Email this pagePrint Archive - 2007
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Fraud Charge Against Raines
January 1, 2007The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has filed civil charges against three former Fannie Mae executives, including Franklin Raines, accusing the trio of perpetuating a $6.3 billion accounting fraud at the mortgage giant. (Read More)
A Bust for B/C Loans?
January 1, 2007Almost 20% of all subprime loans funded over the past two years will wind up in foreclosure, according to a new report issued by the Center for Responsible Lending. (Read More)
HUD Chief: I'm Staying On
January 1, 2007Housing secretary Alphonso Jackson is planning to stay at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and he says he can work with Democrats who now control Congress and the committees that oversee HUD. (Read More)
Morgan Cuts Jobs at Saxon
January 1, 2007Morgan Stanley last month slashed 170 jobs at its newly acquired subprime unit, Saxon Mortgage, as part of a restructuring move. (Read More)
He's Bullish on 2007
January 1, 2007SunTrust Mortgage is bullish on the market and its chief executive expects to see a double-digit increase in loan production this year as other companies cut back or fall by the wayside. (Read More)
Wells: No Need To Lower Rates
January 1, 2007Although some in the market have been betting on weakness in sectors like housing causing a recession and possibly prompting the Federal Open Market Committee to lower rates this year, Eugenio Aleman, a senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co., thinks it is unlikely. (Read More)
CRE Upside Big this Year
January 1, 2007The U.S. commercial real estate sector has upside potential in 2007, even after factoring in a weak housing market and high energy costs, according to an outlook report from Colliers International, a real estate services provider. (Read More)
Best Practices Head Off Fraud
January 1, 2007The best way to minimize the risk of fraudulent loans is to adopt a series of best practices, a panel told the SourceMedia Mortgage Fraud Conference here. (Read More)
Fannie, Freddie in Line on NTMs
January 1, 2007Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received their marching orders last week to follow the nontraditional mortgage guidance that is now mandatory for most federally regulated and state-licensed lenders. (Read More)
Reverse Mortgage Deadline Looms
January 1, 2007Mortgage lenders are hoping the new Congress acts decisively by Feb. 15 or the Federal Housing Administration might have to stop insuring reverse mortgages. (Read More)
Revolt Among FHLBs Leads to Ditching of FHFB Capital Rule
January 1, 2007The Federal Housing Finance Board has ditched a controversial capital proposal in the face of overwhelming opposition from shareholders of the Federal Home Loan Banks. (Read More)
FHFB Renames 25 PI Directors
January 1, 2007The Federal Housing Finance Board has reappointed 25 public interest directors to serve on the boards of the Federal Home Loan Banks for another 12 months. (Read More)
Editorial: Make or Break
January 1, 2007The mortgage business will find 2007 to have been a key year when it looks back at its achievements a decade from now. (Read More)
Open Forum: Reviving Homeownership
January 1, 2007Excerpts of Sen. Dodd's remarks unveiling the 2007 agenda for the Senate Banking Committee are presented as our Open Forum. He will become chairman of the committee when the Senate convenes in January. (Read More)
Street Smarts: Betting on a Fed on Hold and 'Mini-Rebounds' in Housing in 2007
January 1, 2007There was some talk in some of the forecasts I saw coming out before press time about the cycle of housing woes possibly being over sooner than expected. Some prognosticators also were saying that the Fed might possibly cut rates next year. (Ideally for those on the origination side of the business it might be nice if both those things could happen at once - although I am not sure that will happen.) On the other hand there also were a lot of bets that economic strength would prevail and influence the Fed, regardless of housing, unless something like employment problems got in the way. You never know for sure, of course. Even experts with years of successful market trading and/or experience behind them don't foresee everything. (Read More)
Outlook 2007: Home Builders Seen Cutting Back On Land Purchase in 2007
January 1, 2007Although the rating outlook remains generally stable in the homebuilding industry, Fitch Ratings expects builders will cut back preferably sharply on land purchases during the balance of 2006 and into 2007. (Read More)
Outlook 2007: 2007 CMBS Volume Headed Up 20% to $240 Billion: Fitch
January 1, 2007Total issuance of U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities is likely to be over $200 billion in 2006, Fitch Ratings reports, with issuance for 2007 going up 20% to $240 billion. (Read More)
Outlook 2007: Economist Expecting Big Home Price Drop
January 1, 2007While there are encouraging signs that the housing market may be stabilizing, one Wall Street economist is predicting that another shoe is about to drop in the form of a significant decline in house prices. (Read More)
Outlook 2007: Decline Will Continue for Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities
January 1, 2007Residential investment is expected to continue its decline in 2007 and have at least a small impact on the economy, according to residential mortgage-backed securities analysts at Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
CRE Debt Up By 3% in 3Q
January 1, 2007Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding reached $2.845 trillion in the third quarter, an increase of 2.9% from the second quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports, based on an analysis of the Federal Reserve's Flow of Funds data. (Read More)
REIT Acquires Healthcare REIT
January 1, 2007Duke Realty Corp., an industrial and office real estate investment trust, is acquiring Bremner Healthcare Real Estate, a health care real estate development and management firm. The terms of the deal, which aims to cash in on growth opportunities in the healthcare industry, were not disclosed. (Read More)
ATM, IRR Join to Create a National Appraisal Firm
January 1, 2007As lenders move to be more efficient, appraisers and automated valuation model vendors are answering the call. These outfits are aggressively moving to distribute their products more seamlessly and on a national scale to lenders looking to gain efficiencies in their appraisal management processes. (Read More)
Commerce Velocity Adds 5 Customers
January 1, 2007Commerce Velocity here said that it has added five more customers: Fairfield Mortgage, Home Capital Funding, Liberty American Mortgage, Maverick Mortgage and Stearns Lending. (Read More)
TransUnion: Mortgage Industry Will Look More Like a Barbell
January 1, 2007Taking a look in its crystal ball at 2007, TransUnion is predicting that life is going to grow steadily harder for midsized and correspondent lenders. (Read More)
Guidelines from CMSA, ESF
January 1, 2007Two securitization groups have released guidelines for participants in the commercial mortgage- and asset-backed securities markets that are designed to address challenges the market participants have when it comes to complying with a European Commission directive. (Read More)
International Mortgages: UK Home Prices Set to Rise
January 1, 2007United Kingdom home prices will see a continued rise over the next two years, but housing transactions are likely to fall in 2008 after a small increase in 2007, according to a housing market forecast from the Council of Mortgage Lenders here. (Read More)
Puerto Rico Bank Sells Off MBS
January 1, 2007Oriental Financial Group Inc. is one of the latest banks to sell mortgage-backed securities in a portfolio rebalancing. (Read More)
Downgrade for Thornburg Stock
January 1, 2007The preferred stock of Thornburg Mortgage Inc., Santa Fe, N.M., has been downgraded from BB-minus to B-plus by Fitch Ratings, and its rating outlook has been revised from positive to negative. Fitch also affirmed Thornburg's BB issuer default and senior unsecured notes ratings and assigned a BB-minus rating to its unsecured subordinate notes. (Read More)
Commercebank Gets 2 Ratings
January 1, 2007Fitch Ratings has assigned a "BBB-" long-term issuer default rating and an "F3" short-term issuer rating to Commercebank Holding Corp., a Coral Gables, Fla.-based investor in real estate loans. (Read More)
Mozilo, Other CFC Insiders Selling Plenty
January 1, 2007Over the past few weeks insiders at Countrywide Financial Corp. - including chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo - have been exercising millions of dollars in options. According to trading records, on Dec. 15, Mr. Mozilo exercised 70,000 options, grossing almost $3 million on the deal. (He purchased the options for $9.60 a piece and then sold shares in the open market at $41.47.) On Dec. 18, CFC president and chief operating officer David Sambol exercised 14,000 options, grossing $375,340. Over the past six months Countrywide insiders have sold almost six million shares. The firm's share price has been trading at $41 lately, a few dollars below its 52-week high. Countrywide is the nation's largest residential lender and the second largest servicer, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report. (Read More)
Analysts Skeptical on Huntington
January 1, 2007Analysts at CreditSights are taking a skeptical view towards Huntington Bancshares' deal to acquire Sky Financial in a 90% stock and 10% cash deal. (Read More)
Banks Face Yield Curve Pressure
January 1, 2007If you think "mortgage centric" banks faced a lot of yield-curve pressure this year, don't expect much relief next year, according to analysts at CreditSights. (Read More)
Tax Bill Boon To MI Industry
January 1, 2007The passage of a bill that makes mortgage insurance premiums tax deductible is one more factor that improves the outlook for mortgage insurance stocks, according to analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey. (Read More)
Technology Trends: Eyeing Efficiency
January 1, 2007As volume slowed in 2006, employing technology to get more loans in the door was less of a concern. Lenders became concerned about cutting cost and creating internal efficiency. Previously, during the refinance boom, technology aimed to enable quantity and not always quality. But that paradigm has moved in the other direction and the industry may build on its efforts in this area if volumes remain low. (Read More)
What Technology May Have in Store in 2007
January 1, 2007While the Holy Grail of mortgage technology remains the electronic mortgage, greats strides in that direction are expected this year. As lenders look hard at creating internal efficiencies, technology will aim to come to the rescue. (Read More)
Bringing Folders into the E-World
January 1, 2007As more lenders move toward a paperless environment, going electronic is the next logical step. As lenders move away from just imaging to embracing electronic loan folders that can be electronically tracked and collaboratively used, they're experiencing significant benefits. (Read More)
Electronic Delivery to Investors Bridges a Gap
January 1, 2007Gone are the days when it was just Fannie Mae that was prepared to accept e-mortgages. Now the secondary market is opening up to e-delivery of hybrid and full e-mortgages. The benefits that are received by both the correspondent seller and the investor can be compelling. (Read More)
Servicing Cost Squeeze Could Prompt Innovation
January 1, 2007The cost to service a loan is minimal so the top servicers tend to stick with their servicing systems for a longer period of time. However, with defaults rising, the cost to service a loan will increase, which vendors in this space say will make way for innovation to drive greater efficiencies "For example, we're seeing momentum on data and standards," pointed out Mary Hunter, chief executive officer of default automation vendor ACEX, Chicago. "Servicing has always been behind origination. However, with MISMO we're now seeing a push to standardize servicing data elements. (Read More)
Good Fundamentals for Commercial
January 1, 2007Following up on the heightened activity of the past few years, market participants don't expect a letup in the demand for commercial real estate investments in 2007, considering that the sector is likely to continue to enjoy good fundamentals. (Read More)
Alt Credit History Is Touted
January 1, 2007Minorities and low-income homebuyers who regularly pay their telephone and heating bills on time can achieve high credit scores and should qualify for lower-cost mortgages, according to a new credit scoring study. The study conducted by the Brookings Institution also shows that mortgage lenders can use utility and telecommunication payment histories in their credit scoring models and it won't impact applicants who usually score well. (Read More)
People
January 1, 2007ARIZONA Tucson-First Magnus Financial Corp. appointed Kymberly Wright as director of the correspondent lending division. (Read More)
Revisions for IOs From Fannie Mae
January 1, 2007Fannie Mae is requiring borrowers to be qualified at "a fully-indexed rate that assumes a fully-amortizing repayment schedule," effective Jan. 30. (Read More)
Franklin Reduces Borrowing Costs
January 1, 2007Franklin Credit Management Corp., a specialty finance company that focuses on the residential mortgage market, has modified several of its borrowing agreements to reduce its borrowing costs. (Read More)
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January 8, 2007
MLN Confirms TPO Closure
January 8, 2007After weeks of market rumors, subprime lender Mortgage Lenders Network here confirmed that it is shutting its wholesale network, which accounts for 90% of its fundings. (Read More)
Warehouse Lenders by Commitments
January 8, 2007($ in Millions) $ Volume of Comm. % Company Name Location 9/30/06 9/30/05 Change Washington Mutual Seattle, WA $18,575 $16,293 14% GMAC-RFC Bethesda, MD $15,000 $14,300 5% Credit Suisse New York, NY $5,460 $6,750 -19% National City Bank Louisville, KY $1,800 $1,800 0% Flagstar Bank Jackson, MI $1,268 $1,356 -6% Impac Mortgage Holding Newport Beach, CA $720 na na Indymac Bank Scottsdale, AZ $637 $107 495% Horizon Bank Michigan City, IN $332 $326 2% Popular Warehouse Lending, LLC Marlton, NJ $270 $300 -10% Preferred Bank Houston, TX $101 $87 16% Note: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not provide warehouse commitment numbers. (Read More)
GSE Bill Passage Predicted
January 8, 2007The House of Representatives can pass a GSE regulatory reform bill by April 2 when Congress leaves for its spring recess, predicted the new chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. (Read More)
Calif. Lender Goes Bust
January 8, 2007Subprime lender Harbourton Mortgage Investment Corp. here closed its doors in late December, the apparent victim of loan buyback requests that it could not handle. (Read More)
CFC Suit Alleged But Unconfirmed
January 8, 2007A New York law firm says it has "commenced" a shareholder lawsuit against Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., accusing its executives of backdating stock options. But so far, there is no evidence that a lawsuit has actually been filed. (Read More)
Citi, Others Eyeing AAMG?
January 8, 2007Citigroup and Countrywide Financial Corp. have expressed interest in ABN Amro's U.S. mortgage operations, industry advisors told National Mortgage News. (Read More)
Report Alleges 'Discredit' Effort
January 8, 2007Top executives at Land-America Financial Group authorized the use of "personal information" to discredit a Colorado insurance regulator and block a multistate settlement, according to a congressional report. (Read More)
Top Multifamily Lenders in 3Q 2006
January 8, 2007($ in Millions) Organization Name Location Q3 06 Q3 05 % MF Vol. MF Vol Change Washington Mutual Seattle, WA $2,186 $2,580 -15% EMC Mortgage Lewisville, TX $1,058 $1,714 -38% Homecomings Financial Minneapolis, MN $459 $250 84% MortgageIT New York, NY $358 na na EverBank/EverHome Mortgage Jacksonville, FL $349 na na Impac Funding Corporation Newport Beach, CA $234 $212 10% 1st National Bank of Arizona Tempe, AZ $169 $150 12% ABN Amro Mortgage Ann Arbor, MI $136 $376 -64% M & T Mortgage Buffalo, NY $120 $84 43% PFF Bank & Trust Rancho Cucamonga, CA $36 $8 345% Paul Financial San Rafael, CA $31 na na Washington Federal Savings Seattle, WA $29 na na Mid America Bank, FSB Clarendon Hills, IL $28 $30 -7% Metrocities Mortgage Sherman Oaks, CA $24 na na Franklin American Mortgage Franklin, TN $13 $11 17% Ridgewood Savings Bank Ridgewood, NY $6 $5 23% Cherry Creek Mortgage Greenwood Village, CO $5 na na People's Bank Bridgeport, CT $5 $10 -49% U.S. Equity Mortgage Louisville, KY $1 na na Source: NMN/3Q Quartery Data Report. Questions? Email: Paul.Muolo
Subprime Firm Files for Bankruptcy
January 8, 2007After closing its doors almost a month ago, subprime lender Ownit Mortgage Solutions filed for bankruptcy protection in late December, saying it did not have enough cash to buy back $166 million in delinquent loans. (Read More)
NAR Pending Sales Index Eases
January 8, 2007The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on contracts signed in November, eased by 0.5% to 107 from an upwardly revised reading of 107.5 in October, and is 11.4% lower than November 2005, according to the trade group. (Read More)
SNB Completes Its BBVA Deal
January 8, 2007State National Bancshares Inc. has completed its transaction with Argentina's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and, as a result, become part of BBVA's retail and commercial banking unit. (Read More)
REIT Return Totals 34.35%
January 8, 2007The real estate investment trust sector turned in a total return of 34.35% for 2006, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts reports, based on the FTSE NAREIT index maintained by the trade association. (Read More)
Bank Austria Creditanstal Increasing Stake in Moscow Lender
January 8, 2007Bank Austria Creditanstal has acquired a 19.77% stake in International Moscow Bank from VTB Bank (France) SA for $395 million and about $20 million for a recent capital increase subscribed by VTB in IMB earlier. (Read More)
Editorial: An Enduring Legacy
January 8, 2007This week 10 years ago, National Mortgage News lost its founding editor and publisher. And while the sands of time are usually pretty unforgiving, it's still fairly easy to discern Stan Strachan's legacy at this newspaper. (Read More)
Open Forum: U.S. Housing's Broader Context
January 8, 2007At Treasury, we are charged with keeping America on the path of long-term sustainable growth. And increasingly that task requires a global outlook. Tomorrow (Dec. 12) I will head to China to participate in the first meeting of our Strategic Economic Dialogue. (Read More)
Market Eyeing Credit, the Yield Curve and Jobs
January 8, 2007The Federal Open Market Committee minutes the Federal Reserve Board released last week left my belief that the Fed will stay on hold this year intact, even if the bond market took it as a sign of economic weakness vs. strength. (Read More)
Lennar Expects Third Quarter Loss, Sees No Signs of Recovery
January 8, 2007Homebuilder Lennar Corp. has indicated that it expects to take a loss for the quarter and sees no evidence of a market recovery ahead. (Read More)
'Volumes to Fall to Pre-2002 Levels'
January 8, 2007Housing economists are forecasting only a slight decline in single-family originations in 2007, but it will still force the industry to scale back to pre-2002 levels. (Read More)
G&E: Soft Landing to Help CRE
January 8, 2007Grubb & Ellis, a real estate services company, expects that an economic soft landing scenario for 2007 will keep the commercial real estate investment market healthy. (Read More)
FL Sales Fall By 30% Year-to-Year
January 8, 2007Sales of existing homes and condos in Florida were down nearly one-third year-to-year in November, traditionally a slow month for the housing sector. (Read More)
MortgageWire Roundup: Freddie Sees Further Drop in ARM Share
January 8, 2007Lenders that specialize in adjustable-rate mortgage products could face a tough time this year as ARM volume drops to 16% of originations, according to the chief economist at Freddie Mac. ARM production (based on number of loans) accounted for 21% of originations in 2006 and 31% in 2005. However, chief economic Frank Nothaft said he believes that a flat or inverted yield curve will make ARMs less attractive to borrowers. In addition, the recently issued regulatory guidance on nontraditional mortgages "may have some effect as well," he told MortgageWire. Freddie's chief economist is forecasting that single-family originations will total $2.50 trillion this year, down from $2.65 trillion in 2006. He projects that refinancings will remain relatively high at 38% of originations, compared with 44% last year. "Some people are facing a payment shock, and some people want to tap into the huge amount of home equity they have accumulated," Mr. Nothaft said. Nevertheless, it looks like total originations and ARM production will be the lowest since 2001, he said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com. (Read More)
Roundup: Fitch Downgrades Three Aegis Bond Deal Classes
January 8, 2007Three classes from two Aegis asset-backed securities trust securitizations have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Some GMAC MBS ratings slip
January 8, 2007Classes K through O of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2004-C3, have been downgraded and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
ML DEAL Class sees change
January 8, 2007Seven classes from five Merrill Lynch Mortgage Investors Inc. subprime securitizations have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Rating Slips in RAAC transaction
January 8, 2007Class B-2 of RAAC series 2004-SP2 Trust has been downgraded from B2 to Ca by Moody's Investors Service and classes M-3 and B-1 from the same transaction have been placed on review for possible downgrade. The actions were attributed to a higher-than-expected loss on a single loan that led to a writedown of a portion of the class B-2 balance.The underlying collateral consists of seasoned fixed-rate first-lien mortgage loans. (Read More)
Nomura class downgraded
January 8, 2007Class B-3 of Nomura Asset Acceptance Corp. mortgage pass-through securities, series 2001-R1, has been downgraded from BB to B by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
CAMB Optimistic on Interest Rates
January 8, 2007The California Association of Mortgage Brokers has issued its annual mortgage forecast and projected that interest rates will remain favorable in 2007. (Read More)
Hovnanian Income Down from 2005
January 8, 2007Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. saw net income available to common stockholders of $138.9 million on $6.1 billion in total revenue for the full year ended Oct. 31. In fiscal 2005, net income was $469.1 million on total revenue of $5.3 billion. (Read More)
Street Deals for FFFC, MortgageIT
January 8, 2007Merrill Lynch last week closed on its purchase of subprime giant First Franklin Financial Corp., San Jose, Calif., while Deutsche Bank completed its acquisition of MortgageIT Holdings here. (Read More)
Windstorm Insurance Still Viewed as an Issue for Commercial RE
January 8, 2007Although the 2006 hurricane season was milder than expected, the issue of windstorm insurance coverage still looms large over the commercial real estate sector, according to a report from Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Fitch Downgrades JPM Chase Classes
January 8, 2007Six classes of J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2004-CIBC8, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
Wholesaler's Take on Brokers
January 8, 2007Wholesalers in some cases may indeed have fallen short in terms of giving brokers what they want in general if they haven't really listened to the third-party originators they work with, agreed one wholesale executive, when asked about the broker concerns raised in a recent roundtable discussion that took place between a broker and a group of origination technology and service providers recently. (See related story.) When it comes to fulfilling broker wants in the area of automation, some wholesalers might also be challenged by legacy system issues, said the executive, who is the president of the Melville, N.Y.-based American Brokers Conduit. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
January 8, 2007MIEC Index: 141.1 Change: -0.1 Company 12/21/2006 1/4/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi From Ratio American Home (AHM) 33.03 33.03 0% 26.25 36.96 26% 8.3 Astoria Federal (AF) 30.55 30.23 -1% 27.25 31.95 11% 15.3 Countrywide Financial 41.12 42.53 3% 31.86 43.67 33% 9.7 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 3.04 2.47 -19% 2.46 12.07 0% na Delta Financial (DFC) 10.29 10.11 -2% 7.89 10.59 28% 8.3 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 52.48 52.63 0% 40.29 53.60 31% 18.7 Fannie Mae (FNM) 60.45 59.89 -1% 46.17 62.37 30% 12.1 Fidelity National (FNF) 23.37 23.74 2% 17.92 25.73 32% 9.7 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 20.43 20.17 -1% 16.11 21.88 25% 20.2 Freddie Mac (FRE) 68.33 67.94 -1% 55.64 71.92 22% 23.9 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 50.33 49.21 -2% 37.89 81.99 30% 4.7 LandAmerica Financial 62.42 63.10 1% 58.75 71.04 7% 8.9 (LFG) New Century (NEW) 34.07 31.00 -9% 30.72 51.97 1% 4.7 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 45.34 44.92 -1% 37.15 50.50 21% 9.1 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 47.01 48.30 3% 41.60 48.29 16% 10.7 Radian Group (RDN) 54.20 55.52 2% 51.61 65.80 8% 8.7 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 4.45 4.30 -3% 4.02 7.75 7% na Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 54.63 55.98 2% 41.50 57.87 35% 11.8 Washington Mutual (WM) 45.61 45.45 0% 41.03 47.01 11% 13.5 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Challenges Seen in Wholesaler Broker Relationship
January 8, 2007Despite the increased competition in what has generally been a more challenging market and the stated aims of most funders to make their dealings with their origination sources as conducive to the latter as possible, it appears third-party originators have been experiencing some frustration due to a disconnect between what they want and what lenders give them. (Read More)
Lender Sees the Benefit of Integrated Systems
January 8, 2007After an acquisition Bank of the West inherited Fiserv UniFi PRO and MortgageServ technology. By closely melding the two systems, the lender was able to realize the benefit of having a closely integrated origination system and servicing system created by the same vendor. (Read More)
People
January 8, 2007CALIFORNIA Brea-ResMAE Mortgage Corp. appointed Brian Morgenstern as regional vice president for portions of Southern California. (Read More)
CFC Execs Exercise Options
January 8, 2007The president and chief operating officer of Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage originator and servicer, exercised stock options relating to 14,000 shares of the company's common stock in late December. (Read More)
DLJ Class Sees Rating Change
January 8, 2007Class B-8 of DLJ Commercial Mortgage Corp.'s pass-through certificates, series 1999-CG2, has been downgraded from B-minus to CCC and assigned a Distressed Recovery rating of DR3 by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
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January 15, 2007
News Analysis: Buybacks Create Big Opportunities
January 15, 2007The buyback scourge that is causing thinly capitalized subprime firms to either fail or scale back has some sectors of the mortgage industry jumping for joy. (Read More)
Defunct Subprime Firms - A Scorecard
January 15, 2007Lender Market Date of What Name Share Demise Happened Acoustic Home Lns. 0.29% April '06 Buybacks forced parent to fold them Alliance Home Fund. na Dec. '06 Va. bank parent merged MB into bank Harbourton 0.12% Dec. '06 No info, buybacks rumored Ownit Mortgage 1.53% Dec. '06 Buybacks forced them into BK Preferred Advantage na Dec. '06 Closed by NatCity, not part of FFFC Sebring 0.10% Dec. '06 No comment, but buybacks rumored Totals: 2.04% Notes: Firms listed alphabetically. Production market share is based on the last time each lender filed nonprime origination figures with National Mortgage News. BK = Company filed for bankruptcy protection. FFFC = First Franklin Financial Corp., a subprime lender that National City sold to Merrill. Merrill did not buy Preferred and NatCity declined to keep the business open. (Read More)
Pressure On Subprime ARMs
January 15, 2007The new Congress is gearing up to hold hearings on subprime lending and rising foreclosures which will put more pressure on federal regulators to tighten underwriting standards on subprime adjustable-rate products. (Read More)
Lehman to Fund MLN Loans
January 15, 2007Lehman Brothers will fund some loans that were in the pipeline when Mortgage Lenders Network of Connecticut closed its wholesale operations late last month, sources confirmed to National Mortgage News. (Read More)
MBS Issues Top $1 Trillion in 2006
January 15, 2007Mortgage-backed securities underwriting volume in the United States totaled $1.01 trillion in 2006, up 2.2% from the $991.16 billion recorded in 2005, according to Thomson Financial. (Read More)
U.S. Mortgage-Backed Securities
January 15, 2007Bear Stearns Holds Slim Lead for Top MBS Slot 1/1/06-12/29/06 1/1/05-12/31/05 Proceeds Market # of Proceeds Market # of Book Runners ($Mil) Share Issues ($Mil) Share Issues Bear Stearns & Co Inc 99,964.7 9.9 116 103,225.7 10.4 161 Lehman Brothers 99,558.7 9.8 128 101,020.1 10.2 135 Royal Bank of Scotland Group 93,468.7 9.2 106 95,895.7 9.7 139 Credit Suisse 74,226.3 7.3 98 73,738.7 7.4 121 JP Morgan 70,138.1 6.9 105 59,735.2 6.0 80 Deutsche Bank AG 65,000.5 6.4 90 57,392.4 5.8 82 Banc of America Securities LLC 60,487.6 6.0 116 63,724.5 6.4 112 Goldman Sachs & Co 58,353.6 5.8 74 57,855.6 5.8 94 UBS 57,542.5 5.7 87 77,916.5 7.9 112 Morgan Stanley 55,249.4 5.5 93 51,412.9 5.2 89 Citigroup 51,035.2 5.0 89 47,744.5 4.8 91 Countrywide Securities Corp 46,329.0 4.6 94 58,515.3 5.9 102 Washington Mutual Inc 42,510.9 4.2 43 37,833.1 3.8 53 Merrill Lynch 36,784.2 3.6 56 37,504.2 3.8 71 Wachovia Corp 24,226.1 2.4 13 19,451.7 2.0 15 Barclays Capital 21,285.2 2.1 37 21,372.0 2.2 32 HSBC Holdings PLC 9,201.5 .9 23 2,892.4 .3 9 Nomura 5,347.9 .5 15 15,198.2 1.5 31 General Motors Corp 3,355.7 .3 11 1,817.5 .2 9 ABN AMRO 1,320.6 .1 2 735.8 .1 2 BNP Paribas SA 993.6 .1 2 -- - - First Horizon National Corp 753.0 .1 3 1,577.4 .2 7 Myerberg & Co, LP 423.3 .0 2 59.3 .0 1 BMO Capital Markets 96.7 .0 2 126.2 .0 2 Nordea 31.6 .0 1 -- - - Utendahl Capital Partners - - - 1,220.4 .1 6 Natixis - - - 762.4 .1 2 Amherst Securities - - - 644.7 .1 2 Blaylock & Co Inc - - - 599.7 .1 5 Total 1,013,042.4 100.0 1,360 991,164.2 100.0 1,353 * Full amount to book runner (equal if joint). (Read More)
Freddie Shows GSE Volatility
January 15, 2007Freddie Mac estimates that it earned $2.5 billion during the first nine months of last year, compared to $1.4 billion during the first nine months of 2005. (Read More)
CO Attorney General Targets Appraisal Fraud
January 15, 2007In an effort to curb mortgage fraud, Colorado attorney general John Suthers is pushing key legislation that would target appraisal fraud and mortgage brokers who engage in deceptive trade practices. He said the move will better equip his office to investigate and prosecute those who inappropriately influence appraisers. (Read More)
Workers Priced Out of Housing
January 15, 2007Health care professionals and other so-called key community workers are priced out of homeownership in most metropolitan areas nationwide, according to a joint study of over 200 U.S. cities by the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference, Center for Housing Policy and the nonprofit Homes for Working Families. (Read More)
Roy Kasmar Steps Down from Post as President of Radian Group
January 15, 2007Roy Kasmar, president of Radian Group Inc., will step down from that position as of April 1. Since late 2005, his efforts for the company have been focused on developing its international mortgage insurance business. (Read More)
Secured and Popular Shut Wholesale Units
January 15, 2007Secured Funding of California has shuttered its wholesale division, which accounts for about one-third of its total production. (Read More)
Editorial: High-Water Mark
January 15, 2007How high will they go? The broad increase in delinquency and foreclosure numbers reported for the third quarter by the Mortgage Bankers Association has everyone wondering what the high-water mark will turn out to be in this unwanted category. (Read More)
Open Forum: The Economic Outlook
January 15, 2007As we enter 2007, the current economic expansion is now more than five years old. Although it got off to a slow start, the expansion was quite strong from mid-2003 through mid-2006. Over that period, a good deal of the slack in our nation's utilization of resources was taken up, and the unemployment rate reached its lowest level in five years. At the same time, however, core inflation - that is, inflation without potentially volatile food and energy prices - as measured by the price index for personal consumption expenditures, moved up from less than 1.5% to about 2.5%. To safeguard the gains made over the past quarter century in the achievement of price stability and to promote sustained economic expansion, the Federal Reserve in mid-2004 began removing the considerable monetary accommodation it had earlier put in place. (Read More)
International Motivations Affecting Agency MBS
January 15, 2007Depending on the degree to which second-guessing agency mortgage-backed securities trades affects your business, you might want to take a closer look this year at what drives international investors in the marketplace. (Read More)
Stock Options Audit Forces First American to Restate Earnings
January 15, 2007The First American Corp. here will restate its annual financial statements for 2001 through 2005, plus the quarterly reports for all of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006 following a special subcommittee of its audit committee's report on the company's historical stock option granting practices. (Read More)
Fitch to Refine PO-ARM Criteria
January 15, 2007Pay-option adjustable-rate mortgage loans appear to be in the limelight of both risk analysts and consumer advocates. (Read More)
Genworth Names Key Leaders, Overhauls Structure
January 15, 2007Genworth Financial Inc. here has realigned its businesses into four segments: U.S. mortgage insurance, international, retirement and protection, and corporate and other. (Read More)
Basel II May Favor Larger Companies
January 15, 2007The introduction of the Basel II international risk-based capital standards "will shift comparative advantage in financing high-quality mortgage assets toward larger ... firms," according to a recent study commissioned by the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)
TFS Unveils U.K. Home Price Futures
January 15, 2007Interdealer broker TFS is launching United Kingdom home price futures indices representing the changing forward value of U.K. housing. The indices express a forecasted value for the future price of an average U.K. home using derivatives prices quoted in the over-the-counter residential property market (with HBOS PLC's Halifax House Price Index as its basis), according to TFS.The interdealer broker is publishing the prices monthly and said it does not guarantee the values. For example, the average price of a U.K. home recently has been estimated at £183,645 ($355,271), based on HBOS PLC's non-seasonally adjusted home price index. (Read More)
Shortfall Persists after Tsunami
January 15, 2007Relief agencies have begun to tally the progress made to date on rebuilding housing damaged in the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia two years ago and have found that, while some progress has been made, a number of structures still have not been reconstructed or replaced. (Read More)
IFC Helps Peru Develop Market
January 15, 2007A group that includes International Finance Corp. here has agreed to be initial sponsors of Peru's first secondary mortgage market company. In addition to IFC, Titulizadora Columbiana and Banco de Credito del Peru (through Grupo Credito SA) are initial sponsors of the company, Titularizadora Peruana. (Read More)
Allied Opens Correspondent Unit
January 15, 2007Residential and commercial hard-equity wholesaler Allied Mortgage and Financial Corp. here has opened a correspondent lending division. (Read More)
AHM Is Hiring Loan Officers
January 15, 2007The retail originations channel at American Home Mortgage here is looking to grow the number of loan officers by between 20% and 25% in 2007, a company executive said. To meet this goal, it is undertaking a number of efforts, including creating a portal for its sales force to use called "Marketing for Life." (Read More)
Cautious View On Financials
January 15, 2007Analysts at CreditSights have placed a "market weight" rating on U.S. financial companies heading into 2007, citing headwinds in credit quality and asset-liability management as risks to big banks, regional banks and specialty finance companies. (Read More)
Minnesota Bank Sees Drop in Earnings
January 15, 2007Redwood Financial, parent company of HomeTown Bank here, saw its quarterly income fall to $52,978 in the company's fiscal period ending Sept. 30, down from $67,727 a year earlier. (Read More)
Missing Title Documents Are Headache for Broker
January 15, 2007Positive attitude: A first-time homebuyer purchased a home in June 2006 using a national title company. In October, the couple received a tax bill in the previous owners name. I contacted the title company and was told they needed to re-sign the first and second deed of trust because the county would not record as the documents were not in "correct font size." The title company set up resigning with an attorney at the end of November, which buyers did. At the end of December, I was requested to contact sellers (there are three all in different states, original closing in June was done with powers of attorneys and all originals were given to closer by me personally) because the title company "realized" they can't find original signed deed for the transfer of the property. According to the receipt provided the first and second deeds of trust were recorded after the second signing in November. How can they record deeds of trust in the buyer's name if the property was never taken out of the sellers' name? What recourse does the buyer's have at this time? They have been renovating property, paying mortgage since August and are getting married next month. Since the transfer deed was never recorded, and the sellers are out of state, what if they refuse to resign? This is a nightmare for the first-time homebuyers as well as myself. (Read More)
CreditSights: 'No Crisis' in Commercial Real Estate
January 15, 2007Analysts at CreditSights expect the commercial real estate lending sector to "encounter some deterioration in 2007," but they do not believe the deterioration will pose serious credit problems. (Read More)
Did Fed Miss Housing Bust?
