect it. (Read More)
Corrections
March 1, 2004In the Feb. 23 issue, in a story regarding the sale of GreenPoint Financial, the investment bankers and which firms they represented were transposed. Sandler O'Neill represented North Fork on the sale while GreenPoint was represented by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Lehman Bros. We regret the error. (Read More)
OCC Shield vs. State Lending Laws Seen as 'Going Too Far'
March 1, 2004At a Senate hearing on predatory lending and elderly homeowners, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, didn't like what he was told about new rules that shield national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries from state efforts to protect consumers from predatory lending. (Read More)
Trial-Bound Wachovia Lawsuits May Affect the Industry
March 1, 2004Wachovia Mortgage, claiming that it is exempt from state regulations, is continuing to make mortgage loans in Michigan and Connecticut despite opposition from licensing authorities in these states. As two lawsuits filed by the subsidiary prepare to go to trial in March, some say the outcome of both cases could have widespread ramifications if national banks are told to comply with state laws in trying to offer their mortgage products nationwide. (Read More)
Romney Named Met. Mortgage CRO
March 1, 2004There has been a chief restructuring officer named for Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co. here. (Read More)
Pre-Emption Concerns Cloud Sunny View of Two States' Licensing Efforts
March 1, 2004Utah and Georgia have both introduced legislative bills that some applaud for proposing to raise residential mortgage licensing standards, but others criticize for adding to the chaos surrounding state vs. national regulation. (Read More)
NYC: A Changing of the Guard Seen At Neighborhood Housing Services
March 1, 2004Sarah Gerecke has been named the new chief executive officer of Neighborhood Housing Services here following the resignation of Francine Justa, the veteran NHS executive director who stepped down after 18 years of leadership in affordable housing development. (Read More)
Freddie Has New Multifamily Option
March 1, 2004Freddie Mac has introduced a "float-to-fixed-to-float" option for multifamily mortgage originations. (Read More)
Commercial Real Estate Transactions at a Glance
March 1, 2004* American Casino & Entertainment Properties is acquiring two Las Vegas casinos from Carl C. Icahn for $125.9 million. (Read More)
Another B&C Lender Becoming REIT?
March 1, 2004Yet another subprime lender has publicly announced it is considering taking on a real estate investment trust business structure. (Read More)
AmeriCold Financing Completed
March 1, 2004Vornado Realty Trust, Paramus, N.J., and Crescent Real Estate Equities, Fort Worth, Texas, have completed a $254.4 million mortgage financing with Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital for their AmeriCold Realty Trust venture. (Read More)
'REITs Stable Despite Negatives'
March 1, 2004The rating outlook for U.S. real estate investment trusts and real estate operating companies is stable, Moody's Investors Service reports, despite "continued negative trends" in, most notably, the multifamily and office sectors. (Read More)
Moody's Offers UK RMBS Data
March 1, 2004Moody's Investors Service has begun offering data on the historical performance of certain residential mortgage-backed securities deals in the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland. The data is currently available for all German and Swiss RMBS deals and U.K. RMBS by GMAC-RFC, Southern Pacific Mortgage and Northern Rock's Granite Master Trusts, according to a report from Moody's office here. (Read More)
12% 2004 Jump Seen in Foreign US RE
March 1, 2004Foreign investment in U.S. real estate is expected to increase 11.9% in 2004, with foreign investors targeting 56% of their international allocations for U.S. real estate, according to a survey conducted by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate. (Read More)
People
March 1, 2004CALIFORNIA Los Angeles-KB Home said that Richard Powers has been named president of KB Home Mortgage Co. (Read More)
Saxon Securitizes $1.1 Billion
March 1, 2004A subsidiary of Saxon Capital Inc. here has securitized $1.1 billion in notes backed by nonconforming mortgages through lead manager Merrill Lynch & Co. and co-managers Credit Suisse First Boston, J.P. Morgan Chase and RBS Greenwich Capital. Saxon plans to use the proceeds from the asset-backed securities transaction to provide long-term financing for its mortgages and for general corporate purposes. (Read More)
GSEs and Their Debt Balances
March 1, 2004($ in Billions) GSE Name Outstanding Debt Fannie Mae $871.2 Freddie Mac $727.3 FHLB system $718.6 Totals GSE Debt: $2,317.1 U.S. debt held by Govt. $2,846.4 U.S. debt held by Priv/Fed(1) $3,913.6 Total U.S. Debt $6,760.0 Notes: Outstanding debt for GSEs as of year-end 2002. More current figures not available at press time. Outstanding U.S. debt is for fiscal year 2003. (1) Represents debt held by private individuals, corporations, and the Federal Reserve banks. (Read More)
S&P Rating RMBS With Cleveland Loans
March 1, 2004Standard & Poor's has decided to rate structured finance transactions that include Cleveland loans governed by the city's anti-predatory lending ordinance. (Read More)
H&R Block Mortgage Unit: Earnings Down
March 1, 2004The mortgage operations at H&R Block Inc. here reported pretax earnings of $154.5 million for the company's third fiscal quarter, a decrease of $108 million when compared with the same period in fiscal 2003. The period ended on Jan. 31, 2004. (Read More)
OFHEO Takes Over Loan Limit Calculations
March 1, 2004The chief regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac says the mortgage giants' conforming loan limit for 2004 is $2,300 too high because of an "improper calculation" made by the companies. (Read More)
Publicly-Traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
March 1, 2004B&C Stock Price Index: 272.7 Change: -0.6 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 2/26/2004 Aames (AMSF) 1.11 5.40 3.84 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 2.96 13.33 3.33 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 1.71 11.50 9.35 HSBC Holding (HBC) 50.70 82.90 81.59 IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 11.70 21.28 21.00 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 7.30 43.25 33.97 New Century (NCEN) 17.18 51.80 47.60 Novastar (NFI) 15.65 53.95 52.26 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 2.60 11.50 9.39 Provident Financial (PFGI) 19.90 39.50 39.47 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 10.76 30.10 27.47 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 0.22 2.25 1.22 (part 2 of 2) Company Weekly %Chg from % Chg. 52-wk Lo P/E Ratio Aames (AMSF) -26% 246% 6.2 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 0% 12% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) -5% 447% 2.7 HSBC Holding (HBC) -1% 61% na IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 4% 79% 8.5 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) -1% 365% 6.8 New Century (NCEN) 1% 177% 7.3 Novastar (NFI) 2% 234% 10.8 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) -6% 261% 134.1 Provident Financial (PFGI) 1% 98% 20.6 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 0% 155% 12.7 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 13% 455% 3.1 NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (1) IMPAC is mostly an Alt-A lender and servicer. (2) Ocwen is a subprime servicer and subservicer. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
March 1, 2004MIEC Index: 200.9 Change: 0.2 (part 1 of 2) 2/19/04 2/26/04 Wkly 52 wk/lo % Chg Astoria Federal (AF) 40.49 39.60 -2% 23.23 Countrywide Financial Corp.(CFC) 88.51 88.06 -1% 37.87 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 2.73 2.87 5% 2.05 Centex Corp. (CTX) 101.83 104.12 2% 48.30 Doral Financial (DRL) 32.82 33.50 2% 20.37 Delta Financial (DFC) 9.85 9.32 -5% 1.71 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 38.24 38.56 1% 27.23 Fannie Mae (FNM) 79.83 75.23 -6% 58.40 Fidelity National (FNF) 38.22 38.95 2% 22.58 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 18.55 18.94 2% 16.51 Freddie Mac (FRE) 64.31 62.48 -3% 46.48 Golden West (GDW) 109.78 112.25 2% 68.64 Kaufman & Broad 69.54 70.40 1% 42.75 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 47.50 46.82 -1% 35.79 New Century (NCEN) 47.29 47.61 1% 17.18 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 33.29 34.04 2% 17.65 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 38.82 39.25 1% 24.03 Radian Group (RDN) 45.61 44.12 -3% 30.02 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 12.17 12.32 1% 8.83 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 54.29 54.69 1% 32.30 Washington Mutual (WM) 44.84 44.82 0% 32.40 (part 2 of 2) 52 wk/hi % Chg fr P/E Ratio 52 wk/lo(1) Astoria Federal (AF) 42.55 70% 15.90 Countrywide Financial Corp.(CFC) 91.00 133% 6.60 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 7.20 40% 8.44 Centex Corp. (CTX) 113.08 116% 9.02 Doral Financial (DRL) 34.94 64% 12.31 Delta Financial (DFC) 11.50 445% 2.67 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 40.77 42% 23.95 Fannie Mae (FNM) 80.82 29% 9.74 Fidelity National (FNF) 39.90 72% 6.92 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 20.70 15% 65.31 Freddie Mac (FRE) 65.15 34% na Golden West (GDW) 112.00 64% 15.72 Kaufman & Broad 74.96 65% 8.00 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 57.73 31% 4.54 New Century (NCEN) 51.80 177% 7.25 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 33.90 93% 11.12 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 41.72 63% 12.03 Radian Group (RDN) 53.34 47% 10.81 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 15.55 40% 11.84 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 56.85 69% 15.53 Washington Mutual (WM) 46.85 38% 10.87 Notes: (1) NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (Read More)
Two PNC Classes Face Downgrade
March 1, 2004Two classes of PNC Mortgage Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Greenspan: New Products Are Needed
March 1, 2004Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan believes fixed-rate mortgages are an expensive way to finance a home and he challenged the industry to come up with new products. "American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage," Mr. Greenspan told a credit union convention. (Read More)
'Mortgage Companies Are Turning To IBM's iSeries in Order to Grow'
March 1, 2004In an environment rich with mergers and acquisitions, many mortgage companies are purchasing IBM's eServer iSeries to facilitate an easier growth cycle when growing their shop. (Read More)
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March 8, 2004
Principal Residential 'in Play'
March 8, 2004Principal Residential Mortgage, Des Moines, the nation's 11th largest residential servicer, is on the auction block, National Mortgage News has learned. (Read More)
At a Glance: Principal Residential
March 8, 2004Production 2003 production: $59,373 Production rank: 15th Servicing Housing receivables: $118,692 # of loans serviced: 958,231 Servicing rank: 11th Info on Owner Parent: Principal Fin'l Grp Primary business: Insurance Headquarters: Des Moines Source: NMN/Quarterly Data Report. (Read More)
Freddie's Chief Lobbyist Out?
March 8, 2004Freddie Mac's chief lobbyist, R. Mitch Delk, who has been accused of violating federal campaign finance laws by a consumer advocacy group, is on the verge of leaving the company, industry sources said. (Read More)
Wells: GSEs Limit AH Supply
March 8, 2004The nation's largest mortgage banker, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Inc., has slammed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac claiming the risk policies employed by the two government-sponsored enterprises limit the supply of affordable loans. (Read More)
Retail Niche Down Like Others in 4Q
March 8, 2004The nation's retail lenders took it on the chin in the fourth quarter as rising interest rates put a crimp on production, in particular refinancings. (Read More)
Top Retail Lenders in Q4 2003
March 8, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Wells Fargo Home Mtg San Francisco 2 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 3 Countrywide Fin'l Corp. Calabasas, CA 4 Chase Home Finance Edison, NJ 5 Cendant Mortgage Mt. Laurel, NJ 6 Bank of America Charlotte, NC 7 Golden West/World Oakland, CA 8 GMAC Res Holdings Horsham, PA 9 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO 10 National City Mtg Miamisburg, OH (part 2 of 2) Retail Or Retail Orig Pct Mkt Rk Vol Q4/03 Vol Q4/02 Chg Share 1 $38,697 $59,585 -35% 13.68% 2 $27,828 $34,870 -20% 9.84% 3 $23,188 $24,694 -6% 8.20% 4 $16,408 $20,122 -18% 5.80% 5 $13,218 $16,397 -19% 4.67% 6 $11,674 $22,172 -47% 4.13% 7 $10,900 $7,601 43% 3.85% 8 $8,539 $13,991 -39% 3.02% 9 $8,375 $6,823 23% 2.96% 10 $7,193 $13,815 -48% 2.54% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose production breakdowns. (Read More)
Wall St. May Hire Former GSE CEO
March 8, 2004Former Freddie Mac chief executive Greg Parseghian - who was forced to resign by regulators, but remains as a consultant to the company - is talking to two New York investment banking firms about employment, industry sources said. (Read More)
FTC Calls Proposed Broker Disclosures 'Confusing'
March 8, 2004The Department of Housing and Urban Development suffered another blow to its mortgage reform effort when a consumer protection agency reported that its proposed disclosures of mortgage broker compensation are confusing to borrowers. (Read More)
OCC: Banks Should Listen to the States
March 8, 2004In response to mounting criticism, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has put national banks on notice that they are expected to resolve consumer complaints when contacted by state officials. (Read More)
New Mexico Act Amended to Address Secondary Market Concerns
March 8, 2004New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has signed Senate Bill 228, effective immediately, that repeals Section 7 of the state's Home Loan Protection Act, because it could have imposed assignee liability on manufactured housing home loans. Section 7 was said to be problematic because it was not limited to high-cost home loans. Many in the lending industry expressed concern that the broad language used in the act could seriously hamper manufactured home lending and cash-out refinance lending in the state. (Read More)
A Missed Opportunity
March 8, 2004The rescission of hundreds of millions of dollars of government guarantee authority that could potentially help alleviate the worst housing crisis in the country represents a tragic missed opportunity. (Read More)
Risks at Fannie and Freddie
March 8, 2004Mr. Greenspan recently testified before the Senate Banking Committee on the government-sponsored enterprises' role in the U.S. economy. Excerpts of his remarks are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Rates Fairly Stable But Fed Official and Report Seen as Hinting at Slow Rise
March 8, 2004The U.S. mortgage-related bond market had remained fairly stable up through press time midday last Thursday, despite a March 2 speech in New York by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan that some interpreted as auguring an increase in rates, and the release of the "Beige Book" report showing a continuing expansion of economic activity. (Read More)
Fed Chief: FRMs Are Not So Bad After All
March 8, 2004Wait a minute, Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan has decided that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages are not so bad after all. (Read More)
Letters To The Editor
March 8, 2004To the editor: We appreciate the opportunity to set the facts straight regarding AI Ready, as your article, "MISMO Supporters Say AI Ready Outdated," (NMN, Feb. 23) has created some amount of confusion. (Read More)
FHA to Make Sure Loan Applicants Aren't on Social Security's Death List
March 8, 2004Dead people may be able to vote but they will no longer be able to get a Federal Housing Administration loan in few weeks. (Read More)
HomeBanc Latest To Eye REIT Status
March 8, 2004The parade of mortgage companies looking to become real estate investment trusts is growing. (Read More)
Reaching Out to Prospective Immigrant Borrowers
March 8, 2004That immigrants to the United States represent the bulwark of the American housing market for the remainder of the decade has been well documented. But the question remains, how do lenders reach out to these potential homebuyers? (Read More)
Forecast: Largest Builders Will Hold a 40% Market Share in 10 Years
March 8, 2004The nation's 10 largest homebuilding companies will be erecting four out of every 10 new houses by the end of the decade, the president of Beazer Homes, Atlanta, predicted here late last month at the Midwinter Conference. (Read More)
Fannie Donates $1M for Indian Housing
March 8, 2004Fannie Mae has jump-started an ambitious plan to house 100,000 American Indian families with a $1 million donation to the National American Indian Housing Council. (Read More)
Study Backs Safety of CDFI Loans
March 8, 2004Contrary to popular belief, investing in economically disadvantaged communities and lending to low-income people is "as safe, or safer than" lending to wealthier individuals and communities, according to a study that analyzed the 2002 performance of 138 community development financial institutions across the country. (Read More)
FDIC: Rates, Home Price Declines Could Hurt B&C and ARM Loans