January 15, 2007Over the past year, Federal Reserve officials have underestimated the magnitude of the downturn in housing but recently they acknowledged house prices are still too high and a recovery may be elusive. (Read More)
UBS Sees Modest Portfolio Growth for Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
January 15, 2007Analysts at UBS expect to see only limited growth in GSE debt issuance this year, coupled with a continuation of tight spreads in the mortgage market. (Read More)
HCM Co-Founder Leaves Company
January 15, 2007Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings Inc., a real estate investment trust, said senior managing director George Ostendorf has resigned from the company, effective late last year. (Read More)
Freddie Prices Preferred Stock
January 15, 2007Freddie Mac last week priced $1.1 billion of its fixed-rate, non-cumulative preferred stock (CUSIP 313400673). The shares were scheduled to be issued on Jan. 16, subject to satisfaction of closing conditions. (Read More)
Canada Bucks Housing Slowdown
January 15, 2007Estimates from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. here indicate new home starts reached their highest annual level in nearly two decades during 2006 despite some slowing in December. (Read More)
Banks Catering To Immigrants
January 15, 2007More and more banks are tailoring their products, including mortgage loans, to meet the needs of the nation's newest immigrants, according to the Credit Union National Association, a nonprofit national trade association of credit unions based here and in Madison, Wis. (Read More)
Roundup: Scores a Factor in Loan Denials for Minority Applicants
January 15, 2007Credit scores are used to deny African-Americans and other minorities access to credit and financial services, according to a study by the University of Denver Center for African American Policy. "This study breaks new ground by using location mapping and statistical correlation techniques to examine the disparities in accessing mainstream financial services and credit products," said the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, which released the study. Mississippi State Rep. Mary H. Coleman, the immediate past president of the NBCSL, said credit scores "are used in a way that denies minority and underserved communities access to the financial services and products they need. This study demonstrates that credit scores - more so than simply race or income or other variables - are the key factor, and minority communities are disproportionately affected." The report, entitled "Financial Empowerment for the Unbanked and Underbanked Consumer: 'Crossing the Red Line'," was released at the Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Project's 2007 Economic Summit. (Read More)
Firm Eyes Realty Derivatives
January 15, 2007Radar Logic Inc. has launched a business focused on providing daily indices and analytics for "true derivatives markets in non-commodity assets" and it plans to start with North American residential real estate markets. "There are few organized markets for real estate derivatives, which currently settle using annual, quarterly or monthly prices or metrics," the company said. By producing "daily cash market equivalent prices ... based on its indices for up to 25 residential MSAs in the continental United States," Radar Logic plans to "assist in the introduction of derivative contracts ... enabling new futures, options and over-the-counter products geared to sophisticated institutions and traders." (Read More)
Fannie Prepays Increase by 10%
January 15, 2007Prepayment rates for 30-year mortgages in Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities rose by 10% in December, driven by stronger-than-expected turnover, according to Bear Stearns & Co. (Read More)
Selected 30-Year Fixed-Rate Prepayments
January 15, 2007(For December Period) Cpn Year WAC Fctr Dec06 Nov06 Fannie Mae 6.00 2006 6.56 .955 12.8 8.6 Fannie Mae 6.00 2005 6.51 .773 17.7 16.9 Freddie Mac 6.00 2006 6.50 .955 12.6 9.2 Freddie Mac 6.00 2005 6.41 .797 15.7 14.5 Source: Bear Stearns & Co. (Read More)
Roundup: Deals Hurt by Concerns
January 15, 2007California Statewide Communities Development Authority's multifamily housing revenue refunding bonds (Quail Ridge Apartments Project), series 2002 E-1 and E-3, have been downgraded from A to BBB-plus and BBB to BBB-minus, respectively, by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. The outlook is stable. (Read More)
Soundview HE Securities
January 15, 2007Class M-3 of Soundview Home Equity Loan Trust 2001-2 has been downgraded from Baa2 to Ba2 by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
Homestar ABS Classes
January 15, 2007Two classes of Homestar Mortgage Acceptance Corp. asset-backed pass-through certificates, series 2004-2, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service, and one class from series 2004-3 has been placed on watch for possible downgrade. (Read More)
A Slowdown Sets IN
January 15, 2007A perceptible slowdown has set in in the home-equity lending arena as the market cools down after a period of red-hot growth. The creation of home equity has slowed down as home prices have gone down in the last year. U.S. homeowners' equity, which stood at $7.192 trillion at the end of 2001, rose 30.5% to $9.388 trillion at the end of 2004, according to Federal Reserve data. During this period, historic low interest rates widened the net of homeownership and also lured speculators into the market, causing home prices to gain at a rapid pace. (Read More)
Seconds Volume Down 3% in 3Q
January 15, 2007The top 25 second-lien lenders by volume saw a 3% drop-off in volume for the third quarter to $113.036 billion, compared to the third quarter of 2005, as might be expected in the current market. (Read More)
Benchmark: Response Rate Declines
January 15, 2007Although home equity-lenders increased their marketing efforts in 2006, they saw decreased response rates compared to 2005, according to Benchmark Consulting. (Read More)
HE Lenders See Market Slowdown
January 15, 2007Home-equity loan providers are originating loans "carefully," according to an executive at one Connecticut-based firm. (Read More)
RMOA Gears Up for Reverse Mortgage Expansion
January 15, 2007The reverse mortgage market has seen a boom in the past year, and with the majority of the baby-boomer generation turning 62 (the minimum age to be eligible for a reverse mortgage) in the next couple of years, it's likely to grow even more in 2007. (Read More)
Expert Advocates Judicious HE Use
January 15, 2007In times when many Americans face unprecedented debt levels and bankruptcy claims, at least one debt management and personal finance expert cautions that misused home-equity loans can damage one's finances in the long run. (Read More)
DBRS Sees Slide in 2005, 2006 Seconds
January 15, 2007The 2005 and 2006 vintages of closed-end, securitized secondary financing for second liens "appear to be on track as two of the worst performers since 2000," according to a Jan. 8 report by Dominion Bond Ratings Service's office here. (Read More)
McDonald Touts Reverse Servicing Capability
January 15, 2007In the current down market for purchase mortgages, more lenders are looking to embrace reverse mortgages. This trend means that more of these loans will require servicing, which can be accomplished by implementing the right technology. (Read More)
Struggling Subprime Firms - A Scorecard
January 15, 2007Lender Market The Name Share Situation Encore Credit 0.69 % Huge drop in fundings, may be sold to Bear Mandalay Mort. 0.11 % Large layoffs, company not talking Mortgage Lenders Network 1.71 % Closed wholesale ops in Jan. '07, selling assets Popular Inc. na Closed subprime wholesale Secured Funding 0.13 % No info, closed wholesale ops in Jan. '07 Totals 2.64 % Notes: Firms listed alphabetically. Production market share is based on the last time each lender filed non-prime origination figures with National Mortgage News. (Read More)
$2T in 2007 MBS/ABS?
January 15, 2007Issuance of mortgage-related securities in 2007 is expected at $2.07 trillion, a 2.6% decline from 2006, according to an annual survey by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. (Read More)
Block Sees Heavy OOMC Interest
January 15, 2007H&R Block Inc. last week said it is seeing is heavy investor interest in its subprime subsidiary, Option One Mortgage Corp., Irvine, Calif., one of the nation's largest B&C lenders and servicers. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
January 15, 2007MIEC Index: 139.9 Change: -1.3 Company 1/11/2007 1/4/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 33.36 34.77 -4% 27.40 36.96 21.75% 8.05 Astoria Federal (AF) 29.78 30.23 -1% 27.25 31.95 9.28% 14.92 Countrywide Financial 42.57 42.47 0% 31.86 43.67 33.62% 9.76 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 2.62 2.46 7% 1.98 12.07 32.32% n/a Delta Financial Corp 10.40 10.10 3% 7.89 10.80 31.81% 8.81 (DFC) Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 53.18 52.66 1% 40.29 53.60 31.99% 19.17 Fannie Mae (FNM) 58.15 59.88 -3% 46.17 62.37 25.95% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 23.47 23.69 -1% 17.92 25.73 30.97% 9.60 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 19.19 20.14 -5% 16.11 21.88 19.12% 18.93 Freddie Mac (FRE) 65.44 67.95 -4% 55.64 71.92 17.61% 23.71 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 49.59 49.17 1% 37.89 81.99 30.88% 4.60 LandAmerica Financial 61.92 63.09 -2% 58.75 71.04 5.40% 8.64 (LFG) New Century (NEW) 32.06 30.99 3% 29.07 51.97 10.29% 4.58 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 43.57 44.91 -3% 37.15 50.50 17.28% 8.64 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 47.19 47.60 -1% 41.60 48.43 13.44% 10.52 Radian Group (RDN) 56.30 55.52 1% 51.61 65.80 9.09% 8.57 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 4.11 4.30 -4% 4.00 7.75 2.75% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 56.76 55.94 1% 41.50 57.87 36.77% 11.69 Washington Mutual (WM) 44.93 45.45 -1% 41.03 47.01 9.51% 13.21 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
NAR Seeks Loan Limit Rises
January 15, 2007The National Association of Realtors will be working to pass legislation this year that raises single-family loan limits so Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration can serve high-cost housing markets. (Read More)
People
January 15, 2007CALIFORNIA Walnut Creek-PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. promoted Laura Hollabaugh to vice president of bulk transactions. (Read More)
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January 22, 2007
News Analysis: 2-Year Downturn for Mortgages?
January 22, 2007With a half-dozen midsized lenders folding their tents the past month - and others scaling back significantly - mortgage executives from all walks of life are starting to get nervous, wondering just how long the current downturn will last. (Read More)
Top Residential Funding Gainers in Q3 06
January 22, 2007($ in Millions) Origination Volume % Market Mkt Shr Rk Organization Name Q3 06 Q3 05 Change Share % pt. +/- 1 Luminent Mortgage Corp. $783 $147 433% 0.09% +0.08% 2 Home123/RBC Mortgage $2,000 $900 122% 0.24% +0.15% 3 Silver State Mortgage $1,116 $770 45% 0.13% +0.05% 4 Homecomings Financial (1) $7,224 $5,101 42% 0.87% +0.33% 5 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. $23,968 $16,950 41% 2.88% +1.11% 6 EMC Mortgage (2) $34,167 $25,211 36% 4.10% +1.47% 7 Taylor, Bean & Whitaker $6,873 $5,130 34% 0.82% +0.29% 8 GMAC-RFC (1) $25,841 $19,289 34% 3.10% +1.09% 9 AmSouth Mortgage (E) $1,400 $1,090 28% 0.17% +0.05% 10 Amerifund Lending Group $178 $141 26% 0.02% +0.01% 11 Sandy Spring Bank $175 $144 22% 0.02% +0.01% 12 Franklin American Mortgage $2,316 $1,941 19% 0.28% +0.08% 13 NVR Mortgage Finance, Inc. (HB) $987 $868 14% 0.12% +0.03% 14 Charter Bank $260 $229 14% 0.03% +0.01% 15 American Home Mtg. Investment $15,265 $13,696 11% 1.83% +0.40% 16 Zions First National Bank (E) $350 $315 11% 0.04% +0.01% 17 Ace Mortgage Funding, Inc. $823 $745 10% 0.10% +0.02% 18 Thornburg Mortgage, Inc. $1,411 $1,283 10% 0.17% +0.04% 19 CitiMortgage, Inc. $34,537 $31,866 8% 4.14% +0.81% 20 DHI Mortgage (HB) $3,123 $2,894 8% 0.37% +0.07% Total: $162,797 $128,709 26% 19.54% 1.12% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms did not provide production volumes. (1) These GMAC firms are affiliates and report separately. (2) EMC is owned by Bear Stearns. (HB) Lender is owned by a home building company. (E) Estimate. (Read More)
Worst Is Over, Fannie Says
January 22, 2007Another housing prognosticator has weighed in with a prediction that the downturn is in the home stretch. (Read More)
Wells Weathers Slowdown
January 22, 2007Wells Fargo & Co. kept its earnings growth streak alive in 2006, but with little help from the company's mortgage unit in the fourth quarter. (Read More)
Credit Suisse Eyes ResMAE Buy
January 22, 2007Wall Street firm Credit Suisse is interested in buying subprime wholesaler ResMAE Mortgage of Brea, Calif., investment banking sources confirmed to National Mortgage News. (Read More)
WaMu Hurting From Subprime
January 22, 2007Last year, WaMu said it wanted to focus its mortgage business on higher-margin products. But that strategy has a downside, which is higher risk, a trend that became abundantly clear in the company's fourth-quarter financial results. (Read More)
MD Lender Latest to Close
January 22, 2007Bay Capital, a Maryland-based mortgage banking firm, has closed its doors after its parent company declared itself insolvent. At press time, no details were available on Bay's production. The parent firm, Clear Choice Financial, Tempe, Ariz., was traded on the "pink sheets" under the symbol "CLRC." (Read More)
CEO of HomeBanc Resigns amid Reorganization
January 22, 2007Patrick S. Flood has left his position as chairman and chief executive of HomeBanc Corp., and his posts have split between two industry veterans. (Read More)
ResCap Plans to Cut 1,000 Jobs
January 22, 2007Citing declining originations and an ailing subprime market, Residential Capital Corp. plans to slash 1,000 positions at its GMAC mortgage affiliates over the next nine months, according to a new public filing. (Read More)
IndyMac Trims its '06 Earnings Expectations
January 22, 2007IndyMac warned last week that its fourth-quarter 2006 earnings will fall short of previous guidance issued by the company. (Read More)
Change Designed to Remove Political Influence over FHLBank Boards
January 22, 2007The Federal Housing Finance Board is moving ahead with a new process for appointing outside directors to the boards of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks that is designed to be a merit-based system and avoid political interference. (Read More)
JPM Sees Lower Mortgage Income
January 22, 2007J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s total net income saw a year-to-year quarterly increase to $4.5 billion from $2.7 billion despite the fact that its net income from mortgage banking fell to $34 million, almost half of the prior year's $63 million. (Read More)
Editorial: A Challenging Year
January 22, 2007The subprime mortgage sector is facing as challenging a year as it has ever seen. The overall market is likely to be down, B&C defaults seem to be climbing, Wall Street increasingly is throwing nonprime fish back into the water, and a new Congress wants to take a close look at any possible linkages between subprime and predatory lending. (Read More)
Open Forum: Risk Management and Mortgages
January 22, 2007Effectively managing the risk associated with mortgage lending involves much more than prudent underwriting. Experienced risk managers understand the need to carefully consider the risks should the housing market slow, interest rates change, or unemployment rise. These include the risks that borrowers will not have sufficient income in the future to manage substantial payment increases and that continued home price appreciation may not provide a sufficient equity cushion to minimize losses in foreclosure. In addition, an accumulation of portfolio concentrations could leave an institution exposed in a downturn. Lenders specializing in subprime loans, for example, have endured a string of bad news recently, including increasing loan delinquency and foreclosure rates and the shutdown of some lenders that could not operate profitably in a slower origination environment. (Read More)
Home Prices May Not Be Enough to Prompt Fed to Lower Rates
January 22, 2007At least in some corners of the mortgage world, the housing bubble (or whatever you want to call it) has been taking its toll, leading to some company closures and job cuts. The Federal Open Market Committee could provide some relief by cutting rates. But it's probably not going to. (Read More)
Asian Influence Continues to Grow on U.S. Agency Securities
January 22, 2007International players have become increasingly influential in the U.S. mortgage-backed securities market, to the point where Asia could "become the primary arbiter of [agency] MBS performance" this year, according to a report by Barclays Capital's office here. (Read More)
Roundup: SIFMA Unveils New GSE Offering Guidelines
January 22, 2007The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has released a five-step draft of revised guidelines for delivery of offering materials related to government-sponsored enterprise securities. The revision permits electronic delivery of documentation for the securities. (Read More)
Ameriquest Deal Downgraded
January 22, 2007Four classes from two Ameriquest Mortgage Securities Inc. home-equity issues have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and one class has been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)
CDC Deal Downgraded
January 22, 2007Seven classes from three issues of CDC Mortgage Capital Trust mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Loss Expectation Grows
January 22, 2007Class B-8 of DLJ Commercial Mortgage Corp. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-CG3, has been downgraded from CC to C by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Seven Classes Downgraded
January 22, 2007Seven classes of Structured Asset Investment Loan Trust residential mortgage-backed certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Sarm Review Mixed
January 22, 2007Class B5 of Structured Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loan Trust residential mortgage-backed certificates, series 2004-11, has been downgraded from B to CC/DR3 and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
SASC Classes Downgraded
January 22, 2007Two classes of Structured Asset Security Corp. residential mortgage-backed certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
SASC Deal on Watch
January 22, 2007Class B-5 of Structured Asset Securities Corp. residential mortgage-backed certificates, series 2003-AL1, has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Terwin Deal Downgraded
January 22, 2007Two classes of Terwin RMBS Trust securities have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
CMG Mortgage Hires Account Executives from Defunct Lender
January 22, 2007CMG Mortgage Services here has hired between 20 and 25 employees - mostly account executives - from the recently defunct Ownit Mortgage Solutions of Woodland Hills, Calif. (Read More)
USB Sees Flat Mortgage Volume
January 22, 2007Despite seeing record net income in 2006 and a slight increase in overall loans for the fourth quarter of 2006, residential mortgages and total commercial real estate loans for Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp remained relatively flat in 4Q06 from 4Q05. (Read More)
Finance Board Frees Seattle FHLBank from Supervisory Agreement
January 22, 2007The Federal Housing Finance Board has released the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle from a supervisory agreement imposed on the bank two years ago when it got into trouble because of its mortgage purchase program. (Read More)
Duberstein Leaves Fannie Mae Board
January 22, 2007Kenneth M. Duberstein - one of the few remaining directors from the "Raines era" at Fannie Mae - will step down on Feb. 15, according to a federal filing by the company. (Read More)
Foreclosure Rate Slows in December
January 22, 2007More than 100,000 entered the foreclosure process during each of the last five months of 2006, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosed property. (Read More)
New 'Ratchet Mortgage' Can Adjust Downward But Never Goes Up
January 22, 2007It works like a one-way adjustable-rate mortgage. As interest rates go down, the interest rate automatically steps down so borrowers don't have to refinance. If the interest rates go up, the mortgage rate doesn't move at all. (Read More)
Payment Shock Concerns Fed
January 22, 2007In moving toward tighter underwriting of subprime adjustable-rate products, federal banking regulators want to make sure borrowers can meet their mortgage obligations, including the payment of property taxes and homeowner's insurance. (Read More)
The Winter Group Acquires Hanover's Due Diligence Business
January 22, 2007Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings here has sold its due diligence assets to Terwin Acquisitions, which does business as The Winter Group. With the sale of assets from its Hanover Capital Partners 2 division, Hanover said it is exiting the business of providing due diligence services to the financial services industry. (Read More)
WFS's Earnings Decline by 7%
January 22, 2007Washington Federal Inc., the parent company of Washington Federal Savings, posted earnings of $33.4 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006, down 7.3% from $36.2 million for the same period one year ago. (Read More)
Ex-Ownit Exec, AEs Join FlexPoint
January 22, 2007A former top executive and some of his staff at the recently defunct Ownit Mortgage Solutions, have joined FlexPoint Funding here, a nonprime lender that specializes in hard-money loans. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
January 22, 2007MIEC Index: 137.3 Change: -2.5 Company 1/18/2007 1/11/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 31.29 33.26 -6% 27.40 36.96 14.20% 7.80 Astoria Federal (AF) 29.63 29.75 -0% 27.25 31.95 8.73% 14.94 Countrywide Financial 40.85 42.58 -4% 31.86 43.67 28.22% 9.45 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 2.39 2.62 -9% 1.98 12.07 20.71% n/a Delta Financial Corp 10.60 10.40 2% 7.89 10.80 34.35% 8.57 (DFC) Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 52.27 53.18 -2% 40.29 53.87 29.73% 19.35 Fannie Mae (FNM) 57.22 58.15 -2% 46.17 62.37 23.93% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 23.79 23.45 1% 17.92 25.73 32.76% 9.64 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 19.06 19.19 -1% 16.11 21.88 18.31% 18.62 Freddie Mac (FRE) 64.97 65.36 -1% 55.64 71.92 16.77% 23.62 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 50.93 49.58 3% 37.89 79.15 34.42% 4.77 LandAmerica Financial 60.78 61.91 -2% 58.75 71.04 3.46% 8.58 (LFG) New Century (NEW) 30.13 32.08 -6% 29.07 51.97 3.65% 4.53 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 39.12 43.56 -10% 37.15 50.50 5.30% 7.77 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 47.08 47.20 -0% 41.60 48.43 13.17% 10.44 Radian Group (RDN) 56.75 56.24 1% 51.61 65.80 9.96% 8.85 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 3.82 4.11 -7% 4.00 7.69 -4.50% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 55.73 56.76 -2% 41.50 57.92 34.29% 11.85 Washington Mutual (WM) 44.26 44.90 -1% 41.03 47.01 7.87% 12.86 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
House Prevents Reverse Shutdown
January 22, 2007The House has passed a bill to prevent a shutdown of the Federal Housing Administration reverse mortgage program while the federal government is operating under a continuing funding resolution. (Read More)
FBR Revises REIT Price Targets
January 22, 2007Friedman Billings Ramsey has changed its 12-month price targets on a number of real estate investment trusts, raising targets on nine firms and lowering targets on six. (Read More)
Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
January 22, 2007B&C Stock Price Index: 181.2 Change: -3.9 Company 52 52 1/18/2007 Wkly. % Chg. P/E wk/lo wk/hi % Chg. Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 7.89 10.80 10.60 2% 34.35% 8.57 HSBC Holding (HBC) 82.06 98.56 91.12 1% 11.04% n/a IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 7.17 11.74 8.54 -6% 19.11% n/a Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 25.00 60.13 25.50 -5% 2.00% 4.09 New Century (NEW) 29.07 51.97 30.13 -6% 3.65% 4.53 Novastar (NFI) 21.74 38.49 21.92 -9% 0.83% 6.75 Ocwen (OCN) 9.36 16.95 16.50 1% 76.28% 5.91 Encore Credit (ECR) 0.94 2.39 1.17 -0% 24.47% n/a Transnational Finl Network l 0.24 1.45 0.66 -10% 175.00% n/a (TFN) Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Roundup: Brookfield Deal Rescues Mills from Financial Troubles
January 22, 2007The Mills Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Chevy Chase, Md., is being acquired by Brookfield Asset Management for a total price of about $7.5 billion. The price includes a cash payment of $21 per Mills common share and limited partnership unit, for a total value of $1.35 billion, and the assumption of The Mills debt and preferred stock, the companies reported. The Mills, a shopping center REIT, will merge into a newly formed subsidiary of Brookfield. Brookfield has also agreed to provide The Mills with debt financing until the completion of the merger by assuming The Mills' approximately US$1 billion senior term loan from Goldman Sachs Mortgage Co. and subsequently revising the terms of such loans and providing a US$500 million revolving line of credit. "This merger will provide the resources to upgrade our properties, reinforce our organization, and continue to attract premium tenants to The Mills concept," said Mark Ordan, chief executive officer and president of The Mills. (Read More)
People
January 22, 2007CALIFORNIA Brea-ResMAE Mortgage Corp. appointed Susan Zanayed as regional vice president for the Midwest region. (Read More)
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January 29, 2007
Citigroup Bid Wins ABN Amro
January 29, 2007Citigroup has agreed to purchase ABN Amro Mortgage Group here for an undisclosed sum, a purchase that will make it the nation's fourth largest residential servicer with $728 billion in receivables. (Read More)
CitiMortgage and ABN Amro Mortgage
January 29, 2007($ in Millions) Servicing: Company Serv. Rts. Market Serv. (Read More)
Mandalay Shutting Its Door
January 29, 2007Mandalay Mortgage, Woodland Hills, Calif., a top-30-ranked subprime wholesaler, is closing its doors at the end of the month and will stop funding loans, officials familiar with the situation told National Mortgage News. (Read More)
Barclays Buying EquiFirst
January 29, 2007Regions Financial Corp. here is selling its EquiFirst subprime mortgage wholesale operation to Barclays Capital, New York, the investment banking division of British bank Barclays Bank PLC. (Read More)
An E-Vault Pioneer
January 29, 2007LaSalle Bank is making waves by adopting electronic vaulting technology. They realize that the technology is forward thinking, but have decided to be ahead of the curve because they see the value in being a pioneer given the competitive state of the market today. (Read More)
Site Targets Loan Ethics
January 29, 2007Even before the official launch, Internet Brands' new Loan.com is drawing high marks and endorsements from mortgage professionals seeking to distance themselves from unscrupulous lenders. (Read More)
Quantity vs Quality in NO
January 29, 2007Scarcity of affordable housing in New Orleans continues to generate both efforts to tackle the problem and concerns about the long-term effect of current federal solutions. In addition to those already displaced, many low-income families risk permanent eviction due to reconstruction upgrades. (Read More)
Freddie Purchases Fell 14% in 2006
January 29, 2007Mortgage acquisitions by Freddie Mac fell 14% in 2006 to $502 billion, according to figures released by the company. (Read More)
Freddie Purchases & Portfolio Activity - 2006
January 29, 2007($ in Millions) Total PCs Port. Single- Total Mort. (Read More)
GSEs Unlikely to Get Cap Relief
January 29, 2007Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight director James Lockhart is going to be very reluctant to let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac off the hook and release them from maintaining 30% capital surplus once they return to timely financial reporting. (Read More)
Industry Embraces New Credit Scores to Aid Minorities, Immigrants
January 29, 2007An effort is underway to get Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration to embrace new credit scoring models that can quickly identify creditworthy immigrant and minority homebuyers. (Read More)
Editorial: Ahead of the Curve
January 29, 2007Increasing efficiency to help lenders stay ahead in a flat market is certain to be one of the key themes of this week's Mortgage Technology Conference in Tempe, Ariz. (Read More)
Open Forum: Nontraditional Guidance
January 29, 2007Insured institutions in California have performed very well in recent years, reporting pretax profits consistently higher than the national median. Asset quality and capital have also remained very strong. (Read More)
Stretched Loan Underwriting Becomes a Game of Musical Chairs
January 29, 2007If you know this industry then you know that, in the origination biz, the common wisdom is if you stretch underwriting to gain profit through volume, your profits per loans eventually suffer because your mortgages collectively perform more poorly So theoretically this is kind of a zero-sum game. But people keep playing it anyhow. Why? In part, because in the big world of high-end gambling known as the capital markets folks can play all these musical-chairs-like games buying, selling, carving up and hedging this risk that loans will perform more poorly, some hoping to actually sell to someone else. Also, it's easy and human to be shortsighted and to be frustrated when rates are relatively high if you're used to them being relatively lower. (Relatively higher rates are something the long-term rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield last week indicated we may be seeing more of. It had exceeded 4.80% for the first time in awhile at press time.) Musical chairs may seem simple. You just have to avoid being the one left without a chair. But you know how it can be. It gets confusing and increasingly competitive. You go around and around in a circle, getting dizzier and dizzier, and it's hard to know when the music is going to stop. Some of the folks bouncing around because their subprime mortgage companies folded may feel like that. (Read More)
Fannie Mae Dividend Unchanged
January 29, 2007Fannie Mae's board has left its dividend unchanged at $0.40 per share, the company said last week. (Read More)
B&C Division Hurts Popular
January 29, 2007Because of the performance of its subprime mortgage operations, 2006 was not a good year for Popular Inc., according to its year-end and fourth-quarter earnings. (Read More)
Golden West Adds Heft to Wachovia's Portfolio
January 29, 2007Wachovia earned $7.8 billion, or $4.63 per share, in 2006, as strong loan growth helped offset margin pressure. (Read More)
PNC Loses $31 Million on Home Loan Shift
January 29, 2007Although the PNC Financial Services Group Inc. earned adjusted net income of $1.5 billion for 2006, it excluded, after-tax, a $31 million loss on the repositioning of its mortgage loan portfolio during the third quarter of 2006. (Read More)
BoA's Home Equity Outplays Mortgages
January 29, 2007Bank of America, benefiting from the addition of the MBNA franchise at the start of last year, grew earnings 28% last year, but the nation's second biggest bank didn't get much help from its mortgage division. (Read More)
Wolters Kluwer to Expand Web-Based Compliance Footprint
January 29, 2007Wolters Kluwer Financial Services is making inroads to broaden the use of its StateLink technology by entering into a reseller agreement with Regulatory Counsel Group. Specifically, RCG, a provider of regulatory compliance services for mortgage lenders, will resell the WKFS Web-based compliance tool to RCG customers. (Read More)
Sen. Dodd Promises Renewed Focus on GSE Reform Legislation
January 29, 2007Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., wants to move quickly on legislation to strengthen regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and pass a bill in the next two months. (Read More)
Foreclosure Rise Worries Congress
January 29, 2007The new Senate Banking Committee chairman is working on legislation to address a potential wave of foreclosures and to assist families who are in danger of losing their homes. (Read More)
European Lenders Seek 'Passport' to Do Business Across Borders
January 29, 2007A mortgage funding working group of the European Commission here has made a number of proposals relevant to European mortgage markets, including one that would create a "passport" system for lenders authorized in one member state to undertake business in others. (Read More)
U.K. Lending Hits New Record
January 29, 2007Gross lending in the United Kingdom reached a record high of £346 billion ($682.58 billion) in 2006, up 20% from 2005, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders here. (Read More)
Roundup: CMSA Goes to Court to Defend Prepayment Penalties
January 29, 2007The Commercial Mortgage Securities Association has filed an amicus curiae seeking the reversal of the action of a District Court that has voided the prepayment clause in a life company commercial mortgage loan. (Read More)
ABSC HE Deal Downgraded
January 29, 2007Two classes of Asset-Backed Securities Corp. Long Beach Home Equity Trust mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
BOA Deal Is Distressed
January 29, 2007Class B-5 of Banc of America Funding Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2002-1, has been downgraded from BBB to CCC by Fitch Ratings and assigned a Distressed Recovery rating of DR1. (Read More)
First Franklin Classes on Watch
January 29, 2007Two classes of First Franklin Financial Corp. residential mortgage-backed certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and three classes have been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)
Meritage Classes Deteriorate
January 29, 2007Two classes of Meritage Mortgage Loan Trust series 2004-1 have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and two other classes have been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)
Risk Layering Blurs Analysis
January 29, 2007There has been a lot of talk about the risk layering seen in the underwriting of loan originations in recent years and how it has changed the dynamic of the market. And at its recent "Mortgage and Structured Products Conference: Outlook 2007," Bear Stearns explained some implications that trend has for residential mortgage-backed securities. (Read More)
New Index Focuses on Home Equity Backed Securities
January 29, 2007A third set of tradable synthetic indices of U.S. home-equity asset-backed securities has begun trading, according to an RBS Greenwich Capital report by researcher Peter DiMartino. (Read More)
GSE Funds Lead MBS Performers
January 29, 2007Mutual funds invested mainly in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities topped the rankings of mortgage funds in 2006, reporting an average cumulative total return of 4.33%, according to data from Lipper Inc., New York. (Read More)
U.S. Mortgage Funds
January 29, 20071 Year 1 Quarter 5 Years 12/31/05- 09/30/06- 12/31/01- 12/31/06 12/31/06 12/31/06 Latest Net Cumulative Cumulative Cumulative Fund Name Asset Tot Rank Tot Rank Tot Rank Value Return (%) Return (%) Return (%) Huntington:Mtge;Tr 9.010 6.06 1 1.69 1 31.83 1 Huntington:Mtge;Inv A 9.060 5.75 2 1.62 2 30.08 3 PIMCO:Tot Rtn Mtg;Inst 10.640 5.57 3 1.54 8 29.41 5 Huntington:Mtge;Inv B 9.020 5.33 4 1.60 3 N/A N/A Federated Mrtge;Inst 9.810 5.23 7 1.58 7 24.91 17 Legg Mason P:US Gv;I 13.040 5.00 12 1.59 5 24.21 23 Source: Lipper, a Reuters Company (c) 2007 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Funds
January 29, 20071 Year 1 Quarter 5 Years 12/31/05- 09/30/06- 12/31/01- 12/31/06 12/31/06 12/31/06 Latest Net Cumulative Cumulative Cumulative Fund Name Asset Tot Rank Tot Rank Tot Rank Value Return (%) Return (%) Return (%) Evergreen Adj Rt;I 9.290 4.75 1 1.16 4 16.69 1 Legg Mason P:Adj Rt;I 9.510 4.51 2 1.20 3 N/A N/A Evergreen Adj Rt;IS 9.290 4.49 3 1.10 7 15.25 2 Evergreen Adj Rt;A 9.290 4.45 4 1.10 7 15.07 3 Federated Adj Rt;Inst 9.490 4.30 5 1.14 5 13.37 5 Source: Lipper, a Reuters Company (c) 2007 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Roundup: Dynex Hires Advisor to Help Find Investment Opportunities
January 29, 2007Dynex Capital Inc., a mortgage real estate investment trust here, has hired Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP as an advisor in its efforts to find investment and joint venture opportunities. (Read More)
JV Buys Retail Properties
January 29, 2007Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, a retail real estate investment trust, has entered into a joint venture with another investor to acquire up to $450 million in retail properties in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. (Read More)
Ventas Buys Toronto REIT
January 29, 2007Ventas, a health care real estate investment trust, is acquiring Sunrise Senor Living REIT, a Toronto-based investor in senior living properties, for a total of $1.8 billion, including the assumption of debt. (Read More)
Lodgian Seeks 'Strategic Alternatives'
January 29, 2007Lodgian Inc., a hotel investor and manager, said it is exploring "strategic alternatives" in a prelude that could lead to a sale of the company. The company has retained Goldman Sachs & Co. to help with this review. Lodgian manages a portfolio of 69 hotels with 12,540 rooms in the U.S. and Canada. (Read More)
REIT M&A Activity on the Rise
January 29, 2007Following up on last year's record deal making, the REIT mergers and acquisition scene for 2007 is already starting to heat up. (Read More)
Ashford to Buy CNL Hotel REIT
January 29, 2007CNL Hotels & Resorts, a non-listed hotel real estate investment trust, is being acquired in two parts by Ashford Hospitality Trust and Morgan Stanley Real Estate for a total of $6.6 billion. (Read More)
Eyeing the Tunnel's END
January 29, 2007A critical element to success in new construction lending is managing risks in a changing environment, which makes it essential for lenders and other industry players to know what's happening now in the marketplace and what's likely to change. (Read More)
HRC Provides Financing For Homes In Brooklyn
January 29, 2007Hudson Realty Capital has been an active provider of debt financing for new construction as well as redevelopment projects nationwide. And in light of changing market conditions, the company is using specific criteria to provide financing in 2007. (Read More)
Industry Focus on Risk Management
January 29, 2007Trinity Real Estate Solutions, a national construction lender services management company, recently launched "Trinity Forum," a series of luncheon discussion seminars for Texas banking and lending professionals featuring nationally prominent speakers addressing key issues and trends in new construction lending. (Read More)
S&P Expects Housing Starts to Fall in 2007
January 29, 2007It's beginning to look like the housing market has found the bottom after a precipitous fall from unsustainable highs, and the question is quickly turning to whether this will be a V-shaped or a U-shaped recovery for U.S. homebuilders, according to a report published by Standard & Poor's. (Read More)
Fitch Assigns First Loan Servicer
January 29, 2007Fitch Ratings has assigned its first construction loan servicer rating to J.P. Morgan Commercial Real Estate Loan administration. (Read More)
NARCL Seeks Out Education
January 29, 2007Rick Nirk, executive director of the National Association of Residential Construction Lenders, says members are concerned about the homebuilding industry at this time, and many of them understand the need to manage effectively and control risk. (Read More)
Regions See Boost in Housing Starts
January 29, 2007An unseasonably warm December helped boost total housing starts, which includes condominiums and apartments, 4.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.642 million units for the month, according to figures released by the Commerce Department. (Read More)
Financing a New Office Tower
January 29, 2007Hypo Real Estate Capital Corp. here, a subsidiary of Hypo Real Estate Bank International, has closed on a $287.5 million first mortgage loan and construction financing for a new office tower to be located at 353 N. Clark St. in the River North submarket of Chicago. (Read More)
Executive Vice President Named
January 29, 2007Cactus Commerce Bank here, a provider of construction loans and other commercial banking services, has named Jim E. Nelson as executive vice president, chief credit officer and board member. (Read More)
Citigroup's Net Falls 26% in Period
January 29, 2007Citigroup posted net income of $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006, down 26% from the $6.9 billion in net income posted a year earlier. (Read More)
Chase Is Broadly Shopping AMQ
January 29, 2007J.P. Morgan Chase is broadly shopping the Ameriquest/Argent mortgage franchise and a partnership that includes a Wall Street firm, and a hedge fund appears to be the front runner, according to investment banking sources. (Read More)
Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
January 29, 2007B&C Stock Price Index: 183.2 Change: -0.3 Company 52 52 1/25/2007 Wkly. % Chg. P/E wk/lo wk/hi % Chg. Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 7.89 11.10 11.00 6% 39.42% 9.01 HSBC Holding (HBC) 82.06 98.56 91.96 2% 12.06% n/a IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 7.17 11.74 8.48 -4% 18.27% n/a Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 25.00 60.13 26.13 0% 4.52% 4.31 New Century (NEW) 29.07 51.97 29.98 -3% 3.13% 4.59 Novastar (NFI) 20.86 38.49 21.51 -5% 3.12% 6.79 Ocwen (OCN) 9.51 16.95 16.52 -1% 73.71% 5.93 Encore Credit (ECR) 0.94 2.39 1.16 -2% 23.40% n/a Transnational Finl Network 0.24 1.45 0.70 4% 191.67% n/a (TFN) Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
January 29, 2007MIEC Index: 136.8 Change: -1.4 Company 1/25/2007 1/18/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 32.32 32.53 -1% 27.40 36.96 17.96% 8.05 Astoria Federal (AF) 29.36 29.71 -1% 27.25 31.95 7.74% 15.08 Countrywide Financial 40.29 41.30 -2% 31.86 43.67 26.46% 9.71 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 2.60 2.54 2% 1.98 12.07 31.31% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 11.00 10.39 6% 7.89 11.10 39.42% 9.01 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 51.70 53.54 -3% 40.29 53.87 28.32% 19.41 Fannie Mae (FNM) 56.57 58.58 -3% 46.17 62.37 22.53% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 23.56 23.75 -1% 17.92 25.18 31.47% 9.68 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 18.95 19.18 -1% 16.11 21.88 17.63% 19.42 Freddie Mac (FRE) 64.50 64.99 -1% 55.64 71.92 15.92% 23.61 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 52.12 49.21 6% 37.89 77.85 37.56% 5.10 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 61.31 61.46 -0% 58.75 71.04 4.36% 8.66 New Century (NEW) 29.98 30.98 -3% 29.07 51.97 3.13% 4.59 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 37.71 40.52 -7% 37.15 50.50 1.51% 8.08 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 47.27 46.91 1% 41.60 48.43 13.63% 10.72 Radian Group (RDN) 59.34 56.27 5% 51.61 65.80 14.98% 9.52 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 3.77 4.08 -8% 3.70 7.69 1.89% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 50.78 55.85 -9% 41.50 58.62 22.36% 12.40 Washington Mutual (WM) 44.96 44.10 2% 41.03 47.01 9.58% 12.46 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
People
January 29, 2007CALIFORNIA Pasadena-IndyMac Bank has added new members to its mortgage bank. (Read More)
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February 5, 2007
Another Equity Funder Closes
February 5, 2007Second-lien originator DeepGreen Financial, Cleveland, has closed its doors, according to mortgage officials close to the situation. (Read More)
Servicers at 12/31/2006 (Sample)
February 5, 2007(Dollars in Millions) Servicing Volume % Rk Organization Name Location 12/31/06 12/31/05 Change 1 America First CU Riverdale, UT $957 $865 11% 2 American Home Mtg. Investment Melville, NY $46,269 $30,663 51% 3 Celink Lansing, MI $856 $480 78% 4 Central Mortgage Company Little Rock, AR $21,423 $15,298 40% 5 Cimarron Mortgage Jackson, MS $613 $675 -9% 6 Colonial Savings, F.A. Fort Worth, TX $10,876 $10,017 9% 7 Downey Savings & Loan Assn. Newport Beach, CA $19,567 $20,393 -4% 8 Fidelity Bank Wichita, KS $2,474 $2,171 14% 9 Huntington Mortgage Columbus, OH $12,953 $11,582 12% 10 IXIS Real Estate Capital New York, NY $10,372 $2,763 275% 11 M & T Mortgage Buffalo, NY $19,319 $17,195 12% 12 Navy FCU Merrifield, VA $20,398 $17,937 14% 13 NVR Mortgage Finance, Inc. Pittsburgh, PA $177 $191 -7% 14 Ridgewood Savings Bank Ridgewood, NY $1,566 $1,440 9% 15 Universal Servicing, Inc Newington, CT $74 na na Total: $167,894 $131,670 28% Notes: Firms listed alphabetically. This is a sample table ONLY. National Mortgage News is still compiling 4Q 2006 results. Want to participate in this survey? Send an email to the address below. (Read More)
BoA Won't Buy Countrywide
February 5, 2007Countrywide Financial Corp. here reported slightly lower fourth-quarter earnings compared to the same period last year, but also revealed a huge jump in accumulated negative amortization on its payment-option ARM portfolio. (Read More)
Online Firms Eye Retail
February 5, 2007At SourceMedia's Mortgage Technology Conference just concluded here, the biggest buzz came following keynote speaker Lori Collins' remark that LendingTree was "thinking" of opening brick-and-mortar offices. That remark was underlined the next day when keynoter Pete Bonnikson of rival Internet pioneer E-Loan said his company already has opened "eight or nine" retail branches to bring its back-office efficiencies to serving borrowers who still prefer to deal face-to-face with a loan officer. (Read More)
WaMu Targets Middle Ground
February 5, 2007Washington Mutual appears to be reacting to the mortgage market's recent challenges by striking a middle ground that will allow it to focus on relatively high-margin products without taking on too much risk while cutting back market share in lower-margin correspondent channel products that don't generate sufficient returns. (Read More)
Fremont Cuts 8,000 Brokers
February 5, 2007Fremont Investment & Loan here - one of the nation's largest subprime wholesale funders - has trimmed 8,000 brokers from its network, saying they were responsible for some of the highest delinquency rates in the nation. (Read More)
'GAO, Study Foreclosure'
February 5, 2007Three major trade groups are trying to convince at least one law maker to ask the Government Accountability Office to look into the causes of what is supposedly a marked increase in foreclosures. (Read More)
Citi May Make Ameriquest Bid
February 5, 2007Officials from Citigroup have been inspecting the offices of Ameriquest Mortgage in California, and may be preparing to make a bid on the subprime giant, industry sources told National Mortgage News. (Read More)
GAO Takes FHA Off Risk List
February 5, 2007After 13 years, the General Accountability Office has finally removed the Federal Housing Administration single-family insurance program for its list of "high risk" government programs, citing the FHA's improved oversight of lenders and appraisers. (Read More)
Congress Moves on Funding HECMs
February 5, 2007House and Senate appropriators have included a provision in a continuing funding resolution that should keep the Federal Housing Administration reverse mortgage program running without disruption until Sept. 30. (Read More)
Tech Spending Hits All-Time High
February 5, 2007The lending community realizes the benefit of automating in a down market as technology spending is at record highs, according to research shared by Jordan Brown, chief executive officer at consulting firm MarketWise Advisors, at the 10th Annual SourceMedia Mortgage Technology Conference here. (Read More)
GOP Senators Take Aim at Fannie CEO's Pay Package
February 5, 2007Three Senate Banking Committee members have criticized Fannie Mae and its regulator for approving a 25% pay raise for the GSE's president and chief executive, Daniel Mudd, who received $14.3 million in total compensation last year. (Read More)
MBA Sees Downside to 'Suitability' Rule
February 5, 2007The Mortgage Bankers Association is warning Congress that a suitability standard might sound like a practical way to prevent abusive lending, but it would create great uncertainty in the mortgage market and possibly result in a credit crunch in the subprime market. (Read More)
VantageScore Appears to Pass Muster with Federal Regulators
February 5, 2007VantageScore, the alternative credit scoring algorithm developed by the three major credit repositories, has apparently passed federal regulatory antitrust inspection. (Read More)
State Bancorp Settles Island Mortgage Suit
February 5, 2007State Bancorp Inc. here has settled outstanding litigation with a Texas-based firm regarding the failure of Island Mortgage Network. (Read More)
Editorial: What the Borrower Wants
February 5, 2007We heard some interesting things about homebuyer online usage at last week's Mortgage Technology Conference in Tempe, Ariz. (Read More)
Open Forum: The GSEs: Where Do We Stand?
February 5, 2007Although the housing GSEs are less obscure than they used to be, they are not much discussed in recent months. A year ago I would have noted that it was not unusual to find stories about the GSEs on the front pages of major financial newspapers. They were the subject of substantial debate in Congress and among financial-policy experts. They had escaped from obscurity, primarily because of publicity in recent years over their accounting irregularities. But today they seem to be returning to obscurity. (Read More)
Securities Regulation Help May Be on the Way
February 5, 2007Help may arrive soon for mortgage market participants who have requested assistance in gearing up for Regulation AB's April 2 deadline, according to Tom Deutsch, associate director of the American Securitization Forum. (Read More)
Countrywide Unit Leverages Residential Success
February 5, 2007Leveraging off the reputation of its gargantuan residential mortgage-lending counterpart, Countrywide Commercial Real Estate Finance is ramping up quickly. (Read More)
Hispanic Association Teams Up with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
February 5, 2007The Hispanic National Mortgage Association, a for-profit organization dedicated to increasing homeownership among Latinos and other immigrant borrowers, has entered into a joint venture partnership with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. (Read More)
AMCORE's Originated MSR Sale Aids in Positioning for Expansion
February 5, 2007AMCORE Financial here is in the process of selling its originated mortgage servicing rights in a move the company says will better position it to grow its mortgage origination business and stabilize mortgage earnings through future economic and rate cycles. (Read More)
Hedge Costs PHH $20 Million
February 5, 2007PHH Corp., amidst a major accounting review, said that poor performance of its mortgage servicing hedge depressed its overall operating performance in the fourth quarter of 2006. It also said it has undertaken a major cost-cutting initiative in its mortgage operations area. (Read More)
'Disappointed' IndyMac Still Growing Volume
February 5, 2007At a time when many lenders were reporting lower volumes, IndyMac produced record quarterly loan production of $26 billion, up 44% compared to one year earlier. (Read More)
Asset Increase Boosts Thornburg
February 5, 2007Thornburg Mortgage increased its earnings by growing its asset base 24% last year while maintaining strong credit quality, the company said. (Read More)
Downey's Net Income Declines
February 5, 2007Downey Financial Corp. saw its net income slide 5.6% in 2006 as lower gain-on-sale revenue from the sale of mortgages and mortgage-backed securities hurt the company's bottom line. (Read More)
MSRs, Subprime Challenge Regions
February 5, 2007In what has generally been a quiet earnings season for mortgage servicing rights, Regions Financial recorded impairment to the value of its MSRs during the fourth quarter. (Read More)
Delinquency Rise Fails to Hold Back American Home's Revenue
February 5, 2007Despite seeing delinquencies rise during the period, American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. saw its earnings soar during the fourth quarter of 2006. Fourth-quarter revenue was $257.7 million, up 71.3% from $150.5 million for the fourth-quarter of 2005. Net quarterly earnings were $64.7 million, up 287.5% from the net earnings of $16.7 million. (Read More)
Servicing Impairment Affects Astoria
February 5, 2007Astoria Financial Corp. here earned net income of $37.1 million in the fourth quarter, down from $57.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, with impairment to the company's mortgage servicing rights factored into the decline. (Read More)
KeyCorp's Continuing Ops Income Rises in Wake of Champion Sale
February 5, 2007After selling its subprime mortgage portfolio later in the year, KeyCorp revealed in its fourth-quarter and full-year 2006 earnings that its income from continuing operations rose to $311 million in the fourth quarter from $284 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. (Read More)
Acquisitions Help At Capital One
February 5, 2007Fourth-quarter earnings for Capital One Financial Corp., the parent company of GreenPoint Mortgage, were $390.7 million, up from the $280.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2005. (Read More)
Mortgage Banking Hurts SGFC's 4Q
February 5, 2007Fourth-quarter earnings for the Southwest Georgia Financial Corp. were in decline from the year-earlier period, due in part to lower revenue from mortgage banking. (Read More)
Radian Stands Out Among Reporting MI Firms
February 5, 2007Of the three publicly traded holding companies whose main business is private mortgage insurance and which have released earnings, only Radian has topped consensus estimates. (Read More)
Bank in Virginia Pulls the Plug on Mortgages
February 5, 2007Millennium Bankshares Corp. here said that as of the end of last year it wound down its mortgage banking operations. (Read More)
MLN 'Savior' Backs Out?
February 5, 2007Marathon Asset Management, New York, which had considered investing in the struggling Mortgage Lenders Network, has pulled out of talks with the company, according to one MLN source. (Read More)
Fannie Expects Home Prices to Decline
February 5, 2007Fannie Mae's CEO, Daniel Mudd, knows that housing has been on a roll in recent years, but he thinks the market may be sliding backward this year. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
February 5, 2007MIEC Index: 140.2 Change: 0.3 Company 2/1/2007 1/25/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 34.91 32.32 8% 27.40 36.96 27.41% 7.04 Astoria Federal (AF) 29.58 29.36 1% 27.25 31.95 8.55% 16.46 Countrywide Financial 44.03 40.29 9% 31.86 45.26 38.20% 10.07 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 2.56 2.60 -2% 1.98 12.07 29.29% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 10.89 11.00 -1% 7.89 11.22 38.02% 8.98 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 52.01 51.70 1% 40.29 53.87 29.09% 19.17 Fannie Mae (FNM) 57.15 56.57 1% 46.17 62.37 23.78% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 23.89 23.56 1% 17.92 25.18 33.31% 9.69 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 19.03 18.95 0% 16.11 21.88 18.13% 18.72 Freddie Mac (FRE) 65.61 64.50 2% 55.64 71.92 17.92% 23.61 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 54.55 52.12 5% 37.89 75.69 43.97% 5.14 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 63.32 61.31 3% 58.75 71.04 7.78% 8.88 New Century (NEW) 30.15 29.98 1% 29.07 51.97 3.72% 4.50 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 39.16 37.71 4% 37.05 50.50 5.70% 8.07 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 48.20 47.27 2% 41.60 48.43 15.87% 10.67 Radian Group (RDN) 60.79 59.26 3% 51.61 65.80 17.79% 8.51 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 3.80 3.77 1% 3.70 7.69 2.70% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 51.31 50.78 1% 41.50 58.62 23.64% 11.70 Washington Mutual (WM) 45.00 44.96 0% 41.03 47.01 9.68% 12.25 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
February 5, 2007B&C Stock Price Index: 181.4 Change: 0.3 Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 2/1/2007 Wkly.% Chg. % Chg. P/E Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 7.89 11.22 10.89 -1% 38.02% 8.98 HSBC Holding (HBC) 82.06 98.56 92.32 0% 12.50% n/a IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 7.17 11.74 8.55 1% 19.25% n/a Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 25.00 60.13 27.41 5% 9.64% 4.46 New Century (NEW) 29.07 51.97 30.15 1% 3.72% 4.50 Novastar (NFI) 20.86 38.49 21.20 -1% 1.63% 6.56 Ocwen (OCN) 9.51 16.95 14.26 -14% 49.95% 4.90 Encore Credit (ECR) 0.92 2.39 0.96 -17% 4.35% n/a Transnational Finl Network l 0.24 1.45 0.69 -1% 187.50% n/a (TFN) Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Impairment Charges Hurt, but Loan Growth Helps at FNB United
February 5, 2007FNB United Corp., the holding company for First National Bank & Trust Co. and Dover Mortgage Co., said its full-year and quarterly earnings were partially affected by impairment charges incurred by its subsidiaries. Despite this, the company added that exceptional loan and deposit growth both organically and through acquisitions contributed to record profits in 2006. (Read More)
Net Loss Seen At MDC Holdings
February 5, 2007MDC Holdings Inc. took a net loss in 4Q06 of $6.4 million vs. net income of $197.5 million for 4Q05. Quarterly revenue was $1.34 billion vs. $1.74 billion for the same period in '05. (Read More)
Internet Leaders Showcased at MTC
February 5, 2007Mortgage professionals attending SourceMedia's 10th Annual Mortgage Technology Conference got a review of state-of-the-art Internet-based lending, as keynoters Pete Bonnikson of E-Loan and Joe Dahleen of MILA followed LendingTree general manager Lori Collins to showcase high-tech direct and wholesale mortgage lending. (Read More)
Lead Incubation Pays Off for GM Mortgage
February 5, 2007When nonprime lender Aegis Lending selected Intellidyn for mortgage lead incubation, it knew that GM Mortgage was already putting up some remarkable conversion numbers with leads that generally go in the trash can. At the 10th Annual Mortgage Technology Conference here, recently concluded, Intellidyn SVP Gene Devine presented statistics showing exponentially improved click-through and conversion rates on cold leads with the system created for GM Mortgage. Now Hingham, Mass.-based Intellidyn Corp. is creating a custom lead-incubation system for Aegis leveraging a multichannel database system and state-of-the-art analytics. (Read More)
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February 12, 2007
Special Report: Servicing Preconvention
February 12, 2007Leaders of the mortgage servicing industry will gather in San Diego next week to talk about how a changing market creates new opportunities to profit from loan administration. Highlights of the event will include a golf outing at Torrey Pines and a keynote speech by explorer Robert Ballard.This SR starts on page 21. (Read More)
MGIC/Radian Will Have 38% of MI
February 12, 2007The proposed merger of MGIC Investment Corp. here and Radian Group would create a combined unit that holds 38% of mortgage insurance in force. (Read More)
MGIC and Radian - Policies-in-Force
February 12, 2007($ in Millions) MI Firm MI Policies- Policies-In- MI Policies- Name In-Force Force Mkt. Sh. In-Force Rank MGIC $173,421 22.63% 1 Radian Guaranty $115,261 15.04% 3 Combined $288,682 37.67% 1 Notes: There are seven MI firms insuring residential mortgages in the U.S. Figures as of September 30, 2006. Source: National Mortgage News/Quarterly Data Report. (Read More)
Top Commercial Lenders in 3Q 2006
February 12, 2007($ in Millions) Organization Name Location 3Q 06 Vol. 3Q 05 Vol. % Change Wachovia (E) Charlotte, NC $12,000 $11,000 9% Capmark Finance/GMAC (E) Horsham, PA $8,000 $7,000 14% Wells Fargo Mortgage (E) San Francisco, CA $6,000 $5,800 3% Key Bank Real Estate Capital Cleveland, OH $5,380 $5,334 1% NorthMarq Capital, Inc. West Bloomingham, MN $3,087 $3,584 -14% Washington Mutual (MF) Seattle, WA $2,186 $2,580 -15% Q10 Salt Lake City, UT $1,711 $1,763 -3% Collateral Real Estate Capital, LLC Birmingham, AL $1,482 $1,269 17% iStar Financial New York, NY $1,410 na na Countrywide Financial Calabasas, CA $1,346 $1,113 21% (c) 2007 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Now, CRE Credit Worries
February 12, 2007There is a lot of capital chasing commercial real estate deals, which has led to a relaxation in underwriting standards, according to panelists at a session on credit quality at the MBA's Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo 2007 here. (Read More)
Mexican RE Now Online
February 12, 2007Two U.S. companies have brought a Mexican mortgage broker in a small but promising North American cross-border vacation home market online for what appears to be the first time. (Read More)
MLN Bankrupt Owing $92MM
February 12, 2007The ailing Mortgage Lenders Network here - once a top 15 ranked subprime lender - filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, owing unsecured creditors $92 million. (Read More)
HSBC Increases Reserve
February 12, 2007Hammered by losses - and anticipated writedowns - on adjustable-rate second-lien subprime loans, HSBC Holdings last week increased the bad debt reserve on its B&C division to $10.56 billion, a stunning 125% increase from its Sept. 30 figure. (Read More)
Fannie, FHA Eyeing ADC
February 12, 2007Fannie Mae met late week with its safety and soundness regulator about restarting its controversial acquisition, development and construction loan purchase program. (Read More)
Consumer Groups Chide GSEs for Subprime Loans
February 12, 2007Some of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's friends are raising concerns about the GSEs' purchases and investments in subprime securities, particularly when the securities are backed by 2/28 ARMs. (Read More)
FHA Expects to See Loss Next Year
February 12, 2007The Federal Housing Administration single-family mortgage program is projected to incur a loss next year - the first time in the program's 70-year history - due to rising defaults and declining originations. (Read More)
White House Wants 'Clarity' on Where Primary Market Ends
February 12, 2007The Bush administration's new fiscal budget relents on the issue of portfolio limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but calls for greater "clarity" on where the primary mortgage market begins and ends. (Read More)
Brokers Backpedal On 'Mentor' Status
February 12, 2007The National Association of Mortgage Brokers quickly erased the word "mentor" from its website after a senator pointed out that they were marketing themselves as "trusted advisors." (Read More)
Editorial: Still Standing
February 12, 2007Will the commercial mortgage market suffer the same slow rollback most expect the residential market to exhibit in 2007? (Read More)
Open Forum: The GSEs: Where Do We Stand?
February 12, 2007Congressional hearings were held, and GSE reform legislation was passed in oversight committees of both houses of Congress in 2004 and 2005, although no final legislation has been enacted as of this time. I'll have more to say about reform legislation later, because I think this is an important missing piece of the overall puzzle. (Read More)
Hone Credit Models to Offset Curve's Pressure
February 12, 2007I'm interested - and I'm pretty sure a lot of mortgage market participants are, too - in what folks are doing or can do about the inverted yield curve that's been challenging the real estate finance business. (Read More)
Freddie Sets June 8 as Meeting Date
February 12, 2007Freddie Mac has scheduled its annual shareholders meeting for June 8, when shareholders of record as of March 30 will be electing 13 members to the company's board of directors. The terms of current directors will expire on the date of the annual meeting. All the directors elected at the June 8 meeting will serve terms ending on the date of the next Freddie Mac stockholders meeting. (Read More)
Irwin Reports Home Equity Gain
February 12, 2007Irwin Financial Corp. saw improved fourth-quarter results for its home-equity segment from the previous quarter, although a slight deterioration in consumer mortgage credit quality. (Read More)
Bancorp South Grows Net 6.8%
February 12, 2007BancorpSouth earned $1.57 per diluted share last year, up 6.8% from 2005, despite taking a modest impairment charge in the fourth quarter. (Read More)
Servicing Sales Help Flagstar Bank Cope with Challenging Conditions
February 12, 2007Flagstar Bancorp here faced plenty of headwinds that held back earnings in the last year, but a gain from the sale of mortgage servicing rights helped offset some of the problems. (Read More)
Farmer Mac Will Buy Back Stock
February 12, 2007The board of the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., better known as Farmer Mac, has authorized the company to continue its share repurchase program, with a view toward repurchasing up to an additional one million shares of Class C common stock. (Read More)
Alliance Revamps Mortgage Operation
February 12, 2007After Alliance Bankshares Corp. reported fourth-quarter 2006 earnings of $554,000 compared to $1.1 million for the same period last year, Thomas A. Young Jr., president and CEO of the company, pointed out that its 4Q06 results include an after-tax charge for the restructuring of its mortgage operations. (Read More)
E-Lending Transition Takes Time
February 12, 2007While talk of electronic mortgages and the benefits they will bring this industry are not new, there are still common misconceptions about e-mortgages that lenders should be aware of when going down this path. At the 10th Annual SourceMedia Mortgage Technology Conference here, panelists talked straight about e-mortgages and tips on how to realize the benefits. (Read More)
HomeTeam Profits from TV Presence
February 12, 2007HomeTeam, producer of the nationally syndicated "cause" television program of the same name, reported a prosperous 2006, including the addition of key executives, a second season renewal, and the successful beta launch of its first-time homebuyer online portal, www.hometeam.com, which provides homebuyers with the resources and tools necessary to make educated home purchase decisions. (Read More)
PA Bank is First to Fail in Two Years
February 12, 2007The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has arranged the takeover of a small Pittsburgh bank, making Metropolitan Savings Bank the first bank failure in over two years. (Read More)
Mortgage Insurance Volume Dips
February 12, 2007Private mortgage insurers did $252.1 billion of primary new insurance in 2006, down slightly from production in 2004 and 2005. (Read More)
Franklin Shifts Portfolio Assets
February 12, 2007As a means of improving its interest margins, Franklin Bank Corp. is planning the restructuring of approximately $580 million, or 20%, of its single-family loan portfolio from held for investment to held for sale, according to its earnings statement. The company expects that this restructuring will be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2007. (Read More)
Root Markets Acquires LeadROI
February 12, 2007Root Markets Inc. here, the lead exchange platform whose chairman is Lew Ranieri, has acquired LeadROI, a mortgage lead management and customer relationship management system provider headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. (Read More)
Merrill Paying $1.8 Billion for CA Bank
February 12, 2007Moving from one end of the credit spectrum to the other, Merrill Lynch, New York, has agreed to acquire First Republic Bank, San Francisco, in a deal valued at $1.8 billion. First Republic specializes in working with high net worth individuals and has expertise in luxury home lending. (Read More)
$250 Million New Mexico Land Sale Is Rich in History
February 12, 2007It's not every day a company purchases a single piece of property twice the size of Boston. (Read More)
Managers Called Key to Improving Performance in Loan Sales
February 12, 2007It is one of the classic "chicken or egg" questions in the mortgage business: Who is more important to loan production, salespeople or their managers? (Read More)
Lender Embraces Builder as Client
February 12, 2007How do mortgage companies instill the disciplines of planning and focused execution in their loan production departments? (Read More)
MBA Designing New Consumer Disclosure Form
February 12, 2007A legislatively imposed suitability test "would set fair lending back 25 years," according to the chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, which is advancing the idea of a "simple, plain English" disclosure form as an alternative to regulatory benchmarks. (Read More)
Roundup: Early Delinquencies Land JPM Deal on Ratings Watch List
February 12, 2007Class M-11 of J.P. Morgan Mortgage Acquisition Corp. asset-backed pass-through certificates, series 2005-FRE1, has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Ace Classes Downgraded
February 12, 2007Four classes of Ace Securities Corp. mortgage-backed securities have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and three classes have been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)
CSFB Deal Downgraded
February 12, 2007Class DB3 of CSFB Mortgage Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2002-22 (groups 3 and 4), has been downgraded from B to C/DR6 by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
GSAMP Classes on Review
February 12, 2007Five classes of GSAMP Trust series 2006-S3 mortgage-backed securities have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
HarbourView Deal in Default
February 12, 2007The Class A notes issued by HarbourView CDO III Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation that includes mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded from B to A-minus by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Homestar Deal Downgraded
February 12, 2007Class M-5 of Homestar Mortgage Acceptance Corp. asset-backed pass-through certificates, series 2004-3, has been downgraded from Baa2 to Ba3 by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
MAST Deal on Review
February 12, 2007Class M-10 of Mortgage Asset Securitization Transactions Asset Back Securities Trust mortgage pass-through certificates series 2005-FRE1 has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Meritage Deal on Review
February 12, 2007Two classes of certificates from Meritage Mortgage Loan Trust 2004-1 have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
Morgan Classes Downgraded
February 12, 2007Two classes from Morgan Stanley ABS Capital I Inc., series 2002-HE3, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
RALI Classes Downgraded
February 12, 2007Two classes of Residential Accredit Loan Inc. mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Re-Performing REMIC Downgraded
February 12, 2007Two certificates from Reperforming Loan REMIC Trust Certificates series 2003-R4 have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
SACO HE Classes Downgraded
February 12, 2007Six classes of SACO I Trust second-lien mortgage-backed securities have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and four classes have been removed from Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)
Blackstone Group Wins Bidding War for Equity Office's Portfolio
February 12, 2007After a fierce bidding war, the battle for Equity Office Properties Trust is finally over, with the real estate investment trust approving a merger with The Blackstone Group. (Read More)
IndyMac to Buy NYMT's Platform
February 12, 2007IndyMac Bancorp, Pasadena, Calif., has agreed to purchase the 32-branch retail platform of New York Mortgage Trust for $13.4 million. (Read More)
Texas Company Exits Wholesale
February 12, 2007Concorde Acceptance Corp., Dallas, is in the process of closing its wholesale division, National Mortgage News has learned. (Read More)
MBS Issuance Drives Growth in International Financial Markets
February 12, 2007Residential mortgage-backed securities issuance helped boost the structured finance market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by an aggregate 34% year-on-year to around 548 billion euros (about $711 billion), according to Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
OFHEO Seeks to Rein in MBS Purchases of Fannie and Freddie
February 12, 2007In adopting nontraditional mortgage guidance, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should apply the same underwriting standards to the mortgage-backed securities as well as the loans they purchase, according to their regulator. (Read More)
BFC and Levitt Agree to Merge
February 12, 2007BFC Financial Corp. and Levitt Corp. have entered into a definitive merger agreement, and Levitt will become a wholly owned subsidiary of BFC. (Read More)
Torrey Pines Golf Event
February 12, 2007The MBA will be hosting a "shotgun shamble" golf tournament at the award-winning Torrey Pines Golf Complex on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 12:30 p.m. Torrey Pines offers two of the most scenic championship 18-hole golf courses in the world, the North and South courses. On the South Course, there are seven holes with direct views of the Pacific and several more with views of a huge natural canyon with the nearby mountains almost always in the background. (Read More)
San Diego Equals Opportunity
February 12, 2007When the industry's loan administration executives gather in San Diego next week, they'll be talking about new opportunities to maximize profits in a challenging environment. (Read More)
AD&Co. Sees Modeling Gains
February 12, 2007Andrew Davidson & Co. Inc. has launched "Loan Dynamics Model," a credit valuation tool designed to project delinquency, default, loss severity and prepayment on non-agency mortgage loans, the fixed-income risk analytics provider said. (Read More)
Consultant Sees Rising Foreclosures
February 12, 2007Real estate foreclosure consulting and training entity Ransom Enterprizes LLC said foreclosures are on the rise often due to "the acceleration in adjustable-rate mortgages" and "cool down in the real estate market," which tend to push many homeowners into pre-foreclosure status. (Read More)
San Diego Boasts Many Museums
February 12, 2007February is Museum Month in this Southern California city which is striving to showcase its growing cultural clout. (Read More)
GMAC Is First to Get Subservicer Rating
February 12, 2007GMAC Mortgage, the nation's second largest subservicer of home loans, has received Fitch Ratings first "subservicer rating" and the company got the top grade of "RPS1" from Fitch. (Read More)
Market Adjusts As Overdues Rise
February 12, 2007Just about every week, some new report emerges highlighting higher delinquency and default rates in the mortgage industry. (Read More)
'Now Hiring' Signs Still Up for Servicers
February 12, 2007With many subprime mortgage shops closing their doors in recent months, it would seem that finding a job in the sector might pose a challenge. (Read More)
The MLN Bankruptcy - Largest Unsecured Creditors
February 12, 2007($ in Millions) Creditor Claim Nature of Name Amount Claim Merrill Lynch $32.6 Repurchase requests IXIS Real Estate $25.0 MSR financing Lehman Bros. $9.9 Repurchase requests, deficiency Wachovia $7.7 Judgment Goldman Sachs $4.7 Repurchase requests, deficiency Greenwich Capital $4.0 Repurchase requests, deficiency Duffy White Const. $1.9 Trade debt Credit-Based Asset $1.0 Repurchase requests, deficiency Countrywide $0.9 Repurchase requests, trade debt Total $ 87.7 Notes: MLN = Mortgage Lenders Network. Claim amounts have been rounded. In total unsecured creditors are owed more than $92 million. Const. = Construction. (Read More)
Bush Charge Passes Halfway Mark
February 12, 2007In June 2002, President Bush challenged the housing business to create 5.5 million new minority homeowners by 2010. Now, four years later, the charge has passed the halfway point. "We are making great progress," Secretary Alphonso Jackson of the Department of Housing and Urban Development said last week at the National Association of Home Builders convention here. (Read More)
Tough Regs Could Neuter GSEs
February 12, 2007In perhaps the strongest language yet in the debate over new rules for the government-sponsored enterprises, the chairmen of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae cautioned those who would hamstring their companies that they can't have it both ways. (Read More)
HUD Expects FHA Bill to Move Through House & Senate
February 12, 2007The Department of Housing and Urban Development says its "biggest priority in single-family housing" for the 2007 legislative year is reforming the Federal Housing Administration. (Read More)
Commercial, Multifamily Vols Good
February 12, 2007This year will be a very good one for commercial and multifamily lending volumes, not taking into account any unexpected shock to the system, according to Douglas Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)
NCEN Also Has Repurchase Issue
February 12, 2007New Century Financial Corp. here, the real estate investment trust parent of the nation's second largest subprime lender and largest subprime wholesaler, is the latest company to admit issues with loan repurchases, forcing it to restate earnings. At least one analyst said the situation could lead to its warehouse lines being pulled. (Read More)
Remodeling Remains on Slow
February 12, 2007Spending on remodeling by homeowners is likely to increase by at least 3% a year over the next decade, according to both the National Association of Home Builders and Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. (Read More)
People
February 12, 2007CALIFORNIA Newport Beach-Icon Residential Capital LLC has named Julie Flatland as sales service manager. (Read More)
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February 19, 2007
Editorial: Credit Crisis
February 19, 2007A credit crisis is taking shape in the nonprime mortgage market, perhaps the worst one observed since the great subprime flight-to-quality collapse of 1998. (Read More)
Margin Calls Seen at Merrill Lynch
February 19, 2007Merrill Lynch - which has been stung by three high-profile subprime bankruptcies in six weeks - is conducting margin calls on certain B&C originators that receive financing through the firm's warehouse group. (Read More)
ResMAE Goes Bankrupt, Cites Buybacks
February 19, 2007Subprime wholesaler ResMAE Mortgage here filed for bankruptcy protection early last week, leaving behind a long trail of Wall Street creditors including Merrill Lynch, which had a major buyback dispute with the company. (Read More)
Two Shutter Wholesale
February 19, 2007Two more non-depositories have shuttered their wholesale operations in response to loan buyback requests and an emerging liquidity crisis in the nonprime market. (Read More)
Top Residential Servicers At 12/31/06
February 19, 2007($ in Millions) Servicer Res. Serv. Port. % change Market Name at 12-31-06 From 4Q 05 Share Wells Fargo $1,341,870 33% 14.93% Countrywide $1,298,394 17% 14.45% Washington Mutual $710,797 5% 7.91% Chase Home Finance $674,057 12% 7.50% CitiMortgage $521,509 18% 5.80% Bank of America $419,497 14% 4.67% GMAC (e) $340,000 19% 3.79% Wachovia (1) $175,244 352% 1.95% National City $171,066 1% 1.90% IndyMac $147,994 63% 1.63% Totals: $5,800,428 18% 64.53% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms had not filed surveys with NMN by deadline time. Market share based on estimated U.S. housing receivables of $8.981 trillion at year-end 2006. This is a preliminary ranking. A larger ranking will be published shortly. (e) Estimate. (1) Wachovia recently bought Golden West Financial, a large servicer. GMAC had not filed its survey at press time. (Read More)
Fremont Ceases Funding Seconds
February 19, 2007Fremont Investment & Loan here, the nation's fifth largest subprime wholesaler, last week told its loan brokers the company will no longer fund second mortgages. (Read More)
MERS Accepts E-Sign PDFs
February 19, 2007After much wrangling within MISMO over exactly what role both Intelligent and static PDF should play within the electronic mortgage process, the Mortgage Electronic Registry System has gone ahead and drafted guidance on how to e-sign PDFs in a manner that MERS will accept them as binding e-notes. (Read More)
Climate Risks Crimp Coastal RE