March 8, 2004The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is warning lenders that highly leveraged homeowners with subprime and adjustable-rate mortgages may become stretched too far if interest rates start to rise and local home prices decline. (Read More)
Penn. Gets Flood Aid
March 8, 2004Disaster loans are now available for eligible businesses, homeowners and renters, in the southwestern Pennsylvania counties of Fayette, Greene and Washington, affected by severe winds and heavy rain that caused flooding throughout that region last November. (Read More)
Countrywide Hires New EVP to Address Market Change
March 8, 2004With interest rates still fluctuating but likely to rise, Countrywide Home Loans here positioned itself for the changing market by hiring Eric Spence as executive vice president of its wholesale lending division. (Read More)
People
March 8, 2004CALIFORNIA Pasadena-IndyMac Bancorp Inc. has appointed Tom Wagner as senior vice president of sales and marketing for wholesale subprime lending. Mr. Wagner assumes responsibility for all subprime production across the U.S. (Read More)
New Legal Firm Touts Its Focus on Financial Services
March 8, 2004A newly formed law firm here is using its extensive experience in the mortgage world to target its practice on the financial services industry. (Read More)
The Year of MISMO And Implementation
March 8, 2004This is going to be a year of technology implementation that has essentially been postponed for two or three years now because of the volume of refinance activity, according to general session speaker Douglas Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)
Heard Museum Highlights Cultures of Native Peoples
March 8, 2004The Heard Museum in downtown Phoenix is perhaps the foremost institution in the country purely dedicated to showcasing the culture of Native communities in the American Southwest. (Read More)
MindBox Demoing New Power Editor for Business Users
March 8, 2004MindBox, Greenbrae, Calif., has been looking forward to MBA Tech in Phoenix this year as a good place to show off its new Power Editor that allows business users to configure its newest ARTEnterprise release - without writing code. (Read More)
DocuTech Corp. Unveils the Newest Version of its ConformX Product
March 8, 2004DocuTech Corp., Idaho Falls, Idaho, will be introducing the newest version of its ConformX closing process solution at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference and Expo in Phoenix. (Read More)
Butterflies Take Center Stage
March 8, 2004The Desert Botanical Garden, located in Phoenix's Papago Park, offers a glimpse of the flora native to the desert Southwest. And attendees at this year's MBA tech conference will get a chance to see one of the garden's most popular annual events. (Read More)
3T Systems Launches New Version of Mortgage Cadence
March 8, 2004Enhanced automation and communication tools will be the themes touted by 3T Systems, Denver, at this year's show as they release version 3.3 of their LOS enterprise solution Mortgage Cadence. (Read More)
Take Me Out to the Cactus League
March 8, 2004The time of year and the Phoenix location of this year's MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference may produce a side effect that will empty out the exhibit hall on the sunny March afternoons the meeting is in town - Cactus League baseball. (Read More)
A Guide to Cactus League Teams
March 8, 2004* Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria * Milwaukee Brewers Maryvale Baseball Park, Maryvale * Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals Surprise Stadium, Surprise * Oakland Athletics Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix * Anaheim Angels Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe * San Francisco Giants Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale * Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox Tucson Electric Park, Tucson * Chicago Cubs Hohokam Park, Mesa * Colorado Rockies Hi Corbett Field, Tucson Source: http://cactus-league.org Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Performance Group Talks Business Strategies at Show
March 8, 2004Mortgage market participants weighing the pros and cons of business strategies such as international outsourcing may want to spend some time with executives from The Performance Group, Concord, N.H., at this year's MBA technology conference. (Read More)
Ancient Civilizations Come to Life at the Pueblo Grande Museum
March 8, 2004Step into the past at the Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park where historic Phoenix comes to life. Ancient artifacts, adobe houses, and rare pieces of jewelry tell the tale of the Hohokam people, the prehistoric Native Americans who once made their home here. (Read More)
DesertDocs to Show Off its SMART Pak at MBA Tech
March 8, 2004When lenders start putting together their budgets for next year, a question on many minds will be how much money, if any, to invest in becoming SMART-Doc compliant. DesertDocs has some good news about that. (Read More)
Countrywide Welcomes Consolidation
March 8, 2004Angelo Mozilo is looking forward to a decline in mortgage originations this year and the mergers, acquisitions and failures that are likely to result. (Read More)
CitiMortgage to Launch DO 'Link to Lender'
March 8, 2004CitiMortgage here announced itself as the first lender to launch Fannie Mae's new Desktop Originator "Link to Lender" feature, which allows brokers to submit loan data directly from DO to the CitiMortgage wholesale website (broker.citimortage.com). The feature eliminates the need to export, import or re-key significant data into the system. (Read More)
Publicly-traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
March 8, 2004B&C Stock Price Index: 274.6 Change: 1.9 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 3/4/2004 Aames (AMSF) 1.11 5.40 2.83 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 2.96 13.30 3.50 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 1.71 11.50 9.64 HSBC Holding (HBC) 50.70 82.90 77.96 IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 11.92 22.05 22.01 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 7.89 43.25 33.17 New Century (NCEN) 17.38 51.80 49.07 Novastar (NFI) 16.01 55.05 54.15 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 2.60 11.50 10.07 Provident Financial (PFGI) 19.90 40.59 40.48 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 10.76 30.10 28.69 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 0.22 2.25 1.07 (part 2 of 2) Company Weekly %Chg from P/E Ratio % Chg. 52-wk Lo Aames (AMSF) -26% 155% 4.60 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 5% 18% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 3% 464% 2.80 HSBC Holding (HBC) -4% 54% na IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 5% 85% 8.90 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) -2% 320% 6.70 New Century (NCEN) 3% 182% 7.50 Novastar (NFI) 4% 238% 11.20 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 7% 287% 143.90 Provident Financial (PFGI) 3% 103% 21.10 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 4% 167% 13.30 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) -12% 386% 2.70 NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (Read More)
Freddie's AU 'Not Ready for Underserved'
March 8, 2004While there is little doubt that automated underwriting has had a profound impact on the mortgage business, Freddie Mac's chief operating officer says current systems are ill-equipped to accommodate the horde of minority and immigrant borrowers that will make up the bulk of the market by the end of the decade. (Read More)
Freddie Mac's Top Officers: What They Earned In '03
March 8, 2004Name/Position Salary & Restricted Total Overall Bonus Stock Awards Comp Package William Syron, chr., CEO (1) $4,231 $8,809,819 $8,913,050 Greg Parseghian, former CEO (2) $4,938,159 na $19,379,618 Leland Brendsel, former chr., CEO $590,000 na $856,683 Paul Peterson, EVP, COO $1,646,800 $483,715 $2,369,823 Martin Baumann, EVP, finance $573,106 $921,233 $1,644,570 Mitch Delk, SVP, gov't. rel. (4) $672,167 $364,689 $1,134,369 TOTALS: $8,424,463 $10,579,456 $34,298,113 Notes: Total overall compensation package includes salary, bonus, two categories called "other" and "all other" compensation, and restricted stock awards. (Read More)
FEC Fines Fannie, Cites Freddie Donation
March 8, 2004The Federal Election Commission last week fined Fannie Mae, the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee $132,000 for violating federal campaign finance laws. (Read More)
Mich. Order a 1st Under Licensing Act
March 8, 2004Linda Watters, commissioner of the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services, has issued an order of prohibition, banning Select Mortgage LLC from doing business in the state after the company was found in violation of the Michigan Mortgage Brokers, Lenders and Servicers Licensing Act. (Read More)
Redwood Trust: $3.53 Per Share in 4Q
March 8, 2004Redwood Trust Inc. earned $3.53 per share under generally accepted accounting principals in the fourth quarter of 2003, according to recent data released from the company. (Read More)
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March 15, 2004
Rate Drop Hurts Servicing Deal
March 15, 2004When interest rates plunged more than a week ago, they threw a monkey wrench into several planned "bulk" servicing transactions, causing investors to either back off entirely or lower their bids. (Read More)
Wells, WaMu Say No India
March 15, 2004The nation's two largest residential servicers - Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Washington Mutual - said last week that outsourcing call centers to India is not for them. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Earnings in 4Q 2003 (A Sample)
March 15, 2004($ in Mils) (part 1 of 2) Net Erns Net Erns Percent Organization Name Q4/03 Q4/02 Change Fannie Mae $2,196.00 $952.00 131% Washington Mutual $842.00 $941.00 -11% Countrywide Financi $563.70 $254.90 121% Golden West Financi $290.70 $249.40 17% Pulte Homes $248.00 $172.00 44% Centex Corp. $198.70 $155.90 27% Fidelity National Fin'l $196.20 $174.90 12% Charter One $158.20 $145.70 9% NVR Inc. $127.50 $78.90 61% GreenPoint Fin'l $113.30 $131.90 -14% (part 2 of 2) Earnings Organization Name Mkt Sh Sector Type Fannie Mae 17.57% Housing GSE Washington Mutual 6.74% Thrift/Mtg Banker Countrywide Financi 4.51% Mortgage Banker Golden West Financi 2.33% ARM/Portfolio Lndr Pulte Homes 1.98% Homebuilder/lender Centex Corp. 1.59% Homebuilder/lender Fidelity National Fin'l 1.57% Title/Bundled Svcs Charter One 1.27% Conventional Lender NVR Inc. 1.02% Homebuilder/lender GreenPoint Fin'l 0.91% Conv./Non-Conv. Lndr Notes: Earnings market share based on estimated industry earnings of $12.5 billion in Q4. This is a sample only and is not meant to represent all players in the mortgage market. Freddie Mac is excluded because it is undergoing a reaudit and will release 2003 results later this year. (1) Greenpoint is being sold. (Read More)
Principal Could Fetch $1.75 Bil
March 15, 2004If Principal Financial Group decides to unload its mortgage division, it could reap as much as $1.75 billion on the deal, according to a new report issued by UBS Securities. (Read More)
Optimism On '04 GSE Regs
March 15, 2004Key lawmakers appear to be optimistic that Congress can pass legislation this year that will strengthen regulation of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. (Read More)
Is It D-Day for RESPA?
March 15, 2004Expectations are rising that the Bush administration will tip its hand this week on which way it is going with its rule to simplify the mortgage process and reduce settlement costs. (Read More)
As REFIS Pick Up, Short Positions in Some Mortgage Stocks Fall
March 15, 2004Company Mort. Sector Short Pos. % Chg from at 2/13/04 1/15/04 Fannie Mae (FNM) GSE 11,548,802 -20% New Century (NCEN) Subprime 6,227,953 -17% Saxon Mortgage (SAXN) Subprime 990,970 -17% Accredited (LEND) Subprime 1,544,828 -13% PMI Group Mtg Ins. 4,441,331 -8% American Home (AHH) Prime 1,477,322 -6% Freddie Mac (FRE) GSE 5,959,436 -5% NovaStar (NFI) Subprime 4,473,151 -4% Countrywide (CFC) Prime 9,403,189 8% Farmer Mac (AGM) GSE 1,526,718 10% Notes: A figure in parenthesis indicates a decline in short positions from month to month. This is a sample table of publicly-traded, mortgage-related firms and is not meant to be all inclusive of the industry. Percentage changes are rounded. New short position figures for mid-March 2004 will be available by the end of the month. (Read More)
Fannie Mae Hikes '04 Production Forecast
March 15, 2004Fannie Mae last week hiked its 2004 production forecast by 28% to $2.43 trillion, noting that it has "substantially" raised its projection on refinancings. Previously, Fannie had projected $1.9 trillion in mortgage fundings for the year. (Read More)
FHA Delinquencies Exceed Subprime
March 15, 2004The delinquency rate on Federal Housing Administration loans is higher than the subprime mortgage delinquency rate for the first time, according to data collected by the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)
Falling Rates Scare Short Sellers from Mortgage Sector
March 15, 2004Speculators reduced their exposure on several key mortgage-related stocks last month as falling interest rates caused loan applications to rise. (Read More)
Loan Applications Gaining Momentum
March 15, 2004The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 878.7 to 889.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended March 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)
Making Room
March 15, 2004The Bush administration's proposed single-family tax credit program is a good idea, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the existing tax credit for multifamily construction. (Read More)
Risks at Fannie and Freddie
March 15, 2004Mr. Greenspan recently testified before the Senate Banking Committee on the government-sponsored enterprises' role in the U.S. economy. Excerpts of his remarks are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
What a Difference a Day Makes When It Comes to Forecasts
March 15, 2004From where I sat last Thursday at press time, it looked like all the "gradual rate rise" forecasts that were being touted around the time I wrote my previous column had been more or less tossed out the window. (Read More)
Letter To The Editor
March 15, 2004To the editor: Your Feb. 23, 2004 Special Report headlined "MISMO Supporters Say AI Ready Outdated," neglects to define what AI Ready really means. (Read More)
HUD OKs FHA's Hybrid ARM Loans
March 15, 2004The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a final rule that will allow Federal Housing Administration lenders to offer hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages for the first time. (Read More)
CT U.S. District Judge Weighs Pre-Emption Issues in Wachovia Hearing
March 15, 2004A hearing held last week in Connecticut may hint at what a judge there may factor into her decision as she weighs whether nationally chartered banks and their mortgage subsidiaries should be regulated by state banking commissioners. (Read More)
Vestin Group Faces 'Informal' SEC Inquiry
March 15, 2004Vestin Group is under an "informal inquiry" by the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)
BSM Financial Saves Via Its Use of Paperless Origination Technology
March 15, 2004Mortgage banker BSM Financial here has launched the Alpharetta, Ga.-headquartered Advectis' Web-based paperless origination and archiving technology called BlitzDocs, and is realizing real savings as a result, a BSM executive said. (Read More)
MCA Exec Pleads Guilty in Michigan Mortgage-Backed Securities Case
March 15, 2004Patrick Quinlan Sr., the former chairman and chief executive officer of MCA Financial Corp., has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to commit crimes of mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and making false statements in corporate financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)
ComUnity Lending Opening B&C Unit
March 15, 2004ComUnity Lending here has opened a subprime lending division, CreditFlex Funding, which will be headed by ComUnity veteran Steven T. Walker as division vice president. (Read More)
Top 'Alt A' Lenders In Q4/03
March 15, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. Calabasas, CA 2 Aurora Loan Services (1) Aurora, CO 3 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Pasadena, CA 4 Impac Funding Corporation Newport Beach, CA 5 GreenPoint Mtg Funding (2) Novato, CA 6 WMC Mortgage Corp. (BC) Woodland Hills, CA 7 Homecomings Bloomington, MN 8 E*Trade Arlington, VA 9 Ohio Savings Bank, F.S.B. Cleveland, OH 10 Alliance Mortgage Company Jacksonville, FL 11 RBC Mortgage Chicago, IL 12 NovaStar Mortgage, Inc. Kansas City, MO 13 Netbank Columbia, SC 14 Waterfield Mortgage Fort Wayne, IN 15 Principal Residential Mtg Des Moines, IA 16 American Home Mortgage Melville, NY 17 First Home Mortgage (BC) Mt. Prospect, IL 18 Union Planters Mortgage Cordova, TN 19 American Mortage Network San Diego, CA 20 Equity One, Inc. (BC) Marlton, NJ (part 2 of 2) 'Alt A' 'Alt A' (Read More)
Banks Ranked By MBS Holdings: Fannie, Freddie, Gnmas