February 19, 2007Stung by billions of dollars in losses following Hurricane Katrina, major property insurers in 2006 heeded climatologists' forecasts of trouble ahead and withdrew from vulnerable shoreline communities - in some cases from whole states - along the Gulf Coast and East Coast. (Read More)
Suit Affects Option ARMs
February 19, 2007A federal judge in Wisconsin recently ordered Chevy Chase Bank to rescind a loan made to a couple who took out an adjustable-rate mortgage because the bank failed to clearly explain how the loan would work. (Read More)
HOT STAT
February 19, 2007REFIS STEADY In contrast to the subprime market's turmoil, refinancing and mortgage rate levels have remained quite stable, barely moving at all, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association and Freddie Mac. (Read More)
Mortgage Servicing Values Appear to Be Poised for Increase
February 19, 2007With mortgage rates creeping upward, today's market should mark the beginning of good times for owners of mortgage servicing rights. (Read More)
Regulators Eyeing Subprime in 2/28 Guidance
February 19, 2007Federal banking regulators are keeping a close eye on the turmoil in the subprime mortgage market as they work on new guidance to tighten the underwriting standards on subprime 2/28 ARMs. (Read More)
Open Forum: Preserving the American Dream
February 19, 2007Let me make myself clear on one important point: I do not believe that all subprime or exotic lending is predatory or abusive. To the contrary, subprime credit can be a valuable tool in helping people become homeowners, and in unlocking the equity in their homes. (Read More)
More Pressure Hits Securitized Mortgage Market
February 19, 2007Portions of the securitized mortgage market had faced additional pressures at press time that bear considering in market strategies. Home equity/second liens credit concerns mounted as Standard & Poor's put 18 subprime, alternative-A, closed-end second-lien ratings from 2006 on watch for possible downgrades. In addition, spreads on a portion of the ABX tradable synthetic indices of home-equity securities were once again battered by subprime lender concerns. (Read More)
Last Year's Home Prices Didn't Look So Bad in Some Respects
February 19, 2007Despite all the doom, gloom and hand-wringing about the housing market, prices ended 2006 on a positive note. (Read More)
Builders Anticipate First-Ever Price Drop Coming
February 19, 2007The National Association of Home Builders is projecting a first-ever overall decline in housing prices for 2007. (Read More)
Land of Lincoln's Predatory Lending Database Gets Suspended
February 19, 2007Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has directed the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations to immediately suspend the Illinois Predatory Lending Database Pilot Program, also known as HB 4050. (Read More)
Korell Is Looking for Firms and Seeking Warehouse Financing
February 19, 2007With the subprime sector in the midst of a grinding - and expensive - correction, now wouldn't seem like the best time to enter the market, would it? (Read More)
NHB Approved For Proficio Bank
February 19, 2007NHB Holdings Inc., a Florida-based bank holding company, said it received regulatory approval for its de novo bank, Proficio Bank, to market specialized banking and mortgage services to the relocation, homebuilding and real estate brokerage industries. (Read More)
Promotion Spotlight
February 19, 2007John Vella Mr. Vella has been named the president and chief executive officer of EMC Mortgage Corp., Lewisville, Texas, a subsidiary of Bear Stearns. He previously was the president and chief operating officer of Aames Investment Corp. He replaces EMC chairman and CEO Raylene Ruyle, who is transitioning out of a day-to-day role with the company and plans to officially retire from the organization at the end of May. (Read More)
Consolidator Receives Loan
February 19, 2007MBI Financial Inc., the holding company for a mortgage banker firm that consolidates mortgage brokerage operations, has received a $ 5 million term loan. The lender was not disclosed in the press release, but a check of Securities and Exchange Commission filings shows the lender to be Old Master Giotto Fund Ltd., a Cayman Islands-exempt company. (Read More)
FDIC Reiterates Expectations for 'Responsibly Underwritten' Loans
February 19, 2007The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has reminded state nonmember banks that are subprime lenders to treat their borrowers fairly and to make "responsibly underwritten" and priced loans. In a letter, the agency warns that it will not tolerate predatory lending, that it will take appropriate action if it spots loan flipping. It also warns against concealing the true nature of a loan from unsuspecting or unsophisticated borrowers or making unaffordable loans based on property value vs. the ability to repay. This "reaffirms the FDIC's position that such activities are inconsistent with safe and sound lending," the letter says. (Read More)
Analysts Cautious on Most Mortgage Stocks
February 19, 2007Mortgage stocks have suffered in recent weeks, as concern about slowing home loan volumes and rising delinquencies have tarnished the industry's luster with the investment community. (Read More)
ECC Ended Up Paying the Purchaser in Its Acquisition
February 19, 2007Although ECC Capital Corp., Irvine, Calif., has completed the sale of its Encore Credit Corp. mortgage banking unit to Bear Stearns here, it ended up paying the purchaser $7 million. (Read More)
Astoria Loses Goodwill Case
February 19, 2007In a case dating back to the height of the S&L scandal, a three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals panel has reversed a lower court decision to award $435.8 million to Astoria Financial Corp. in a "supervisory goodwill" case. (Read More)
Freddie CFO: Challenges Now Just 'Road Bumps'
February 19, 2007Challenges in ensuring "the accuracy of the close" have been a roadblock when it comes to getting Freddie Mac's reporting back on track, an executive the government-sponsored enterprise hired late last year to handle the task said. (Read More)
ACB Members Ramp Up Wholesale
February 19, 2007Community bankers are getting more involved in wholesale lending and more community banks are selling all their loan production, according to an annual survey by America's Community Bankers. (Read More)
New Unit Formed To Buy FL Land
February 19, 2007Cypress Creek Capital Inc., a real estate investment and advisory company, has formed a new subsidiary, Cypress Creek Capital Florida Land Investors LLC, to acquire land throughout the state that is at least 50 acres, raw or developed, entitled and non-entitled. (Read More)
Improving Secondary Execution
February 19, 2007The for-profit subsidiary of America's Community Bankers and 32 member banks have formed a joint venture to achieve better secondary market execution for their "high-quality" mortgage loans. (Read More)
Fannie Mae Testing New Guarantee and Securitization Structures
February 19, 2007Fannie Mae is working on new structures that allow the mortgage giant to guarantee and securitize mortgages it likes in terms of pricing and risk and sell off the pieces that it doesn't like to other investors. (Read More)
Freddie Foresees 'Continued Success'
February 19, 2007Freddie Mac's 2006 business accomplishments "all point to our continued success" even as it is facing increasing competition, said executive vice president of investments and capital markets Patricia Cook. (Read More)
SEC Move Cuts Reg AB Costs
February 19, 2007Securitization market participants can avoid paying hefty audit attestation fees and the burden of compiling reports from numerous vendors due to a Feb. 2 Securities and Exchange Commission move. (Read More)
Bear: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Prepayments Fall in Month
February 19, 2007Prepayment rates for 30-year mortgages in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities fell modestly in January, driven by a seasonal decline in turnover that offset a 15-basis-point rally in mortgage rates, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. The aggregate speed on 30-year Fannies was a constant prepayment rate of 11.5 CPR, down from 12.0 CPR in December, compared with 10.2 CPR for comparable Freddies, down from 11.1 CPR in December, said Bear Stearns analysts Dale Westhoff and V.S. Srinivasan. "The biggest surprise ... was the decline in prepayments in higher coupons in the face of a significant rally in mortgage rates," the analysts said, noting that the rally exposed mainly newly originated mortgages backing 6.0% and 6.5% coupons. "These borrowers have seen little or no home price appreciation, reducing the cash-out incentive that has been ...critical ... to the prepayment response in recent years." (Read More)
Rating Agency: CDO Growth Poses Challenges for Loan Servicers
February 19, 2007Rating agency Standard & Poor's says that the growth of collateralized debt obligation issuance poses challenges for the servicers of real estate loans that are pooled into these deals. (Read More)
Stock Woe Link To Defaults Seen
February 19, 2007An Internet company that focuses on selling foreclosed homes says that all the attention currently being paid to rising defaults is behind the steep decline seen in some mortgage-related stock prices recently. (Read More)
Starting from Scratch May Help
February 19, 2007With all the attrition in the industry today caused by merger and acquisition activity as well as noted lenders closing shop all together, a new kind of lender is emerging from under the rubble of these fallen organizations with a keen eye on technology. (Read More)
FARES Merges with CoreLogic
February 19, 2007Promising to give the mortgage industry a comprehensive line of risk-management analytics to deal with the current difficult market, the First American Corp. said that it has merged its First American Real Estate Solutions division, a part of its FARES LLC subsidiary, with Sacramento, Calif.-based CoreLogic Systems Inc. As a provider of residential mortgage risk management and fraud protection technology and services, CoreLogic identified more than $1.2 billion in potential loan losses in 2006. (Read More)
Vendors: 'Ajax' Can Lead to Cleaner, Faster Web Page Changes
February 19, 2007In a market where the user demands that their technology is more intuitive and user friendly, several vendors are jumping on the Ajax bandwagon when it comes to Web-based applications. (Read More)
New CV Website Helps Customers
February 19, 2007Responding to requests from users, Commerce Velocity has launched a new website to keep customers updated on new releases, products and bugs. The new site, accessible only to CV customers, includes product information on its CQ decision suite and modules. According to the announcement, users will also be able to go to the site to request new features, report issues and stay up to date on user group conference calls, meetings and presentations. (Read More)
Remend Unveils 'OnDemand' Service for REO
February 19, 2007Remend has unveiled its OnDemand REO service designed to streamline the asset management and property sale process, making the service available as part of the Remend OnDemand suite of products for default management. (Read More)
New Orleans' Commercial Milieu Shows Improvement
February 19, 2007Employment statistics, sales tax collections, large construction projects and other key economic indicators point to an accelerating recovery, and even growth, in many Gulf Coast communities damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (Read More)
Collateral Makes Tech Move
February 19, 2007After months of development, testing and implementation, Collateral Real Estate Capital LLC became the first mortgage banking firm to convert to Midland Loan Services' Enterprise! loan servicing system. (Read More)
Mills Receives Offer From Simon/Farallon
February 19, 2007In another brewing takeover battle in the real estate investment trust sector, the Mills Corp. has received an offer from Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management to acquire the company for $24 per common share. (Read More)
Wachovia Tops MBA's Commercial/Multifamily Servicer Rankings
February 19, 2007Wachovia Securities is the largest servicer of commercial and multifamily mortgages, based on volume at the end of 2006, with a $306.6 billion portfolio in primary and master servcing. (Read More)
Alliant Acquires EF&A Funding
February 19, 2007The Alliant Co. has acquired EF&A Funding with an eye to its status as a Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting and Servicing lender. (Read More)
Butler Burgher Joins LandAmerica
February 19, 2007LandAmerica Valuation Corp., a subsidiary of LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. here, has acquired Butler Burgher Inc., a commercial real estate valuation firm headquartered in Dallas. (Read More)
PREI and Beekman Helix Team Up in India Real Estate Venture
February 19, 2007Prudential Real Estate Investors has teamed up with Beekman Helix India Partners to invest in Indian real estate. (Read More)
Lending on RE with Cellular Leases
February 19, 2007Wireless Capital Partners, a company that provides real estate services for cellular real estate landlords, has formed WCP Commercial Lending, a company that will make loans to commercial real estate properties with a cellular lease income component. (Read More)
Foreign Investors Rank NY No. 1
February 19, 2007Foreign real estate investors view New York as the best place for real estate investment in 2007, according to a survey from the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate. (Read More)
Fannie Finances $34.3 Billion in Multifamily
February 19, 2007Fannie Mae has financed $34.3 billion in multifamily properties for 2006, including debt funding and investments in low-income housing tax credits. (Read More)
Canada: BoM Cuts Brokers, Startup Courts Them with 55-Year Am
February 19, 2007The Bank of Montreal has stopped originating through mortgage brokers in a move that another smaller-market participant here believes will, when combined with the use of a groundbreaking long-amortization product and other strategies, allow it to build market share. (Read More)
OFT Referral Disappoints CML
February 19, 2007The United Kingdom's Council of Mortgage Lenders is concerned about a regulator's recent decision to include mortgage payment protection insurance in an investigation of what officials see as inequities in the larger payment protection insurance market. The council said it is "disappointed by the Office of Fair Trading's decision to include mortgage payment protection insurance in its referral of the payment protection market to the Competition Commission." (Read More)
Roundup: Trade Group's Index Shows an Increase in Applications
February 19, 2007The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 630.1 to 639.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Feb. 9, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. On an unadjusted basis, applications increased 4.5% on the week and were up 10.9% from the level recorded a year earlier. The Purchase Index fell from 404.7 to 400.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index rose from 1943.4 to 2031.7. Refinancings represented 46.1% of total applications, unchanged from the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 21.2%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 6.23% to 6.24%, and points (including the origination fee) fell from 1.09 to 1.06 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the association reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org. (Read More)
Average Sales Prices 2005-2006
February 19, 2007(New and used homes in $000s.) '05 '06 % Ch Atlanta, GA $239.6 $236.5 -1.3 Boston-Worcester, MA 397.4 385.9 -2.9 Chicago, IL/Gary, IN 296.0 289.9 -2.1 Cincinnati, OH 275.1 274.2 -0.3 Cleveland-Akron, OH 265.1 250.6 -5.5 Columbus, OH 226.7 210.7 -7.1 Dallas/Fort Worth, TX 168.6 188.9 12.0 Denver-Boulder, CO 335.7 330.9 -1.4 Detroit/Ann Arbor, MI 180.9 215.6 19.2 Houston/Galveston, TX 189.6 212.5 12.1 Indianapolis, IN 194.3 168.0 -13.5 Kansas City, MO-KS 183.9 194.5 5.8 Las Vegas, NV 330.9 409.6 23.8 Los Angeles/Riverside, CA 539.1 564.9 4.8 Miami/Fort Lauderdale, FL 337.9 363.0 7.4 Milwaukee/Racine, WI 251.8 240.3 -4.6 Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 301 3 296.8 -1.5 New York/Long Island, NY 465.1 473.1 1.7 Orlando, FL 289.5 287.1 -0.8 Phila., PA/Wilmington, DE 337.0 328.9 -2.4 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ 327.6 337.9 3.1 Pittsburgh, PA 265.3 268.8 1.3 Portland-Salem, OR 323.1 327.4 1.3 Sacramento, CA 507.4 410.2 -19.2 San Antonio, TX 187.9 191.1 1.6 San Diego, CA 591.1 610.6 3.3 San Fran./Oakland/San Jose, CA 679.9 672.2 -1.1 Seattle/Tacoma, WA 395.5 411.6 4.1 St. Louis, MO 199.5 197.9 -0.8 Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 264.6 266.4 0.7 Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA 299.0 299.1 0.0 Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD 479.2 482.6 0.7 U.S. average (32 markets) $322.7 $324.9 0.7 Source: Federal Housing Finance Board Copyright 2007, United Feature Syndicate Inc. (Read More)
Local Risk Eyed In Muni Ratings
February 19, 2007Fitch Ratings here has revealed in a report formal criteria for how housing market slide risk has been incorporated into municipal debt ratings and added an emphasis on local risks. (Read More)
Climate Risk Facts
February 19, 20071. Cost of privately insured catastrophic losses in the U.S., 2004 and 2005: $89 billion. (Read More)
Be Prepared, Says FFIEC
February 19, 2007Government bank supervisors have recommended steps to avoid major business disruptions in the event of another major hurricane disaster. (Read More)
FL Moves to Ease Premiums
February 19, 2007In a special session summoned to confront the state's insurance crisis in January, Florida lawmakers imposed new regulations on insurers and expanded the state's role in shouldering real estate risks that private insurers won't carry. Several other states are considering similar legislation. (Read More)
Slowdown Seen In Sunshine State
February 19, 2007A new report released by Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund here finds that Florida's housing markets slowed in 2006 in nearly every geographic region. The report also shows that Florida's economy has downshifted from a period of spectacular growth to merely strong growth and will continue through 2007 and into the first half of 2008 before giving way to more robust growth. (Read More)
CPM, NYMT Unload Wholesale
February 19, 2007TMSF Holdings here has agreed to buy certain wholesale assets from Central Pacific Mortgage, Folsom, Calif., a mortgage banker that table funds about $180 million a month. (Read More)
Litigation Targeting Restatement
February 19, 2007Even with tort reform, any publicly traded company saying it needs to restate earnings because of an accounting error can expect a flood of lawsuits filed by the plaintiff's bar. (Read More)
Residential Servicers, Top Gainers in 4Q 2006
February 19, 2007($ in Millions) Servicing Volume % Rk Organization Name Location 12/31/06 12/31/05 Change 1 DHI Mortgage Austin, TX $45 $8 463% 2 Wachovia (1) Charlotte, NC $175,244 $38,745 352% 3 Paul Financial San Rafael, CA $906 $227 299% 4 IXIS Real Estate Capital New York, NY $10,372 $2,763 275% 5 Celink Lansing, MI $856 $480 78% 6 ING Bank, FSB Wilmington, DE $10,231 $5,940 72% 7 LoanCare Servicing Center Inc. Norfolk, VA $13,733 $8,397 64% 8 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Pasadena, CA $147,994 $90,721 63% 9 Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Ocala, FL $34,680 $21,670 60% 10 American Home Mtg. Investment Melville, NY $46,269 $30,663 51% 11 Central Mortgage Company Little Rock, AR $21,423 $15,298 40% 12 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage San Francisco, CA $1,341,870 $1,005,410 33% 13 HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. Atlanta, GA $8,596 $6,556 31% 14 Graystone Solutions Sudbury, MA $3,195 $2,452 30% 15 Sovereign Bank, FSB Rosemont, PA $21,753 $16,700 30% 16 Thornburg Mortgage, Inc. Sante Fe, NM $11,976 $9,199 30% 17 SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. Richmond, VA $129,974 $105,578 23% 18 Midwest Loan Services Houghton, MI $4,004 $3,269 22% 19 U.S. Bank Home Mortgage Bloomington, MN $99,799 $84,799 18% 20 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO $521,509 $443,510 18% Total: $2,604,430 $1,892,385 38% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some servicers have not yet filed surveys with us. Want to participate in this survey? Send an email to the address below. (1) Wachovia recently bought Golden West Financial, a large servicer. (Read More)
Defunct Subprime Firms - A Scorecard
February 19, 2007Lender Market Date of What Name Share Demise Happened Acoustic Home Lns. 0.29% April '06 Buybacks forced parent to fold them Alliance Home Fund. na Dec. '06 Va. bank parent merged MB into bank Bay Capital na Jan. '07 Parent firm could not meet obligations DeepGreen Financial na Feb. '07 Second lien funder closed by parent EquiBanc na Jan. '07 Parent Wachovia closes it after review Funding America na Jan. '07 Closed, no information available Harbourton 0.12% Dec. '06 No info, buybacks rumored Mandalay 0.11% Jan. '07 Closed, buybacks rumored Mortgage Lend. Net. 1.71% Feb. '07 Filed for BK, buyback, liquidity woes Ownit Mortgage 1.53% Dec. '06 Buybacks forced them into BK Preferred Advantage na Dec. '06 Closed by NatCity, not part of FFFC ResMAE 1.02% Feb. '07 Filed for BK, asset sale pending Sebring Capital 0.10% Dec. '06 No comment, but buybacks rumored Total: 4.88% Notes: Firms listed alphabetically. Production market share is based on the last time each lender filed non-prime origination figures with National Mortgage News. BK = bankruptcy protection. FFFC = First Franklin Financial Corp., a subprime lender that National City sold to Merrill. Merrill did not buy Preferred and NatCity declined to keep the business open. (Read More)
Servicers - The asset Value of their MSRs
February 19, 2007($ in Millions) Servicer Serv. Asset Value Residential Serv. MSR Value in Name at 12-31-06 Port. at 12-31-06 basis points Wells Fargo $17,591 $1,341,870 131 Countrywide $16,172 $1,298,394 125 Washington Mutual $6,193 $710,797 87 IndyMac $1,822 $139,817 130 Ocwen Financial $183 $52,800 346 Downey Savings $21 $19,567 107 Notes: This is a sample table only. Some firms include subservicing contracts when reporting their servicing balances which could distort these calculations which were done by NMN. Many servicers, in their earnings statements, do not disclose the asset of value of their mortgage servicing rights (MSRs.) We only listed servicers where the MSR value was readily available. (Read More)
WaMu Cuts 300 Jobs, Sells Loans
February 19, 2007Washington Mutual here cut 300 jobs last week, most of them in its subprime unit, Long Beach Financial. (Read More)
Despite Loss, Firm's Stock Recovers
February 19, 2007It is not very often that a nonprime mortgage lender reports a quarterly loss, but investors increase the price they are willing to pay for the company's common stock. (Read More)
HECMs Face Temporary Shutdown
February 19, 2007The Federal Housing Administration had to temporarily shut down its reverse mortgage program for a few days last week before Congress passed a budget resolution renewing the agency's authority to insure more loans. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
February 19, 2007MIEC Index: 138.0 Change: -0.0 Company 2/15/2007 2/8/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 31.74 33.12 -4% 27.44 36.96 15.67% 6.49 Astoria Federal (AF) 29.40 29.76 -1% 27.96 31.95 5.15% 16.39 Countrywide Financial 41.82 43.67 -4% 32.20 45.26 29.88% 9.77 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 2.66 2.68 -1% 1.98 11.90 34.34% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 10.76 10.62 1% 7.89 11.22 36.38% 8.64 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 54.82 53.72 2% 40.31 54.50 36.00% 21.43 Fannie Mae (FNM) 59.00 56.39 5% 46.17 62.37 27.79% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 24.70 24.42 1% 17.92 25.12 37.83% 10.49 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 19.43 19.69 -1% 16.65 21.88 16.70% 30.29 Freddie Mac (FRE) 66.19 64.47 3% 55.64 71.92 18.96% 24.23 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 54.75 53.13 3% 37.89 71.28 44.50% 5.13 LandAmerica Financial 63.70 64.47 -1% 58.75 71.04 8.43% 8.97 (LFG) New Century (NEW) 18.78 19.53 -4% 16.15 51.97 16.28% 2.94 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 37.17 37.50 -1% 35.60 50.50 4.41% 7.86 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 48.50 48.24 1% 41.60 51.46 16.59% 10.64 Radian Group (RDN) 62.81 63.03 -0% 51.61 67.35 21.70% 8.89 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 3.60 3.72 -3% 3.50 7.69 2.86% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 49.53 52.46 -6% 42.25 58.62 17.23% 11.47 Washington Mutual (WM) 45.01 44.11 2% 41.03 47.01 9.70% 12.43 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
The Farm Credit System Earns Record Net Income for the Year
February 19, 2007The Farm Credit System earned combined net income totaling nearly $2.4 billion in 2006, an increase of $283 million from the prior year. In the fourth quarter, the system earned $597 million, up $48 million compared with the fourth quarter of 2005. Jamie Stewart, president and CEO of the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corp., said the 2006 results reflect favorable growth in both loan and investment portfolios at system institutions. "The system has enjoyed considerable success in attracting and retaining borrowers, while successfully managing the credit quality of the loan portfolio and maintaining a strong financial position," he said. (Read More)
MutualFirst Sees Earnings Decline
February 19, 2007Due to a lower net interest margin, increased operating expenses and several one-time events, net income for the fourth quarter and year ending 2006 for MutualFirst Financial Inc., the holding company of Mutual Federal Savings Bank, was considerably reduced. (Read More)
Rating Agency Roundup: Fitch Lowers Prepay Assumptions
February 19, 2007Citing lower prepayment speeds on subprime home loans, Fitch Ratings has lowered its prepayment assumptions by 10%, the rating agency said last week. (Read More)
People
February 19, 2007CALIFORNIA Irvine-Portellus Inc. has added Craig Anderson and Holt Crowder as business development mangers to its national outside sales team. (Read More)
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February 26, 2007
Wells Cuts, Restates Volumes
February 26, 2007In response to a meltdown in the subprime market, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage here has tightened its B&C underwriting guidelines and trimmed 320 jobs. (Read More)
C-BASS Buying Fieldstone
February 26, 2007Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC - which is controlled by two mortgage insurance giants - has agreed to pay $260 million for Fieldstone Investment Corp., Columbia, Md., a publicly traded nonprime lender. (Read More)
EPDs, Loss, Affect NFI
February 26, 2007Subprime wholesaler NovaStar Financial Inc. here saw its share price plunge 50% last week after reporting a fourth-quarter loss and raising the possibility that it would "de-REIT." (Read More)
Reserves Dent OOMC Results
February 26, 2007Subprime giant Option One Mortgage Corp. here lost $69.7 million in its fiscal third quarter ending Jan. 31, reflecting a large increase in loan-loss reserves. (Read More)
Fraud Costs Industry Almost $1 Bil
February 26, 2007The residential lending industry lost nearly $1 billion due to mortgage fraud last year, according to new figures compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (Read More)
Residential Originators in Q4 06 (Sample)
February 26, 2007($ in Millions) Origination Volume % Organization Name Location Q4 06 Q4 05 Change America First CU Riverdale, UT $62 $52 19% American Internet Mortgage San Diego, CA $124 $178 -30% Amerifund Lending Group West Lake Village, CA $187 $161 16% Carolina First Mtg. Corp. Greenville, SC $181 $218 -17% Charter Bank Albuquerque, NM $232 $182 27% Cherry Creek Mortgage Greenwood Village, CO $506 $389 30% Cimarron Mortgage Jackson, MS $70 $54 30% Fidelity Bank Wichita, KS $17 $16 8% First Republic Bank San Francisco, CA $378 $604 -37% Guardian Mortgage Co., Inc. Richardson, TX $36 $47 -23% Mid America Bank, FSB Clarendon Hills, IL $346 $513 -33% Midland Mortgage Oklahoma City, OK $74 $122 -39% Midwest Loan Services Houghton, MI $6 $9 -33% People's Bank Bridgeport, CT $270 $337 -20% Perl Mortgage Chicago, IL $298 $218 37% PFF Bank & Trust Rancho Cucamonga, CA $97 $101 -4% Platinum Direct Funding Rolling Meadows, IL $113 $117 -3% Pro30 Funding Novato, CA $474 $216 119% Ridgewood Savings Bank Ridgewood, NY $32 $79 -59% U.S. Equity Mortgage Louisville, KY $24 $18 33% Totals: $249,433 $255,653 -2% Notes: Firms listed alphabetically. This is a sample table ONLY. National Mortgage News is still compiling 4Q 2006 results. Want to participate in this survey? Send an email to the address below. (Read More)
NAMB Outlines Broad Policy Agenda Targeting Abusive Lending
February 26, 2007Reflecting a decision to become more proactive in the legislative and regulatory arena, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers last week outlined an ambitious policy agenda that it says is aligned with consumers' needs. (Read More)
Fannie Withholds $44MM in Bonuses
February 26, 2007Fannie Mae's board has voted to withhold $44.4 million in bonus money slated for 46 former and current senior executives, including CEO Daniel Mudd. (Read More)
Expert Expects Foreclosures to Continue Rising
February 26, 2007Executives at RealtyTrac expect foreclosure filings to increase another 20% to 25% this year, on top of a 42% rise in filings posted in 2006 compared with 2005. (Read More)
Editorial: More Money
February 26, 2007Even a quick look at the proposed fiscal 2008 budget for Native American housing reveals why the relevant House and Senate committees should quickly get started on a remedy: there's not enough money in it even to tread water, much less get a handle on a serious and difficult situation. (Read More)
Open Forum: Securing the Building Blocks
February 26, 2007Excerpts of Mr. Lockhart's remarks at the recent ACB Real Estate Lending Conference in Las Vegas are presented as our Open Forum. (Read More)
Restrictions on Frontline Originators on the Way
February 26, 2007I've talked to a lot of market participants about the challenges seen in the industry and efforts to set restrictions designed to overcome them in the future and I'm getting the sense that there are going to be efforts to set restrictions that affect mostly frontline originators. That is, those in direct contact with borrowers they are selling loans to. (Read More)
Commercial RE CDO Issuance on Track to Set Volume Record
February 26, 2007As demand for collateral to go into collateralized debt obligations grows, more and more whole loans are making their way into these securitizations. (Read More)
State Regulators and Industry Groups Agree on Licensing System
February 26, 2007A spat between state regulators and industry groups over a licensing system for state-licensed mortgage lenders and brokers appears to be settled, at least for now, due to an agreement on principles and sample legislative language. (Read More)
Fund Issue Continues to Hold Back Legislation on Fannie/Freddie
February 26, 2007In drafting a GSE regulatory reform bill, one major section is still a work in progress - the affordable housing fund that would be supported through annual contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)
Launching 'Workforce' Housing Aid
February 26, 2007The Urban Land Institute - thanks to a donation from its former chairman - is funding a new initiative that will focus on creating affordable housing for teachers, police officers and other middle-income earners that have been priced out of expensive markets. (Read More)
Canada Funds Affordable Housing
February 26, 2007Albertans in Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Drumheller will have access to 278 new affordable housing units, thanks to almost $30 million in funding under phase two of the Canada-Alberta Affordable Housing Program Agreement, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (Read More)
FBR Analysts Think Home Loan Business Has Rough Road Ahead
February 26, 2007Shortly after Countrywide Financial Corp. reported year-end earnings, analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey downgraded their recommendation on Countrywide's stock to "market perform," saying the company faces "a tough market ahead." (Read More)
Flagstar Faces Challenges
February 26, 2007Friedman, Billings Ramsey has maintained a "market perform" rating on Flagstar Bancorp's stock, noting that the company's net interest margin declined in the fourth quarter of last year. This was partly offset by higher gain-on-sale margins and income from the sale of mortgage servicing rights. (Read More)
Industry Hurdles Lead to Net Loss at KB Despite Record Revenue
February 26, 2007KB Home incurred a net loss of $49.6 million in the fourth quarter, reflecting previously announced pretax non-cash charges of $343.3 million related to inventory and joint venture impairments and the abandonment of land option contracts. In the fourth quarter of 2005, the company listed net income of $304.4 million, or $3.44 per diluted share. Revenue totaled $3.55 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006 for KB Home, up 13% from $3.15 billion in the year-earlier quarter, reflecting a 9% increase in housing revenue driven by 5% growth in unit delivery volume and a 4% increase in the average selling price. (Read More)
Fitch Affirms D.R. Horton Rating
February 26, 2007Fitch Ratings has affirmed D.R. Horton with a stable ratings outlook, which includes an issuer default rating of BBB-, a senior unsecured debt of BBB-, a unsecured bank credit facility of BBB- and senior subordinated debt of BB+. The ratings apply to $3.89 billion in outstanding senior notes and $149.4 million in outstanding senior subordinated notes. (Read More)
Bridging Data & Dollars
February 26, 2007As volumes shrink, the lending community is moving more aggressively toward a paperless and eventually electronic environment. As this automation movement progresses lenders are looking for ways to move away from paper documents and to embrace the actual data. (Read More)
More Control Lessens Buybacks
February 26, 2007With buybacks on the rise, lenders are actively looking for new strategies to mitigate their risk. Automated data management may be the answer. (Read More)
The SMART Doc Advantage
February 26, 2007While mainstream adoption of Category One SMART Docs is still not present, some lenders are looking at adoption today as a competitive advantage. (Read More)
More Demand for E-Sigs and E-Docs
February 26, 2007While the mortgage industry has been slow to adopt electronic signatures and docs, Systemware here is experiencing increased demand for these technologies in today's lending environment. (Read More)
E-Folder Offers Immediate ROI
February 26, 2007As the industry moves closer to mainstream electronic mortgage adoptions, vendors like eLynx here offer e-folder options to get more immediate ROI in the interim. (Read More)
'Branker' Sees Value in Outsourcing Back Office
February 26, 2007Integrity Home Mortgage Corp., Winchester, Va., recently made the move from broker to banker. Realizing that they needed a partner to help in the transition, Integrity commissioned Guardian Mortgage Services as its outsourcing unit. (Read More)
Doc Prep Vendor Emphasizes Compliance
February 26, 2007Document Systems Inc. has enhanced the customer service and compliance offerings it makes available through its DocMagic tool. (Read More)
Wolters Kluwer Buys Desert Docs
February 26, 2007In a move to increase its play in both the document preparation and wholesale lending space, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has acquired Desert Document Services Inc. (Read More)
FBR: First NLC Loses $1.8 Million
February 26, 2007Friedman Billings Ramsey here said its First NLC nonconforming mortgage subsidiary lost $1.8 million on a pretax basis in the fourth quarter as the lender built additional reserves related to the industrywide issue of buybacks as a result of early payment defaults. (Read More)
Homebuilding 'Frenzy' Expected to Begin Anew
February 26, 2007Mergers and acquisitions in the homebuilding business can be expected to begin anew when the housing market starts to improve, according to experts at the National Association of Home Builders' annual convention here earlier this month. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
February 26, 2007MIEC Index: 136.7 Change: -1.3 Company 2/22/2007 2/15/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 29.67 31.79 -7% 27.44 36.96 8.13% 6.20 Astoria Federal (AF) 29.21 29.39 -1% 28.20 31.95 3.58% 16.41 Countrywide Financial 40.29 41.89 -4% 32.20 45.26 25.12% 9.47 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 2.46 2.64 -7% 1.98 11.79 24.24% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 10.32 10.67 -3% 7.89 11.27 30.80% 8.86 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 54.77 54.82 -0% 40.58 55.08 34.97% 21.63 Fannie Mae (FNM) 60.04 59.01 2% 46.17 62.37 30.04% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 24.95 24.76 1% 17.92 25.35 39.23% 10.08 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 19.59 19.43 1% 16.67 21.88 17.52% 30.62 Freddie Mac (FRE) 65.67 66.17 -1% 55.64 71.92 18.03% 24.03 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 52.13 54.67 -5% 37.89 71.28 37.58% 9.23 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 69.25 63.70 9% 58.75 71.04 17.87% 9.12 New Century (NEW) 16.39 18.90 -13% 16.15 51.97 1.49% 2.61 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 35.85 37.18 -4% 35.60 50.50 0.70% 7.53 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 48.22 48.50 -1% 41.60 51.46 15.91% 10.59 Radian Group (RDN) 61.32 62.82 -2% 51.61 67.35 18.81% 8.82 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 3.57 3.60 -1% 3.50 7.69 2.00% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 49.38 49.53 -0% 42.85 58.62 15.24% 11.13 Washington Mutual (WM) 44.61 44.98 -1% 41.03 47.01 8.73% 12.35 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Urging Tighter B&C 2/28 ARMs
February 26, 2007Federal and state banking regulators received a letter last week signed by 80 diverse groups calling on the regulators to tighten underwriting standards on subprime 2/28 ARMs to protect consumers and minorities from payment shock and foreclosures. (Read More)
Slowndown Seen Among Thrifts
February 26, 2007A slowdown in mortgage originations took its toll on federally chartered thrifts in the fourth quarter as profits fell nearly 20% and provisions for loan losses doubled. (Read More)
Banks Increase Originations
February 26, 2007Commercial banks and savings banks increased their originations of one-to-four family mortgages in the fourth quarter by 8.5% despite the slowdown in the housing market. (Read More)
Mills to Accept Simon Offer
February 26, 2007The Mills Corp. has decided to go with an offer from Simon Property Group, an Indianapolis-based retail real estate investment trust, and Farallon Capital Management to acquire the retail REIT for a total price of about $7.9 billion. (Read More)
Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
February 26, 2007B&C Stock Price Index: 150.1 Change: -11.0 Company 52 52 2/22/2007 Wkly. % Chg. P/E wk/lo wk/hi % Chg. Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 7.89 11.27 10.32 -3% 30.80% 8.86 HSBC Holding (HBC) 83.11 98.56 89.21 -1% 7.34% n/a IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 7.25 11.74 7.69 -7% 6.07% n/a Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 22.90 60.13 23.59 -4% 3.02% 9.91 New Century (NEW) 16.15 51.97 16.39 -13% 1.49% 2.61 Novastar (NFI) 9.80 38.49 9.29 -45% -5.20% 3.12 Ocwen (OCN) 9.51 16.95 12.70 -1% 33.54% 4.44 Encore Credit (ECR) 0.85 2.03 0.91 -3% 7.06% n/a Transnational Finl Network l (TFN) 0.24 1.45 0.66 0% 175.00% n/a Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Lender Saves FTEs with Outsourcing Approach
February 26, 2007Some small to midtier lenders are having a lot of success when adopting an outsourcing strategy. In fact, Meadows Credit union here has saved 1.5 full-time positions with their outsourcing strategy. (Read More)
Opteum Inc. Posts Net Losses
February 26, 2007Opteum Inc., a real estate investment trust that operates an integrated mortgage-related securities investment portfolio and mortgage origination platform, posted a consolidated net loss of $33.9 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31. This includes a $10 million loss attributable to a temporary impairment as of Dec. 31 of certain mortgage-backed security portfolio assets that the company sold or intends to sell during the first quarter of 2007. (Read More)
Dynex Sees Strong 4Q and FY06 Results
February 26, 2007Real estate investment trust Dynex Capital Inc. reported net income for the fourth quarter of 2006 of $2.3 million, compared to net income of $955,000 for the fourth of quarter 2005. Net income to common shareholders for 4Q06 was $1.3 million vs. a net loss of $382,000 in the same period the year earlier. (Read More)
People
February 26, 2007CALIFORNIA Poway-eAppraiseIT said that David Tiberio has joined the company as the valuation consultant for the default sector. (Read More)
'No Fee' Does Well at BoA
February 26, 2007Bank of America said it has been encouraged by the response it has gotten to its "no-fee mortgage" that it started offering to bank customers in the state of Washington back in September. (Read More)
Eagle Hospitality Forms Committee
February 26, 2007Eagle Hospitality Properties Trust has set up a special committee of independent directors to explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. (Read More)
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March 5, 2007
Citi Gets Option on Argent
March 5, 2007Citigroup last week signed a deal that gives it an "option" to buy subprime wholesale giant Argent Mortgage, Orange, Calif., and the $65 billion servicing platform of its sister company, Ameriquest Mortgage. (Read More)
If Citigroup Buys Argent/Ameriquest
March 5, 2007($ in Millions) PRODUCTION: Lender B&C Vol. Market Name in 4Q 06 Share CitiFinancial (e) $5,000 3.57% Argent Mortgage (w) (e) $4,000 2.86% Combined $9,000 6.43% Notes: (w) Represents wholesale production only. Citi has no plans to buy Argent's retail affiliate. (Read More)
Big Subprime Woes at CFC
March 5, 2007Countrywide Financial Corp. reported late last week that $22 billion, or 19%, of its subprime receivables are in some form of delinquency, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)
Fremont Delays Reporting Net
March 5, 2007Subprime giant Fremont General Corp. here said it will delay the release of its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings, sending its shares tumbling to a new 52-week low last week. (Read More)
ABX Benchmark Adds to Worries
March 5, 2007There's been a lot of talk about the ABX, especially last week when it reportedly made millions for one trader but added to the woes of the already beleaguered credit-sensitive portions of the mortgage market. (Read More)
Old-Line Shop Closes Doors
March 5, 2007Central Pacific Mortgage here - a midsized non-depository headed by former Mortgage Bankers Association chairman John Courson - closed its doors last week after it could not meet payroll. (Read More)
Fannie Hints B&C Expansion
March 5, 2007While rival Freddie Mac was swearing off certain subprime products last week, Fannie Mae executives said in a conference call with investors and analysts that they anticipate opportunities to grow that aspect of their business. (Read More)
Top Subprime Lenders in 4Q 2006
March 5, 2007($ in Millions) Subprime Volume Percent Market Rk Organization Name Q4 06 Q4 05 Change Share 1 HSBC Finance $12,303 $15,773 -22% 8.57% 2 New Century Financial Corp. $12,200 $13,200 -8% 8.49% 3 Countrywide Financial Corp. $10,051 $12,180 -17% 7.00% 4 WMC Mortgage Corp. (1) $9,023 $8,185 10% 6.28% 5 First Franklin Financial (2) $7,807 $7,068 10% 5.44% 6 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage $7,431 $7,566 -2% 5.17% 7 Option One Mortgage Corp. (3) $6,057 $9,564 -37% 4.22% 8 Fremont Investment & Loan (E) (4) $6,000 $9,626 -38% 4.18% 9 Washington Mutual (E) (5) $5,716 $9,669 -41% 3.98% 10 CitiFinancial (E) (6) $5,000 $6,938 -28% 3.48% 11 Ameriquest Mortgage Corp. (E) (7) $4,000 $11,169 -64% 2.78% 12 Accredited Home Lenders $3,708 $4,721 -21% 2.58% 13 BNC Mortgage, Inc. (8) $3,230 $3,684 -12% 2.25% 14 Chase Home Finance $3,064 $2,610 17% 2.13% 15 EMC Mortgage (9) $2,759 $3,892 -29% 1.92% 16 NovaStar Mortgage, Inc. $2,554 $2,196 16% 1.78% 17 First NLC Financial Services (10) $2,082 $1,547 35% 1.45% 18 Mortgage Lenders Network (E) (BK) $2,000 $1,433 40% 1.39% 19 ResMAE Mortgage Corp. (BK) (11) $1,947 $1,772 10% 1.36% 20 Encore Credit Corporation (E) $1,200 $4,200 -71% 0.84% Totals: $108,133 $136,993 -21% 66.79% Results may be incomplete because some subprime lenders would not disclose 4Q fundings, or have delayed results because because of financial problems. Fourth quarter subprime market share is based on estimated A- to D production of $143.64 billion. (1) WMC is owned by GE. (2) First Franklin is owned by Merrill Lynch. (3) Option One is owned by H&R Block and is for sale. (4) Fremont has delayed its 4Q earnings report. (5) WaMu's B&C unit is called Long Beach. WaMu no longer breaks out subprime production. (6) Citigroup no longer breaks out subprime production. This is an estimate. (7) Ameriquest's volume includes that of Argent, its wholesale arm. Both units are for sale. (8) BNC is owned by Lehman. (9) EMC is owned by Bear Stearns. (10) First NLC is owned by FBR. (11) ResMAE filed for bankruptcy protection in February. Its assets may be sold to Credit Suisse. (12) Encore's platform was recently sold to Bear Stearns. (E) Estimate. (BK) Company filed for bankruptcy protection. (Read More)
Freddie CEO Fighting Back Over GSE Supervision
March 5, 2007Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive Richard Syron has been warning legislators not to "hamstring" his mortgage company and now he is pushing for big changes to a compromise that was considered a major breakthrough in the long stalemate over the GSE regulatory reform legislation. (Read More)
After Bad B&C News, Heads Roll at HSBC
March 5, 2007HSBC Holdings said Bobby Mehta, CEO of HSBC Finance Corp., Charlotte, N.C., has resigned from the troubled subprime lender. (Read More)
Illinois Congressman's Bill Clamps Down on Predatory Lenders
March 5, 2007Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., is working on a bill to clamp down on unscrupulous mortgage brokers and to hold them accountable for putting borrowers into high-risk loans they cannot afford. (Read More)
Ellie Mae to Launch New Encompass Website
March 5, 2007Returning to its original roots as a mortgage website provider - a market it since largely ceded to companies like Myers, vlender and a la mode - Ellie Mae here is poised to release its new Encompass WebCenter as a next-generation website that links mortgage originators with borrowers, Realtors and other partners by enabling two-way Web-based communication for all aspects of the loan process, including individual loan inquiries, requests and status updates. (Read More)
Editorial: Just How Bad Will It Get?
March 5, 2007The problem of mortgage fraud has been one of the most vigorously voiced topics in the industry over the past year. Even so, the concern may be understated. (Read More)
Open Forum: New Loans Pose Higher Risk
March 5, 2007On the consumer protection front, we saw the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act passed which regulates the sale of property in foreclosure or default. By requiring financial institutions to give additional notice to homeowners in foreclosure of the resources available to them and of the many perils they may face if they are so unfortunate as to wind up dealing with unscrupulous individuals purporting to want to help them "save their home," we've taken an important, and necessary step in ensuring that consumers on such precarious financial footing are not pushed even further to the precipice of total financial ruin. (Read More)
Temple-Inland Splits Into Three
March 5, 2007Bowing to pressure from corporate raider Carl Ichan, Temple-Inland Inc. here has made plans to split into three separately traded public companies, two of which are real estate related. (Read More)
Court Rules Against TILA Class Action Claim
March 5, 2007A U.S. Appeals Court here has overturned a class certification in a mortgage rescission case, asserting that class-action remedies are not available under the Truth in Lending Act. (Read More)
Seattle FHLBank CEO Will Retire
March 5, 2007The Federal Home Loan Bank here said James Gilleran is stepping down on April 30 and his right-hand man, Richard Riccobono, will become the new president and chief executive of the Seattle FHLBank. (Read More)
NMA Recognized for 'Upfront' Service
March 5, 2007National Mortgage Alliance has been awarded the Upfront Mortgage Lender designation by Jack Guttentag, professor of finance emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. (Read More)
CA Bill Makes Regulators Talk
March 5, 2007The California Legislature introduced a bill that, if passed, would require interagency communication between the Department of Real Estate and the Department of Corporations regarding investigations of real estate licensees, residential mortgage lenders and finance lenders. (Read More)
Washington Savings Sees Lower Earnings
March 5, 2007In its results for both its second-quarter and the six-month period ending Jan. 31, Washington Savings Bank FSB reported a reduction in its construction loan portfolio by approximately 55% compared to Jan. 31, 2006. (Read More)
Lenders Urged to Improve Data Management
March 5, 2007Industry participants have stressed the importance of data control in the current lending environment. As lenders look to move toward adoption of the electronic mortgage to cut costs, become more efficient and gain a competitive advantage in a down market, they first have to get better control of their data before starting to automate actual processes and workflows. (Read More)
Roundup: Citi '03 Deal among Those Affected by Rating Changes
March 5, 2007Class MV-4 of CitiFinancial Mortgage Securities Inc. 2003-1 has been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
ABSC Home Equity Deal
March 5, 2007Class M5 of Asset Backed Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2003-HE3, has been downgraded from BBB-minus to BB by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Farmer Mac Prices Deal
March 5, 2007The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., better known as Farmer Mac, has purchased a $365 million portfolio of securities backed by rural cooperative mortgage loans from the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp. (Read More)
Bear Deal Exits Watch List
March 5, 2007Class M-7 of Bear Stearns Asset-Backed Securities series 2005-2 has been removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Centex Deal Downgraded
March 5, 2007Class B-1 of Centex Home Equity Loan Trust series 2002-C has been downgraded from Baa2 to Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
C Notes Downgraded
March 5, 2007The class C notes issued by Fulton Street CDO Ltd. and Fulton Street CDO Funding Corp. and Sunrise CDO I Inc. have been downgraded from B/DR1 to B-minus/DR1 by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
JPM CMBS Deal Downgraded
March 5, 2007Two classes of J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2002-CIBC4, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
UBS Classes Downgraded
March 5, 2007Three classes of LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2001-C2 commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2001-C2, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
Mezz Cap Deal Downgraded
March 5, 2007Class J of Mezz Cap commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2004-C2, has been downgraded from B-minus to C and assigned a Distressed Recovery rating of DR5 by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Northlake CDO Downgraded
March 5, 2007Three classes of notes issued by Northlake CDO I, a collateralized debt obligation that includes mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Option One Deal on Review
March 5, 2007Eight tranches from five deals originated with collateral from Option One Mortgage Corp. in 2003 have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
RBC Opens Chicago CRE Office
March 5, 2007RBC Capital Markets' real estate mortgage capital unit has opened an office here to originate and securitize commercial mortgage-backed securities. (Read More)
RBC: Hotels Gain Momentum
March 5, 2007Equity analysts at RBC Capital Markets have started coverage on four new REITs, giving three of them "outperform" ratings. (Read More)
Sale of HomeBanc Is Called Unlikely
March 5, 2007Analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey have downgraded HomeBanc Corp.'s stock to "underperform," saying that the company continues to lose money and that a sale in today's environment "is unlikely." (Read More)
Online Service Provides Construction Loan Quotes
March 5, 2007AFP Solutions Inc. has introduced a free online service to assist customers in obtaining competitive construction loan quotes. (Read More)
PA Home Prices Lag U.S. Trend
March 5, 2007Home prices in Pennsylvania have increased but not as much as in other parts of the country, according to a new report by the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors. (Read More)
CRE Growth Appears to Peak
March 5, 2007Growth in the commercial real estate sector appears to be plateauing out, after a period of heated run-up in activity. (Read More)
Metrofund Offers Commercial Lending
March 5, 2007Metropolitan Funding Corp., a HUD/FHA lender based here, has formed a commercial real estate lending platform called Metrofund Group in joint venture with Sagecrest, a Greenwich, Conn.-based hedge fund, and Merchant Equity Group. (Read More)
Blackstone Sells Some Buildings
March 5, 2007After engaging in a bidding war for Equity Office Properties, The Blackstone Group has already made plans to dispose of some of the assets. (Read More)
Maintaining Homes
March 5, 2007It might be just a small portion of the total mortgage business, but no sector has been growing faster in the last few years as reverse mortgages. A reverse mortgage is a loan made to a person 62 years of age or older. Rather than having to pay the lender back every month (also known as the forward mortgage), reverse mortgage borrowers receive a payment from the lender. (Read More)
New Tools Help Lenders Serve Market Demand
March 5, 2007As reverse mortgage loans become more and more popular, higher loan origination volume has also stimulated the introduction of new products. (Read More)
Sun West's New Jumbo Product
March 5, 2007Sun West Mortgage here is the latest reverse mortgage originator to come out with its own proprietary jumbo product. (Read More)
Study: More to Offer Reverses
March 5, 2007A Grant Thornton study found the number of banks that offer reverse mortgages to their customers could double within the next three years. (Read More)
LLS Opens Wholesale Channel
March 5, 2007Lender Lead Solutions here has formed a wholesale reverse mortgage lending division, LLS Financial. (Read More)
HECM Volume Up Nearly 44% In FY 2006
March 5, 2007According to Department of Housing and Urban Development data, Wells Fargo finished fiscal year 2006 as the leading retail originator of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages. (Read More)
Promotion Spotlight
March 5, 2007Michelle Minier Ms. Minier has assumed full chief executive officer duties at Irvine, Calif.-based Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp. as part of a management succession plan made in July 2006. Since that time, Ms. Minier has been sharing co-CEO responsibilities with Jim Mahoney, who will stay on as chairman of the board. Ms. Minier will focus on expanding the reverse mortgage market, while Mr. Mahoney will focus on identifying new opportunities for Financial Freedom to serve seniors. (Read More)
Family Members Can Make Reverse Mortgages
March 5, 2007Home equity can now be tapped to supplement life's financial needs in a smarter and more flexible way. CircleLending Inc., a company that formalizes and services mortgage loans between friends and family, is providing an innovative private lending product, Family Advantage. (Read More)
RMs Growing but Still Specialized
March 5, 2007The reverse mortgage, while growing in popularity and promise, remains a specialty product due to the many details that require attention in originating these loans. (Read More)
Seattle Starts Check Program
March 5, 2007Seattle Mortgage and its affiliate, Reverse Mortgage of America, have been very active in recent weeks as it has introduced a new product, opened new offices and joined the industry trend of offering loans with lower margins to borrowers. (Read More)
If Citigroup Buys Argent/Ameriquest
March 5, 2007($ in Millions) Servicing: Servicer B&C Serv. Market B&C Serv. (Read More)
HUD Gives Up on Zero-Down
March 5, 2007The Department of Housing and Urban Development will not seek a zero-downpayment option as part of an FHA reform bill in an effort to appease critics and increase the bill's chances of passage this year. (Read More)
New Home Sales Are Way Down
March 5, 2007New home sales plummeted nearly 17% in January sparking concerns that tighter underwriting and the contraction in subprime mortgage lending is making it harder for homebuyers to get financing. (Read More)
Nonprime Loans Hurt Two REITs
March 5, 2007A pair of mortgage real estate investment trusts reported losses for the fourth quarter, continuing the trend of a number of firms which have adopted this structure, especially those who specialize in nonprime originations. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
March 5, 2007MIEC Index: 129.6 Change: -7.1 Company 3/1/2007 2/22/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 27.21 29.67 -8% 26.14 36.96 4.09% 5.49 Astoria Federal (AF) 28.18 29.21 -4% 27.85 31.95 1.18% 15.73 Countrywide Financial 37.44 40.29 -7% 32.20 45.26 16.27% 8.92 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 2.17 2.46 -12% 1.98 11.79 9.60% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 9.61 10.32 -7% 7.89 11.27 21.80% 7.79 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 52.62 54.77 -4% 40.58 55.08 29.67% 20.90 Fannie Mae (FNM) 56.44 60.04 -6% 46.17 62.37 22.24% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 24.28 24.95 -3% 17.92 26.21 35.49% 10.03 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 18.03 19.59 -8% 16.70 21.88 7.96% 28.60 Freddie Mac (FRE) 63.49 65.67 -3% 55.64 71.92 14.11% 23.32 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 50.14 52.13 -4% 37.89 69.10 32.33% 8.51 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 69.53 69.25 0% 58.75 71.04 18.35% 12.36 New Century (NEW) 15.85 16.39 -3% 13.97 51.97 13.46% 2.28 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 32.16 35.85 -10% 32.75 50.50 -1.80% 7.12 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 46.32 48.22 -4% 41.60 51.46 11.35% 10.25 Radian Group (RDN) 56.37 61.32 -8% 51.61 67.35 9.22% 8.12 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 3.15 3.57 -12% 3.19 7.63 -1.25% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 44.80 49.38 -9% 43.07 58.62 4.02% 10.33 Washington Mutual (WM) 42.94 44.61 -4% 41.03 47.01 4.66% 11.84 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Freddie Mae Clamps Down On Problem 2/28 ARM Product
March 5, 2007Freddie Mac has jumped ahead of regulators in clamping down on loose-lending practices associated with 2/28 ARMs that are contributing to rising defaults and foreclosures on subprime loans. (Read More)
People
March 5, 2007CALIFORNIA Morgan Hill-Pinnacle Bank said that Steve Wotherspoon has joined the bank as senior vice president, real estate, Stuart Thomas has joined the bank as senior vice president, senior relationship manager and David Soares has joined the bank as senior vice president, senior relationship manager. (Read More)
IndyMac Plots New Strategy
March 5, 2007The chairman and chief executive of IndyMac Bancorp Inc. here, Michael W. Perry, sent a letter to stockholders which says the company will de-emphasize growth in its whole loan and mortgage-backed securities investment portfolios. (Read More)
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March 12, 2007
Liquidity Squeeze Batters B/C
March 12, 2007Subprime funders and sellers - particularly smaller, independent firms - were being battered last week by an increasing liquidity squeeze in portions of the credit sensitive market. (Read More)
HSBC May Sell Off Nonprime Holdings
March 12, 2007Hammered by losses on its subprime business, banking giant HSBC Holdings is contemplating unloading some of its A- to D loans which total in the billions, investment banking sources told National Mortgage News. (Read More)
Fremont Hopes For B/C Sale
March 12, 2007Fremont General Corp. here is in discussions to sell its subprime division - one of the largest in the nation - after agreeing to a cease-and-desist order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (Read More)
GM May Take $1B Hit on Subprime
March 12, 2007General Motors may need to contribute almost $1 billion to cover delinquent mortgages made by the lending affiliates of General Motors Acceptance Corp., according to a new report by Lehman Brothers. (Read More)
Top Residential Originators in Q4 06
March 12, 2007(Dollars in Millions) Origination Volume % Market Mkt Shr Rk Organization Name Q4 06 Q4 05 Change Share % pt. +/- 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. $121,904 $133,130 -8% 15.32% -0.47% 2 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage $86,752 $116,529 -26% 10.90% -2.92% 3 CitiMortgage, Inc. (1) $50,562 $31,983 58% 6.35% +2.56% 4 Bank of America $44,516 $40,240 11% 5.59% +0.82% 5 Chase Home Finance $44,451 $44,480 0% 5.59% +0.31% 6 Washington Mutual $43,556 $60,026 -27% 5.47% -1.65% 7 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. $25,946 $18,025 44% 3.26% +1.12% 8 Wachovia (2) $24,213 $15,112 60% 3.04% +1.25% 9 GMAC-RFC (E) (3) $20,000 $20,860 -4% 2.51% +0.04% 10 GMAC Residential $17,036 $19,422 -12% 2.14% -0.16% Holdings (E) (3) 11 American Home Mtg. Investment $15,530 $13,566 14% 1.95% +0.34% 12 SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. $15,314 $13,107 17% 1.92% +0.37% 13 EMC Mortgage (4) $15,111 $21,958 -31% 1.90% -0.71% 14 National City Mortgage $11,377 $12,051 -6% 1.43% +0.00% 15 ABN Amro Mortgage (1) $10,833 $10,913 -1% 1.36% +0.07% 16 Aurora Loan Services, $9,575 $11,761 -19% 1.20% -0.19% Inc. (AA) (5) 17 PHH Mortgage $9,568 $11,690 -18% 1.20% -0.18% 18 GreenPoint Mortgage Funding (6) $8,883 $9,202 -3% 1.12% +0.02% 19 First Magnus Financial Corp. $8,037 $7,272 11% 1.01% +0.15% 20 Morgan Stanley/Saxon Mortgage $7,335 $7,559 -3% 0.92% +0.03% 21 Taylor, Bean & Whitaker $7,330 $5,570 32% 0.92% +0.26% 22 First Horizon Home Loans $7,251 $9,166 -21% 0.91% -0.18% 23 MortgageIT (7) $7,205 $9,244 -22% 0.91% -0.19% 24 Homecomings Financial (E) (2) $6,140 $5,433 13% 0.77% +0.13% 25 U.S. Bank Home Mortgage $5,874 $6,052 -3% 0.74% +0.02% 26 Quicken Loans, Inc. $5,115 $4,076 25% 0.64% +0.16% 27 Flagstar Bank, FSB $4,881 $5,392 -9% 0.61% -0.03% 28 Impac Funding Corporation (AA) $4,133 $5,722 -28% 0.52% -0.16% 29 American Mortgage Network $3,688 $3,934 -6% 0.46% -0.00% 30 HSBC Mortgage Corp. USA $3,442 $3,627 -5% 0.43% +0.00% Total: $645,559 $677,101 -5% 75.71% 0.00% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms did not provide production volumes. Market share cut based on estimated Q4 2006 industry-wide production of $795 billion. Subprime specialists are ranked separately in this report though some of the firms ranked here also include subprime in with their numbers. (1) Citigroup is in the process of buying ABN Amro and its InterFirst wholesale affiliate. It also has an option to buy subprime wholesaler Argent. (2) Wachovia's results include that of Golden West/World Savings which it recently bought. (3) GMAC, the parent of these lenders, had not reported 4Q results as the QDR went to press. (4) EMC is owned by Bear Stearns. (5) ALS is owned by Lehman Bros. (6) GPT is owned by Capital One. (7) MortgageIT is owned by Deutsche Bank. (AA) Lender is an alt-A specialist. (E) Estimate. (Read More)
New Century Gets Funding
March 12, 2007New Century Financial Corp. late last week had secured a $265 million line of credit from a large unidentified lender but was not funding certain loan packages. (Read More)
Some Think GSEs May Benefit from B&C Crisis
March 12, 2007GSE supporters are hoping the turmoil in the subprime market will make it more difficult for Congress to pass legislation that imposes higher-capital requirements on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or forces them to cut back on the size of their mortgage portfolios. (Read More)
CFC's Mozilo Defends Stock Sales
March 12, 2007Countrywide Financial Corp. chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo is defending his decision to sell $140 million worth of company stock over the past 14 months, noting, "I have almost all my personal net worth tied up in the company." (Read More)
Hedge Fund Citadel Agrees to Acquire ResMAE for $180 Million
March 12, 2007Citadel Investment Group LLC, a hedge fund, has agreed to buy the assets of bankrupt subprime wholesaler ResMAE Mortgage for $180 million, beating out Credit Suisse, which earlier said it had a deal for the lender. (Read More)
RI Bank Shuts Wholesale Unit
March 12, 2007Domestic Bank here closed its wholesale division last week, citing Wall Street's reluctance to bid any higher than 97 on certain nonconforming loan types it specialized in. (Read More)
With CPM Shut, TMSF Kills Deal
March 12, 2007TMSF Holdings here has officially terminated its agreement to acquire certain wholesale assets of the now-defunct Central Pacific Mortgage, Folsom, Calif., due to what it calls "adverse market conditions." (Read More)
Editorial: Fraud and Default
March 12, 2007Last week we looked at the mortgage fraud situation through the eyes of Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Bill Stern, who outbid all previous guestimators by saying industry fraud could be a $4 billion a year problem, rather than the $1 billion previously reported. (Read More)
Open Forum: It's All About Knowledge
March 12, 2007One of the key objectives of the commission was the development of the national strategy in April 2006. I want to acknowledge several recent accomplishments of the Treasury Department and commission members that were outlined in the national strategy: (1) Efforts with the Ad Council to develop and execute a public service announcement focusing on increasing credit literacy among young adults, (2) widespread distribution of the "Identity Theft: Outsmarting the Crooks" DVD to the public through the 1-888-MyMoney toll-free hotline and MyMoney.gov website, (3) meetings hosted by HUD highlighting successful partnerships that have advanced homeownership, (4) a summit hosted by the Department of Education discussing the integration of financial education into core school curriculum, and (5) a series of regional conferences held by Treasury and the federal banking agencies exploring ways to reach the unbanked market. (Read More)
Eyeing Potential Strategies in Response to Subprime Market Moves
March 12, 2007Subprime markets have gone through cycles before but what appears to be different this time around - and may be important for market participants to consider strategically in today's market - is the complexity of risk dispersion. (Read More)
IndyMac Lets Mortgage Brokers 'Draw' Their Own Closing Documents
March 12, 2007In order to make the process more seamless for its correspondents, IndyMac Bank has released iDraw, an addition to the company's e-MITS system that allows correspondents to draw docs directly. (Read More)
HUD Inspector General Is Uncertain about Proposed FHA Reforms
March 12, 2007As Department of Housing and Urban Development officials lobby Congress to pass a Federal Housing Administration reform package, they cannot be sure their inspector general will support the legislation. (Read More)
MortgageGrapevine.com Group Debates B/C
March 12, 2007JustplainMarvin: I started in 1980. The biz has been like waves on the beach. It's hot, it's not, it's hot, it's not. We have had massive price adjustments in stupidly overblown areas like California. It always came back. This time we allowed abnormal values with all the liar's loans. You all know it. The majority of all these non-qualifying loans were out and out (deleted). The only way people could buy super-inflated real estate. The low start rates were the only way they could make the payments. As the ARMs hit, (deleted) is going to hit the fan. I've been scratching my head over the IQs of the end investors for the last two years. Some lenders have closed. Big deal. You know how many lenders are still out there? I'm seeing some startups, even. We will have to adjust to different guidelines but again big deal. I've done less than a dozen liar's loans in my career and have always paid the bills. You guys sitting in the Bay Area pushing million plus 1% start-option ARMs and collecting $40,000 per loan will have to sell your BMWs unless you invested well. I don't feel sorry for you at all. You should stop trying to figure out who is next, and develop strategies to keep yourselves alive. Align with big well-known lenders and market to beat other brokers to the good, qualified borrowers. The general plan by many lenders has been to die later rather than right now. They knew these were dangerous programs. If they didn't offer them, what else would they have to keep the doors open? Rates have not been low enough to refi the A-paper borrowers so everyone had to share the purchases and the dregs of the low score world. Now that default rates have kicked the investors in the (deleted), we are seeing changes. Who knows, after some months of forced consumer protection, all these crazy dangerous loans and/or newer types of programs will probably be back to start the whole thing over. (Read More)
OTS Official Takes Aim at Hybrid Loan Products
March 12, 2007Maintaining that subprime lending has gone too far, the deputy director of the Office of Thrift Supervision invoked Newton's Third Law last week at the Midwinter Conference here. (Read More)
Serving Multicultural Markets Helps Bottom Line
March 12, 2007The chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association urged servicers to pay more attention to multicultural markets which are gradually turning into the traditional customers of today and tomorrow. (Read More)
MERS Prevails In Florida Case
March 12, 2007The Second District Court of Appeals of Florida, in Tampa, has ruled that MERS has the right to be a party in a foreclosure action. (Read More)
Apartment Sales Slowing, But Overall Market Remains Healthy
March 12, 2007The National Multi Housing Council's quarterly survey of conditions in the multifamily market finds that sales of multifamily properties are down in more markets overall. (Read More)
Mavent Compliance Targets Midtier Lenders with New Console
March 12, 2007Automated compliance vendor Mavent has been known to cater to primarily top 20 lenders. However, with the addition of its Mavent Compliance Console dubbed MC2, its automation is more accessible to lenders of all sizes. (Read More)
Welbaum Joins MortgageBot
March 12, 2007Fiserv veteran Dan Welbaum has been hired as chief marketing officer at Mortgagebot. He will be responsible for developing and executing Mortgagebot's marketing strategy, including overseeing industry partnerships and marketing communication efforts. (Read More)
Mozilo: Proposed Rule Will Squeeze Liquidity
March 12, 2007Angelo Mozilo, one of the mortgage business's few true icons, says the proposed federal underwriting guidelines for so-called exotic mortgage products will do more harm than good. (Read More)
Midwinter Fest Celebrates 35 Years
March 12, 2007The annual Midwinter Conference, known affectionately as the "Downhill," spans the modern history of mortgage finance. (Read More)
Scholar: Despite Previously Hot Markets' Woes, Most Housing OK
March 12, 2007Housing has run out of gas in several previously hot markets where prices rose too high. But most places are "doing just fine," according to a senior scholar at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University who contends the sector is merely going through a correction. (Read More)
Dominion Nets $34 Million Loss
March 12, 2007Dominion Homes Inc. here showed a net loss of $34 million in 2006, compared to net income of $5.3 million in 2005. The homebuilder also saw sales of 1,171 homes with a value of $219.1 million in 2006, compared to sales of 1,944 homes with a value of $370.6 million in 2005. (Read More)
Mercer Oliver Study Says Banks in the West Outperform the Rest
March 12, 2007New York may be the historical capital of the U.S. financial industry, but firms based on the West Coast have outperformed financial firms in the rest of the country, according to Mercer Oliver Wyman. (Read More)
Clayton Makes Strong Buy List
March 12, 2007These may be tough times for mortgage stocks, but at least one analyst believes that analytics provider Clayton Holdings is undervalued. (Read More)
Roundup: Moody's Upgrades Puerto Rican Lender One Notch
March 12, 2007Moody's Investors Service has raised its debt ratings on Popular Inc. here, a financial institution that is a major mortgage lender in Puerto Rico. (Read More)
CDC Class Downgraded
March 12, 2007Moody's Investors Service has downgraded one class of certificates and has placed under review for possible downgrade seven other classes from CDC Mortgage Capital Trust deals. (Read More)
C-BASS Deal Downgraded
March 12, 2007Two classes from Credit Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC series 2002-CB6 have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and two classes from C-BASS series 2002-CB5 have been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)
DLJ Classes Downgraded
March 12, 2007Two classes of DLJ Commercial Mortgage Trust commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-CKP1, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. Class B-5 was downgraded from Caa2 to Caa3, and class B-6 was downgraded from Caa3 to Ca. Moody's also upgraded three classes and affirmed the ratings on six classes from the transaction. (Read More)
Roundup: Mortgage-Related Securities Volumes See Slight Slide
March 12, 2007Mortgage-related securities volumes ended 2006 at $1.93 trillion, down slightly from 2005, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's office here. (Read More)
Wells GEts AAA Distinction
March 12, 2007Wells Fargo Bank has become the only U.S. bank to have the highest possible credit rating from both Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service. S&P upgraded Wells Fargo to "AAA," its highest rating, on Feb. 14. (Read More)
Weak '06 Cited In Ratings Change
March 12, 2007The ratings on 18 subordinate classes from 11 residential mortgage-backed securities transactions issued in 2006 have been placed on CreditWatch with negative implications by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. (Read More)
Countrywide Ratings Reviewed
March 12, 2007Seven certificates from two Countrywide securitizations of reperforming loans have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
First-of-Its-Kind Mexican Mortgage CDO Planned
March 12, 2007A first-of-its-kind, mortgage-related Mexican collateralized debt obligation is being launched, according to Fitch Ratings' office here. (Read More)
More Testing Sought for HIPs
March 12, 2007The Council of Mortgage Lenders here is seeking to delay full implementation of a proposed set of disclosures until after they have been more thoroughly tested. (Read More)
Lenders Urged to Review Underwriting Safeguards
March 12, 2007Mortgage originators need to re-evaluate their overall underwriting strategy, said Brenda White, a principal at Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC, during a presentation by the company called "Subprime Consumer Finance: Know Your Blind Spots for 2007." (Read More)
Intuition Falls Short in Forecasting
March 12, 2007For loss forecasting on subprime mortgages, some organizations rely too heavily on models, while others only rely on its management's intuition. The best loss forecasting comes from some sort of combination of the two, said a presenter from Deloitte & Touche during a presentation from the firm called "Subprime Consumer Finance: Know Your Blind Spots for 2007." (Read More)
CFC Seeks 'Prudent' Underwriting
March 12, 2007During his presentation at a Morgan Stanley conference in New York, Eric Sieracki, chief financial officer for Countrywide Financial Corp. here, did his best to distance his company from other players in the subprime business. (Read More)
Realty Industry Asks for Expansion of Terrorism Insurance Law
March 12, 2007There is a need to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act - and also to add coverage for nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological exposures - according to witnesses at a recent government hearing on the subject here. (Read More)
Fraud Caseload Has Nearly Doubled
March 12, 2007The Federal Bureau of Investigation said mortgage fraud is "pervasive and growing" and its caseload has nearly doubled in the past three years. (Read More)
CFC Integrates Banking, Mortgage
March 12, 2007Countrywide Financial Corp. is planning to become more "bank-like" this year as it pushes ahead with a plan to more closely integrate its mortgage banking business with its $92.8 billion bank. (Read More)
REITs Strong Early in 2007, But Analyst Sees Possible Pullback
March 12, 2007After turning in a total return of 34.5% for 2006, real estate investment trusts have got off to a good start in 2007 with a total return of 4.69% through February, according to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. (Read More)
2/28 Targeted For Fed Crackdown
March 12, 2007As subprime lenders tighten their underwriting, federal regulators are taking it a step further and proposing tighter standards on subprime adjustable-rate mortgages, particularly 2/28 ARMs. (Read More)
Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
March 12, 2007B&C Stock Price Index: 125.4 Change: -17.8 Company 52 52 3/8/2007 Wkly. % Chg. P/E wk/lo wk/hi % Chg. Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 7.89 11.27 9.76 2% 23.70% 7.89 HSBC Holding (HBC) 83.11 98.56 88.08 1% 5.98% n/a IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 4.03 11.74 5.50 -17% 36.48% n/a Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 14.77 60.13 16.78 -26% 13.61% 6.93 New Century (NEW) 3.94 51.97 3.87 -76% -1.78% 0.77 Novastar (NFI) 4.00 38.49 5.41 -31% 35.25% 2.65 Ocwen (OCN) 9.51 16.95 11.82 -2% 24.29% 4.05 Encore Credit (ECR) 0.61 1.65 0.69 -17% 13.11% n/a Transnational Finl Network l (TFN) 0.24 1.50 0.80 18% 233.33% n/a Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
March 12, 2007MIEC Index: 125.2 Change:-4.5 Company 3/8/2007 3/1/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 25.15 27.25 -8% 23.53 36.96 6.88% 5.15 Astoria Federal (AF) 27.73 28.20 -2% 27.29 31.95 1.61% 15.32 Countrywide Financial Corp. 36.58 37.41 -2% 32.20 45.26 13.60% 8.61 (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 1.81 2.17 -17% 1.50 11.79 20.67% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 9.76 9.60 2% 7.89 11.27 23.70% 7.89 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 51.80 52.62 -2% 40.58 55.08 27.65% 20.38 Fannie Mae (FNM) 55.50 56.50 -2% 46.17 62.37 20.21% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 24.22 24.26 -0% 17.92 26.21 35.16% 10.05 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 18.04 18.03 0% 16.70 21.88 8.02% 27.72 Freddie Mac (FRE) 62.30 63.49 -2% 55.64 71.92 11.97% 22.39 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 48.79 50.20 -3% 37.89 69.10 28.77% 8.35 LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 71.10 69.51 2% 58.75 72.04 21.02% 12.61 New Century (NEW) 3.87 15.84 -76% 3.94 51.97 -1.78% 0.77 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 31.17 32.20 -3% 28.36 50.50 9.91% 6.47 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 45.30 46.27 -2% 41.60 51.46 8.89% 9.87 Radian Group (RDN) 56.06 56.36 -1% 51.61 67.35 8.62% 7.94 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 2.79 3.15 -11% 2.68 7.60 4.10% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 43.35 44.80 -3% 39.91 58.62 8.62% 9.98 Washington Mutual (WM) 42.00 42.97 -2% 41.03 47.01 2.36% 11.48 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Fraud to Hit $4 Billion Per Year?