March 15, 2004($ in Thousands) Rank Bank Name Location MBS Holdings 1 Bank of America NA Charlotte, NC $51,631,258 2 JPMorgan Chase Bk New York, NY $36,824,000 3 Wachovia Bk NA Charlotte, NC $34,199,000 4 Bank One NA Chicago, IL $28,015,000 5 US Bk NA Cincinnati, OH $22,891,324 6 Fleet NB Providence, RI $17,054,000 7 Lasalle Bank NA Chicago, IL $14,069,624 8 Citibank NA New York, NY $13,513,000 9 Fifth Third Bk Cincinnati, OH $10,967,259 10 Wells Fargo Bk NA San Francisco, CA $9,898,000 11 Standard Federal Bk NA Troy, MI $9,632,745 12 SouthTrust Bk Birmingham, AL $8,181,485 13 SunTrust Bk Atlanta, GA $5,558,362 14 Amsouth Bk Birmingham, AL $4,977,852 15 HSBC Bank USA Buffalo, NY $4,589,858 16 Regions Bank Birmingham, AL $3,978,285 17 Investors B&TC Boston, MA $3,413,499 18 Firstbank PR San Juan, PR $3,140,521 19 Commerce Bk NA Cherry Hill, NJ $2,743,260 20 Bank of New York New York, NY $2,638,122 21 Wells Fargo Bk Northwest NA Ogden, UT $2,542,763 22 Hibernia NB New Orleans, LA $2,483,855 23 Bank of the West San Francisco, CA $2,024,839 24 Compass Bk Birmingham, AL $2,003,605 25 Israel Discount Bk of NY New York, NY $1,973,921 26 City NB Beverly Hills, CA $1,954,850 27 Union Bk of CA NA San Francisco, CA $1,860,912 28 Oriental B&TC San Juan, PR $1,763,875 29 Carolina First Bk Greenville, SC $1,690,631 30 Provident Bk Cincinnati, OH $1,634,524 Notes: Holdings as of Sept. 30 2003. Includes only MBS guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and GNMA. (Read More)
Top GNMA Issuers In Q4 2003
March 15, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk GNMA Issuer Location 1 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Des Moines, IA 2 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 3 Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. Columbus, OH 4 Countrywide/Landsafe Servicing Calabasas, CA 5 National City Mortgage Co. Miamisburg, OH 6 GMAC Mortgage Corp. Elkins Park, PA 7 Principal Residential Mortgage Des Moines, IA 8 CitiMortgage St. Louis, MO 9 U.S. Bank/Firstar Bank Dallas, TX 10 Irwin Mortgage Indianapolis, IN 11 First Horizon Home Loans Irving, TX 12 SunTrust Mortgage Richmond, VA 13 Union Fed Sav Bk of Indianapolis Fort Wayne, IN 14 Mortgage Investors Corp. St Petersburg, FL 15 The Leader Mortgage Co. Cleveland, OH 16 Bishop's Gate Residential Mort. Wilmington, DE 17 ABN Amro Mortgage Norridge, MI 18 Midfirst Bank, SSB Oklahoma City, OK 19 Wachovia/First Union Raleigh, NC 20 Reilly Mortgage Group, Inc. McLean, VA 21 Union Planters National Bank Memphis, TN 22 GMAC Commercial Mortgage Elkins Park, PA 23 James B. Nutter & Co. Kansas City, MO 24 Commercial Federal Bank, FSB Omaha, NE 25 M & T Mortgage Corp. Buffalo, NY 26 Flagstar Bank Bloomfield Hills, MI 27 Bank of America, NA Charlotte, NC 28 USAA Federal Savings Bank San Antonio, TX 29 Highland Mortgage Co. Birmingham, AL 30 Malone Mortgage Co. of America Dallas, TX 31 Berkshire Mortgage Finance Boston, MA 32 Prudential Huntoon Paige Edison, NJ 33 Red Mortgage Capital, Inc. Columbus, OH 34 Colonial Savings, F.A. Fort Worth, TX 35 Pulte Mortgage Corporation Englewood, CO 36 Greystone Servicing Warrenton, VA 37 Universal Mortgage Corp. Milwaukee, WI 38 HSBC Mortgage Corp. Buffalo, NY 39 Southtrust Mortgage Corp. Birmingham, AL 40 PFC Corp. Newport Beach, CA 41 Huntington Mortgage Co. Columbus, OH 42 HF Mortgage Bankers Puerto Nuevo, PR 43 Heartland Bank St. Louis, MO 44 Homestar Mortgage Service, LLC Montvale, NJ 45 Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Ocala, FL 46 CW Capital, LLC Needham, MA 47 Guaranty Residential Lending Austin, TX 48 Gershman Investment Corp. Clayton, MO 49 Fifth Third Mortgage Cincinnatti, OH 50 Glaser Financial Group, Inc. St. Paul, MN (part 2 of 2) 4Q/03 4Q/02 Percent Rk Volume Volume Change 1 $10,836 $8,661 25% 2 $6,975 $4,598 52% 3 $4,667 $3,499 33% 4 $4,368 $4,511 -3% 5 $2,929 $2,216 32% 6 $2,024 $894 126% 7 $1,727 $2,255 -23% 8 $1,470 $1,541 -5% 9 $931 $945 -2% 10 $858 $1,075 -20% 11 $814 $1,437 -43% 12 $733 $529 39% 13 $584 $605 -3% 14 $530 na na 15 $513 $470 9% 16 $366 $444 -17% 17 $348 $1,329 -74% 18 $325 $144 126% 19 $285 $475 -40% 20 $261 $156 68% 21 $260 $228 14% 22 $257 $228 13% 23 $253 $558 -55% 24 $251 $169 48% 25 $238 $254 -6% 26 $227 $120 89% 27 $190 $126 51% 28 $176 $303 -42% 29 $167 $95 77% 30 $139 $36 284% 31 $135 $22 526% 32 $122 $102 20% 33 $119 $54 121% 34 $117 $29 302% 35 $111 $116 -4% 36 $107 $25 336% 37 $104 $178 -41% 38 $100 $65 53% 39 $97 $66 48% 40 $96 $101 -6% 41 $92 $56 65% 42 $92 $120 -23% 43 $88 $26 242% 44 $85 $88 -3% 45 $79 na na 46 $75 $138 -46% 47 $75 $42 77% 48 $68 $26 164% 49 $68 $31 119% 50 $67 $45 48% Totals: $45,601 $39,229 16.2% Notes: Reflects issuance volume in the quarter ONLY. (Read More)
Assurant Promotes Its Brand Name
March 15, 2004The former Fortris Inc., has launched a national advertising campaign to promote its name and brand identity as Assurant Inc. (Read More)
BankUnited Closes Debt Offering
March 15, 2004BankUnited Financial Corp. has closed a public offering of $100 million of 3.125% convertible senior notes due 2034 to qualified institutional buyers. The company said it also granted the initial purchasers the option of buying an additional $20 million aggregate principle amount of the notes. (Read More)
Fiji Loan Brings Co. To the South Pacific
March 15, 2004Kennedy Funding, a direct lender based here, has made its first entry into the South Pacific market with a $5.4 million loan to developers of Taunovo Bay, a resort community under construction on the southern coral coast of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. The loan will enable the developers to complete construction of beachfront villas. (Read More)
Getting the 'Greenlight' in New States
March 15, 2004Direct-to-consumer mortgage lender Greenlight Financial Services here is now being licensed to provide loans in Mississippi, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., the company has reported. (Read More)
Capital Lease Funding Registers with the SEC for Initial Public Offering
March 15, 2004Capital Lease Funding, a company partly owned by Lewis Ranieri, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the initial public offering of 20 million shares of its common stock priced at between $9 and $11 per share. (Read More)
GMAC-RFC Sees Record Issuance
March 15, 2004Residential Funding Corp. here has reported a record $50.1 billion issuance of mortgage-backed securities and mortgage-related asset-backed securities in 2003, up 45.1% from its issuance the year before. (Read More)
'Mortgage-Related 55% of ABS in Week'
March 15, 2004About 55% of the $9.8 billion in deals priced in the new issue asset-backed securities market for the week ending March 5 was mortgage-related, RBS Greenwich Capital, Greenwich, Conn., reports. (Read More)
Deterioration in Housing Affordability for Low/Extremely Low Incomes?
March 15, 2004Housing affordability and availability for low and extremely low-income families has worsened considerably during the last decade and is expected to further deteriorate even if the economy improves, according to a new National Low Income Housing Coalition analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 database. (Read More)
Vertical Lend Makes Rate Pledge
March 15, 2004Vertical Lend here, a company that originates loans through financial planners, accountants, insurance agents and financial advisors, has issued a pledge to match the interest rate offered by competitors or pay the customer $250. (Read More)
Receiver Issue Clouds Met Mtg. Reorg
March 15, 2004Washington state's insurance commissioner is seeking to appoint a receiver for and take control of Western United Life Assurance Co., a subsidiary of the bankrupt Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co. here. The move could have a significant effect on whether Metropolitan comes out of bankruptcy. (Read More)
USPAP Move Could Affect TPO Pricing
March 15, 2004Advisories issued by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice could result in consumers who use third-party originators having to pay more for their appraisals, said an executive with eAppraiseIT here. (Read More)
Kroll Factual Data Buys Credit Network
March 15, 2004Kroll Factual Data Inc., the mortgage screening subsidiary of Kroll Inc., New York, has purchased The Credit Network here, a mortgage credit reporting company. The deal is valued at $20.5 million and will be paid in cash. It is expected to add $0.03 per share to Kroll's earnings in 2004. TCN is expected to generate revenue of $16.3 million in 2004. The acquisition will be included in Kroll's Background Screening Group. (Read More)
Ohio Targeting Company's Registration, Alleging Improperly Handled Closings
March 15, 2004The Ohio Department of Commerce's Division of Financial Institutions is seeking to revoke the mortgage registration certificate of Ameribanc Mortgage Inc. and fine the company $100,000. Records indicate there were close to 40 closings that took place where policies were not issued and first mortgages were not paid off, according to Chip Wetterauer, the court-appointed receiver in the case. (Read More)
CA Median Price Up 20.7% in Month
March 15, 2004The median price of an existing home in California in January increased 20.7% and sales increased 5.3% compared to the same period a year ago, according to recent data from the California Association of Realtors. (Read More)
Community Preservation Corp. Funds Construction Loan for Brooklyn Condo
March 15, 2004The Community Preservation Corp. has provided an $8 million loan to finance the construction of a 39-unit condominium on Underhill Avenue in the northern Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn. (Read More)
Fla. Bond & Mtg. Arranges Financing
March 15, 2004Florida Bond & Mortgage Inc. here has arranged a $2.9 million permanent first mortgage loan on loan leases located at 17355 and 17455 Biscayne Blvd. in Aventura, Fla. Correspondent lender Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. provided financing. (Read More)
Foreclosures.com Weighs in on Laws in Oakland, L.A.
March 15, 2004Foreclosures.com, a foreclosure property investment advisory firm, says battles over aggressive predatory lending ordinances passed in Los Angeles and Oakland are stalling protection for victims of abusive lending practices. (Read More)
Criimi Financials Improve in 4Q
March 15, 2004Criimi Mae has seen a turnaround in its financial performance, based on its fourth-quarter 2003 results. And the commercial mortgage investor and servicer is now contemplating the next step forward. (Read More)
NRMLA: Home Equity Conversion Mortgages Have Risen 76%
March 15, 2004Originations of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (the Federal Housing Administration-insured reverse mortgage product) were up 76% between October 2003 and January 2004 when compared with those of the previous year, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association. (Read More)
Ellie Mae Hopes Version 1.1 of Encompass Will Iron Out All The Wrinkles
March 15, 2004The great loan origination system wars began last year when Ellie Mae here rolled out its Encompass product, claiming that it would surpass Calyx's Point as the industry leader, but certain implementation issues came up that complicated its offensive. Now it's hoping to get back on track with Version 1.1, which has been designed to iron out the wrinkles and give Encompass even more functionality. (Read More)
Industry Movements: Promotions at GHR Systems
March 15, 2004GHR Systems Inc., Wayne, Pa., has promoted Mr. Brinn to chief executive officer and Mr. Morrison to executive vice president and general manager of GHR's Mortgage Automation Solutions division. Mr. Brinn joined GHR in 1998 as executive vice president and has served as the company's president and chief operating officer since June 1999. Mr. Morrison started with GHR in 2000 as senior vice president of client services. (Read More)
Automated Answer to RESPA Bundling Seen as Remaining Elusive
March 15, 2004Finding ways to automate the creation of guaranteed mortgage packages will be a "major focus" of 1st Metropolitan Mortgage at the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual tech show, according to the company's chief operating officer. (Read More)
Dexma Executive Looking Forward to Meeting with Company's Clients
March 15, 2004Executives of mortgage technology provider Dexma here said they are very excited to attend the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual technology conference where they have a chance to meet with many of their customers. (Read More)
Survey: Backing for TRIA Extension
March 15, 2004A survey of 40 commercial/multifamily mortgage banking firms by the Mortgage Bankers Association finds that all the 29 respondents favor the extension and reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, the trade group reports. (Read More)
More Interest Seen In Small Loans
March 15, 2004Small balance commercial mortgage loans are seeing more interest from commercial mortgage backed-securities issuers and investors, according to Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
MuniMae Earned $9.3 Million in 4Q
March 15, 2004Municipal Mortgage & Equity has reported net income for the fourth quarter of $9.3 million ($0.29 per share), down from $10.7 million ($0.42 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2002. (Read More)
'Court Decision Gives Servicers Backing to Force-Place Terror Coverage'
March 15, 2004Servicers who have had to "force-place" terrorism insurance in the post-9/11 world may find that they have legal precedent to do so in the future. (Read More)
S&P Anticipating 'Market Performance'
March 15, 2004Standard & Poor's is expecting a "market performance" year from real estate mutual funds in 2004, after the group turned in a 36.6% return for 2003. (Read More)
Portland Exporting Bldg. 'Look' to L.A.
March 15, 2004A new building look will soon appear in Los Angeles as two Portland developers take a highly successful plan for condominiums there. (Read More)
Roundup: American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. Closes Offering
March 15, 2004Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group has closed a $359.3 million follow-on offering for American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., a mortgage real estate investment trust. The transaction involved the offering of 14.375 million common shares priced at $25 per share. (Read More)
REIt reverse stock split approved
March 15, 2004American Spectrum Realty, a diversified real estate investment trust and management company, announced that its stockholders have approved a one-for-four reverse stock split of its outstanding shares. (Read More)
Landamerica to buy shares
March 15, 2004LandAmerica Financial Group, a provider of real estate transaction services, has started a program to purchase up to 1.25 million shares, or about 7% of its outstanding stock, the company announced. The company's board has allocated $50 million to this program. (Read More)
Zacks Reiterates Radian Rating
March 15, 2004Zacks.com, the online component of Zacks Investment Research Inc., Chicago, has reiterated its "#5 Strong Sell" rating of Radian Group Inc. here. (Read More)
Redwood Ups Regular Dividend
March 15, 2004Redwood Trust, a REIT that invests in real estate loans, announced that its board of directors declared a regular cash dividend of $0.67 per share for the first quarter of 2004. This is a 3% increase in Redwood's regular dividend rate. (Read More)
Fannie Prepayments Rose in Month
March 15, 2004Prepayment rates for Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities rose broadly in February, prompting the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary to caution that the increases may adversely affect MBS pricing for 5.5% and 6.0% coupons, where the speed-up was the greatest. (Read More)
Selected 30-Year Fixed-Rate Prepayments (Feb '04 Period)
March 15, 2004Cpn Year WAC Factor Feb 04 Jan 04 Fannie Mae 6.00 2003 6.50 .799 29.4 19.3 Fannie Mae 6.00 2002 6.51 .465 37.8 26.3 Fannie Mae 6.00 2001 6.58 .303 39.6 28.5 Fannie Mae 6.00 1999 6.64 .228 35.2 26.6 Fannie Mae 6.00 1998 6.64 .196 34.8 26.8 Fannie Mae 6.00 1993 6.67 .178 28.1 22.5 Source: Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Roundup: Chase Deal Sees Rating Change
March 15, 2004Class J of J.P. Morgan Commercial Mortgage Finance Corp.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-C8, ha been downgraded from CCC to CC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
CSFB Class Gets Lower Grade
March 15, 2004Class I of Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1997-C2, has been downgraded from CCC to CC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Fitch Downgrades Impac Classes
March 15, 2004Two classes of Impac SAC mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-2, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Salomon Deal Ratings Slip
March 15, 2004Three classes of Salomon Brothers Mortgage Securities VII Inc. CDC Securitization Corp.'s series 2001 CDC deal have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Industry Needs to Grapple with Issue of Outsourcing Jobs Overseas
March 15, 2004The issue of international outsourcing has been a politically charged one, but ultimately a business reality that the big economy-of-scale players in the industry will have a hard time ignoring if they want to compete on a global basis, some market participants have said. (Read More)
Europe's Industrial Realty Doing Well
March 15, 2004A relatively small number of European industrial property markets were under significant stress as of year-end 2003, "given the current status of the market cycle," according to a recent Moody's Investors Service report. (Read More)
Roundup: Canada Lowers Overnight Rate Target Citing Lower Inflation
March 15, 2004The Bank of Canada here has lowered the target for its overnight rate by 0.25%, citing the fact that, "As expected, core and total [consumer price index] inflation in January moved significantly below the 2[%] inflation target. (Read More)
INT'L Buyers Still Like GSE Debt'
March 15, 2004International investor interest in Fannie Mae's securities has persisted despite concerns about the relative value of the U.S. dollar, chairman and chief executive officer Franklin Raines told European investors at the U.S. government-sponsored enterprise's annual press briefing here. (Read More)
REMICS Complicating Tax Treaties?
March 15, 2004Mortgage and real estate-related tax vehicles are among the provisions in U.S. law that can complicate international tax treaty negotiations, Barbara M. Angus, international tax counsel for the Treasury Department, told a Senate committee recently. (Read More)
RBC Earnings Up Despite U.S. Woes
March 15, 2004Royal Bank of Canada's net income rose 3% to C$793 million (about $592 million) in its most recent quarter despite some concerns in certain of its business lines, among them a 52% decline in originations at its U.S.-based RBC Mortgage unit. (Read More)
DEPFA Mortgage Bonds On Review
March 15, 2004Moody's Investors Service has placed under review for possible downgrade the rating of DEPFA Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG's mortgage pfandbrief. (Read More)
European RE vs. N. American RE
March 15, 2004European stock exchanges' real estate sectors "outperformed their counterparts in North America" during February, according to a report by Research Worldwide (Pty) Ltd.'s website. (Read More)
Developers, GPs, Managers Cause Workout Problems for LIHTC Loans
March 15, 2004Issues with the developer or general partner and property management are among the primary causes of workouts in Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects, according to one big LIHTC investor. (Read More)
'Household Growth Underestimated'
March 15, 2004Has the housing sector enjoyed unprecedented success over the last few years at the expensive of future growth? (Read More)
Fannie Mae Foundation Eyes Those the Banks Don't Reach
March 15, 2004Growing interest in affordable housing and searching for ways to attract customers from the so-called underserved communities has intensified efforts by major banks to research why, either by choice or circumstance, some minorities and low- to moderate-income people do not use mainstream banking. (Read More)
AHFC Funds Air Force Base Housing
March 15, 2004The Alaska Housing Finance Corp. board of directors have approved a $100 million loan to Aurora Military Housing LLC to fund the development of 1,194 housing units located at the Elmendorf Air Force Base here. (Read More)
One 'Hard Equity' Home Lender Turns to Commercial Loans
March 15, 2004Fidelity Mortgage Lenders here started out as a pioneer in making "hard equity" home loans to borrowers regardless of their credit history. As the subprime lending industry became more competitive, however, the firm's leader decided to take his lending model to a new market. (Read More)
S&P Revises Criteria as Laws Surrounding Certain Types of Loans Shift
March 15, 2004Standard & Poor's here has revised its criteria for structured finance transactions that include New Mexico loans governed by the Home Loan Protection Act. It will no longer require issuers to identify which loans constitute home improvement loans and manufactured housing loans. (Read More)
C-Bass Completes $411 Million REMIC
March 15, 2004C-BASS LLC here has completed a real estate mortgage investment conduit deal backed by approximately $424 million of residential mortgages. (Read More)
One Class in HE Deal Downgraded
March 15, 2004Class B1 of GE Capital home equity loan pass-through certificates, series 1997-HE2, has been downgraded from CCC to C by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
B&C Originator Brings a Deal to Market
March 15, 2004Nonprime originator Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. here has closed a securitization of about $505 million in first-lien residential mortgages through its Accredited Home Lenders Inc. subsidiary. (Read More)
Key Unit Combines Home Equity, Prime
March 15, 2004KeyBank here has created Key Mortgage Services, a new unit that combines its home equity services and prime lending groups into a single standard back-office platform. (Read More)
SEC Clarifies Loan Commitment Accounting
March 15, 2004The Securities and Exchange Commission is telling mortgage originators they can no longer value interest rate lock commitments as assets on the day the borrower signs a mortgage application. (Read More)
People
March 15, 2004ALABAMA Birmingham-Clark L. Lloyd has joined Collateral as an assistant vice president. Mr. Lloyd's responsibilities will encompass all areas of commercial real estate loan production including loan origination, underwriting, structuring and closing. (Read More)
Mold Deters Reliance On Wood Construction
March 15, 2004Some lenders are requiring paperless building products be used on new construction loans due to mold concerns, according to Environmental Assurance Group here. (Read More)
Democrat Sparks Interest in Predatory Law
March 15, 2004Prospects for passing a predatory lending bill in the House brightened considerably last week when a Democratic leader announced his interest in creating a national lending standard that protects consumers from abusive lending practices. (Read More)
Publicly-Traded Subprime And Alt-a Related Firms
March 15, 2004B&C Stock Price Index: 276.7 Change: 2.1 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 3/11/2004 Aames (AMSF) 1.11 5.40 3.00 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 2.96 13.00 3.44 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 1.71 11.50 9.68 HSBC Holding (HBC) 50.70 82.90 75.59 IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 11.96 23.83 23.00 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 7.94 43.25 35.64 New Century (NCEN) 17.83 52.28 49.44 Novastar (NFI) 16.01 59.89 57.60 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 2.60 11.50 9.03 Provident Financial (PFGI) 20.90 41.74 39.75 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 11.00 30.75 27.90 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 0.22 2.25 1.06 (part 2 of 2) Company Weekly %Chg from P/E Ratio % Chg. 52-wk Lo Aames (AMSF) 6% 170% 4.80 American Business Fin. (ABFI) -2% 16% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 0% 466% 4.50 HSBC Holding (HBC) -3% 49% na IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 4% 92% 9.30 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 7% 349% 7.20 New Century (NCEN) 1% 177% 7.50 Novastar (NFI) 6% 260% 11.90 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) -10% 247% 129.00 Provident Financial (PFGI) -2% 90% 20.70 Saxon Capital (SAXN) -3% 154% 12.90 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) -1% 382% 2.7 NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
March 15, 2004MIEC Index: 200.8 Change: -3.6 (part 1 of 2) 3/4/2004 3/11/2004 Wkly % 52 wk/lo Chg Astoria Federal (AF) 39.07 37.41 -4% 23.23 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 92.70 92.24 0% 37.87 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 2.88 3.08 7% 2.07 Centex Corp. (CTX) 111.69 111.51 0% 48.60 Doral Financial (DRL) 33.16 33.93 2% 20.37 Delta Financial (DFC) 9.65 9.70 1% 1.71 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 38.40 36.75 -4% 27.23 Fannie Mae (FNM) 76.07 75.60 -1% 58.83 Fidelity National (FNF) 39.08 37.80 -3% 22.58 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 18.86 18.70 -1% 16.51 Freddie Mac (FRE) 61.75 60.78 -2% 46.48 Golden West (GDW) 112.96 113.80 1% 68.64 Kaufman & Broad 77.16 76.54 -1% 43.08 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 45.17 42.61 -6% 35.79 New Century (NCEN) 49.00 49.58 1% 17.83 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 34.60 35.10 1% 17.65 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 40.48 37.80 -7% 24.03 Radian Group (RDN) 44.50 42.41 -5% 30.02 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 12.39 12.13 -2% 8.83 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 54.82 52.35 -5% 32.48 Washington Mutual (WM) 44.40 43.28 -3% 32.40 (part 2 of 2) 52 wk/hi % Chg fr 52 P/E Ratio wk/lo(1) Astoria Federal (AF) 42.55 61% 15.02 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 97.30 144% 6.91 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 7.20 49% 9.05 Centex Corp. (CTX) 116.80 129% 9.66 Doral Financial (DRL) 35.20 67% 12.47 Delta Financial (DFC) 11.50 467% 4.47 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 40.77 35% 22.82 Fannie Mae (FNM) 80.82 29% 9.79 Fidelity National (FNF) 40.00 67% 6.71 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 20.70 13% 64.48 Freddie Mac (FRE) 65.15 31% na Golden West (GDW) 116.91 66% 15.93 Kaufman & Broad 79.99 78% 8.69 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 57.73 19% 4.13 New Century (NCEN) 52.28 178% 7.55 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 35.99 99% 11.66 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 41.72 57% 11.59 Radian Group (RDN) 53.34 41% 10.39 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 15.55 37% 11.66 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 56.85 61% 14.87 Washington Mutual (WM) 46.85 34% 10.50 Notes: (1) NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (Read More)
Correction
March 15, 2004The March 1 issue, in a story regarding Neighborhood Housing Services, stated that Carol Kostik was the newly elected CFO of NHS. Ms. Kostik was recently elected CFO of the New York City Housing Development Corp. We regret the error. (Read More)
IndyMac Hopes to Move up Rankings
March 15, 2004IndyMac Bancorp got its start as an offshoot of Countrywide Home Loans, but these days the company's CEO is starting to sound like an ambitious sibling to the home loan giant down the block. (Read More)
At a Glance: IndyMac's Growing Sales Force
March 15, 20042002 sales & marketing staff: 477 2003 sales & marketing staff: 848 Percent Change: 78% Source: IndyMac Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Freddie's Lobbyist Leaves Amid FEC Probe
March 15, 2004Freddie Mac's chief lobbyist, R. Mitch Delk, last week left the company after 13 years of service as the mortgage giant was ready to provide federal authorities with the results of its internal probe into his political fund-raising activities. (Read More)
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March 22, 2004
CBO Sees Bigger GSE Subsidy
March 22, 2004Federal subsidies going to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac jumped by more than 80% over the past three years to $19.9 billion in 2003, according to an update by the Congressional Budget Office. (Read More)
Originators Ranked By No. Of Loans Funded In '03
March 22, 2004($ in Mils) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Wells Fargo Hm Mtg San Francisco 2 Countrywide Fin'l Calabasas, CA 3 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 4 Chase Home Finance Edison, NJ 5 GMAC Res Holdings Horsham, PA 6 Bank of America Charlotte, NC 7 ABN Amro Mtg Ann Arbor, MI 8 National City Mtg Miamisburg, OH 9 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO 10 Cendant Mtg (1) Mt. Laurel, NJ (part 2 of 2) # Lns Ori # Lns Orig Pct Mkt Rk 2003 2002 Chg Sh 1 3,225,714 2,221,809 45% 12.93% 2 2,846,399 1,813,944 57% 11.41% 3 2,446,691 1,746,027 40% 9.81% 4 1,828,113 1,064,746 72% 7.33% 5 810,430 550,438 47% 3.25% 6 787,406 522,708 51% 3.16% 7 720,265 747,841 -4% 2.89% 8 655,287 492,451 33% 2.63% 9 612,062 291,747 110% 2.45% 10 467,624 313,001 49% 1.87% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose this data point. (1) Cendant is for sale. (Read More)
Frank Wants OCC Overrule
March 22, 2004The debate over the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's pre-emption rules got hotter last week as the discussion turned to congressional action that might overturn the OCC's rules. (Read More)
Study: Tech Spending to Rise
March 22, 2004The first technology study conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association predicted that lenders are going to ante up this year and invest heavily in technology. Results from the study were previewed at the MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo here. (Read More)
'Doc Imaging Is Essential'
March 22, 2004"Imaging is expensive but it's worth it" is the conclusion Flagstar Bank's Jeanie Lutterbei draws for lenders looking to streamline processes with imaging technology. "Without imaging you will not survive," she said. "In 10 years we will all be using imaging." (Read More)
Fannie Mae's Portfolio Shrinks Again
March 22, 2004A few weeks back, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan suggested that Congress curb Fannie Mae's portfolio growth - but it appears the mortgage giant is doing it all on its own. (Read More)
Fannie Mae Mortgage Purchases 2003-2004
March 22, 2004($ in Mils) (part 1 of 2) Year/ Mort. Port. Portfolio Multi- MBS Month Holdings Growth Rate Family(1) Purch May $815,560 -3.40% $954 $23,180 June $812,467 -3.60% $877 $21,655 July $836,104 40.40% $2,201 $48,266 August $863,170 46.80% $1,401 $54,295 Sept $917,123 100.50% $1,111 $73,504 Oct $912,658 -5.70% $1,256 $9,110 Nov $906,380 -7.90% $1,056 $2,888 Dec $898,438 -10.00% $1,526 $1,226 Total 03 na 13.10% $13,183 $348,413 Jan-04 $886,665 -14.60% $577 $268 Feb $882,108 -6.00% $337 $181 YTD na -10.40% $914 $449 %chg 02/03-02/04 8% na -44% -99% (part 2 of 2) Year/ Tot Port MBS MBS Acq Total Pur Month Purch(2) Issued(3) By Others Bus Vol(4) May $43,749 $108,436 $85,256 $129,005 June $41,183 $122,906 $101,251 $142,434 July $72,447 $119,965 $71,699 $144,146 August $82,656 $109,662 $55,367 $138,023 Sept $98,804 $120,297 $46,793 $145,597 Oct $27,609 $81,774 $72,664 $100,273 Nov $17,596 $60,497 $57,609 $75,205 Dec $13,775 $60,863 $59,637 $73,412 Total 03 $572,852 $1,198,617 $850,204 $1,423,056 Jan-04 $8,573 $44,794 $44,527 $53,100 Feb $12,170 $38,804 $38,624 $50,794 YTD $20,743 $83,598 $83,151 $103,894 %chg 02/03-02/04 -70% -58% -41% -52% Notes: (1) Multifamily volume listed above represents portfolio purchases only. (2) Includes mortgage securities purchased. (3) MBSs originated by lenders only. (4) Total purchases includes product purchased for portfolio and MBS acquired by others. (Read More)
MBA Is Latest to Hike Its Forecast
March 22, 2004The Mortgage Bankers Association last week hiked its 2004 production forecast by 25% to $2.5 trillion, predicting that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates until December, at the earliest. (Read More)
The Ever-changing Mortgage Production Forecast
March 22, 2004($ in Bils) Group Name '04 Prod Previous % Difference Forecast '04 Forecast in Forecasts Freddie Mac $2,600 na na Mortgage Bankers Assoc. $2,500 $2,000 25% Fannie Mae $2,430 $1,900 28% MID/Thomson Media $2,400 $2,000 20% Notes: MID stands for Mortgage Industry Directory, a Thomson Media book that offers rankings and analyzes the industry each year. (Read More)
Sysdome Offers New Fraud Check
March 22, 2004Sysdome Inc., a provider of fraud prevention and decision support tools, has released version 2.1 of SafeCheck, its proprietary fraud detection solution. (Read More)
Treasury Reviewing Fannie Statements, Derivatives
March 22, 2004Fannie Mae last year lost almost $1 billion on its derivatives positions and expects to lose another $1.5 billion this year, according to a just released 10-K statement it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)
What Goes Around
March 22, 2004The last time our meetings affiliate, Thomson Media Conferences, ran a show on the B&C mortgage market, it was in the spring of 1998 and the market was about to take a spectacular nosedive. (Read More)
'Housing Crisis a Mixed Blessing'
March 22, 2004Mr. Retsinas' commentary on the affordable housing crisis is presented as our Open Forum. He now heads the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. (Read More)
Could 2004's Interest Rates and Refinancing Rival 2003's?
March 22, 2004And they said rates couldn't go much lower and the level of refinancing in the market couldn't go much higher this year ... (Read More)
Real Estate Investment Grows Increasingly International
March 22, 2004They call it the "property market" over here on the other side of the pond. But by whatever name it's known, real estate is all about money. (Read More)
At a Glance: American REITs Offer Big Market for Foreign Investors
March 22, 2004REIT Industry Market Cap: $215 billion Avg Return 14.18% 2003 Return 37.13% Source: NAREIT Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Banks Hold Underwriting Standards Steady
March 22, 2004Bankers expect to increase their exposure to commercial real estate collateral in 2004, according to a survey of 75 financial institutions by Bridger Commercial Funding, which suggests that the market is now past the worst and is recovering. (Read More)
Migration Fuels Real Estate Sales
March 22, 2004So much is made of the immigrant market for housing in the United States that the full breadth and depth of the international real estate market is often forgotten. (Read More)
At a Glance
March 22, 2004Foreign Investment In U.S. Real Estate in '99: $863 million U.S. Purchases of Foreign Real Estate in '99: $652 million Source: NAR Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Countrywide Announces Stock Split
March 22, 2004Countrywide Financial Corp. here has declared its second stock split in less than six months. (Read More)
NASD Actions Cite Refi-Related Advice
March 22, 2004Two securities brokers have been suspended and a third has been named in a complaint because they made what were considered unsuitable investment recommendations to customers, urging them to use proceeds obtained from cash-out home mortgage refinancing to buy investments, the National Association of Securities Dealers reported. "A recommendation by a securities firm or a broker that an investor mortgage his home to buy securities raises all kinds of regulatory red flags," said Mary L. Schapiro, NASD vice chairman. "NASD will always ask whether it is appropriate to recommend that you risk your home to seek investment returns." (Read More)
Corrections
March 22, 2004* In the March 15 issue of National Mortgage News, the name of Charles Hershson, founder and president of Fidelity Mortgage Lenders, was misspelled. (Read More)
Fannie Mae Targets Working Professionals in Third Stage of AH Effort
March 22, 2004Fannie Mae has partnered with the National Association of Home Builders to start off the third phase of the expanded American Dream Commitment initiative, which places "a particular emphasis" on the growing affordable housing needs of working professionals. (Read More)
Strong Team and Diverse Products Are Seen as Homefield's Advantages
March 22, 2004Homefield Financial here has seen an average 80% annual growth rate since its inception in 1999, bringing its loan volume up to $2 billion at year-end 2003. Loans to borrowers with low incomes or moderate incomes represent less than 10% of that amount, but company executives have found that the amount of affordable housing business they do has been growing. (Read More)
New Document Viewer an 'Industry First'
March 22, 2004VMP Mortgage Solutions, a Bankers Systems Inc. company, has released VMP SMART Document Viewer Version 2.5. (Read More)
Expanding Beyond the Top 10 To Include the Smaller Lender
March 22, 2004Framework Inc. is currently developing a new product to cater to the smaller lender, the company said in discussions with National Mortgage News during the annual MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo here last week. (Read More)
Alliance Aims to Ease Doc Customization
March 22, 2004Guardian Mortgage Documents here and MortgageFlex Systems Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., have formed a strategic alliance in order to enable MortgageFlex customers to more easily customize upfront disclosure documents and all documents related to the closing package. (Read More)
'Miles Report' Suggestions Include Tax and Regulatory Changes in U.K.
March 22, 2004Changes to the tax or regulatory treatment of certain mortgage-related products in the United Kingdom are among the recommendations of a long-awaited report released March 12 by the U.K. Treasury here. (Read More)
E&Y: REIT Legislation Growing Outside U.S.