March 12, 2007The Federal Bureau of Investigation's estimate that mortgage fraud costs the lending business $1.2 billion a year is off the mark by more than $3 billion, a fraud analyst said at the Midwinter Conference here. (Read More)
Ellie Mae Inaugurates User Conference
March 12, 2007Boasting 1,300 paid attendees and MBA chief economist Doug Duncan as keynoter, Ellie Mae kicked off its inaugural Encompass user conference in San Francisco by positioning itself as a key player for bringing the paperless revolution to mortgage brokers. (Read More)
Root Joins AOL To Sell Loan Leads
March 12, 2007Root Markets here has entered into a deal with AOL allowing its Root Exchange unit to sell mortgage leads that were generated by consumers using AOL Search. (Read More)
People
March 12, 2007CALIFORNIA Agoura Hills-Interthinx has named Jeff Walker as manager of compliance. (Read More)
Home Price Growth Slips
March 12, 2007Home prices rose 6.1% last year, the lowest rate of annual price appreciation since 1999, according to Freddie Mac's conventional home price index. (Read More)
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March 19, 2007
News Analysis: Almost 15% of B&C Gone
March 19, 2007Almost 15% of the subprime lending industry has been wiped out over the past year and at least 20% more is at risk because they are losing money or have been the subject of margin calls by their warehouse lenders, according to research conducted by National Mortgage News. (Read More)
Subprime Production - 1995-2007
March 19, 2007($ in Billions) The Total Res. B&C B&C % Year Production. Vol of Total 2007 (e) $2,400 $400 16.7% 2006 $3,267 $665 20.4% 2005 $3,294 $795 24.1% 2004 $2,790 $610 21.8% 2003 $3,904 $390 9.9% 2002 $2,787 $241 8.6% 2001 $2,066 $180 8.7% 2000 $1,067 $134 12.5% 1995 $639 $35 5.5% Notes: Subprime loans include credits that are A- to D in quality. Also, some subprime lenders include 'alt-A,' interest-only loans, payment option ARMs, and other non-conforming credits in with their production figures which may distort these results. (e) Estimate made for the Mortgage Industry Directory. (Read More)
1st NLC Eyes Alternatives
March 19, 2007Investment banker Friedman Billings Ramsey is considering "strategic alternatives" for its subprime mortgage division, First NLC Financial Services, Deerfield Beach, Fla., the nation's 17th largest subprime funder. (Read More)
Master, PC Under Stress?
March 19, 2007Subprime lender Master Financial here closed its wholesale division late last Wednesday and another top-ranked funder - People's Choice Financial Corp. - pulled a key registration statement with securities regulators, suggesting that it, too, is in deep financial trouble. (Read More)
Foreclosures Hit Record
March 19, 2007In one of the most striking indicators of weakening housing conditions yet, the rate of loans entering foreclosure reached a record high in the fourth quarter of 2006 amid a widespread deterioration in home loan performance, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)
NC Delisted, AHL Ails
March 19, 2007The New York Stock Exchange early last week delisted ailing subprime giant New Century Financial Corp. here. (Read More)
GE Sells PHH For $1.8 Bil
March 19, 2007PHH Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by GE Capital Solutions, the business-to-business leasing, financing and asset management unit of General Electric Co. in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.8 billion. (Read More)
NCC in Dispute with Mortgage Insurer over HE Loan Coverage
March 19, 2007In a regulatory filing with the SEC, National City Corp. said one of the two mortgage insurance companies covering its home-equity loans has refused to make payments on a significant number of claims. (Read More)
Job Cuts Totaling 3,000 at ACC?
March 19, 2007ACC Capital Holdings late last week laid off scores of retail and wholesale workers at affiliates Ameriquest and Argent Mortgage, consolidating its consumer call center operation down to just one location. (Read More)
Bipartisan GSE Bill with Portfolio Regulation Moving Forward
March 19, 2007House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., has introduced a bipartisan GSE reform bill that has earned the Treasury Department's endorsement and appears to be on track for House passage in April. (Read More)
Editorial: A Primer on Subprime
March 19, 2007Q: What in the world is going on in the subprime market? (Read More)
Open Forum: GSE Portfolios, Systemic Risk
March 19, 2007Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are regulated by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, with additional oversight by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The regulatory framework under which the GSEs operate has two principal objectives: first, to support the GSEs' mission of promoting homeownership, especially access to affordable housing; and second, to ensure that these two companies operate in a financially prudent manner. For various reasons, including recent problems with accounting and internal controls at the GSEs, a consensus appears to exist that the regulatory and supervisory framework needs to be strengthened, and the leaders of the banking committees in the Congress have expressed optimism that agreement on legislation can be reached this year. (Read More)
ABX/TABX's Effect on CDOs Seen as Liquidity Crisis Catalyst
March 19, 2007Concerns about pricing in the ABX (see previous issues) - and the recent addition of a related instrument called the TABX (tranched ABX) - in terms of their effect on the collateralized debt obligation market appear to be the key to why a liquidity crunch has hit the subprime market. (Read More)
Potential Exists for National Flood Insurance Program Reform
March 19, 2007This finally could be the year Congress makes some major changes to the National Flood Insurance Program. Or not. (Read More)
Senate Committee Democrats Eyeing a Forbearance Program
March 19, 2007Ranking Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee want to act quickly to protect subprime borrowers who are in danger of losing their homes over the next 18 months. (Read More)
N.J. Thrift Hurt By B&C EPDs
March 19, 2007OceanFirst Financial Corp. here will revise earnings for 2006 because of early payment defaults at its subprime mortgage affiliate, Columbia Home Loans. (Read More)
MI Exec: Subprime Facing 'Greatest Reverse Migration of Loans'
March 19, 2007The current situation in the subprime mortgage business is the "greatest reverse migration" of mortgage loans from the investor back to the originator, the chief executive of Radian Guaranty told the Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations here. (Read More)
CFC Cuts AEs, Trims Loan Menu
March 19, 2007Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's third largest B&C funder, last week cut 108 jobs in its wholesale subprime division, citing a need to align the lender's "workforce with the recent changes in the mortgage market." (Read More)
MBA Warns of Quick Cures in the Months Ahead
March 19, 2007The debate on whether mortgage originators should have a loan suitability standard will deepen in the next few months and there will be a reach for quick cures, an official with the Mortgage Bankers Association warned attendees at the Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations here. (Read More)
Challenge Exists, But May Be Overstated
March 19, 2007Mortgage Bankers Association chairman John Robbins called predatory lending the largest and most challenging issue he has faced in his time in the industry. (Read More)
MBA: Commercial, Multifamily Debt Rises 12.7%
March 19, 2007Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding went up to $2.95 trillion at the end of 2006, a 12.7% increase from the end of 2006, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. (Read More)
B&C, Home Equity Deals Suffer
March 19, 2007Moody's Investors Service has placed on review for possible downgrade two classes of certificates from two subprime/home-equity Aegis mortgage securitizations, one from a deal issued in 2003 and another from a deal issued in 2004. (Read More)
SASC Class Downgraded
March 19, 2007Class B3 of Structured Asset Security Corp. residential mortgage-backed certificates, series 2005-S5, has been downgraded from CCC/DR2 to C/DR4 by Fitch Ratings. In addition, Fitch affirmed the ratings on 51 classes from four SASCO transactions. (Read More)
SURF Deal Downgraded
March 19, 2007Class B-2 of Specialty Underwriting & Residential Finance asset-backed certificates, series 2003-BC1, has been downgraded from BBB to BB by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Prepays Fall 12% as Rates Edge Up
March 19, 2007Prepayment rates for 30-year mortgages in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities fell about 12% in February in response to a 10 basis point rise in mortgage rates, slower seasonal housing activity and fewer business days, according to Bear Stearns & Co. (Read More)
Selected 30-Year Fixed-Rate Prepayments
March 19, 2007(For February Period) Cpn Year WAC Fctr Feb07 Jan07 Fannie Mae 6.00 2006 6.56 .936 10.0 13.9 Fannie Mae 6.00 2005 6.51 .749 15.7 16.9 Fannie Mae 6.00 2003 6.46 .315 13.6 14.6 Freddie Mac 6.00 2006 6.50 .937 9.8 13.1 Freddie Mac 6.00 2005 6.41 .775 14.3 14.7 Freddie Mac 6.00 2003 6.43 .375 12.4 12.4 Source: Bear Stearns & Co. (Read More)
Canadians, Eager to Pay Off Debt, May be Wary of Equity Loans
March 19, 2007Most Canadians might be considered relatively poor home-equity loan origination prospects compared to U.S. consumers given that their goal is to pay off their mortgages as quickly as possible, a survey by a national housing agency here shows. (Read More)
LandAmerica Eyes Central America
March 19, 2007LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. here has continued its international growth by opening LandAmerica Commonwealth Title of Central America. (Read More)
BoA Named Second U.S. Lender with a Covered Bond Program
March 19, 2007A second U.S. lender is launching a European-style "covered bond" program in the United States. Fitch here at press time expected to assign its top AAA investment grade rating to the BA Covered Bond Issuer Series 1 covered bonds issued under the 20 billion euro (about $26.4 billion) program that Bank of America is sponsoring. The bonds will have a size of up to 3 billion euros (about $3.96 billion), with an expected maturity between five and 15 years, according to Fitch. Bank of America had not returned a call for comment on the program at press time. (Read More)
Home Loan Portfolio Purchase Issue Hurts BankFinancial Corp.
March 19, 2007BankFinancial Corp. here, a community bank with $1.6 billion in assets, acquired a home loan portfolio from a mortgage servicing company last year, but prospects for receiving payment on those loans has been complicated by the bankruptcy of the selling institution, the bank disclosed in its quarterly earnings report. (Read More)
P.R. Bank Settles Shareholder Class Action
March 19, 2007First BanCorp has reached an agreement to settle all claims with the lead plaintiffs in a shareholder class action originally filed in 2005, the company said. (Read More)
Countrywide's Stock Reacts to Subprime Volatility Warning
March 19, 2007The common stock price of Countrywide Financial Corp. here has taken a beating by investors after company president and chief operating officer David Sambol revealed the company may suffer from short-term earnings volatility because of the overall problems in the subprime mortgage market. (Read More)
Despite Vol, FBR Upgrades CFC
March 19, 2007Mortgage stocks were in a swoon last week after the MBA's delinquency survey uncovered a record level of new foreclosures, but analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey here quickly upgraded their rating on Countrywide Financial Corp. to "outperform." (Read More)
Fund Expects to Put $1.7 Bil+ in RE
March 19, 2007BayNorth Capital has closed a commercial real estate investment fund with over $472 million in funding and expects to invest in over $1.7 billion of real estate nationwide over a four-year period. The investors include endowments, pension funds, banks and family trusts, the Boston-based real estate investment company reports. BayNorth invests in equity or mezzanine debt, sometimes in joint venture with others. (Read More)
HNC's Non-Performers Double
March 19, 2007Harleysville National Corp., a bank holding company here, saw its nonperforming assets rise to 0.54% of total assets at Dec. 31, 2006, up from 0.27% at the end of 2005. (Read More)
Health Care Need Targeted by JV
March 19, 2007Montecito Medical Investment Co. has set up a joint venture with ING Clarion Partners to acquire up to $1 billion in medical office properties nationwide. The venture aims to cash in on an anticipated demand for health care services with the aging of the baby boomer demographic, Montecito said. (Read More)
Roundup: Full-Time Employee Jobs Decreased During December
March 19, 2007Mortgage companies scaled back their payrolls by 5,900 full-time employees in January, as the decline in subprime originations and rising defaults took a toll on wholesalers and mortgage brokers. The United States' Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employment in the mortgage banking/broker sector declined from 495,100 in December to 489,200 in January. Since October, employment in the mortgage industry has declined for three consecutive months, and 15,500 employees have lost their jobs. National Mortgage News' Quarterly Data Report shows that subprime originations declined by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, to $143.6 billion. Meanwhile, rising defaults have forced over 20 subprime lending shops to close their doors. The default rate on subprime mortgages rose to 10.12% during the fourth quarter, up from 7.07% in December 2005, according to a report by Friedman, Billings, Ramsey. (Read More)
Roundup: Crescent RE Shifting from Hotels to Office Properties
March 19, 2007Crescent Real Estate Equities is disposing of its hotel properties, as part of a planned strategic transformation, and intends to focus on the office sector going forward. (Read More)
Fog Cap Sells George Elkins
March 19, 2007Fog Cap Commercial Lending, a subsidiary of Fog Cutter Capital Group here, has sold its mortgage brokerage unit, George Elkins Mortgage Banking Co., to a division of MuniMae for $10.4 million. (Read More)
Centro Buying New Plan Excel
March 19, 2007Centro Properties Group, an Australian real estate investment trust, is acquiring New Plan Excel Realty Trust, a retail REIT based here, in a deal valued at $6.2 billion. (Read More)
Wilbur Purchasing Winston
March 19, 2007Winston Hotels is being acquired by Wilbur Acquisition Holdings for $14.10 per common share, in a deal that will take the real estate investment trust out of the public REIT arena. (Read More)
Executive Sees Barriers to Efforts to Reach African-Americans
March 19, 2007Some in the industry view anti-predatory lending legislation as risking more unintentional redlining by reputable organizations than protection from abusive practices. And African-Americans, who sometimes are seen as a comparatively less profitable, challenging-to-serve minority market than Latinos or Asians, may be hurt by this perception. (Read More)
Funding Senior Housing in Canada
March 19, 2007More than $2 million in funding has been allocated to build a supportive housing and assisted living apartment block for low-income seniors in St. Vital as part of the Riverside Lions Seniors Residences Inc. project, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (Read More)
Creating More Dynamic Compliance Automation
March 19, 2007Lotstein Buckman saw the value of automated compliance in this industry when it rolled out iComply to the industry at large after using it initially as an internal tool. Now they'll offer new features to increase the usability of the product. (Read More)
1st Republic: Imaging Has Long-Term Value
March 19, 2007As many lenders move to a paperless environment by adopting imaging and electronic content management strategies, 1st Republic Bank here has realized the actual benefits in terms of both actual dollars saved and increased efficiency. (Read More)
ResCap Plummets to Loss in Fourth Quarter
March 19, 2007GMAC Financial Services saw its earnings slip to $2.1 billion last year, down 7% from 2005, and the company blamed weak performance at its residential mortgage business for the decline. (Read More)
Guilty Plea Seen in NY Fraud Case
March 19, 2007In the latest result of a continuing investigation by the New York Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force, Emmanuel Constant recently pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the second degree in Kings County Supreme Court in Brooklyn for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme. (Read More)
Capital May Shift Away from CRE
March 19, 2007While there are no forces that are likely to cut down the strong flow of capital into commercial real estate, there are some potential triggers that could change this, according to LaSalle Investment Management. (Read More)
Subprime's Woes Viewed as Extending to the Housing Market
March 19, 2007Rising inventories of unsold homes and a contraction in subprime lending will put downward pressure on house prices and postpone a recovery in the housing market, according to new reports by Wall Street economists. (Read More)
TPOs: E-Collaboration Value Lasts
March 19, 2007Many lenders view mortgage brokers as low-hanging fruit and think they are more technologically advanced when compared to their broker correspondents. However, a recent study conducted by electronic collaboration and workflow vendor Advectis indicates that brokers not only understand the value of e-collaboration, but are still finding new ways to streamline their processes even after using the technology for four years or more. (Read More)
More than Half of NHEMA Hurt?
March 19, 2007The meltdown in the subprime market has been bad news for both lenders and lender trade groups. (Read More)
Defunct Subprime and Prime Shops
March 19, 2007(Firms listed alphabetically) Lender Market Date of What Name Share Demise Happened 1.Acoustic Home Lns. 0.29% April '06 Buybacks forced parent to fold them 2.Alliance Home Funding na Dec. '06 Va. bank parent merged MB into bank 3.Bay Capital na Jan. ''07 Parent firm could not meet obligations 4.Central Pacific Mortgage(A) 0.08% Feb. '07 Could not meet payroll, sale fell thru 5.Clear Choice Financial na Jan. 07 Parent of Bay, could not meet oblig. (Read More)
All About Convenience
March 19, 2007The Tampa Convention Center's motto is "consider it done" and information on the Web about the facility and the Mortgage Bankers Association's national technology convention does suggest that attendees will find it to be a convenient space in which to do business. (Read More)
Technology to Drive Efficiency
March 19, 2007While finding technology return on investment and continued momentum toward complete electronic mortgages will be hot topics at this year's MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo, the topic most are sure to be discussing is how to implement technology to drive internal efficiencies in the current down market. (Read More)
Tampa Aquarium Offers a Chance to Swim with the Fishes
March 19, 2007The Florida Aquarium may look like a basketball arena from the outside, but inside the 200,000-square-foot facility in downtown Tampa you'll find more than 10,000 aquatic plants and animals rather than a mascot for a local sports team. (Read More)
LOS VendorAdds New Functions
March 19, 2007A National Council on Aging study estimated that of the 300 million individuals who populate the United States there are approximately 28 million American households age 62 and older, and 13.2 million of these households could qualify for a reverse mortgage. To support this burgeoning market, Mortgage Cadence, a loan origination vendor, will add reverse mortgage capabilities for lenders at this year's MBA tech show. (Read More)
Attendees Get an Opportunity to See NY Yankees in Action
March 19, 2007If you're itching for major league baseball after a long winter, and New York Yankee baseball at that, boy have you chosen the right convention at the right time in the right city. (Read More)
Dorado to Focus on a Whole Solution
March 19, 2007While many loan origination vendors tout having an end-to-end system, Dorado will take the traditional end-to-end system further by extending it straight to the borrower with a new product and a new product version. (Read More)
Portellus Stresses Easy Integrations
March 19, 2007At the MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo, origination vendor Portellus will offer a standalone that acts as an integration services hub to make the core loan origination system play well with other best-of-breed components. (Read More)
Zacks Sees B&C Risk Spreading
March 19, 2007In a recent published analyst interview, Zacks.com's director of research, Dirk van Dijk, says the subprime mortgage market "is an absolute mess" and suggests that the damage could spread into higher-credit-quality loans. (Read More)
RAIT Options Trading on AMEX
March 19, 2007The American Stock Exchange has started trading options on the stock of RAIT Financial Trust. (Read More)
Top Alt-A Lenders in Q4 06
March 19, 2007($ in Millions) Alt A Lenders % Market Rk Organization Name Location Q4 06 Q4 05 change Share 1 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Pasadena, CA $20,504 $11,731 75% 12.28% 2 EMC Mortgage (1) Lewisville, TX $10,826 $14,425 -25% 6.49% 3 WMC Mortgage Corp. (BC) Burbank, CA $7,300 $6,304 16% 4.37% 4 Wells Fargo Home San Francisco, CA $7,300 $8,816 -17% 4.37% Mortgage 5 GMAC-RFC (E) (2) Minneapolis, MN $7,000 $6,044 16% 4.19% 6 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA $6,207 na na 3.72% 7 Morgan Stanley/Saxon Glen Allen, VA $5,256 na na 3.15% Mortgage 8 Aurora Loan Services, Aurora, CO $4,747 $11,656 -59% 2.84% Inc. (3) 9 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO $4,395 na na 2.63% 10 Impac Funding Corporation Irvine, CA $4,129 $5,721 -28% 2.47% 11 GreenPoint Mortgage Funding Novato, CA $3,934 $4,310 -9% 2.36% 12 First Magnus Financial Corp. Tucson, AZ $3,415 na na 2.05% 13 Homecomings Minneapolis, MN $2,700 $1,043 159% 1.62% Financial (E) (2) 14 Chase Home Finance Iselin, NJ $2,680 $1,950 37% 1.61% 15 Credit Suisse New York, NY $2,440 $3,032 -20% 1.46% 16 National City Mortgage Miamisburg, OH $2,349 $1,487 58% 1.41% 17 Home123/RBC Mortgage Houston, TX $2,100 na na 1.26% 18 SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. Richmond, VA $2,059 $2,623 -21% 1.23% 19 ABN Amro Mortgage/ Ann Arbor, MI $1,974 $59 3273% 1.18% InterFirst 20 Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Ocala, FL $1,910 $970 97% 1.14% Top 20 Totals: $103,224 $80,170 29% 61.83% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some lenders would not disclose this data point. In general, Alt-A loans are neither conventional nor subprime, but borrowers using these loans tend to have strong FICO scores. Market share based on estimated 4Q Alt-A production of $166.4 billion. The AP-QDR assumes it has captured 70% of the market. (1) EMC is owned by Bear Stearns & Co. (2) These firms are affiliates. GMAC had not released 4Q results as this publication went to press. (3) ALS is owned by Lehman Bros. (BC) Firm is a subprime specialist. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
March 19, 2007MIEC Index: 117.6 Change: -7.5 Company 3/15/2007 3/8/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 25.16 25.22 -0% 19.51 36.96 28.96% 4.89 Astoria Federal (AF) 26.95 27.69 -3% 26.30 31.95 2.47% 14.82 Countrywide Financial 35.47 36.62 -3% 32.20 45.26 10.16% 8.00 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 1.31 1.81 -28% 1.19 11.79 10.08% n/a Delta Financial 8.97 9.78 -8% 7.26 11.27 23.55% 6.25 Corp (DFC) Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 51.35 51.80 -1% 40.58 55.08 26.54% 20.23 Fannie Mae (FNM) 54.09 55.44 -2% 46.17 62.37 17.15% n/a Fidelity National 23.54 24.19 -3% 17.92 26.21 31.36% 9.78 (FNF) Franklin Bank (FBTX) 17.77 18.04 -1% 16.77 21.88 5.96% 26.88 Freddie Mac (FRE) 60.81 62.22 -2% 55.64 71.92 9.29% 22.07 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 46.35 48.83 -5% 37.89 69.10 22.33% 7.83 Accredited Home 9.43 16.78 -44% 3.77 60.13 150.13% 2.43 Lenders (LEND) LandAmerica Financial 74.09 70.97 4% 58.75 72.54 26.11% 12.74 (LFG) IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 29.37 31.12 -6% 26.27 50.50 11.80% 6.00 PMI Mortgage Ins. 43.42 45.24 -4% 40.69 51.46 6.71% 9.25 (PMI) Radian Group (RDN) 55.41 55.88 -1% 51.61 67.35 7.36% 7.51 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 2.50 2.79 -10% 2.40 7.60 4.17% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 42.44 43.35 -2% 39.31 58.62 7.96% 9.43 Washington Mutual (WM) 40.27 41.96 -4% 38.73 47.01 3.98% 10.97 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
GSE 'Balance' Pleas Too Late?
March 19, 2007Top Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives are urging lawmakers to take a more balanced approach in constructing a new regulatory regime to oversee their companies but their pleas appear to be too late. (Read More)
Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
March 19, 2007B&C Stock Price Index: 112.2 Change: -13.2 Company 52 52 3/15/2007 Wkly. % Chg. P/E wk/lo wk/hi % Chg. Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 7.26 11.27 8.97 -8% 23.55% 6.25 HSBC Holding (HBC) 83.11 98.56 86.08 -2% 3.57% n/a IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 4.03 11.74 5.08 -8% 26.05% n/a Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 3.77 60.13 9.43 -44% 150.13% 2.43 Novastar (NFI) 3.25 38.49 5.15 -3% 58.46% 2.17 Ocwen (OCN) 9.51 16.95 11.72 -1% 23.24% 3.71 Encore Credit (ECR) 0.35 1.65 0.46 -33% 31.43% n/a Transnational Finl Network l 0.24 1.50 0.75 -6% 212.50% n/a (TFN) Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
'FHA Reform Could Aid Thousands of B&C Borrowers'
March 19, 2007Housing officials are telling legislators that the Federal Housing Administration could help hundreds of thousands of subprime borrowers, if Congress passes an FHA reform bill this year. (Read More)
People
March 19, 2007CALIFORNIA San Francisco-AMB Property Corp. said that Thomas F. Marquis has joined the company and is filling the newly created position of managing director, China. (Read More)
Freddie Exec Sees Transition
March 19, 2007Freddie Mac has strong beliefs for the primary mortgage market, namely that it needs to be "strong, dynamic and profitable," a company executive told the Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations here. (Read More)
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March 26, 2007
WMC Cuts 500, GE Rescues Funding?
March 26, 2007Hammered by delinquent subprime loans, General Electric-owned WMC Mortgage last Thursday slashed 500 jobs - including most of is junior account executive sales force - while its CEO testified before a Senate panel on conditions in the industry. (Read More)
Regulators Grilled on Hill
March 26, 2007Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is urging federal regulators to quickly finalize underwriting guidance on adjustable-rate 2/28 mortgages and to strengthen federal anti-predatory lending regulations. (Read More)
13% of ARMs May Fail
March 26, 2007A study by First American CoreLogic predicts that 13% of adjustable-rate mortgages originated between 2004 and 2006 will end up in foreclosure as payments reset at higher interest rates. (Read More)
Fremont Sells at a Loss
March 26, 2007Fremont General Corp. here has agreed to sell $4 billion in subprime loans to an unnamed buyer (or buyers) - but will book a $140 million loss on the deal. (Read More)
Cerberus Eyes New Century?
March 26, 2007Investment fund Cerberus Capital here has made preliminary inquiries about buying certain assets from New Century Financial Corp. through a pre-packaged bankruptcy arrangement, according to an industry advisor. (Read More)
E-Lending May Get Boost
March 26, 2007Standard & Poor's offered guidance on e-contracts in the auto world that led to heightened e-adoption. Now S&P is considering passing similar judgment on mortgages. (Read More)
People's Choice Goes Bankrupt
March 26, 2007Subprime lender People's Choice Financial Corp. here - which had hoped to go public one day - filed for bankruptcy protection early last week, leaving behind as unsecured creditors several banks and Wall Street warehouse lenders. (Read More)
Millions May Be Unable to Refinance Home Loans
March 26, 2007Tighter underwriting standards will help protect new borrowers from being pushed underwater by exotic forms of adjustable-rate mortgages, panelists agreed here at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Nonprime Mortgage and Networking Conference last week. (See additional coverage from the conference, pages 8-9.) But several speakers warned that not enough attention is being paid to the plight of millions of borrowers who already have those loosely underwritten products and face the prospect of not being able to refinance when their loans reset this year and next. (Read More)
Accredited Gets $200 Million Loan
March 26, 2007Subprime funder Accredited Home Lenders here said it has received a $200 million loan commitment - at 13% - from entities managed by Farallon Capital Management, San Francisco. (Read More)
Nonprime Meeting Was Not a Wake
March 26, 2007The first national meeting of subprime lenders since the merger of the National Home Equity Mortgage Association and the Mortgage Bankers Association wasn't the wake many thought it would be. (Read More)
Delta Stays in the Black by Embracing Fixed-Rate Products
March 26, 2007At one time in the past struggling for its own existence, Delta Financial Corp. here is probably today one of the strongest companies in the moribund subprime sector. (Read More)
Editorial: New Life for FHA
March 26, 2007When one door shuts, another one opens, and the woes of the subprime mortgage industry mean a shot at new life for the Federal Housing Administration. (Read More)
Open Forum: An Alternative to Subprime
March 26, 2007There is a worrisome trend affecting the housing market nationwide - one that has rightfully garnered the attention of lawmakers, regulators, real estate professionals and, most importantly, homebuyers. (Read More)
Japan's Yen Becomes Potential Worry for Subprime Investors
March 26, 2007A market development that has become notable recently in terms of its potential ability to possibly have affects related to subprime concerns is the yen carry trade. (Read More)
Letter: What's the Beef?