March 22, 2004Real estate investment trust legislation, often modeled after the U.S. law, continues to spread across the globe, according to a recent Ernst & Young report that was released at the MIPIM conference here. (Read More)
Title Services: Blazing New Trails
March 22, 2004In the past few years, the leading title insurance players have been expanding the ways in which they help clear the path for lenders. These companies have been buying providers of other services, including (but not limited to) appraisal, flood, servicing technology and others that don't readily come to mind. (Read More)
Inside
March 22, 2004Stewart Acquires RealtyAssist 18 The title company is looking to expand its online title and closing file capabilities. (Read More)
Stewart Acquires RealtyAssist to Get Into Paperless Doc Management
March 22, 2004Stewart Realty Solutions, a newly created wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Service Corp., Houston, has acquired RealtyAssist, San Diego, to extend its reach beyond the title arena. (Read More)
1st America Sees Success with RE/MAX
March 22, 2004Six months after the First American Corp. here entered into "a landmark title services partnership" with RE/MAX International Inc., becoming the exclusive supplier of title services to the RE/MAX network of broker-owners, First American said the cooperation has proven to be a success formula. (Read More)
Financial Provides Multilingual Assistance to Lenders
March 22, 2004Financial Title Co., a title and escrow provider based in Folsom, CA, is seeing a growing trend toward multilingual services and the importance of educating real estate agents on the complex sections of the real estate transaction process. (Read More)
Happy First for Lenders First Choice
March 22, 2004Lenders First Choice, a title and settlement services company here, recently celebrated its first anniversary of operations. Its president, Bill Moody, met with National Mortgage News in New York to discuss the growth the company has seen in its brief period in business. (Read More)
Franklin American Wants to Be a Buyer
March 22, 2004Franklin American Mortgage here, which recently was rumored to be for sale, says it wants to be a buyer of other franchises. (Read More)
Bank Shuttered by OCC Reopens
March 22, 2004Guaranty National Bank, which was recently closed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, has reopened the doors to its five offices as Hancock Bank of Florida, a newly chartered bank. (Read More)
Publicly-Traded Subprime And Alt-a Related Firms
March 22, 2004B&C Stock Price Index: 281.8 Change: 5.1 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 3/18/2004 Aames (AMSF) 1.11 5.40 3.10 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 2.96 12.10 3.35 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 1.98 11.50 8.57 HSBC Holding (HBC) 50.70 82.90 75.61 IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 12.41 23.95 24.20 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 8.06 43.25 35.94 New Century (NCEN) 18.89 52.28 48.73 Novastar (NFI) 16.75 61.13 62.03 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 2.92 11.50 9.01 Provident Financial (PFGI) 20.90 41.74 40.74 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 12.13 30.75 28.98 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 0.22 2.25 1.20 (part 2 of 2) Company Weekly %Chg from P/E Ratio % Chg. 52-wk Lo Aames (AMSF) 3% 179% 5.00 American Business Fin. (ABFI) -3% 13% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) -11% 333% 3.90 HSBC Holding (HBC) 0% 49% na IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 5% 95% 9.80 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 1% 346% 7.20 New Century (NCEN) -1% 158% 7.40 Novastar (NFI) 8% 270% 12.60 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 0% 209% 128.70 Provident Financial (PFGI) 2% 95% 21.20 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 4% 139% 13.40 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 13% 445% 3.10 NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (1)IMPAC is mostly an Alt-A lender and servicer. (2)Ocwen is a subprime servicer and subservicer. (Read More)
United Financial's Revenue Falls
March 22, 2004United Financial Mortgage Corp. saw its revenue for the third quarter, ending Jan. 31, decrease $3.2 million from the same period a year ago, according to data recently released by the company. The rising interest rate environment, combined with the fact that the third quarter has traditionally been its slowest period, resulted in mortgage origination volume decreasing significantly, said Steve Khoshabe, president and chief executive officer of UFM. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
March 22, 2004MIEC Index: 190.1 Change: -10.7 (part 1 of 2) 3/11/2004 3/18/2004 Wkly 52 wk/lo % Chg Astoria Federal (AF) 37.41 37.14 -1% 23.23 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 92.24 93.16 1% 41.49 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 3.08 3.14 2% 2.22 Centex Corp. (CTX) 111.51 55.15 -51% 26.30 Doral Financial (DRL) 33.93 33.71 -1% 22.01 Delta Financial (DFC) 9.70 8.58 -12% 1.98 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 36.75 36.85 0% 28.64 Fannie Mae (FNM) 75.60 75.25 0% 60.11 Fidelity National (FNF) 37.80 38.62 2% 23.93 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 18.70 18.40 -2% 16.51 Freddie Mac (FRE) 60.78 59.92 -1% 46.48 Golden West (GDW) 113.80 114.29 0% 70.45 Kaufman & Broad 76.54 78.50 3% 44.29 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 42.61 43.18 1% 37.72 New Century (NCEN) 49.58 48.80 -2% 18.89 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 35.10 35.39 1% 18.39 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 37.80 36.60 -3% 25.13 Radian Group (RDN) 42.41 42.40 0% 33.04 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 12.13 12.32 2% 9.05 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 52.35 51.15 -2% 34.10 Washington Mutual (WM) 43.28 43.90 1% 34.15 (part 2 of 2) 52 wk/hi % Chg fr 52 P/E Ratio wk/lo(1) Astoria Federal (AF) 42.55 60% 14.91 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) 97.30 125% 6.98 E-Loan Inc (EELN) 7.20 41% 9.23 Centex Corp. (CTX) 58.40 110% 9.55 Doral Financial (DRL) 35.20 53% 12.39 Delta Financial (DFC) 11.50 333% 3.95 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 40.77 29% 22.88 Fannie Mae (FNM) 80.82 25% 9.74 Fidelity National (FNF) 40.00 61% 6.86 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 20.70 11% 63.44 Freddie Mac (FRE) 65.15 29% na Golden West (GDW) 116.91 62% 16.00 Kaufman & Broad 79.99 77% 8.44 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 57.73 14% 4.18 New Century (NCEN) 52.28 158% 7.43 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 35.99 92% 11.75 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 41.72 46% 11.22 Radian Group (RDN) 53.34 28% 10.39 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 15.55 36% 11.84 Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 56.85 50% 14.53 Washington Mutual (WM) 46.85 29% 10.65 Notes: (1) NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (Read More)
OMB to Extend Review of RESPA
March 22, 2004The Bush administration punted last week and decided to extend the regulatory review period on HUD's Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule for 30 days. The anti-climatic announcement capped a week of speculation in which some observers believed the Department of Housing and Urban Development would finally release a final RESPA rule. However, HUD and the Office of Management and Budget decided they needed more time. (Read More)
Ex-Official Says HUD Falls Short on GSE Targets
March 22, 2004The Department of Housing and Urban Development is not living up to its responsibilities in setting the affordable housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a former HUD official who served during the Clinton administration. (Read More)
Council Advises Freddie on Housing Goals
March 22, 2004Freddie Mac has formed an advisory council to give it input on how best to meet its goals in the multifamily "targeted" affordable housing area. (Read More)
Moody's Lowers Ocwen's Rating
March 22, 2004Moody's Investors Service has lowered Ocwen Federal Bank's ratings as a primary servicer of subprime mortgage loans and as a special servicer to "SQ2," which means above average, from "SQ1," which means strong. (Read More)
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March 29, 2004
HUD's RESPA Reform Is Back at Square One
March 29, 2004RESPA reform is dead - plain and simple. And the losers are likely to be the nation's mega-lenders who were hoping to offer one price packaging to consumers by squeezing vendors that provide settlement services. (Read More)
RESPA 'WAR' Outcome
March 29, 2004Winners Losers NAMB, MBA CMC Title insurers Mega lenders Appraisers FS Roundtable Realtors Bush White House Lobbyists* HUD Officials Lawyers* Consumers? (Read More)
Korsmo Successor Mid-April?
March 29, 2004The White House likely will name a successor to departing Federal Housing Finance Board chairman John Korsmo before the agency's next board meeting on April 14, industry officials said last week. (Read More)
Wells, WaMu, CFC All Funded $400B-Plus in '03
March 29, 2004Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, ranked first among all residential lenders last year, according to exclusive survey data compiled by National Mortgage News. (Read More)
Top Residential Originators In 2003
March 29, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Wells Fargo Home Mtg San Francisco 2 Washington Mutual, Seattle, WA 3 Countrywide Fin'l Corp. Calabasas,CA 4 Chase Home Finance, Edison, NJ 5 Bank of America, Charlotte, NC 6 ABN Amro Mtg, Ann Arbor, MI 7 GMAC Res Holdings Horsham, PA 8 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO 9 National City Mtg Miamisburg, OH 10 Cendant Mortgage (1), Mt. Laurel, NJ (part 2 of 2) Origination Vol. % Mkt Rk 2003 2002 Chg Sh 1 $470,119 $333,389 41% 12.01% 2 $435,391 $311,959 40% 11.12% 3 $434,864 $251,901 73% 11.11% 4 $284,257 $155,675 83% 7.26% 5 $130,937 $88,050 49% 3.34% 6 $124,048 $117,801 5% 3.17% 7 $114,455 $71,617 60% 2.92% 8 $108,433 $52,517 106% 2.77% 9 $105,561 $79,478 33% 2.70% 10 $83,701 $59,280 41% 2.14% Source: NMN/Quarterly Data Report. (Read More)
Cendant, CFC End Talks
March 29, 2004Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has taken a pass on purchasing Cendant Mortgage Corp., the nation's tenth largest servicer of residential loans, National Mortgage News has learned. (Read More)
'Receivership' Power for GSE Regulator Sparks Concern about Housing
March 29, 2004Senate Banking Committee chairman John Shelby's effort to extend receivership powers to the new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has run into stiff opposition. (Read More)
FHA Eyes Zero Down For Co-ops, Condos
March 29, 2004Federal housing commissioner John Weicher said last week that his agency is willing to consider a zero downpayment mortgage for homebuyers that want to buy condominiums and cooperatives. (Read More)
Timing of Rate Dip Viewed as Bad for Servicers' First Quarter Earnings
March 29, 2004With 30-year mortgage rates dipping to their lowest level since last July, the mortgage industry is likely to have another blockbuster year. (Read More)
An Inexact Science
March 29, 2004One of the most notable things to come out of the Mortgage Bankers Association's recent technology conference in Phoenix didn't have much to do with technology at all. (Read More)
GSEs Need Stronger Regulation
March 29, 2004Secretary Snow recently addressed America's Community Bankers' Government Affairs Conference in Washington. Excerpts of his remarks are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Rates Driving Housing Rebound But How Long & to What Extent?
March 29, 2004A rebound in housing sales figures reported by the National Association of Realtors last week appeared to be evidence that the recent dip in mortgage rates has revived the origination side of the business somewhat. But questions remained at press time as to how long the revival would last and how strong it would be. (Read More)
Washington Savings In Agreement with OTS
March 29, 2004Washington Savings Bank here has agreed to enter into a supervisory agreement with the Office of Thrift and Supervision. (Read More)
Fannie Mae Supports E-Mortgage Approach, But Will Others Follow?
March 29, 2004As part of a panel discussion on the future of the electronic mortgage held at this year's Mortgage Bankers Association Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo here, Fannie Mae showed its support for the initiative but cautioned that industrywide approval may be a long way off. (Read More)
'Compliance, Adoption Key 2004 Goals for MISMO'
March 29, 2004Defining compliance and getting industry acceptance is the game plan for the Mortgage Bankers Association's Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization this year. (Read More)
BillMatrix Offers ATM Mortgage Pay
March 29, 2004BillMatrix Corp., a provider of outsourced telephone and Internet-based recurring payment services, has created what it believes is the mortgage industry's first program to allow consumers to pay their monthly mortgage bill over the phone using an ATM card. (Read More)
New CSFB Index Will Track Investment-Grade Commercial MBS Issues
March 29, 2004Credit Suisse First Boston has launched a CMBS index that will cover the issuance of investment-grade commercial mortgage-backed securities. (Read More)
SIOR: Get Ready For More Vacancy
March 29, 2004Vacancies in the office market are likely to go up further before there is a recovery, according to a forecast from the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. (Read More)
NAR Forecasts Increased Demand for Commercial Real Estate Space
March 29, 2004Demand for commercial real estate space is going to grow this year as economic recovery leads employers to take on more workers, according to the National Association of Realtors David Lereah, the NAR's chief economist, said, "With a continuation of low interest rates and high productivity, the economy is experiencing a recovery. Since employers have gotten about as much as they can from higher productivity, they'll have to start hiring more workers which will boost the demand for space." (Read More)
Community Central Bank Corp. Breaks Ground on New $4 Mil Office Facility
March 29, 2004Community Central Bank Corp., the holding company for Community Central Bank and Community Central Mortgage LLC, broke ground recently for a new $4 million office here. (Read More)
Roundup: CMBS and MH Downgrades
March 29, 2004Four classes of J.P. Morgan Commercial Mortgage Finance Corp.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-C8, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
Three CSFB CMBS classes Slip
March 29, 2004Three classes of Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2002-TFL1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings here. (Read More)
Fitch Lowers Some Merit Ratings
March 29, 2004Three classes of Merit Securities Corp. manufactured housing contract series 12-1 have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Student Housing Grade Lowered
March 29, 2004The rating on $14.5 million of Will County (Ill.) student housing revenue bonds (Joliet Junior College Project) has been lowered from CC to B-minus by Fitch Ratings and removed from Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)
'No Bubble Risk in Office Market'
March 29, 2004There is no risk of a bubble in the office market, according to a report from some real estate services companies. Even though office prices continued to go up through 2003, while vacancy rates in the sector continued to rise, the companies believe that continued investment in the sector "appears rational and justified." (Read More)
Boykin 10-K Delayed Due to Accounting
March 29, 2004Boykin Lodging Co. has notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that it will not file its 10-K financial statement for the year ended Dec. 31, 2003, by March 15. (Read More)
'Some Pfandbriefe May See Upgrades'
March 29, 2004Moody's Investors Service's office here put the ratings of some pfandbriefe on review for possible upgrade after the upper chamber of Germany's legislature approved changes to the Mortgage Bank Act. (Read More)
Has Pfandbrief Pricing Improved?