March 26, 2007To the editor: (Sen.) Dodd and (Rep.) Frank are treading very dangerous ground. Did lenders make loans that, in retrospect, were "too risky?" Yes. If real estate prices had continued upward, would those loans be risky today? No. As Robert E. Lee said, "For some reason the Army chooses the worst generals and the press selects the best ones. I would be happy to turn over my commission to the press if they would just tell me in time." (Or something similar.) Did borrowers ... sign such documents willingly? Yes. I recall some court cases in Texas in the '80s that used this defense: "You should never have loaned me that money. It was imprudent and irresponsible, and if you have been doing your job, this loan would never have been made." (Read More)
At the Local Market Level, Not All Stats Are Equal
March 26, 2007Housing starts. Mortgage originations. Interest rates. Foreclosures. New-home sales. Existing-home sales. House prices. (Read More)
Rep. Frank Is Wary of Proposal for Risk-Based FHA Premiums
March 26, 2007House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., appears to be on a collision course with the Bush administration over charging lower-income subprime borrowers higher FHA mortgage insurance premiums. (Read More)
NovaStar Cuts 350 Positions
March 26, 2007Subprime funder NovaStar Financial recently trimmed its workforce by 17% - 350 positions - citing the changing landscape of the mortgage industry. (Read More)
Rule Makers Told to Slow Down on Restrictions
March 26, 2007Regulators and legislators should not go too far to rein in lenders who went too far, the chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association said here last week. (Read More)
Last Year's Subprime Book to 'Rate Poorly But Not Affect Alt-A'
March 26, 2007The two main rating agencies expect the 2006 book of subprime mortgages to perform well below the norm. But spokesmen for the firms don't believe problems on the lowest rung of the credit ladder will reach up to take a bite out of the prime and alt-A sectors. (Read More)
FBR Analysis Suggests Mortgage Insurance Stocks Are Oversold
March 26, 2007An analysis by Friedman Billings Ramsey suggests that investors may be overestimating the toll that the meltdown in subprime loan performance will have on mortgage insurance companies. (Read More)
Indy's Estimates Reduced by FBR
March 26, 2007While expressing confidence that IndyMac Bancorp will be "one of the survivors" coming out of the current subprime mortgage shakeout, analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey nonetheless lowered their price target on the company's shares to $32. (Read More)
Hanover Capital Mortgage Turns in $3.2 Mil Loss
March 26, 2007Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings saw its fourth-quarter and full-year 2006 results turn into the red last year. (Read More)
Santander Sees Volumes Increase
March 26, 2007Santander BanCorp here produced $244.5 million of residential mortgage loans in the fourth quarter of last year, 28% more than in the fourth quarter of 2005. (Read More)
Roundup: Wachovia Securities Creates Vertice, Delta Securitizes
March 26, 2007Wachovia Securities has created Vertice, a new brand for the combined entities of American Mortgage Network and Wachovia Mortgage Third Party Lending. (Read More)
Delta Securitizes $950 Million
March 26, 2007Delta Financial Corp., Woodbury, N.Y., has securitized $950 million of mortgage loans through its subsidiary Renaissance Mortgage Acceptance Corp. (Read More)
Three CSFB Classes' Ratings Fall
March 26, 2007Three classes of Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2005-CND1, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service and placed on review for possible further downgrade. (Read More)
One RFSC Tranche Downgraded
March 26, 2007Class M-3 of RFSC Series 2003-RP1 Trust has been downgraded from B3 to Caa3 by Moody's Investors Service, and classes M-3 and M-4 of RFSC Series 2004-RP1 Trust have been placed on review for possible downgrade. (Read More)
University Series' Grade Slips
March 26, 2007The rating on University Finance Pass-Through Certificates series 2006 has been downgraded from Baa1 to Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service due to the rating agency's recent downgrade of the debt rating of the University of Quebec at Montreal. The certificates were issued in connection with the construction and permanent financing of a university complex to be constructed on behalf of the University of Quebec at Montreal across from its main campus. (Read More)
Vendors Addressing Current Origination Issues
March 26, 2007Given the issue of borrower suitability is likely going to fall on the backs of lenders, it is important that the lending institution do all that it can to prove that its practices are not predatory. Implementing a sound technology strategy can go a long way in proving to a regulator that certain steps are always taken when closing nontraditional or exotic loans. (Read More)
'Subprime Workouts Will Be Difficult without Servicer Involvement'
March 26, 2007A legal services attorney from East St. Louis, Ill., is warning that it is very difficult to get workouts on subprime loans and it will be very difficult to prevent widespread foreclosures unless the servicers are forced to come to the table. (Read More)
Farmer Mac's Volume Rises but Its Profit Declines
March 26, 2007The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., better known as Farmer Mac, saw its profit decline 36% in 2006 to $29.8 million, or $2.68 per share. (Read More)
GE RE Teams Up With Japanese REIT
March 26, 2007GE Real Estate has agreed to a business alliance involving Japanese real estate investment trust LCP Investment Corp. and its asset manager, LCP REIT Advisors Ltd. (Read More)
CT Sales, Prices Show Recovery
March 26, 2007Home sales in Connecticut rebounded and prices rose slightly in January after months of declines. Sales of single-family homes rose 4.6% in January compared to year-before numbers, and the median price went up 1%, according to The Warren Group. (Read More)
Low Rates Keep Buyers in Illinois Housing Market
March 26, 2007Despite the extreme winter weather, low mortgage interest rates kept buyers in the market in January, typically a slow month for the housing market in Illinois. According to the Illinois Association of Realtors' latest report, total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) were off by 6.8% in January with 8,584 homes sold, compared to 9,206 homes sold in January 2006. The Illinois median home price in January remained unchanged from a year earlier at $200,000. (Read More)
Single-Family Rebounds in MA
March 26, 2007Massachusetts monthly single-family home sales rose over year-before numbers for the first time in two years in January 2007, although the median sale price fell 3.4% compared to January 2006's median price, according to a report by The Warren Group. (Read More)
As Prices Moved Down, Housing Sales in Rhode Island Increased
March 26, 2007Increases in single-family home sales in Washington and Kent counties helped push sales across Rhode Island up by 12.8% in January, compared with January 2006 numbers. According to The Warren Group, which tracks real estate data across New England, the median sale price continued to decline in January, falling 2.8% below the median price of January 2006. (Read More)
Comerica's CRA Record Looks Good
March 26, 2007The overall Community Reinvestment Act performance of Comerica Bank has been rated "outstanding" by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. (Read More)
The Flood Next Time: Are New Orleans Lenders, Etc. Ready for It?
March 26, 2007Will New Orleans be the first city 'lost to climate change' or the first U.S. city to surmount the challenges of its location in an environment of rising coastal risk?" (Read More)
How Gulf Bank Meets Flood Risk
March 26, 2007Around New Orleans, the risk of flooding is like elevator music: always on, always in the background and mostly ignored. At Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Co., New Orleans, that formula changed when Hurricane Katrina swamped the city. Since then, rebuilding and an aggressive strategy of commitment to the city's revival has helped this small community bank grow assets by nearly 17% since the storm. (Read More)
Study Has Implications for Lenders
March 26, 2007The RMS study "Flood Risk in New Orleans" represents a form of research that insurers have long relied on, while bankers rarely considered it. After all, risk modeling, especially for catastrophes, was traditionally a problem for a different breed of investor. Insurers might bet against the unthinkable. Most mortgage lenders have placed a much simpler kind of bet - on the determination of hard-working borrowers. (Read More)
IL AG Files Suit Alleging Fraud
March 26, 2007Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan recently filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court here against multiple businesses and individuals who targeted Illinois homeowners facing mortgage foreclosure. The suit, filed against Eyes Have Not Seen Inc., its president, Charles T. White Jr., Debra Gray and Darius K. Monroe as agents of EHNS, Mutual Trust Funding, formerly known as Greater Investment Solutions Inc., and Creative Financial Solutions, alleges that the defendants violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act and the Credit Services Organization Act, by misleading homeowners into participating in transactions that the defendants falsely promised would save the homes from foreclosure. The suit alleges that EHNS and Mr. White, operating at 800 S. Wells St. in Chicago, preyed on homeowners in financial distress and on the verge of foreclosure by convincing them to put their homes in someone else's name and obtain a new mortgage. (Read More)
Conduits May Face Assignee Liability
March 26, 2007Securitizers of subprime mortgages can expect to find an assignee liability provision in a predatory lending bill that House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., intends to draft. (Read More)
Residential Jumbo Lenders in Q4 2006
March 26, 2007($ in Millions) Jumbo Production % Market Rk Organization Name Location Q4 06 Q4 05 Change Share 1 Wells Fargo Home San Francisco, CA $15,419 $26,080 -41% 9.60% Mortgage 2 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA $14,774 $15,067 -2% 9.19% 3 Countrywide Financial Calabasas, CA $11,200 $18,000 -38% 6.97% Corp. (E) 4 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Pasadena, CA $9,894 $7,826 26% 6.16% 5 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO $9,656 $7,653 26% 6.01% 6 Bank of America Charlotte, NC $8,224 $6,369 29% 5.12% 7 Chase Home Finance Iselin, NJ $6,644 $7,344 -10% 4.13% 8 SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. Richmond, VA $5,963 $4,566 31% 3.71% 9 American Home Mtg. Investment Melville, NY $4,845 $4,825 0% 3.02% 10 GreenPoint Mortgage Funding Novato, CA $2,853 $2,846 0% 1.78% 11 ABN Amro Mortgage (1) Ann Arbor, MI $2,826 $1,661 70% 1.76% 12 Aurora Loan Services, Inc. (2) Aurora, CO $2,541 $3,717 -32% 1.58% 13 Morgan Stanley/ Glen Allen, VA $2,439 na na 1.52% Saxon Mortgage 14 MortgageIT (3) New York, NY $2,317 na na 1.44% 15 National City Mortgage Miamisburg, OH $1,793 $2,373 -24% 1.12% 16 Impac Funding Corporation Irvine, CA $1,691 $2,738 -38% 1.05% 17 GMAC-RFC (E) Minneapolis, MN $1,600 $2,347 -32% 1.00% 18 Wachovia Charlotte, NC $1,461 $1,792 -18% 0.91% 19 First Horizon Home Loans Irving, TX $1,414 $2,326 -39% 0.88% 20 GMAC Residential Holdings Horsham, PA $1,458 $1,843 -21% 0.91% Totals: $109,012 $119,372 -9% 67.84% Note: Results may be incomplete because some lenders would not provide jumbo volumes. Jumbo loans exceed the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan limit $417,000. (E) Estimate. (1) ABN Amro Mortgage is being sold to Citigroup. (2) ALS is owned by Lehman Bros. (3) MortgageIt is owned by Deutsche Bank. (Read More)
HUD Targets Subprime Pricing
March 26, 2007The Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating several subprime lenders for fair lending violations and it appears these cases stem from their Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
March 26, 2007MIEC Index: 116.7 Change: -8.2 Company 3/18/2007 3/11/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 25.10 24.75 1% 19.51 36.96 28.65% 5.07 Astoria Federal (AF) 26.77 27.69 -3% 26.30 31.95 1.79% 14.99 Countrywide Financial Corp. 34.96 36.10 -3% 32.20 45.26 8.57% 8.25 (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 1.68 1.75 -4% 1.19 11.79 41.18% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 9.09 9.72 -6% 7.26 11.27 25.21% 7.01 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 50.87 51.95 -2% 40.58 55.08 25.36% 20.26 Fannie Mae (FNM) 53.79 55.56 -3% 46.17 62.37 16.50% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 23.24 24.05 -3% 17.92 26.21 29.69% 9.83 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 17.63 18.15 -3% 16.96 21.88 3.95% 27.34 Freddie Mac (FRE) 59.52 61.97 -4% 55.64 71.92 6.97% 22.11 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 45.38 47.91 -5% 37.89 69.10 19.77% 7.96 Accredited Home Lenders 10.90 15.78 -31% 3.77 60.13 189.12% 3.80 (LEND) LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 74.16 72.30 3% 58.75 74.69 26.23% 13.20 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 28.85 30.64 -6% 26.27 50.50 9.82% 6.09 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 43.28 45.58 -5% 40.69 51.46 6.37% 9.50 Radian Group (RDN) 54.13 55.84 -3% 51.61 67.35 4.88% 7.83 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 2.45 2.73 -10% 2.40 7.60 2.08% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 41.90 43.97 -5% 39.31 58.62 6.59% 9.64 Washington Mutual (WM) 39.88 42.02 -5% 38.73 47.01 2.97% 11.06 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
March 26, 2007B&C Stock Price Index: 114.4 Change: -8.8 Company 52 52 3/18/2007 Wkly. % Chg. P/E wk/lo wk/hi % Chg. Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 7.26 11.27 9.09 -6% 25.21% 7.01 HSBC Holding (HBC) 83.11 98.56 85.77 -3% 3.20% n/a IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 4.03 11.74 5.09 -4% 26.30% n/a Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 3.77 60.13 10.90 -31% 89.12% 3.80 Novastar (NFI) 3.25 38.49 5.90 13% 81.54% 2.68 Ocwen (OCN) 9.51 16.95 12.24 6% 28.71% 4.08 Encore Credit (ECR) 0.35 1.65 0.41 -5% 17.14% n/a Transnational Finl Network l (TFN) 0.24 1.50 0.74 -8% 208.33% n/a Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
BoA Extends OOMC's LOC
March 26, 2007Bank of America has extended the terms of its warehouse line to Option One Mortgage Corp. here but reduced the facility by about half - to just over $2 billion, according to a new public filing. (Read More)
Correction
March 26, 2007America's Community Bankers does not oppose or endorse a provision in the House GSE regulatory reform bill that raises the conforming loan limit so Fannie Mae and Freddie can purchase loans in high-cost areas. NMN incorrectly stated that ACB opposes an increase in the March 19 issue. (Read More)
People
March 26, 2007CALIFORNIA Sacramento-GE Real Estate has appointed Mark Schwan to vice president, business property group. (Read More)
AllRegs Adds XML Toolkit
March 26, 2007Eagan, Minn.-based AllRegs chose the 2007 MBA tech conference to introduce proGuides as an advanced XML tool to enable wholesalers and correspondent lenders to "create order out of chaos" with lengthy investor guidelines typically available in printed text or PDF form. Typically there's no easy way to find specific products, guidelines, requirements or terms. (Read More)
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April 2, 2007
Bear Using AVM on Subprime
April 2, 2007Before it purchases any new subprime loans, Bear Stearns & Co. is now running all mortgages through an automated valuation model, a process that potentially slows the trade process. (Read More)
Auction for NCFC Loans
April 2, 2007As New Century Financial Corp. weighed its bankruptcy options last week, one of its warehouse lenders, Morgan Stanley, held a public auction for $2.48 billion in loans originated by the troubled subprime lender. (Read More)
Fed Reviews Repayability
April 2, 2007Bowing to congressional pressure, the Federal Reserve Board has started to review its authority to incorporate an ability to repay standard into anti-predatory lending regulations that would apply to all mortgage lenders. (Read More)
Suitability in House Bill
April 2, 2007Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is drafting a predatory lending bill that will create a "suitability standard" for mortgage lending and a national regulatory system for all loan brokers. (Read More)
HSBC May Exit B&C Channel
April 2, 2007HSBC Mortgage Services of Fort Mill, N.C., is exiting the subprime correspondent channel, National Mortgage News has learned. (Read More)
Top Online Originators in Q4 2006
April 2, 2007(Dollars in Millions) Online Origination Vol. % Rk Organization Name Location Q4 06 Q4 05 Change 1 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO $14,277 $10,187 40% 2 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Pasadena, CA $12,824 $9,737 32% 3 Chase Home Finance Iselin, NJ $10,824 $11,000 -2% 4 New Century Financial Corp. (BC) (1) Irvine, CA $9,800 $7,300 34% 5 ABN Amro Mortgage Ann Arbor, MI $9,052 $7,162 26% 6 WMC Mortgage Corp. (BC) Burbank, CA $9,023 $8,185 10% 7 GreenPoint Mortgage Funding Novato, CA $8,230 $7,667 7% 8 Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Ocala, FL $6,960 $5,050 38% 9 SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. Richmond, VA $5,719 $5,361 7% 10 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA $5,690 $10,838 -47% 11 Quicken Loans, Inc. Livonia, MI $4,722 $3,419 38% 12 Bank of America Charlotte, NC $1,819 $1,303 40% 13 ResMAE Mortgage Corp. (BC) (2) Brea, CA $1,453 $822 77% 14 Wachovia Charlotte, NC $896 $881 2% 15 ING Bank, FSB Wilmington, DE $783 na na 16 Netbank Columbia, SC $696 $1,261 -45% 17 First Savings Mortgage Corp. Vienna, VA $687 $623 10% 18 First Horizon Home Loans Irving, TX $524 na na 19 First Franklin Financial (BC) San Jose, CA $489 $625 -22% 20 MILA, Inc. (BC) Mountlake Terrace, WA $453 $1,150 -61% 21 Navy FCU Merrifield, VA $338 $1,023 -67% 22 Nationstar Mortgage/Centex (BC) Dallas, TX $330 $363 -9% 23 Union Bank of California San Diego, CA $289 na na 24 MortgageIT New York, NY $279 na na 25 Branch Banking & Trust Co. Wilson, NC $263 $18 1361% Total: $106,420 $93,975 13% 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. Countrywide and Wells Fargo do not disclose this data point. (1) Company is expected to file for bankrupty protection. (2) ResMAE has filed for bankruptcy but has a new owner. (BC) Lender is a subprime specialist. (Read More)
IBM Solidifies Its Mortgage Claim with New Business Subsidiary
April 2, 2007On the heels of its acquisition of Palisades Technology Partners and FileNet last year, IBM has formed a new business unit, which will specialize in mortgage origination services. (Read More)
MortageHub Acquires London Bridge Assets from Fair Isaac
April 2, 2007In an effort to fill out its product base and become a one-stop shop for lending technology, the parent company of MortgageHub, ISGN, has acquired key assets and products associated with Fair Isaac's mortgage banking division, formerly known as London Bridge. (Read More)
Pa. Bank Hurt By 80/20 EPDs
April 2, 2007Fulton Financial Corp. here said it will take a $5.5 million pretax charge in the first quarter because of early payment defaults on 80/20 stated-income loans it sold into the secondary market. (Read More)
Editorial: Overdue
April 2, 2007Countrywide Financial's shocking announcement that 19% of its subprime portfolio is currently overdue made us all too aware that the most recent quarterly delinquency and foreclosure news from the industry wasn't going to be pretty. And it isn't. While the subprime delinquency numbers measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association as of the end of the fourth quarter weren't as high as Countrywide's, 13.3% of six million subprime loans measured by MBA nationwide were. (Read More)
Open Forum: Mortgage Market Turmoil
April 2, 2007You cannot pick up a newspaper lately without seeing another story about the implosion of the subprime mortgage market. (Read More)
Government E-Mortgage Standards Published through MISMO
April 2, 2007Attaining greater mortgage industry adoption of e-mortgage standards for residential lending is a high MISMO priority for 2007. The Mortgage Bankers Association's Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization subsidiary took a giant step in that direction with an agreement that the e-mortgage standards for government loans - FHA, VA and USDA Rural Development - will literally be published through MISMO. (Read More)
New Site Links Banks to Realty
April 2, 2007After securing agreements with Multiple Listing Services across the nation, Domania founder Steve Kropper is set to launch a new service, Bank on Real Estate, that will give lenders branded websites which navigate to all homes for sale in particular communities. (Read More)
Fieldstone Purchase Price Decreased by 28%, Liquidity Costs Cited
April 2, 2007Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC will pay 28% less for Fieldstone Investment Corp. here under a recently disclosed amended purchase agreement. (Read More)
EverBank Buys Into BNYMC
April 2, 2007EverBank here has purchased the interest of Bank of New York in BNY Mortgage Co. LLC, Newburgh, N.Y. The company is now a joint venture between EverBank and BNYMC's management team. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. (Read More)
Iowa Bank Sells Title Business
April 2, 2007First Federal Bankshares here, the parent of First Federal Bank, has sold the assets of its title search and abstract business, resulting in a gain of $500,000, the company said. (Read More)
Gramercy Capital Corp. Sets Up CMBS Business
April 2, 2007Gramercy Capital Corp. has set up a real estate securities business that will focus on the acquisition, trading and financing of commercial mortgage-backed securities and other real estate-related securities, expecting this will be an avenue of growth for the company. (Read More)
Stadium Drops Ameriquest Name
April 2, 2007The Texas Rangers Baseball Club has removed the Ameriquest name from its major league stadium, cutting short - by 27 years - a $75 million sponsorship agreement. (Read More)
CFC Exec Exiting Home Depot Board
April 2, 2007Countrywide Financial Corp. chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo will not stand for re-election as a director to Home Depot Inc. here, the nation's largest home improvement retailer. (Read More)
Freddie Mac Posts Fourth Quarter Loss on Derivative Declines
April 2, 2007Mortgage secondary market giant Freddie Mac lost $480 million on a GAAP basis in the fourth quarter as declines in the market value of derivatives and the company's credit guarantee portfolio offset interest income and guarantee-fee income. (Read More)
IndyMac Unit Targets Small Balance Loan Niche
April 2, 2007Yet another company has identified the small-balance commercial real estate loan niche as a "sweet spot" in the market that affords opportunity. (Read More)
'CRE Investment Hit Record High'
April 2, 2007A record $342.1 billion was invested in commercial real estate property in 2006, excluding transactions valued below the $5 million threshold, up from $276 billion in 2005 (not including hotel properties), according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)
Roundup: EverBank Acquires ALG
April 2, 2007EverBank, Jacksonville, Fla., has acquired Apartment Lending Group, a California-based company, with a view to expanding its small-balance commercial real estate lending capabilities. The acquisition is expected to add over $1 billion in annual origination volume to EverBank's existing small-balance lending capabilities. (Read More)
Poll: Affordable Housing Is a High Voter Priority
April 2, 2007A new poll finds affordable housing has long been a priority for most Americans who state a candidate's approach to housing is a primary criteria they intend to use when casting 2008 presidential election ballots. (Read More)
Roundup: 'ABCP's B&C Exposure Down, But Still Relatively High'
April 2, 2007Subprime-related mortgage exposure for U.S. asset-backed commercial paper programs fell sharply in the fourth quarter, though it remained high by historical standards, according to Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
New century Classes reviewed
April 2, 2007Five certificates from New Century Home Equity Loan Trust series 2006-S1 have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The affected certificates are classes M4, M5, M6, M7 and M8. (Read More)
Fremont certificates Eyed
April 2, 2007Four certificates from Fremont Home Loan Trust series 2006-B have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The affected securities are classes SL-M7, SL-M8, SL-M9 and SL-B1. (Read More)
MASTR TRANCHES downgraded
April 2, 2007Three tranches from two deals issued by MASTR Second Lien Trust have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service, and one tranche has been placed under review for possible downgrade. (Read More)
GSAMP certificate ratings slip
April 2, 2007Six certificates from three GSAMP Trust deals issued in 2006 have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
ACE certificates scrutinized
April 2, 2007Four certificates from Ace Securities Corp. Home Equity Loan Trust have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The affected securities are classes M8, M9A, M9B and B1. Moody's attributed the negative rating actions to the fact that the bonds' credit enhancement levels may be too low in view of projected losses.The primary originators on the deal, which is backed by second-lien loans, are Long Beach Mortgage Co. (60%) and Fremont Investment & Loans (30%). (Read More)
Origen Chooses Thunderhead to Streamline Communications
April 2, 2007Origen Financial, a national provider of manufactured housing loans, has picked the Thunderhead multichannel enterprise communication platform to automate, streamline and control loan product documentation. A major consideration was the fact that the Thunderhead platform integrates with the IBM FileNet ECM Suite. (Read More)
ObjectBuilders Touts eResolve
April 2, 2007ObjectBuilders here expects its eResolve product to offer a significant advance in business-user configurability. eResolve is a Web-enabled repository for data, images, or documents related to a loan file with customizable workflows that offers organizations the ability to automate their request, resolution and reconciliation processes, from end to end. (Read More)
GSE Reform Bill Passes Panel
April 2, 2007The House Financial Services Committee has approved by a 45-19 vote a GSE bill that allows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to maintain sizeable investment portfolios, but imposes higher regulatory costs on the two mortgage giants along with an annual $500 million surcharge for a new affordable housing fund. (Read More)
Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms
April 2, 2007B&C Stock Price Index: 114.4 Change: -8.8 Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 3/18/2007 Wkly.% Chg. % Chg. P/E Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 7.26 11.27 9.09 -6% 25.21% 7.01 HSBC Holding (HBC) 83.11 98.56 85.77 -3% 3.20% n/a IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 4.03 11.74 5.09 -4% 26.30% n/a Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) 3.77 60.13 10.90 -31% 189.12% 3.80 Novastar (NFI) 3.25 38.49 5.90 13% 81.54% 2.68 Ocwen (OCN) 9.51 16.95 12.24 6% 28.71% 4.08 Encore Credit (ECR) 0.35 1.65 0.41 -5% 17.14% n/a Transnational Finl Network l (TFN) 0.24 1.50 0.74 -8% 208.33% n/a Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
April 2, 2007MIEC Index: 116.7 Change: -8.2 Company 3/18/2007 3/11/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 25.10 24.75 1% 19.51 36.96 28.65% 5.07 Astoria Federal (AF) 26.77 27.69 -3% 26.30 31.95 1.79% 14.99 Countrywide Financial Corp. 34.96 36.10 -3% 32.20 45.26 8.57% 8.25 (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 1.68 1.75 -4% 1.19 11.79 41.18% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 9.09 9.72 -6% 7.26 11.27 25.21% 7.01 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 50.87 51.95 -2% 40.58 55.08 25.36% 20.26 Fannie Mae (FNM) 53.79 55.56 -3% 46.17 62.37 16.50% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 23.24 24.05 -3% 17.92 26.21 29.69% 9.83 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 17.63 18.15 -3% 16.96 21.88 3.95% 27.34 Freddie Mac (FRE) 59.52 61.97 -4% 55.64 71.92 6.97% 22.11 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 45.38 47.91 -5% 37.89 69.10 19.77% 7.96 Accredited Home Lenders 10.90 15.78 -31% 3.77 60.13 189.12% 3.80 (LEND) LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 74.16 72.30 3% 58.75 74.69 26.23% 13.20 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 28.85 30.64 -6% 26.27 50.50 9.82% 6.09 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 43.28 45.58 -5% 40.69 51.46 6.37% 9.50 Radian Group (RDN) 54.13 55.84 -3% 51.61 67.35 4.88% 7.83 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 2.45 2.73 -10% 2.40 7.60 2.08% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 41.90 43.97 -5% 39.31 58.62 6.59% 9.64 Washington Mutual (WM) 39.88 42.02 -5% 38.73 47.01 2.97% 11.06 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
FHA Reform Bill Reintroduced
April 2, 2007Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., has introduced a bill to modernize the FHA single-family program so it can remain viable and serve more subprime borrowers. (Read More)
Lawsuit Filed by Alleged Victims of New York Mortgage Fraud
April 2, 2007A $100 million lawsuit has been filed in New York State Supreme Court in Nassau County here against some of the top mortgage lenders on behalf of a few dozen Long Island homeowners who say they are victims of a mortgage scam. (Read More)
FHFB Finalizes New Process
April 2, 2007The Federal Housing Finance Board finalized a new appointment process last week that allows the Federal Home Loan Banks to nominate their independent directors and submit those candidates for regulatory approval. (Read More)
Layoffs Coming at Merrill's First Franklin
April 2, 2007Merrill Lynch-owned First Franklin Financial Corp. here is in the process of consolidating some of its back-office operations, a move that is expected to result in layoffs. A spokesman for Merrill declined to offer an estimate on the number of jobs that might be cut but noted that no account executives will be let go. As of late last week, no layoffs had occurred. (Read More)
People
April 2, 2007ARIZONA Scottsdale-Clear Choice Financial has hired Gene O'Bryan as chief operating officer. (Read More)
Analyst: Housing Not a 'Contagion'
April 2, 2007While slowing housing starts have contributed to a global sell-off in stocks, S&P said the recent drop in equity prices is not a harbinger of a bear market. (Read More)
OceanFirst Finds No Fraud
April 2, 2007While internal controls broke down and the company had an unpleasant surprise over loan repurchases, there was no fraud found in its investigation of activities in its mortgage unit, OceanFirst Financial Corp. executives told an investor conference call. Furthermore, while executives at its Columbia Home Loan LLC subsidiary were disciplined, there were no firings. (Read More)
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April 9, 2007
Bankrupt New Century Selling Servicing
April 9, 2007The much-anticipated bankruptcy of New Century Financial Corp., one of the industry's biggest nonprime lenders, became official last week as the company filed for Chapter 11 protection while unveiling a plan to manage its demise through debtor-in-possession financing and a sale of the company's loan servicing asset. (Read More)
Top Subprime Gainers in Q4 06
April 9, 2007(Dollars in Millions) Subprime Volume Percent Market Rk Organization Name Q4 06 Q4 05 Change Share 1 Mortgage Lenders Network (E) (BK $2,000 $1,433 40% 1.39% 2 First NLC Financial Services (1) $2,082 $1,547 35% 1.44% 3 Ace Mortgage Funding, Inc. $856 $661 30% 0.59% 4 Chase Home Finance $3,064 $2,610 17% 2.12% 5 NovaStar Mortgage, Inc. $2,554 $2,196 16% 1.77% 6 First Street Financial $173 $156 11% 0.12% 7 First Franklin Financial (2) $7,807 $7,068 10% 5.41% 8 WMC Mortgage Corp. (3) $9,023 $8,185 10% 6.25% 9 ResMAE Mortgage Corp. (BK) (4) $1,947 $1,772 10% 1.35% 10 Fieldstone Mortgage $1,470 $1,383 6% 1.02% Total $30,977 $27,010 15% 20.45% Results may be incomplete because some subprime lenders would not disclose 4Q fundings, or have delayed results because of financial problems. Fourth quarter subprime market share is based on estimated A- to D production of $144.3 billion. (1) First NLC is owned by FBR. (2) First Franklin is owned by Merrill Lynch. (3) WMC is owned by GE. (4) ResMAE filed for bankruptcy protection in February. Its assets may be sold to Credit Suisse. (E) Estimate. (BK) Company filed for bankruptcy potection. (Read More)
Halt on Foreclosures Asked
April 9, 2007Civil rights groups are calling for an immediate six-month moratorium on foreclosures so borrowers with subprime hybrid mortgages can transition into more affordable loan products. (Read More)
Technology to Cut Buybacks
April 9, 2007As investors tighten their demands in light of the subprime fallout, technology is available to marry the documents with the data to ensure investor acceptance of the security and lessen buyback situations. (Read More)
Housing Discrimination: Record for Complaints
April 9, 2007New data are adding to concerns that race and disability discrimination in housing continues to challenge the industry. A total of 10,328 housing discrimination complaints were filed during the year, the highest number ever, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's fiscal year 2006 fair housing report. (Read More)
Europe Waits On B&C
April 9, 2007Recent "subprime" mortgage securitization woes in the U.S. are being taken note of in Europe and may have the potential to slow efforts to develop lower-tier credit markets there. But, so far, it does not appear to have affected what has been a growing general interest in higher-yielding securitized loan product innovations in that overseas market. (Read More)
Subprime Woes Will Hurt Sales
April 9, 2007The contraction of subprime lending and tighter underwriting could reduce new and existing home sales by up to 3% over the next two years, according to new projections by economists at the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)
Fannie Plans 'Several Hundred' Layoffs
April 9, 2007Fannie Mae is planning to reduce its workforce by several hundred full-time employees as part of an effort to cut operating expenses by $200 million in 2007. (Read More)
Congress Divided on Merits of Risk-Based Pricing for the FHA
April 9, 2007Democrats and Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee have introduced competing bills to reform the Federal Housing Administration single-family program and they differ mainly on the pricing of mortgage insurance premiums. (Read More)
Demand High for 'Green Homes'
April 9, 2007A new homebuyer survey finds a high rate of customer satisfaction among those who have purchased green homes, and that 63% of buyers are motivated by the lower operating and maintenance costs that come with energy- and resource-efficient homes. (Read More)
FHLBanks Earn $2.6 Billion
April 9, 2007The 12 Federal Home Loan Banks reported combined 2006 earnings of $2.6 billion, up 3.4% from the previous year, as member borrowings were sluggish. (Read More)
CIT Creates Health Care REIT
April 9, 2007CIT Group is coming out with an initial public offering of common shares on Care Investment Trust, a real estate investment trust that will invest in health care-related mortgage debt and real estate. (Read More)
Editorial: A Door Opens
April 9, 2007It happens every real estate cycle. As firms exit (or are pushed out of) the mortgage business, new ones enter (or re-enter). (Read More)
Open Forum: Subprime Lending Problems
April 9, 2007As we all know, the great house price inflation of the past several years has topped out, and the unsustainable expansion of subprime mortgage credit which accompanied it has shifted distinctly into reverse. As many people have pointed out, the market is itself correcting sharply and rapidly, if belatedly. The subprime boom is over. The bust is here. Former enthusiasm has been replaced by large financial losses, the bankruptcy of subprime lenders, layoffs, accelerating foreclosures, fear, a liquidity squeeze and of course recriminations, some well deserved. (Read More)
New Issues May Be Better But Seasoned Ones Still Face a Hurdle
April 9, 2007Although the market has remained challenging in the so-called subprime niche, there has been an increasing talk heard among market participants indicating that they are getting a handle on things and are more optimistic that loan underwriting has seen a turnaround. (Read More)
Martopia Retools Website for New Image Campaign
April 9, 2007Martopia wants to position itself more as a thought leader and less of a marketing or CRM company. To this end, the company has launched new features on its website (www.martopia.com) to provide an online resource for companies seeking new ideas and methods to accelerate their growth. (Read More)
Old Republic Expands Northern CA Presence with North State Deal
April 9, 2007Old Republic Title Holding Co. increased its presence in Northern California with the acquisition of North State Title Co., formerly a locally owned, independent company offering title insurance and related escrow services to clients in Yuba, Sutter, Colusa and Glenn counties. (Read More)
Massachusetts Home Sales Fall
April 9, 2007Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts declined in February compared to year-before numbers, but healthy sales in January helped the year-to-date increase compared to 2006, according to a report released by The Warren Group. (Read More)
Ginnie Mae's Multifamily Growth Adds to Affordable Housing Stock
April 9, 2007Marking 13 years of continuous growth, Ginnie Mae said its Multifamily Mortgage-Backed Securities program increased by 7.4% in fiscal year 2006, from $35.3 billion to $37.8 billion. (Read More)
Foundation Aids Reset Borrowers
April 9, 2007Created to assist Americans who did not benefit from the "unprecedented boom in homeownership and home values in recent years," the First American Homeownership Foundation said this year it will focus on the needs of homeowners who are about to face payment increases in their adjustable-rate mortgage loans. (Read More)
Newcastle Investment Seizes Opportunity to Buy Subprime Loans
April 9, 2007Newcastle Investment Corp. has agreed to purchase about 7,300 subprime residential mortgages worth about $1.7 billion that have recently closed or are expected to close by mid-April, pending due diligence that may result in a change in the final pool's composition. (Read More)
Investors Question Rising Credit Scores
April 9, 2007A number of securitization market participants have noted a rise in credit scores among poorly performing loans backing deals that Fitch Ratings here and score provider Fair Isaac & Co., San Francisco, say reflects misunderstanding about the scores' role in underwriting originations. (Read More)
Spring Melting Means Homeowners Face Higher Risk of Flooding
April 9, 2007Warmer temperatures signal the arrival of spring but also contribute to snow melts and the risk of flooding in certain parts of the country. That means there is no better time for consumers to assess whether they are adequately covered for flood-related losses, according to the Insurance Information Institute. (Read More)
Construction Dips In 1st Half of '07
April 9, 2007The ongoing correction in residential construction is expected to drag down overall 2007 construction activity, according to a recent forecast from the Portland Cement Association, which says despite a record 18% growth since 2003, cement consumption this year is projected to decline by 1.5%. (Read More)
Bankers Say FCS Is Encroaching on Their Turf
April 9, 2007Once again, a debate about farm policy pits rural commercial bankers up against the government-sponsored, cooperatively owned Farm Credit System. (Read More)
Promotion Spotlight: Ron Litt
April 9, 2007Mr. Litt has been appointed president of Market Kinetix LLC, Houston. He previously acted as product spokesperson for Market Kinetix and prior to that was the president of Advantage Credit. (Read More)
Consolidator of Brokers Buys SB Financial
April 9, 2007W.J. Bradley Co. Merchant Partners LLC, a consolidator of mortgage brokers and small to midsized mortgage bankers here, is acquiring SB Financial Inc., a Los Angeles broker. Terms of the deal were not announced. (Read More)
Iberiabank Claims Low B&C Exposure
April 9, 2007Iberiabank Corp. here said its believes its risk exposure to subprime mortgage loans written by its three subsidiaries is extremely low. (Read More)
Industry Downsizing Creates Attractive Hiring Opportunities
April 9, 2007With the large number of mortgage companies being sold or shutting their doors, there are originators, some together with their whole teams, looking for new places to work. (Read More)
KB's Revenue Drops by 19%
April 9, 2007KB Home reported consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2007 ended Feb. 28, which totaled $1.77 billion, down 19% from $2.19 billion in the same quarter of 2006, reflecting a 16% decrease in unit deliveries and a 5% decline in the average selling price. (Read More)
Martha Stewart Teams Up with Builder in L.A.