March 29, 2004The recent approval of changes to Germany's Mortgage Bank Act combined with a federal net present value directive published by German officials in December, have improved pricing for pfandbriefe, an executive from the Berlin-based German Association of Mortgage Banks said last week. (Read More)
ACORN: African Americans More Likely to End Up with High-Cost Loans
March 29, 2004A recent study on predatory lending found that although low-income and minority households at large are targeted by subprime lenders, African Americans appear to be more likely than others to end up with high-cost loans. (Read More)
PMI Touts Global Housing Efforts
March 29, 2004The role that The PMI Group, Walnut Creek, Calif., plays in many countries around the world is to bring safety and profitability to the housing finance system, a company executive told the Northeast Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations here. (Read More)
Fannie Mae and the NAIHC Address Mich. Native American Housing Needs
March 29, 2004Fannie Mae, the National American Indian Housing Council and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago partnered to address the unique housing needs for Native Americans of Michigan through "Train-the-Trainer," a two-day homeownership counseling conference here about affordable mortgage financing options for these largely underserved communities. (Read More)
'LP's 1st Decade Example of Standardization'
March 29, 2004This year is the 10th anniversary of the introduction of Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector automated underwriting engine. (Read More)
'04 Being Viewed as Good But Not Easy
March 29, 2004This year will be a good year for the mortgage banking industry, but quoting Fannie Mae chairman Franklin Raines, a company executive told attendees at the Northeast Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations here that it is not all easy. (Read More)
Late Pays Fall, But HE No Longer Outshines Other Loans
March 29, 2004The performance of home equity loans improved in the fourth quarter of last year, but home equity is no longer head of the class among the consumer credit categories. (Read More)
At a Glance: Home Equity Delinquencies Rates
March 29, 2004Quarter HEL HELOC '03 4th 2.50% 0.43% '03 3rd 2.52% 0.52% '03 2nd 2.48% 0.63% '03 1st 2.02% 0.61% Source: ABA Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Freddie: Fraud Being Detected Earlier
March 29, 2004Once upon a time, in a world all-too-common, the mortgage business didn't give a hoot about loans received under fraudulent circumstances as long as they were performing as expected. (Read More)
StoneHill Group Sees Growing Market For Quality Assurance Outsourcing
March 29, 2004The StoneHill Group here, a provider of mortgage consulting and contract services for the mortgage industry, believes that the need for quality control outsourcing continues to grow. (Read More)
Barker Report Calls for REIT Creation
March 29, 2004Furthering efforts to structure a United Kingdom version of the U.S. real estate investment trust tax vehicle is among the ways that the U.K. could improve investment in housing, according to a recent report released by the U.K. Treasury. (Read More)
Impac Mortgage Raises Earnings Estimate
March 29, 2004Impac Mortgage Holdings, which recently raised its earnings guidance for the first quarter, has seen its stock price continue to rise in the wake of the news. (Read More)
FHLB of Seattle's MPP Grew 23% in 2003
March 29, 2004The Seattle FHLBank generated $143.8 million in net income during 2003, the company said in its annual report. (Read More)
State, Local Credit Issues Seen in J.P. Chase/Bank One
March 29, 2004The 30-day public comment period held to address concerns about the proposed $58 billion bank merger of J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One has closed - something many state and local consumer groups and elected officials are not happy about due to concerns that the deal's implications for community access to credit have not been fully heard. (Read More)
NYSBD Alert: Mortgage-Related Offers In FRCU Ads May Be ID Theft Front
March 29, 2004A consumer alert has been issued by the New York State Banking Department indicating that a mortgage-related company calling itself First Rate Credit Union is believed to be a front for an identity theft scam. The alert is similar to one issued last fall by the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services. (Read More)
What the Fed Considers in a Merger
March 29, 2004According to Federal Reserve regulations, some of the factors the board must consider when it deals with a proposed merger are: * The effect of the transaction. Is the bank attempting to monopolize the business and lessen the competition in any part of the U.S.? If so, the board must determine if the anti-competitive effects are outweighed by its probable effect in meeting the convenience and needs of the community. (Read More)
People
March 29, 2004CALIFORNIA Lake Forest-Provantedge Technologies has named Ronald L. Askew as chief executive officer. Mr. Askew comes to Provantedge with a background in commercial and mortgage banking, along with investment banking. (Read More)
Predatory Panel Turns Ugly
March 29, 2004A panel on predatory lending quickly turned acrimonious last week at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers' annual legislative and regulatory conference here, as industry and consumers interests squared off against one another in what became a shouting match. (Read More)
ID Poised to Revise Mortgage Rules
March 29, 2004After passing both the state House and Senate, an Idaho bill that tightens licensing requirements for some lenders but also exempts more firms from licensing is on its way to the governor's desk. (Read More)
RESPA Lost Congressional Support
March 29, 2004The Bush administration finally gave the thumbs down on HUD's Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule when it became clear there was no congressional support for the rule. (Read More)
MBA: RESPA End May Lead to Dialog
March 29, 2004The withdrawal by the Department of Housing and Urban Development of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule is an opportunity for the Mortgage Bankers Association to build bonds with the mortgage broker community, said MBA chairman Rob Couch. (Read More)
Publicly-Traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
March 29, 2004B&C Stock Price Index: 27.59 Change: -5.9 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 3/25/2004 Aames (AMSF) 1.11 5.40 2.98 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 2.96 12.10 3.40 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 2.07 11.50 8.09 HSBC Holding (HBC) 50.70 82.90 74.75 IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 12.46 24.92 25.32 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 8.29 43.25 35.40 New Century (NCEN) 19.94 52.28 45.11 Novastar (NFI) 17.00 70.32 62.25 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 2.92 11.50 8.84 Provident Financial (PFGI) 20.90 41.74 39.79 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 12.29 30.75 27.18 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 0.22 2.25 1.11 (part 2 of 2) Company Weekly %Chg from P/E Ratio % Chg. 52-wk Lo Aames (AMSF) -4% 168% 4.80 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 1% 15% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) -6% 291% 3.70 HSBC Holding (HBC) -1% 47% na IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 5% 103% 10.00 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) -2% 327% 7.10 New Century (NCEN) -7% 126% 6.90 Novastar (NFI) 0% 266% 12.70 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) -2% 203% 126.30 Provident Financial (PFGI) -2% 90% 20.70 Saxon Capital (SAXN) -6% 121% 12.60 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) -7% 405% 3.00 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (Read More)
NYC Council Drops Lending Law Effort
March 29, 2004New York City Council has chosen not to appeal a Manhattan Supreme Court ruling that strikes down the City Council's anti-predatory lending law. (Read More)
Corrections
March 29, 2004* In an article appearing in the March 8 issue, NMN reported that Franklin American Mortgage of Tennessee was said to be considering a sale. The company could not be reached for comment at press time. A week after the story appeared, FAM chairman and president Dan Crockett called to say that the company is not currently for sale and that it hopes to be a buyer of other companies. (Read More)
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April 5, 2004
Fannie, Too Might Have to Restate Earnings
April 5, 2004Last week, a few hours before a Senate panel was set to debate historic legislation to strengthen regulation of all housing GSEs, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight laid a bombshell on Fannie Mae, saying publicly that the company "may" have to restate prior years' earnings. (Read More)
CFC Has Plans To Double Net
April 5, 2004Countrywide Financial Corp. executives filled in more details about their ambitious five-year growth plan last week, telling investors that the company can more than double its earnings. (Read More)
Shelby's GSE Bill Advances
April 5, 2004The Senate Banking Committee late last week approved a GSE bill by a 12-9 vote that would allow a new regulator to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into receivership unless Congress passed a resolution that disapproves of the action. (Read More)
A Tale of Two GSE Bills
April 5, 2004Original Shelby Bill * GSE regulator has full receivership powers. (Read More)
Did Ameriquest Earn $1B Last Year?
April 5, 2004Not only was the privately held Ameriquest Mortgage the No. 1 subprime funder last year, but it may have earned close to $1 billion, pretax, industry sources told NMN. (Read More)
Top Subprime Servicers At 12/31/03
April 5, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Household Fin'l (E)(1) Prospect Hts, IL 2 CitiFinancial Baltimore, MD 3 Homecomings Bloomington, MN 4 Option One Mtg Corp. Irvine, CA 5 Fairbanks Capital(2) Salt Lake City, UT 6 Countrywide Fin'l Corp. Calabasas, CA 7 Ocwen Fin'l Corp. W Palm Beach, FL 8 Homeq Servicing Corp. N Highlands, CA 9 Chase Home Finance Woodcliff Lake, NJ 10 Ameriquest Mtg Corp.(E) Orange, CA (part 2 of 2) Tot Serv Vol Tot Serv Vol Percent Market Rk 12/31/2003 12/31/2002 Change Share 1 $55,815 $45,818 22% 8.36% 2 $50,400 $47,626 6% 7.55% 3 $44,227 $27,722 60% 6.63% 4 $41,365 $28,071 47% 6.20% 5 $40,957 $49,313 -17% 6.14% 6 $39,361 $25,180 56% 5.90% 7 $37,507 $30,414 23% 5.62% 8 $28,953 $16,749 73% 4.34% 9 $27,985 $16,167 73% 4.19% 10 $19,294 $16,000 21% 2.89% Notes: Includes sub-servicing contracts. Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose subprime receivables. Market share is based on estimated subprime receivables of $667.3 billion at 12/31/03. (E) Estimate. (1) Household was sold to HSBC in 2003. (2) Fairbanks is owned, in part, by PMI. (Read More)
Volume Drops In New Jersey
April 5, 2004Mortgage lending to borrowers who cannot qualify for prime loans has plummeted in New Jersey since the state's Home Ownership Security Act went into effect last November, according to a new study by Richard DeMong, a finance professor at the University of Virginia. (Read More)
California LOS Firm in Trouble?
April 5, 2004Mortgage software provider Provantedge Technologies held conference calls this past week with its lender clients in an emergency plea for capital, sources told NMN. (Read More)
Pols Express Concerns For National B&C Bill
April 5, 2004Lawmakers last week expressed their hope of someday passing legislation to establish national fair-lending standards for subprime funders, but getting a bill passed that everyone likes could be difficult. (Read More)
Jackson Wins Vote To Be HUD Secretary
April 5, 2004The Senate Banking Committee has unanimously approved the nomination of Alphonso Jackson to be the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (Read More)
Fed to Study J.P. Morgan, Bank One Merger
April 5, 2004The Federal Reserve Board has decided to hold public meetings in New York and Chicago in April on the proposed $58 billion merger of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank One Corp., in response to objections from consumer groups and state officials who say that the deal does not fully explore community access to credit and mortgage loans. (Read More)
Halfway There
April 5, 2004The recent scuttling of proposed Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act reform by the Department of Housing and Urban Development was a welcome win for those (like us) who think that de-consolidation of the mortgage industry is a healthy thing. (Read More)
'Zero Down' Helps First Timers
April 5, 2004Mr. Weicher recently testified before the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. Excerpts of his remarks are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Jobs, GSE Situation Will Drive Rates This Week, But Which Way?
April 5, 2004Given the weight the market last week was giving to political discussion of proposed government-sponsored enterprise regulation and employment statistics that were pending at press time, I think it's best not to consider what happened last week as necessarily indicative of what mortgage rates do going forward. (Read More)
One-Stop Shopping Increasingly Important in Commercial RE Financing
April 5, 2004As interest rates have moved lower and lower in the last few years, lenders have increasingly moved toward providing one-stop shopping for commercial real estate financing, in a bid to attract and retain borrowers, with the trend even spilling over into the smaller loan sector. (Read More)
Coventry Raises Funds for Retail Acquisitions
April 5, 2004Coventry Real Estate Advisors has raised $330 million in equity capital from institutional investors for its Coventry Real Estate Fund II. (Read More)
CRE Still Getting Plenty of Capital
April 5, 2004Capital continues to flow into the commercial real estate sector, according to a first-quarter 2004 survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. (Read More)
Freddie Faces Scrutiny of Multifamily Swap Transaction
April 5, 2004Freddie Mac's purchase of $6 billion in multifamily loans from Washington Mutual has come under government scrutiny and GSE critics are trying to get Congress to investigate the transaction, which Freddie employed to boost its affordable housing performance. (Read More)
At a Glance: Countrywide Today... - ...And in 2008?
April 5, 20042003 Origination Market Share: 11.6% 2008 Origination Share Goal: 30% Earnings 2003: $3.8 billion Earnings Goal for 2008: $7.5 billion Source: Countrywide Financial Corporation Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Refi Boom for Reverse Mortgages?
April 5, 2004Reverse mortgage lenders are expecting a refinancing boom now that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has finally issued a rule that reduces the costs of refinancing a federally insured reverse mortgage. (Read More)
Cendant to Segment Out Mortgage Results
April 5, 2004Cendant Mortgage here, beginning in the first quarter, will start disclosing its earnings, a first for the unit. The decision by the parent company, Cendant Corp., to separate out the results of Cendant Mortgage and its settlement services division, comes a few weeks after Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., took a pass on buying CM. (Read More)
Document Services: A Tad Here, A Tad There
April 5, 2004Key players in document services are continually adding more spices to the recipe as users are demanding more integrations to make the flow of documents more seamless and efficient. Automation is another trend with the advent and acceptance of both the Internet and XML technology. (Read More)
Inside
April 5, 2004Leading the Pack 16 Guardian's new TMS solution combines doc prep with other features. (Read More)
Guardian Mortgage Takes Doc Prep To The Next Level
April 5, 2004Guardian Mortgage Documents, Lakewood, Colo., has just released a new product dubbed GMD's Transaction Management System, which includes the basic document preparation functions with workflow capabilities and other features designed to make it more functional. "TMS is a Web-based product that has document preparation capabilities at its core, but also includes automated workflow that enables all participants in the mortgage chain to have real time access to participating and/or viewing the status of any activity that needs to take place to close the loan," said Tim Anschutz, vice president, marketing at GMD. (Read More)
DesertDocs Invests to Let Lenders Do Things Quickly
April 5, 2004When Tempe, Ariz.-based Desert Document Services announced having completing a massive XHTML forms conversion of 35,000 documents in October 2003, the news was that the conversion enabled sending data and formatted documents together electronically. The underlying story is that the DesertDocs change control system allows the company to manage and verify a billion forms changes each year. (Read More)
Integration Made Quick and Easy
April 5, 2004With the advent of XML technology and Web services, the days of an integration taking months to complete are long gone. Recently Entyre completed an integration with Dexma literally in a matter of a few days. (Read More)
eLynx's uSign and PRO Make E-Mortgage Plausible
April 5, 2004When eLynx held its March user conference in Phoenix, the star of the show was the eLynx uSign tool powered by Silanis. The installation used to demonstrate uSign was for Brown Deer, Wis.-based Guaranty Bank. (Read More)
CNL to Go with Fiserv's easyLENDER for Ease of Use
April 5, 2004CNL Mortgage, Orlando, Fla., has signed up to use Fiserv's loan origination easyLENDER product to help it grow from a $100-million shop to a $1-billion shop in the near future. (Read More)
DocsDirect and Brooks Systems Financial Link Up
April 5, 2004McKinney, Texas-based DocsDirect, a full-service document solutions provider that developed a Web-based mortgage closing document solution here, has integrated with New London, Conn.-headquartered Brooks Systems Financial Technologies' math engine for determining and producing amortization and payment schedules, as well as mortgage payments for all its document packages. (Read More)
Data-Vision Doubles Active Client Base
April 5, 2004Data-Vision Inc., a provider of electronic document delivery services, reported triple-digit growth results for 2003 that included a doubling of its active client base over 2002. (Read More)
Promotion Spotlight: Gunnar Bergstrom
April 5, 2004Ellie Mae Inc., a provider of desktop and Web-enabled mortgage industry productivity technology based in Dublin, Calif., has appointed Gunnar Bergstrom, a prior president of Electronic Mortgage Services at BCE Emergis Inc., vice president, business development for lender services. In his new role at Ellie Mae, Mr. Bergstrom will manage strategic lender relationships. He brings 17 years of knowledge and experience in mortgage e-commerce and technology to his new postion. (Read More)
Refunds to New Jersey Borrowers
April 5, 2004More than 700 New Jersey consumers will be refunded an average of $1,716 each as a result of a Department of Banking and Insurance examination into the business practices of American General Financial Services Inc. (Read More)
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April 12, 2004
No Mandate for GSE Reform
April 12, 2004Shortly after the Senate Banking Committee approved a GSE regulator bill by a narrow margin, it seems almost everybody turned theirs back on the bill. (Read More)
Tougher AH Goals Set For Two GSEs
April 12, 2004The Department of Housing and Urban Development is proposing tougher affordable housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that will force them to increase their purchases of loans that finance low-income and minority homebuyers. (Read More)
Countrywide In Commercial
April 12, 2004Countrywide Financial is entering the commercial mortgage market in an effort that will leverage its existing residential mortgage-backed securities platform. (Read More)
Illinois: State Law Prevails
April 12, 2004The Illinois Appellate Court for the First Judicial District here has ruled that state law pre-empts two federal laws that ban mortgage lenders from writing high-fee, high-interest and subprime loans. (Read More)
RESPA Charge for Lender
April 12, 2004HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. is the subject of a government inquiry into possible Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act violations involving its alliances with nearly 100 real estate brokers and homebuilders. (Read More)
Top Correspondent Lenders in 2003
April 12, 2004(Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Countrywide Fin'l Calabasas, CA 2 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 3 Chase Home Finance Edison, NJ 4 Wells Fargo Hm Mtg San Francisco 5 GMAC Res Hldngs Horsham, PA 6 Homecomings Bloomington, MN 7 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO 8 Principal Res Mtg Des Moines, IA 9 Ohio Savings Bank Cleveland, OH 10 Aurora Loan Svcs Aurora, CO (part 2 of 2) Corr Vol Corr Vol Pct Mkt Rk 2003 2002 Chg Sh 1 $222,199 $118,133 88% 17.90% 2 $185,767 $125,584 48% 14.96% 3 $128,141 $63,159 103% 10.32% 4 $122,399 $89,210 37% 9.86% 5 $53,158 $29,298 81% 4.28% 6 $46,615 $36,901 26% 3.75% 7 $46,520 $18,135 157% 3.75% 8 $37,740 $31,264 21% 3.04% 9 $20,248 $18,098 12% 1.63% 10 $19,597 $10,110 94% 1.58% Notes: Excludes mergers that closed after year-end 2002. (E) Estimates. (Read More)
OCC Under Pressure to Weaken Pre-Emption of State 'Predatory' Rules
April 12, 2004Comptroller John Hawke is coming under increasing congressional pressure to modify his agency's pre-emption rules so that the states can enforce their predatory lending laws against national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries. (Read More)
Capital City Buys Synovus for $28M
April 12, 2004Capital City Bank Group Inc., a financial services company that provides mortgage banking, has paid $28.1 million to acquire Quincy State Bank from Synovus Trust Co., a Georgia-based multifinancial services company. (Read More)
North Carolina Loses and Montreal Wins in BCE Restructuring
April 12, 2004BCE Emergis Inc. here is in the process of downsizing its Greensboro, N.C., office by this October and will completely reposition its electronic invoicing product for a May 2004 rollout. (Read More)
BCE Ups Sales Force As Alliance Changes
April 12, 2004In response to its renegotiated deal with Freddie Mac, BCE Emergis here has increased the size of its U.S. sales force in preparation to take a more active role in the marketing and sales of its e-lending platform as it moves closer to a commercial rollout pegged for this May. (Read More)
Good Times, Bad Times
April 12, 2004The trouble with mortgage fraud is that it rears its head not only when times are bad, but when times are good. That's something to think about, and prepare for. (Read More)
Homeownership Gap Still Exists
April 12, 2004Excerpts of the president's remarks on homeownership at the recent Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Two Employment Reports Cause Two Different Movements in Rates
April 12, 2004It has taken an employment-related report to reverse an earlier employment-related report's impact when it comes to the rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield. (Read More)
HAND Under Duress As Biggest Supporters Leave
April 12, 2004Industry insiders had predicted that going forward many of the smaller-size downpayment assistance providers may have to close their doors. However, the Homeownership Alliance of Nonprofit Downpayment Providers, representing the country's top 10 DPAs, was not expected to be one of them. (Read More)
Abernathy: National Law Should Cover Federal Banks
April 12, 2004Assistant Treasury secretary Wayne Abernathy earlier this month called for two sets of laws to deal with abusive lending practices, one at the national level and the other at the state level. (Read More)
Education Is Needed To Protect Consumers
April 12, 2004Consumer education holds the key to better customers, less regulatory control and greater community involvement, according to panelists at the National Home Equity Mortgage Association's annual conference here earlier this month. (Read More)
Raising Capital Not an Easy Path to Growth
April 12, 2004When should small or medium-sized lenders seek additional capital to grow their companies and step up to the next level? (Read More)
2003 Was Toughest Year in Nearly a Decade for CMBS Performance
April 12, 2004The most stressful year for commercial mortgage loans since the early '90s was 2003, according to a Standard & Poor's study of commercial mortgage loans. (Read More)
OFHEO May Strip Title From Fannie's Chief
April 12, 2004The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is proposing strict corporate governance rules that could force Fannie Mae chairman and chief executive officer Franklin Raines to relinquish one of his positions. (Read More)
Wachovia Says Expensive Acquisition Unlikely
April 12, 2004Wachovia Corp., parent of Wachovia Bank and HomEq servicing, has indicated to stock analysts that the company is frustrated that its stock is trading at a discount to peers and believes that rumors about a possible acquisition might be behind investors' fears. (Read More)
At a Glance: Wachovia
April 12, 2004Employees: 86,670 Assets: $401 billion Loans: $166 billion RE loan share: 43.5% Market Cap.: $63 billion Notes: Mkt cap as of 2/27. Real estate loan share of total includes mortgages, commercial real estate, and "other" real estate secured loans. (Read More)
Investment Fund Buys ARIT Stake
April 12, 2004The Camas, Wash.-based D3 Family Funds has purchased 1.1 million shares of American Residential Investment Trust from Home Asset Management Corp. for $9.50 per share. (Read More)
Luminent Prices $168M Offering
April 12, 2004Luminent Mortgage Capital has priced a public offering of 12 million shares of common stock at $14 per share for a total offering of approximately $168 million. (Read More)
Home Loan Volume Falls to Ten-Month Low in U.K.
April 12, 2004Total gross lending in the United Kingdom fell in February to its lowest level since last April, according to estimates provided by the Council of Mortgage Lenders here. (Read More)
Home Construction Rebounds in Canada
April 12, 2004The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in Canada rose to 214,100 in February, compared with 195,500 in January, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported. (Read More)
New Regulations Put NY Lenders on Hot Seat
April 12, 2004Barbara Kent, director of consumer affairs and financial products at the New York State Banking Department, recently talked to members of the National Association of Professional Mortgage Women about the importance of following new mortgage regulations, specifically section 6-l and Part 41, pertaining to high-cost home loans. (Read More)
To The Editor
April 12, 2004All this talk that RESPA is dead because it gave big lenders too much power to squeeze volume price concessions from the settlement service providers is still happening with our without the passage of a new law. (Read More)
Realtors Claim Ginnie Mae Charges 'Prepayment Penalties'
April 12, 2004Ginnie Mae is forcing Federal Housing Administration borrowers to pay "prepayment penalties," according to the National Association of Realtors, and it wants the agency to change its policy. (Read More)
Eyeing Legal Issues
April 12, 2004Faith Schwartz, senior vice president of industry relations in the Washington office of Option One Mortgage Corp., a subsidiary of H&R Block Inc., is scheduled to sit on a panel discussing legislative efforts at the city and state levels aimed at preventing predatory lending. While abusive lending needs to be stopped, many in the industry say these laws threaten the continued availability of credit for mortgages, particularly for nonprime borrowers. (Read More)
Providing a Welcome to Washington
April 12, 2004Given that secondary market participants often watch Washington, D.C. officials for their cues in terms of what kind of interest rates or regulatory environment they may face down the road, it is fitting that the Mortgage Bankers Association is hosting its convention for them in this city. (Read More)
Del Mar to Reveal Release Dates for Improved DataTrac
April 12, 2004Del Mar Database has big plans for the Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market Conference & Expo this year related to its plans to reshape its premier product for a summer 2004 release. (Read More)
Getting Around: A Guide to Trains and Taxi Cabs
April 12, 2004Like most major cities in the United States, our nation's capital is not particularly automobile friendly. Fortunately, there is a subway system that can get you into the heart of the city in minutes. (Read More)
Georgetown Villlage: Shop and See History
April 12, 2004Would you like to find an alternative to visiting a mall while in shopping in Washington, D.C.? And I am not implying that visiting some large shopping malls in the area are not a worthy experience, but I also would suggest a visit to the lovely Georgetown village by the Potomac River. (Read More)
Dumbarton Oaks Offers Respite from City
April 12, 2004Dumbarton Oaks, a Federal-style mansion in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood, is famous to students of history as the setting where world leaders met to lay the groundwork for the United Nations in August 1944. But today Dumbarton Oaks serves as one of Washington's most celebrated places to go to enjoy some quiet respite in one of the country's most famous urban gardens. It also houses a museum devoted to Pre-Columbian artwork from the New World and Byzantine artwork as well. (Read More)
DC Restaurants Offer Variety - From Southern Cooking to Vietnamese
April 12, 2004Washington area restaurants are a bit like New York's, offering variety in the form of different ethnic cooking as well as traditional seafood and steak joints. In short, it's a case of "you want it, we got it" - from nouveau Southern cooking at Georgia Brown's to the traditional fare of places like the Old Ebbits Grill (675 15th St.). (Read More)
Fitch: Predatory Lending a Hot Topic
April 12, 2004There has been more of an emphasis on predatory lending-related issues at some industry conferences of late and that is one of the issues that Mary Kelsch, a senior director with Fitch Ratings' operational risk group, is looking forward to following at the upcoming MBA National Secondary Conference. (Read More)
Come Early or Stay Late to Find Sports
April 12, 2004Looking for a little sports action while in Washington to attend the Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market conference? (Read More)
Exploring the Smithsonian's Museums
April 12, 2004The Smithsonian Institution is a unique Washington attraction that offers a bounty of choices free of charge, with the exception of special exhibits, through 16 different buildings and parks located either at the center of the city or in various subway-accessible locations. (Read More)
RBC Eliminating 200 'Low Performers'
April 12, 2004The Royal Bank of Canada's U.S. mortgage subsidiary has made plans to eliminate 200 "low performing" loan officer positions and add 400 to 500 new LOs as part of its overall efforts to mitigate origination challenges that hurt the earnings of RBC's U.S. subsidiary in the quarter ending Jan. 31, executives said in a recent investor presentation. (Read More)
Hud's Proposed Housing Goals
April 12, 2004Housing Goals Proposed Housing Goals Current Goals 2005 2006 2007 2008 Low- and Moderate-Income 50% 52% 53% 55% 57% Underserved Areas 31% 38% 39% 39% 40% Special Affordable 20% 22% 24% 26% 28% Source: HUD Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Castaneda New Chair at Finance Board
April 12, 2004President George Bush has designated Alicia R. Castaneda to be the new chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Board, which oversees the Federal Home Loan Banks. Ms. Castaneda is a new member of the Finance Board. She was sworn in on Jan. 12. (Read More)
Publicly-Traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
April 12, 2004B&C Stock Price Index: 271.7 Change: -18.7 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 4/8/2004 Aames (AMSF) 1.11 5.40 3.65 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 2.96 12.00 3.95 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 2.07 11.50 8.09 HSBC Holding (HBC) 51.42 82.90 75.20 IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) 12.46 27.20 21.51 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 9.25 43.25 36.75 New Century (NCEN) 20.69 52.28 48.85 Novastar (NFI) 18.18 70.32 54.18 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 3.25 11.50 11.21 Provident Financial (PFGI) 21.24 41.74 38.83 Saxon Capital (SAXN) 13.82 30.75 25.83 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) 0.22 2.25 1.10 (part 2 of 2) Company Weekly %Chg from % Chg. 52-wk Lo P/E Ratio Aames (AMSF) -10% 229% 5.90 American Business Fin. (ABFI) 4% 33% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 0% 291% 3.70 HSBC Holding (HBC) -1% 46% na IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) (1) -18% 73% 8.70 Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) -5% 297% 7.40 New Century (NCEN) 0% 136% 7.40 Novastar (NFI) -18% 198% 11.00 Ocwen (OCN)(*) (2) 17% 245% 160.10 Provident Financial (PFGI) -5% 83% 20.20 Saxon Capital (SAXN) -10% 87% 12.00 Transnational Finl Network I (TFN) -4% 400% 3.00 NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of 52-week low. (1) IMPAC is mostly an Alt-A lender and servicer. (2) Ocwen is a subprime servicer and subservicer. (Read More)
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April 19, 2004
Will FHLBs, Banks Heat Up Secondary?
April 19, 2004Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could face more competition in their core businesses from the Federal Home Loan Banks and the biggest U.S. banks if certain trends continue. (Read More)
Insiders Continue Dumping Stock
April 19, 2004Mortgage insiders continued to unload their holdings of company stock the past few months, perhaps believing that leaner days are ahead for the industry. (Read More)
Stock Sales/Purchases By Insiders At Selected Mortgage Firms Over The Past Six Months
April 19, 2004Mortgage Stock Shares Shares Firm Symbol Sold Purchased(1) Countrywide CFC 882,000 1,000 Washington Mutual WM 447,000 na Hudson City HCBK 232,000 na Fannie Mae (2) FNM 207,000 na PMI Group PMI 207,000 10,000 Accredited LEND 181,100 na NovaStar NFI 143,000 93,000 American Home AHH 147,000 1,000 New Century NCEN 104,000 na MGIC MTG 57,000 na Impac IMH 37,000 4,000 Notes: This is a sample table only and is not meant to be inclusive of all mortgage-related firms. Insiders include company officers and directors. Na = no purchases or purchase information is not applicable. (1) Some insiders purchase shares by exercising options or buying shares through "non-open market" acquisitions. Those purchases are not represented in this table. (2) Insider sale/purchase figures are available from Fannie Mae but not Freddie Mac. (Read More)
New FHFB Chairman Seeks Comity
April 19, 2004The new chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Board has pledged to restore civility at the agency and to work cooperatively with her fellow board members. (Read More)
Commissioner: Study Too Soon
April 19, 2004The director of the New Jersey Division of Banking is disputing findings released in a recent study by a University of Virginia finance professor who says mortgage lending to borrowers who can't qualify for prime loans has plummeted in the Garden State since the inception last November of the state's anti-predatory lending law. (Read More)
E*Trade Cranking Up
April 19, 2004E*Trade, which last summer was cutting mortgage jobs, is now cranking up its third-party lending unit and has hired industry veteran Terry Rowland to head the division. (Read More)
Average Loan Sizes on the Rise
April 19, 2004In some markets home prices have been going through the roof - which means average loan sizes also are heading north. (Read More)
Lenders With The Highest Average Loan Size In 4Q/03
April 19, 2004(part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 First Republic Bank San Francisco, CA 2 Thornburg Mortgage, Inc. Sante Fe, NM 3 Union Bank of California San Diego, CA 4 First Savings Mortgage Vienna, VA 5 Ridgewood Savings Bank Ridgewood, NY (part 2 of 2) Avg Loan Size Avg Loan Size Percent Rk 12/31/2003 12/31/2002 Change 1 $836,185 $695,915 20.16% 2 $513,040 $468,520 9.50% 3 $440,066 $446,599 -1.46% 4 $354,831 $331,639 6.99% 5 $334,906 $310,616 7.82% Notes: Not all firms would provide information on number of loans originated, which is the data point needed to calculate this number. (Read More)
J.P. Morgan Makes $800 Billion Pledge
April 19, 2004J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank One Corp. have committed to invest $800 billion in home mortgages, small business lending and community development lending across the country over the next 10 years. The companies discussed the initiative for the first time last week when the Federal Reserve Board held a public hearing to discuss the proposed $60 billion merger between the two banks. (Read More)
Bad Press Adds to Investors' Concern about NovaStar Financial
April 19, 2004The stock price of NovaStar Financial Inc. here, a seven-year-old subprime mortgage lender, fell dramatically last week, tumbling to a point close to $45 per share from levels closer to $55 per share the week before, according to Yahoo! Finance. (Read More)
Don't Mess with CRA
April 19, 2004The Community Reinvestment Act is one of our most potent weapons for keeping financial institution eyes on the prize when it comes to mortgage discrimination. So let's not mess with it too much. (Read More)
Economy Needs Healthy Banks
April 19, 2004Excerpts of Mr. Powell's remarks before the National Association for Business Economics last month in Washington are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Even with Rate Dip in March, ARMs Seen Gaining Ground
April 19, 2004It looked from where I was sitting at press time midday last Thursday like interest rates were heading upward. The rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield was near 4.4%. This was well above where it had been before the weaker-than-expected employment report in March caused it to backslide and even above where it was just after the stronger-than-expected employment report this month reversed that trend. (Read More)
Ginnie Mae Seeks Lower Minimum Size
April 19, 2004Ginnie Mae wants the flexibility to lower the minimum denomination of its mortgage-backed securities so it can broaden its retail investor base. (Read More)
HUD Proposes Triple Damages Rule
April 19, 2004Federal Housing Administration servicers could face much stiffer penalties for failing to help troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure under a Department of Housing and Urban Development proposal. (Read More)
MIAC Hires WaMu Secondary Veteran
April 19, 2004The Mortgage Industry Advisory Co. has hired Bruce Benzley as senior vice president and product manager for its MarketShield product. (Read More)
Dynatek Expands LOS to Include Wholesale Functionality
April 19, 2004In an effort to make their loan origination software even more functional, Dynatek here has added wholesale capability to their existing product. (Read More)
BCE Remains Committed to the U.S.
April 19, 2004While it is downsizing one location in the United States, BCE Emergis here has stated that it remains committed to the U.S. (Read More)
Investors Putting Pressure on Correspondents to Adopt MERS Registration
April 19, 2004Pressure from leading wholesale lenders has given the electronic registry for tracking ownership of mortgage loans and servicing rights renewed momentum. (Read More)
Merit Manufactured Housing Bonds Downgraded
April 19, 2004The ratings on four classes of the Merit Securities Corp. series 12-1 manufactured housing securitization are being reviewed for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
At a Glance: SunTrust's Average RE Volume In the First Quarter
April 19, 20041-4 Family Residential: $17.8 billion Construction Loans: $4.5 billion Home Equity: $7.1 billion Commercial Realty: $9.3 billion Source: SunTrust Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
SunTrust Earnings Bode Well for Banks
April 19, 2004SunTrust Banks, the first of the nation's 10 largest to report earnings and something of a harbinger for the bank sector, reported net income rose by 9% in the first quarter compared to the same period a year earlier. (Read More)
Fitch Lowers Ratings On FMAC Securities
April 19, 2004Three classes of FMAC Loan Receivables Trust, series 1998-C, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Home Loan Volume Grows, But Not Mortgage Income at Bank of America
April 19, 2004Bank of America here reported first-quarter earnings of $2.68 billion, a 11% increase from a year earlier despite taking a hit to its mortgage assets. (Read More)
Homeless Legislation Introduced in Senate
April 19, 2004On March 26, 2004, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., introduced the Emergency Food and Shelter Act of 2004. The bill would amend the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to authorize $160 million for emergency food and shelter in FY05, $170 million for FY06 and $180 million for FY07. (Read More)
Samaritan Bill Also Aimed at Homeless
April 19, 2004Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., has introduced H.R. 4057 to authorize the Samaritan initiative, the linchpin of the administration's efforts to end what it terms "chronic" homelessness over the next decade. The Samaritan Initiative Act would establish a grant program to provide permanent housing and supportive services such as health care, mental health, and substance abuse treatment to homeless individuals the administration defines as "chronic." (Read More)
Roundup: Arbor Realty Trust IPO Expected to Raise $135 Million
April 19, 2004Arbor Realty Trust has priced an initial public offering of its common stock at $20 per share. (Read More)
DDR Buys Retail Portfolio
April 19, 2004Developers Diversified Realty, is purchasing a portfolio of 110 retail properties, totaling 18.8 million square feet, from Benderson Development Co., for a total price of about $2.3 billion. (Read More)
New Century to Go REIT
April 19, 2004New Century Financial Corp., a subprime mortgage lender here, has reported that its board of directors has voted to convert the company into a real estate investment trust. (Read More)
Sun Communities Downgraded
April 19, 2004The ratings of Sun Communities Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Southfield, Mich., and its operating partnership have been lowered by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
Wellsford Looks at Alternatives
April 19, 2004Wellsford Real Properties has retained Lazard Freres & Co. to advise the real estate merchant banking firm on some strategic alternatives. (Read More)
California Leads Drive for Broker Registry
April 19, 2004The prospect of a loan originator registry is being pursued in California, but also at the national level, according to Ted Grose, past president of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers and chairman of the National Registry Task Force for the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. (Read More)
Top Residential Lenders In The Baltimore, MD MSA
April 19, 2004($ in Thousands) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name Location 1 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Des Moines, IA 2 National City Mortgage Cleveland, OH 3 Chase Manhattan Mortgage Edison, NJ 4 Bank Of America, N.A. Dallas, TX 5 Washington Mutual Bank, FA Seattle, WA 6 First Horizon Home Loan Corp. Irving, TX 7 Countrywide Home Loans Rosemead, CA 8 ABN AMRO Mortgage Group Troy, MI 9 Suntrust Mortgage, Inc Richmond, VA 10 Cendant Mortgage Mt. Laurel, NJ 11 Branch Banking And Trust Wilson, NC 12 American Home Mortgage Corp. Melville, NY 13 Flagstar Bank Troy, MI 14 1St Mariner Bank Baltimore, MD 15 Liberty Mortgage Corp. Wilson, NC 16 Charter One Mortgage Cleveland, OH 17 First Home Mortgage Corp. Baltimore, MD 18 Columbia National, Inc. Columbia, MD 19 Principal Residential Mtg. Des Moines, IA 20 RBC Mortgage Company Chicago, IL (part 2 of 2) Rank Origination Volume No. of Loans 1 $2,508,268 14,269 2 $2,059,994 11,909 3 $1,223,610 7,328 4 $1,072,019 6,975 5 $1,016,940 5,991 6 $964,279 5,972 7 $756,043 4,906 8 $752,038 4,572 9 $621,097 3,695 10 $546,535 3,350 11 $484,098 2,686 12 $432,543 2,538 13 $375,916 2,404 14 $365,097 2,455 15 $364,664 1,997 16 $344,394 1,678 17 $294,529 1,579 18 $274,341 1,831 19 $264,058 1,665 20 $240,121 1,487 Notes: Reflects 2002 volumes only. (Read More)
Top Residential Lenders In The Richmond, VA MSA
April 19, 2004($ in Thousands) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name Location 1 Suntrust Mortgage, Inc. Richmond, VA 2 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Des Moines, IA 3 Bank Of America, N.A. Dallas, TX 4 ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, Inc. Troy, MI 5 National City Mortgage Company Cleveland, OH 6 Capital Center LLC Glen Allen, VA 7 C&F Mortgage Corporation Midlothian, VA 8 Countrywide Home Loans Rosemead, CA 9 BB&T of Virginia Wilson, NC 10 Wachovia Mortgage Winston-Salem, NC 11 Washington Mutual Bank, FA Seattle, WA 12 Benchmark Mortgage Inc. Richmond, VA 13 Cendant Mortgage Mt. Laurel, NJ 14 Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. Edison, NJ 15 First Horizon Home Loan Corp. Irving, TX 16 Wachovia Bank Winston-Salem, NC 17 Resource Bank Virginia Beach, VA 18 GMAC Mortgage Horsham, PA 19 Southern Trust Mortgage Norfolk, VA 20 National Bank Of Commerce Memphis, TN (part 2 of 2) Rank Origination Volume No. of Loans 1 $763,347 5,818 2 $435,337 2,900 3 $431,319 3,238 4 $388,683 2,660 5 $344,613 2,404 6 $257,048 1,710 7 $250,740 1,902 8 $243,894 1,989 9 $237,554 1,769 10 $231,943 1,381 11 $200,894 1,451 12 $181,882 1,373 13 $154,052 1,084 14 $152,586 1,099 15 $145,744 1,103 16 $142,808 1,299 17 $136,064 968 18 $124,083 998 19 $103,775 782 20 $93,060 594 Notes: Reflects 2002 volumes only. (Read More)
Top Residential Lenders In The Washington, DC MSA
April 19, 2004($ in Thousands) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name Location 1 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Des Moines, IA 2 National City Mortgage Cleveland, OH 3 Washington Mutual Bank, FA Seattle, WA 4 Bank Of America, N.A. Dallas, TX 5 Chase Manhattan Mortgage Edison, NJ 6 First Horizon Home Loan Corp. Irving, TX 7 Countrywide Home Loans Rosemead, CA 8 George Mason Mortgage, LLC Fairfax, VA 9 ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, Inc. Troy, MI 10 Suntrust Mortgage, Inc. Richmond, VA 11 First Savings Mortgage Corp. Vienna, VA 12 Navy Federal Credit Union Vienna, VA 13 Cendant Mortgage Mt. Laurel, NJ 14 HSBC Mortgage Corp. Buffalo, NY 15 Branch Banking And Trust Wilson, NC 16 American Home Mortgage Melville, NY 17 Liberty Mortgage Corp. Wilson, NC 18 B. F. Saul Mortgage Co. Bethesda, MD 19 First Alliance Bank, FSB Jacksonville, FL 20 Wachovia Mortgage Winston-Salem, NC (part 2 of 2) Rank Origination Volume No. of Loans 1 $6,842,648 31,794 2 $6,264,415 27,935 3 $4,770,714 21,955 4 $4,393,779 23,276 5 $3,453,740 15,997 6 $2,851,397 14,158 7 $2,528,549 13,628 8 $2,437,123 11,469 9 $2,436,651 11,679 10 $2,278,301 11,815 11 $2,076,166 8,305 12 $1,612,632 14,013 13 $1,588,444 7,999 14 $1,541,006 5,981 15 $1,226,698 5,834 16 $1,160,783 5,510 17 $1,145,441 5,425 18 $1,130,094 5,036 19 $988,349 4,033 20 $870,989 3,988 Notes: Reflects 2002 volumes only. (Read More)
Banking Investigator Says Fraud Affects All Players in the Industry
April 19, 2004Professionals from all walks of the mortgage industry, including mortgage brokers, real estate brokers, title agents and appraisers, need to be aware of the possibility of fraud on a daily basis, according to Delroy Levy, a criminal investigator with the New York State Banking Department. (Read More)
PMI Buys British MI Unit
April 19, 2004The PMI Group Inc.'s European unit here has completed its acquisition of a Royal & Sun Alliance Group mortgage insurance subsidiary in the United Kingdom. (Read More)
European Style Calls Still Searching For Traction in Market for GSE Debt
April 19, 2004The market for government-sponsored enterprise bonds with "European-style" calls has evolved over the years to the point at which the sector is regarded as one that is fairly well established even though a need for further maturation remains. GSE European callables still have a relatively limited history and that still is somewhat of a challenge for the sector, Larry Dyer, a director and global agency and supranational strategist at Credit Suisse First Boston, told attendees at an investor seminar here. (Read More)
DebtX Offers Advisory Services in Europe
April 19, 2004DebtX here plans to offer loan sale advisory services in Europe "to create a liquid secondary market for commercial bank debt," the company said. (Read More)
Pan Asia Bank Helps GMACCM in Taiwan
April 19, 2004Pan Asia Bank has agreed to introduce the U.S.-based GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp.'s specialty real estate investment products into the Taiwan market, according to GMAC Commercial. (Read More)
Consensus Among Realty Groups Needed to Restart RESPA Reform
April 19, 2004The director of government affairs for the Mortgage Bankers Association said the real challenge in crafting a new RESPA regulation will be devising a system that is agreeable to all the parties involved. (Read More)
NY Bank Regulator Questions Consultants
April 19, 2004The New York State Banking Department is holding its licensees and registrants responsible for the consultants that they use. According to officials from the department speaking at a New York regulatory session held at the Northeast Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations here, there had been instances of licensees hiring convicted felons and calling them consultants. (Read More)
Quicken Adding to its Sales Force
April 19, 2004Quicken Loans is determined to keep its loan production at record levels this year and is aggressively increasing its sales staff to prevent a drop-off. (Read More)
Lehman CMBS Class Downgraded
April 19, 2004Class M of Lehman Brothers Inc.'s LB 2002-LLF C3 commercial mortgage pass-through certificates has been downgraded from BB to BB-minus and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Ocwen Nonperforming Deal Placed on Review
April 19, 2004Twelve classes from four series of securities issued by Ocwen Residential MBS Corp. and backed by seasoned, re-performing mortgage loans have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
Fremont Gets Subprime Rating
April 19, 2004Fitch Ratings has assigned Fremont Investment & Loan a "RPS3-minus" residential primary servicer rating for subprime product. The rating reflects Fremont's seasoned executive and servicing management teams, sound loan administration and default management practices, and effective use of servicing technology. (Read More)
ARMs Popular Despite Low Rates
April 19, 2004Even as mortgage rates remain at record or near-record low levels, there has been an increase in the number of adjustable-rate mortgage loans sold in the secondary market to Freddie Mac, a company executive said. (Read More)
Bond Market Association Calls State Predatory Laws Too Vague
April 19, 2004The Bond Market Association has issued a white paper examining state and local legislation aimed at preventing predatory lending. Based on the paper, some of the current state laws have been found to be ambiguous and impossible to implement in the secondary market, according to one Washington attorney. (Read More)
Website Puts Downpayment Assistance Information Under One Roof
April 19, 2004Prospective homebuyers now can get information about downpayment assistance programs at the "www.AmericanDreamDownpaymentAssistance.com" website. (Read More)
HUD Publishes Rule For ADDI Eligibility
April 19, 2004The Department of Housing and Urban Development has published the "American Dream Downpayment Rule," issued on March 30, as an interim rule describing the implementation of the American Dream Downpayment Initiative that outlines certain changes in fund distribution requirements for 2003 and 2004. (Read More)
Fannie and Realtors Team Up in Tennessee
April 19, 2004Fannie Mae was joined by the Tennessee Association of Realtors, the Williamson County Association of Realtors and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., here to launch the "Borrow With Confidence" campaign. (Read More)
Mozilo Gets Housing Person of the Year Award
April 19, 2004Angelo Mozilo, chairman and CEO of Countrywide Financial Corp., will be honored with the National Housing Conference's Housing Person of the Year Award "in recognition of his longstanding commitment to reducing the barriers of homeownership for lower-income and minority individuals and families," NHC said. (Read More)
March MBS Prepayment Rates Surge
April 19, 2004Prepayment rates for agency mortgage-backed securities surged across the board in March, led by increases of around 50% in the speed of the massive 5.5% 2003 coupons, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. Bear Stearns analysts Dale Westhoff and Bruce Kramer said the speed of the new Fannie Mae 5.5s jumped 48%, while the speeds of most Fannie Mae coupons jumped 25%-30%. (Read More)
Selected 30-year Fixed-Rate Prepayments
April 19, 2004(For March 2004 Period) Cpn Year WAC Factor Mar 04 Feb 04 Fannie Mae 5.50 2003 5.95 .856 24.4 16.4 Fannie Mae 5.50 2002 6.02 .675 31.4 22.2 Fannie Mae 5.50 2001 6.12 .495 36.2 27.4 Fannie Mae 5.50 1998 6.20 .334 35.0 25.0 Source: Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Roundup: Downgrades Are Continuing
April 19, 2004Three classes of COMM 2000-FL3's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: class K-SR, from BBB to B; class L-SR, from BBB-minus to B-minus; and class D, from BB to BB-minus (and placed on Rating Watch Negative). (Read More)
Conti HE Losses Exceed Cushion
April 19, 2004Five classes of ContiMortgage Corp. home equity loan transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
SFA Securities Downgraded
April 19, 2004Three classes of notes issued by SFA Collateralized Asset-Backed Securities I Trust have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: class A, from AA-plus to BB; class B-1, from B-minus to CC; and class B-2, from B-minus to CC. The C rating on class C of the deal was affirmed. (Read More)
GMACCM Deal Suffers Defaults
April 19, 2004Class F of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2001-FL1, has been downgraded from B1 to B3 by Moody's Investors Service. In addition, Moody's upgraded two classes in the deal and affirmed the ratings of two other classes. (Read More)
WTC Bonds Downgraded
April 19, 2004Banc of America Large Loan Inc.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2001-7WTC - secured by mortgage loans on a leasehold interest in 7 World Trade Center - have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Freddie Plans Additional Debt Issuance
April 19, 2004Freddie Mac expects the following issuance levels under its funding programs for the second quarter of 2004 as follows: * The government-sponsored enterprise expects to offer $6 billion to $11 billion in Reference Notes with maturities up to 10 years, according to its 2004 calendar. "As $10.5 billion of Reference Notes securities will mature during the second quarter, net issuance, excluding repurchases, is expected to be $4.5 billion to $0.5 billion," Freddie Mac reported in its quarterly funding announcement. (Read More)
No April Benchmark Issues from Fannie
April 19, 2004Fannie Mae plans to skip issuing callable Benchmark Notes in April as per previous announcements by the company indicating that the company might decline to issue this type of offering in up to four months during 2004. (Read More)
MH Note Downgraded By Standard & Poor's
April 19, 2004The rating on class A-4 of ABSC Manufactured Housing Contract Resecuritization Trust 2004-OAK1 has been lowered from AA-minus to A by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and removed from CreditWatch with negative implications. (Read More)
Moody's Puts CFSB Deal On Downgrade Review
April 19, 2004Eleven classes of Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2002-TFL1, have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
MBS Volume Falls Sharply as UBS Warburg Takes Underwriting Lead
April 19, 2004The volume of mortgage-backed security deals in the first quarter totaled less than half the nearly $300 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2003, according to Thomson Financial, a NMN affiliate. The MBS volume totaled $139.28 billion in the first quarter, compared with $297.3 billion a year earlier, the Thomson data indicate. (Read More)
U.S. Mortgage-Backed Securities
April 19, 2004(UBS Leads MBS Pack) (part 1 of 2) 1/1/04 - 3/31/04 Proceeds* Market # of Managers ($Mil) Rank Share Issues UBS 21,978.1 1 15.8 32 Lehman Brothers 15,606.2 2 11.2 16 Bear Stearns & Co Inc 15,372.3 3 11.0 26 Morgan Stanley 13,195.6 4 9.5 19 Citigroup 10,650.8 5 7.7 15 Banc of America Securities 10,527.0 6 7.6 14 Credit Suisse First Boston 8,507.2 7 6.1 18 Royal Bank of Scotland Group 8,371.6 8 6.0 15 Goldman Sachs & Co 7,183.3 9 5.2 13 JP Morgan 6,422.9 10 4.6 11 Industry Total 139,280.4 - 100.0 210 (part 2 of 2) 1/1/03 - 3/31/03 Proceeds* Market # of Managers ($Mil) Rank Share Issues UBS 40,027.6 2 13.5 31 Lehman Brothers 23,530.5 6 7.9 35 Bear Stearns & Co Inc 35,552.3 3 12.0 41 Morgan Stanley 17,777.6 8 6.0 19 Citigroup 24,292.7 4 8.2 23 Banc of America Securities 23,561.1 5 7.9 23 Credit Suisse First Boston 22,730.7 7 7.7 40 Royal Bank of Scotland Group 16,771.0 10 5.6 14 Goldman Sachs & Co 44,189.1 1 14.9 29 JP Morgan 10,626.3 11 3.6 21 Industry Total 297,298.8 - 100.0 318 *Full to Book Manager (Equal if Joint) Source: Thomson Financial Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
U.S. Asset-Backed Securities
April 19, 2004(Citi Tops ABS Rankings) (part 1 of 2) 1/1/04 - 3/31/04 Proceeds* Market # of Managers ($Mil) Rank Share Issues Citigroup 21,391.7 1 11.8 45 Lehman Brothers 18,784.0 2 10.4 42 Merrill Lynch & Co Inc 14,696.7 3 8.1 25 Royal Bank of Scotland Group 14,101.1 4 7.8 25 Deutsche Bank AG 13,762.3 5 7.6 35 Credit Suisse First Boston 12,834.7 6 7.1 29 Countrywide Securities Corp 12,802.2 7 7.1 10 JP Morgan 11,675.7 8 6.5 23 Banc of America Securities 10,839.0 9 6.0 31 Morgan Stanley 10,285.1 10 5.7 23 Industry Total 180,732.2 - 100.0 298 (part 2 of 2) 1/1/03 - 3/31/03 Proceeds* Market # of Managers ($Mil) Rank Share Issues Citigroup 23,786.0 1 17.3 48 Lehman Brothers 9,574.9 5 7.0 41 Merrill Lynch & Co Inc 5,053.9 13 3.7 16 Royal Bank of Scotland Group 6,797.0 8 5.0 18 Deutsche Bank AG 12,165.3 4 8.9 24 Credit Suisse First Boston 9,220.2 6 6.7 30 Countrywide Securities Corp 5,212.2 12 3.8 9 JP Morgan 13,386.3 2 9.7 22 Banc of America Securities 7,801.9 7 5.7 21 Morgan Stanley 12,779.9 3 9.3 38 Industry Total 137,404.6 - 100.0 263 *Full to Book Manager (Equal if Joint) Source: Thomson Financial Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Imaging Helps Peelle Smooth Out Loan Payoff Workload
April 19, 2004Over the past seven years, Peelle Management Corp., a provider of assignment, reconveyance, document retrieval, file review and imaging services, has developed workflow technology and has helped to mitigate the headaches associated with the biggest refinancing boom in history. (Read More)
Promotion Spotlight: Susan Pettem
April 19, 2004The California Trustees' Association has appointed Ms. Pettem as vice president and membership chair for the 2004 state board of directors. In this role, Ms. Pettem will be responsible for new membership in the CTA, which is endeavoring to expand its membership to include other non-judicial "trustee" foreclosure states. The purpose of the organization is to provide educational and legislational support to foreclosure trustees and attorneys, as well as to mortgage servicers and vendors. Ms. Pettem is senior vice president of sales and marketing for Fidelity National Default Solutions. (Read More)
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