April 9, 2007KB Home and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia will build their first community in Los Angeles County, "KB Home Terreno Vista: Homes created with Martha Stewart." The latest neighborhood in their collaboration, Terreno Vista, is scheduled to open this fall in Lancaster, Calif. (Read More)
AHM Defends Credit Risk Profile
April 9, 2007American Home Mortgage Investment, apparently stung by the widespread sell-off in nonprime mortgage stocks following the bankruptcy of some lenders, has sought to reassure the market by releasing data about the loan products and credit quality of its portfolio. (Read More)
Impac Mortgage to Pay Dividend
April 9, 2007Impac Mortgage Holdings here will pay a $0.10 per-share dividend on April 17 to shareholders of record as of April 9. (Read More)
Zacks Sours on IndyMac and Other Lenders
April 9, 2007Zacks.com here, a division of Zacks Investment Research, isn't persuaded that the downturn in specialty finance stocks is over. (Read More)
BFC Went into Red in '06
April 9, 2007BFC Financial Corp. said its net loss allocable to common stock for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006 was $3 million, compared with net income allocable to common stock of $12 million for 2005. (Read More)
Roundup: Some Citi Alt-A Bonds See Higher than Expected Losses
April 9, 2007Four classes from four Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust transactions have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. The affected classes were as follows: class III-B5 of series 2005-5; class 2-B5 of series 2006-AR5; class M5 of series 2006-WF1; and class M-5 of series 2006-WF2. Fitch also affirmed the ratings on 25 other classes in the four transactions. (Read More)
Defeasance Adds L.A. Presence
April 9, 2007Commercial Defeasance, a company that helps manage the process of defeasing commercial mortgage-backed securities loans, is opening a new office in Los Angeles. The company reports that Matt Rothman, vice president of sales, will manage the new office. (Read More)
GMAC Senior Living Downgrade
April 9, 2007Class M of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1998-C1, has been downgraded from CCC to C and assigned a distressed recovery rating of DR6 by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Long Beach Deal on Review
April 9, 2007Classes M-7, B-1 and B-2 from Long Beach Mortgage Loan Trust series 2006-A have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
Merrill Classes on Review
April 9, 2007Two subordinated certificates from Merrill Lynch Mortgage Investors Trust series 2004-SL1 and 2004-SL2 have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)
27 Morgan Classes Downgraded
April 9, 2007Twenty-seven classes from 15 Morgan Stanley subprime mortgage-backed securities have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. Fitch also upgraded two classes and affirmed the ratings on 622 classes from 88 Morgan Stanley transactions. The negative rating actions were attributed to deterioration in the relationship between credit enhancement and expected losses. (Read More)
SACO Deal Downgraded
April 9, 2007Class B-3 of SACO I Trust 2004-3 has been downgraded from B3 to Caa2 by Moody's Investors Service, and nine other certificates from various SACO I deals have been placed on review for possible downgrade. (Read More)
EMC Seeks to Aid Borrowers
April 9, 2007Wall Street firm Bear Stearns' EMC subsidiary in Dallas has started a program designed to help borrowers that are under pressure and also ultimately improve the outlook for existing and possibly future securitizations. (Read More)
Credit Suisse Unit Sues Lender
April 9, 2007A conduit run by Credit Suisse has sued Sunset Direct Lending, Lake Oswego, Ore., for $20 million for allegedly failing to buy back subprime mortgages with early delinquencies and repayments. (Read More)
Chugging along
April 9, 2007In contrast to the slowdown on the residential mortgage lending side, commercial mortgage lending is still going strong for the moment. Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding went up to $2.95 trillion at the end of 2006, a 12.7% increase from the end of 2005, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)
Moody's Reports Healthy Performance for Commercial Markets
April 9, 2007Six of seven major property types underlying commercial mortgage-backed securities are doing well for the second quarter in a row, with the suburban office sector being the sole exception, Moody's Investors Service, New York, reports based on data from the third quarter of 2006. (Read More)
Small-Balance Niche Gathers Steam
April 9, 2007The ongoing slowdown on the residential mortgage lending side is leading some brokers to look at other avenues, and the small-balance commercial mortgage arena is one that a number of them are interested in. (Read More)
CharterMac Rebrands Itself as Centerline Capital
April 9, 2007CharterMac, a lender, investor, and manager of capital for the real estate industry, has announced the renaming of the company as Centerline Holding Co. and of its wholly owned subsidiary, CharterMac Corp., as Centerline Capital Group. Centerline Holding will continue trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CHC, and the company's other subsidiaries, including Centerbrook Financial, ARCap REIT Inc., CharterMac Mortgage Capital, and CharterMac Capital, will operate under the unified brand name, Centerline Capital Group. (Read More)
Flexible Software Helps Lender Expand Commercial Capabilities
April 9, 2007Republic Bank & Trust Co., Louisville, Ky., is a growth-minded, multibillion-dollar bank with a community-banking network across Kentucky and southern Indiana that continues to add new banking centers. In order to continue to grow, the institution was recently in the market for more agile and flexible technology. (Read More)
Clayton Holdings Buying Euro Risk
April 9, 2007Clayton Holdings Inc. here has agreed to acquire Euro Risk Management Ltd., a credit and risk consultant operating in the United Kingdom, Italy and Holland. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
April 9, 2007MIEC Index: 116.7 Change: -8.2 Company 3/18/2007 3/11/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 25.10 24.75 1% 19.51 36.96 28.65% 5.07 Astoria Federal (AF) 26.77 27.69 -3% 26.30 31.95 1.79% 14.99 Countrywide Financial 34.96 36.10 -3% 32.20 45.26 8.57% 8.25 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 1.68 1.75 -4% 1.19 11.79 41.18% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 9.09 9.72 -6% 7.26 11.27 25.21% 7.01 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 50.87 51.95 -2% 40.58 55.08 25.36% 20.26 Fannie Mae (FNM) 53.79 55.56 -3% 46.17 62.37 16.50% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 23.24 24.05 -3% 17.92 26.21 29.69% 9.83 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 17.63 18.15 -3% 16.96 21.88 3.95% 27.34 Freddie Mac (FRE) 59.52 61.97 -4% 55.64 71.92 6.97% 22.11 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 45.38 47.91 -5% 37.89 69.10 19.77% 7.96 Accredited Home Lenders 10.90 15.78 -31% 3.77 60.13 189.12% 3.80 (LEND) LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 74.16 72.30 3% 58.75 74.69 26.23% 13.20 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 28.85 30.64 -6% 26.27 50.50 9.82% 6.09 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 43.28 45.58 -5% 40.69 51.46 6.37% 9.50 Radian Group (RDN) 54.13 55.84 -3% 51.61 67.35 4.88% 7.83 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 2.45 2.73 -10% 2.40 7.60 2.08% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 41.90 43.97 -5% 39.31 58.62 6.59% 9.64 Washington Mutual (WM) 39.88 42.02 -5% 38.73 47.01 2.97% 11.06 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
Insurance to Aid German High LTV
April 9, 2007A subsidiary of the PMI Group here has entered into an alliance through which it will provide insurance to the Hamburg, Germany-based Deutsche Genossenschafts-Hypothekenbank AG that will enable the bank to offer high loan-to-value financing in the German market. (Read More)
People
April 9, 2007CALIFORNIA Santa Ana-First American Exchange Co. has named Mary Kay Kennedy senior vice president. (Read More)
Wachovia Tops MBA List
April 9, 2007Three lenders - Wachovia, Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse - topped the list of commercial/multifamily originators in 2006, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This marks Wachovia's third and Wells Fargo's second year making it into one of the top three positions on the list. (Read More)
Lennar's Earnings Fall Sharply
April 9, 2007Homebuilder Lennar Corp. said first-quarter net earnings were $68.6 million, compared to first-quarter net earnings of $258.1 million in 2006. (Read More)
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April 16, 2007
NovaStar Considers a Sale, Gets LOC
April 16, 2007NovaStar Financial here, the nation's 16th largest subprime funder, said it may sell the company and has hired Deutsche Bank Securities as its advisor. (Read More)
B&C Fundings
April 16, 2007($ in Billions) Period $ Funded Q4 06 $144 Q3 06 $176 Q2 06 $177 Q1 06 $169 Q4 05 $211 Q3 05 (*) $222 Notes: (*) Represents an industry record. (Read More)
B&C Frenzy Hits Congress
April 16, 2007Rising subprime foreclosures are forcing Congress to come up with a legislative response to the plight of delinquent homeowners while industry groups are desperately working on a private sector solution. (Read More)
Citi Making ABN Changes
April 16, 2007Late last week, Citigroup was informing employees at ABN Amro Mortgage here of restructuring plans that reportedly will include office closings and layoffs. (Read More)
Deconstructing Subprime Risk
April 16, 2007The scare of massive subprime market defaults combined with a one-size-fits-all mentality when serving untraditional borrowers is pressuring the industry to control risk by pricing out nonprime homebuyers. (Read More)
MBS Down Slightly
April 16, 2007The volume of mortgage-backed security deals totaled $247.66 billion in the first quarter, down from $261.41 billion in the first quarter of 2006, according to Thomson Financial. (Read More)
Seas Could Swamp Lenders
April 16, 2007How will rising sea levels affect real estate and lenders in North America? Inundation models and new research offer a sobering preview of scenarios that could make many coastal cities - and some inland towns - look a bit like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. (Read More)
Metrocities Looks to Sell
April 16, 2007Metrocities Mortgage here - one of the largest remaining privately held non-depositories in the U.S. - is slated for sale to a Chicago hedge fund, industry sources told National Mortgage News. (Read More)
Officials Eye FHA as Tool to Rescue Troubled Subprime Borrowers
April 16, 2007Two proposals surfaced last week to harness the Federal Housing Administration as a relief agency to help delinquent subprime borrowers who are facing foreclosure. (Read More)
OFHEO Urges Fannie, Freddie to Speed Up Repairs
April 16, 2007Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are making progress in improving their information systems, internal controls and financial reporting but they need to accelerate their efforts this year, according to their regulator. (Read More)
Editorial: Alternatives
April 16, 2007As subprime mortgage volumes wither, specialists in this kind of lending, especially mortgage brokers, are casting around for other kinds of work. This wouldn't be the first time this has happened. After the 1993 refinancing boom, brokers invented the B&C market as we know it to replace their original niche of prime fixed-rate mortgages. (Read More)
Open Forum: GSEs Need Stronger Regulation
April 16, 2007Housing and homeownership are critical components of the American dream and the American economy, as we see every day in the news. The housing government-sponsored enterprises play an important role in both. Together the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through loans, advances, investments and guaranteed mortgage-backed securities are involved in 46% of the total mortgage debt outstanding in the U.S. That is a dominant role by any measure. (Read More)
Mortgage Road Warriors: Tell Me Your Good and Bad Travel Stories
April 16, 2007Are you, like me, on the road a lot? Let's compare notes! As part of the new interactive "blog of the week" feature at our website, I'll be writing about my mortgage beat experiences with hotels, casinos, conferences, restaurants, airlines, etc., and I'd like to hear from you! So read my blog, either below or online at http://www.data.nationalmortgagenews.com/column/onroad/, and then go to the comment box just below the blog online, contribute your thoughts, and hit submit. You can also react to a bunch of great comments other people have posted! Let's start with hotels. I'll bet you have a lot of great stories: which is your favorite hotel, the one you come back to over and over again, and why? Which is the worst? What do you think should be standard features at all hotels that cater to businessmen? Pet peeves about the hospitality industry? Which trip of all the ones you've undertaken for your company was your favorite, and why? My take on hotels is just below.) Not long ago I checked into the Wyndham Hotel in Washington, DC to cover a spring legislative housing conference, and it was déjà vu all over again. (Read More)
What Happens When the Home Appraisal Value Is Too Low?
April 16, 2007Much to their chagrin, many buyers, sellers and owners are finding out that in today's down market, their homes aren't worth what they thought they were. At least, not in the eyes of the professionals hired to tell lenders what the places could fetch on the open market if borrowers failed to make their payments. (Read More)
SunTrust B-Pieces Placed on Review
April 16, 2007Classes B-4 and B-5 of SunTrust Alternative Loan Trust mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2006-1F, have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Firm Caters to Spanish Speakers
April 16, 2007When targeting Hispanic borrowers, many lenders have looked to vendors to either convert their website into Spanish or their forms, or both, but document delivery vendor Data-Vision here has taken it a step further to create what the company calls a more complete experience for Hispanic borrowers. (Read More)
New CDOs Scrutinized by Rating Agencies
April 16, 2007Collateralized debt obligations issued in 2005 and 2006 will come under greater ratings pressure as stresses continue in the subprime market because they have substantially larger concentrations of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities, according to Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
B&C Borrowers Falling Behind
April 16, 2007Traditionally, it's been presumed that consumers will fall behind on unsecured debt obligations before skipping mortgage payments. But a new study from Experian challenges that assumption. (Read More)
Colonial Buys Servicing Rights
April 16, 2007Colonial Savings has completed the purchase of servicing rights on 18,431 home loans with a principal balance of $1.7 billion from a Midwest bank, the company said last week. Colonial said that the acquisition will increase its servicing portfolio by 15% to $12.7 billion. It increases the number of loans that Colonial services by 20%. The loans are secured by homes in the Midwest. (Read More)
Prepay Speeds Up 30% in March
April 16, 2007Prepayments on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in agency mortgage-backed securities climbed 16% in March, in part because of a three-day increase in the business calendar and a seasonal rise in housing turnover activity, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. (Read More)
Selected 30-Year Fixed-Rate Prepayments
April 16, 2007(For March Period) Cpn Year WAC Fctr Mar07 Feb07 Fannie Mae 6.00 2006 6.56 .925 12.3 10.0 Fannie Mae 6.00 2005 6.51 .736 17.5 15.7 Freddie Mac 6.00 2006 6.51 .927 11.5 9.8 Freddie Mac 6.00 2005 6.41 .763 15.4 14.3 Source: Bear Stearns & Co. (Read More)
Option One Tranches Downgraded by Fitch
April 16, 2007Eleven tranches from five deals issued by Option One Mortgage Loan Trust have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings and five classes have been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)
Roundup: B&C Deals Still Suffering
April 16, 2007Two classes from two Ameriquest Mortgage Securities Inc. home equity issues have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Bear Stearns Deal on Watch
April 16, 2007Two classes of Bear Stearns asset-backed securities, series 2006-AC2, have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Countrywide Deal Downgraded
April 16, 2007Two classes of CWMBS (Countrywide Home Loans) Inc. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2002-13 (ALT 2002-8), have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
First Horizon Classes on Watch
April 16, 2007Two classes of First Horizon Home Loan Mortgage Trust securitizations have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Morgan Deal on Watch
April 16, 2007Two classes in the Morgan Stanley 2006-5AR mortgage-backed securitization have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
SFAC Classes Downgraded
April 16, 2007Three classes of Structured Finance Advisors Collateralized Asset Backed Securities Trust I Ltd. have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Industry Debates Who Is to Blame for the Subprime Meltdown
April 16, 2007Lovethisgame: Who do you think is really responsible for the meltdown? Open forum, let's have the truth. Do you think the Realtor fees contributed to the meltdown? I mean Joe Lucky meets with his Realtor and Joe Lucky just refinanced and his home is 95% LTV. Now he wants to sell because he's squeezed every dollar out of his equity. The Realtor sells his home and makes $6K on top of the $100K property? Do you think it contributed to predatory lending on the Realtor's behalf? I think Realtors are slime. How in da hell do you justify this? Is the feds lookin' at dem too? (Read More)
Wolters Kluwer Turns to Adobe for Help with Interactive Forms
April 16, 2007To help lenders looking to embrace e-mortgages through PDF means, Adobe Systems Inc. and Wolters Kluwer Financial Services here will work together to provide integration between the WKFS Expere Integrated Enterprise application and Adobe LiveCycle interactive process management software. (Read More)
HUD Protects Brooklyn Project
April 16, 2007Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Alphonso Jackson backed affordable housing preservation in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a move that reflects growing industry awareness about lack of affordable housing options in many markets nationwide. (Read More)
Kazakhstan Joins Ranks of Countries with Mortgage Securities
April 16, 2007The first publicly rated residential mortgage-backed securities deal in Kazakhstan has come to market. (Read More)
MFC Gets Funding From German Bank
April 16, 2007Metro Funding Corp., an asset-based commercial real estate lender, has closed a $50 million secured credit facility with German bank WestLB and, separately, launched a conventional loan department. (Read More)
Roundup: Neighborhood Assistance Takes Default Protest to Streets
April 16, 2007The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America is planning to conduct protests and mock foreclosures at the homes of Wall Street and mortgage company executives - demanding loan modifications for subprime borrowers who are facing foreclosure. Subprime adjustable-rate mortgages were "structured to fail," and "we are going to go into their neighborhoods" if they don't stop the foreclosures, NACA chief Bruce Marks said at a Washington news conference. The Boston-based community advocacy group wants the investment banking firms and subprime lenders to restructure the loans so that troubled borrowers get a fixed-rate mortgage at the initial qualifying rate (e.g., a 2/28 ARM with an initial interest rate of 6% would be restructured as a 6% fixed-rate mortgage). NACA plans to start the protest campaign on April 21 by inviting subprime borrowers to its offices in 33 cities to educate them about subprime "scams" that were used to exploit them with loans they could not afford, Mr. Marks said. The group is also pledging $1 billion to refinance victims of predatory lending into affordable mortgages through a commitment by Bank of America and Citigroup. NACA has run a mortgage lending operation for subprime homebuyers since the mid-1990s that offers no-downpayment fixed-rate mortgages at 1 percentage point below the market rate. Now it is refinancing mortgages to prevent foreclosures. (Read More)
Radian Says it Shuns Excessive Subprime Risk
April 16, 2007In the company's recent annual report to the SEC, Radian Guaranty acknowledged that the mortgage insurance industry faces challenges this year but indicated that it is prepared to manage the deterioration in subprime credit quality home loans. (Read More)
Inland to Buy Winston Hotels
April 16, 2007Winston Hotels has decided to go with an offer from Inland American Real Estate Trust, a part of Oakbrook, Ill.-based Inland Capital Markets group of real estate companies, to acquire the hotel real estate investment trust for $15 per share in cash. (Read More)
DDR Earns Spot On S&P 500 List
April 16, 2007Standard & Poor's is adding Developers Diversified Realty Corp. to its S&P 500 index, the financial information services firm reports. (Read More)
Analyst Says CFC Remains Powerful
April 16, 2007Despite the disclosure several months ago that Countrywide Financial Corp.'s delinquency rate on subprime loans had climbed to 19%, analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey predict that Countrywide will "manage credit well" throughout the mortgage lending cycle. (Read More)
Moody's Raises Debt Ratings for Astoria
April 16, 2007Moody's Investors Service has raised the deposit and issuer ratings of Astoria Financial Corp. here, parent of Astoria Federal Savings & Loan Association. (Read More)
Fitch Impressed By Capital One
April 16, 2007Fitch Ratings has raised the long-term issuer default rating for Capitol One Financial Corp. to "A-" from a previous rating of "BBB+," leaving the rating outlook as positive. (Read More)
Lender Focuses on Climate Risk
April 16, 2007Few mortgage lenders have thought harder about global warming than John Woldenberg. As a partner in Hazel Ravine Partners, a Highland Park, Ill., real estate finance firm, he lends on commercial and residential properties nationwide. As co-founder of Cool Globes Inc., a Chicago-based not-for-profit that promotes awareness of Earth's rising temperature, Mr. Woldenberg works his international network of business, media, political and philanthropic contacts to encourage climate protection. (Read More)
Warming Brings Freshwater Floods
April 16, 2007Rising seas aren't the only source of climate-induced flooding. Many modeling studies have shown that a warming climate brings wilder weather, including more flash floods. (Read More)
Accredited Investor Sells 12% Stake
April 16, 2007Money management firm Eubel Brady & Suttman, Dayton, Ohio, has sold most of its 12.1% stake in subprime lender Accredited Home Lenders here. (Read More)
U.S. Mortgage-Backed Securities
April 16, 2007(JP Morgan Tops Ranks of MBS Underwriters 1/1/07-6/30/07 1/1/06-3/31/06 Proceeds* Market # of Proceeds* Market # of Book Runners ($Mil) Share Issues ($Mil) Share Issues JP Morgan 29,191.1 11.8 28 17,069.2 6.5 34 Lehman Brothers 24,811.1 10.0 29 27,128.4 10.4 29 Washington Mutual Inc. 18,894.4 7.6 15 11,538.8 4.4 14 Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. 18,764.4 7.6 23 25,396.7 9.7 38 Citigroup 17,557.1 7.1 30 10,966.0 4.2 20 Royal Bank of Scotland Group 17,059.7 6.9 22 31,058.5 11.9 40 Deutsche Bank AG 15,624.9 6.3 23 15,264.6 5.8 27 Goldman Sachs & Co. 13,797.0 5.6 17 19,518.4 7.5 33 Banc of America Securities LLC 12,910.5 5.2 18 15,276.2 5.8 35 Credit Suisse 12,565.3 5.1 19 17,629.5 6.7 26 UBS 12,294.8 5.0 23 14,732.7 5.6 27 Morgan Stanley 12,252.8 5.0 21 15,043.4 5.8 28 Merrill Lynch 11,547.0 4.7 16 9,100.6 3.5 17 Countrywide Securities Corp. 11,360.5 4.6 21 16,145.2 6.2 35 Wachovia Corp. 8,396.1 3.4 2 5,773.2 2.2 3 Barclays Capital 4,662.0 1.9 8 5,154.8 2.0 9 HSBC Holdings PLC 2,777.5 1.1 7 1,128.8 .4 3 General Motors Corp. 1,142.0 .5 4 124.3 .1 1 RBC Capital Markets 640.3 .3 2 - - - SunTrust Banks 631.8 .3 2 - - - BNP Paribas SA 567.9 .2 1 - - - Utendahl Capital Partners 207.7 .1 1 - - - Nomura - - - 2,719.1 1.0 8 First Horizon National Corp. - - - 493.1 .2 2 William Blair & Co - - - 144.4 .1 1 Total 247,655.8 100.0 285 261,405.6 100.0 370 * Full amount to book runner (equal if joint). (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
April 16, 2007MIEC Index: 115.5 Change: -2.2 Company 4/12/2007 4/5/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 21.13 25.63 -18% 19.51 36.96 8.30% 4.36 Astoria Federal (AF) 26.19 26.87 -3% 25.98 31.88 0.81% 14.48 Countrywide Financial 33.61 33.67 -0% 32.20 45.26 4.38% 7.77 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 1.62 1.79 -9% 1.19 10.28 36.13% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 8.23 8.46 -3% 7.26 11.27 13.36% 6.47 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 54.39 55.02 -1% 40.58 55.15 34.03% 21.31 Fannie Mae (FNM) 53.97 54.34 -1% 46.17 62.37 16.89% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 24.85 25.40 -2% 17.92 26.21 38.67% 10.20 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 15.70 17.25 -9% 16.47 21.88 -4.68% 25.54 Freddie Mac (FRE) 60.02 59.85 0% 55.64 71.92 7.87% 21.25 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 42.31 42.47 -0% 37.89 67.46 11.67% 10.04 Accredited Home Lenders 9.31 9.64 -3% 3.77 60.13 146.95% 3.76 (LEND) LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 77.91 78.06 -0% 58.75 78.82 32.61% 13.69 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 29.11 31.94 -9% 26.27 50.50 10.81% 6.12 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 44.72 44.51 0% 40.69 51.46 9.90% 9.64 Radian Group (RDN) 53.24 52.48 1% 51.61 67.35 3.16% 7.49 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 1.71 1.99 -14% 1.48 7.41 15.54% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 40.03 40.18 -0% 39.31 58.62 1.83% 9.09 Washington Mutual (WM) 38.90 39.82 -2% 38.73 47.01 0.44% 10.71 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
SouthStar Funding Looks to Filing
April 16, 2007Subprime lender SouthStar Funding LLC here has closed its doors and is expected to file for bankruptcy protection. (Read More)
1st Horizon Cuts Subprime Wholesale
April 16, 2007First Horizon Home Loans here has decided to exit the subprime wholesale channel, citing razor-thin profit margins and low bids on loan pools. (Read More)
Fitch Lowers Outlook on Two Major Homebuilding Firms
April 16, 2007The ratings outlook for homebuilders Beazer Homes USA and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. has been revised to negative from stable by Fitch Ratings here. The move reflects the current and expected near-term deterioration in credit metrics, and pressures from credit tightening, which particularly affect entry-level buyers who are a significant customer focus for both companies. (Read More)
People
April 16, 2007CALIFORNIA Irvine-IndyMac Bank has added Rick Warren to its commercial real estate group. (Read More)
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April 23, 2007
No Federal Bailout for B&C
April 23, 2007The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and the ranking Republican member last week ruled out any type of government bailout for delinquent subprime borrowers. (Read More)
Top Subprime Lenders in 2006
April 23, 2007(Dollars in Millions) Subprime Volume % Market Rk Organization Name 2006 2005 Change Share 1 HSBC Finance $52,585 $55,534 -5% 7.70% 2 New Century Financial Corp. (BK) $51,600 $53,596 -4% 7.55% 3 Countrywide Financial Corp. $40,596 $44,637 -9% 5.94% 4 WMC Mortgage Corp. (1) $33,162 $31,796 4% 4.85% 5 Fremont Investment & Loan (E) (2) $31,838 $36,242 -12% 4.66% 6 Option One Mortgage Corp. (3) $29,811 $40,097 -26% 4.36% 7 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage $27,869 $30,337 -8% 4.08% 8 First Franklin Financial (4) $27,725 $29,416 -6% 4.06% 9 Washington Mutual (E) (5) $26,837 $34,491 -22% 3.93% 10 Ameriquest Mortgage Corp./Argent (E) (6) $25,578 $49,176 -48% 3.74% 11 CitiFinancial (E) (7) $23,500 $20,509 15% 3.44% 12 GMAC-RFC $21,883 $25,258 -13% 3.20% 13 Accredited Home Lenders (8) $15,603 $16,583 -6% 2.28% 14 BNC Mortgage, Inc. (9) $13,725 $16,072 -15% 2.01% 15 Chase Home Finance $11,548 $9,655 20% 1.69% 16 NovaStar Mortgage, Inc. (10) $10,968 $9,266 18% 1.61% 17 Mortgage Lenders Network, USA (E) (BK) $10,221 $4,082 150% 1.50% 18 Ownit Mortgage (E) (BK) $9,376 $8,367 12% 1.37% 19 EMC Mortgage (11) $8,754 $17,291 -49% 1.28% 20 Aegis Mortgage Corporation (E) $8,470 $10,500 -19% 1.24% Total: $483,656 $544,909 -11% 69.26% Note: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not provide production volumes. Market share cut based on estimated industry-wide subprime production of $683.2 billion in 2006. (1) WMC is owned by General Electric. (2) Fremont is in the process of selling its subprime unit. (3) OOMC may be sold shortly. (4) First Franklin was bought by Merrill Lynch in late 2006. (5) WaMu stopped disclosing its subprime volume last year. Its B&C arm is called Long Beach Mortgage. (6) Citigroup has an option to buy part of Ameriquest/Argent. Argent is the wholesale arm which accounts for most of the firm's production. (7) Citigroup stopped disclosing subprime volumes last year. (8) Accredited is for sale. (9) BNC is owned by Lehman. (10) NovaStar is considering a sale. (11) EMC is owned by Bear Stearns. (BK) Firm has filed for bankruptcy protection. (E) Loan volume is an estimate. (Read More)
Zell: REITs Are Not Done
April 23, 2007The era of publicly traded real estate is not over, as some have speculated following the privatization of a number of real estate investment trusts, and in fact the REIT structure is likely to gain more favor as it catches on worldwide, according to Sam Zell. (Read More)
Four of Top 25 Go Bust
April 23, 2007Four of the nation's top 25 subprime funders in 2006 have gone bust over the past four months, with several others trying to sell themselves to avoid liquidity crunches, according to an analysis conducted by National Mortgage News. (Read More)
$100MM Loss On B&C Sale
April 23, 2007Fremont General Corp. here will sell $2.9 billion in subprime loans to an unidentified buyer, booking a $100 million pretax loss on the deal. (Read More)
WaMu Declares a Big Hit
April 23, 2007Not long ago, executives at Washington Mutual highlighted their efforts to expand its nonprime mortgage business, seeking higher profit margins. (Read More)
Even Wells Nicked by B/C
April 23, 2007Not many lenders have as few blemishes on their subprime mortgage business as Wells Fargo today, but even that industry giant had some explaining to do in its first-quarter financial report. (Read More)
GE's WMC Unit Cuts Jobs 50%
April 23, 2007The General Electric-owned WMC Mortgage here, a top-ranked subprime lender, late last week laid off 50% of its workforce - roughly 771 full-time positions. (Read More)
Republicans Say 'Trust Fund' Could Doom FHA Reform Bill
April 23, 2007Federal Housing Administration reform legislation has hit a snag in the House and it could delay passage of a bill that many in Congress view as a way to help subprime borrowers get into safer and more affordable home loans. (Read More)
Branch Operator Late on Payments
April 23, 2007Net branch operator All Fund Mortgage of Tacoma, Wash., has been late paying some of its branch managers, with one senior officer blaming the problem on "accounting issues." (Read More)
GAO Concerned by Kickbacks in Title Industry
April 23, 2007A report from the Government Accounting Office cited competition and pricing as areas of concern in the title insurance business. The report was done at the request of Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. (Read More)
Editorial: Warning Signs
April 23, 2007Hurricane Katrina, with its long-term devastation of New Orleans and communities in Louisiana and Mississippi, should have served as a warning to lenders and servicers about the environmental risk to their collateral. And while it's not in human nature to plan for every eventuality that may arise in the future, lenders would do well to examine contingency efforts and disaster planning in their shops. (Read More)
Open Forum: FHA Reform Proposals
April 23, 2007Chairman, ranking member and members of the subcommittee, you have probably read or seen a number of articles of late comparing the fall of the subprime lending market to that of the failed savings and loan institutions of the 1980s. I spent seven years at the Resolution Trust Corp. as assistant director for investigations, uncovering the fraud and abuse among directors of the failed savings and loan institutions. I have seen first hand the damaging results of a solely profit-driven industry, which ultimately cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars. (Read More)
Long Rates Rise, Then Reverse, as Yield Curve Future Debated
April 23, 2007Following a long period in which strategies designed to address yield-curve flattening have been key, curve-steepening strategies were being discussed again in the market at one point last week. (Read More)
REIT Share of Apartment Market Falls to Lowest Point Since '98
April 23, 2007Real estate investment trusts are playing less of a role in the multifamily sector, as a number of them have gone private, according to the National Multi Housing Council. (Read More)
Merrill Claims Little B&C Risk
April 23, 2007Merrill Lynch, which reported record revenue from a number of its business lines last week, said it has little exposure to the meltdown in subprime home loans. (Read More)
Loan Scammers Using a Variety of Mortgage Fraud Schemes
April 23, 2007Despite being in a down market, the real estate industry is seeing quite a bit of activity these days - illegal activity, that is. (Read More)
J.P. Morgan Chase Warns on Credit Trends in Earnings Report
April 23, 2007J.P. Morgan Chase saw improved earnings from its mortgage operations in the first quarter, but its CEO warned that generally favorable credit trends won't last forever. For the most part, J.P. Morgan said that generally favorable retail banking results were offset partially by lower prime and subprime mortgage balances. (Read More)
JPM Deal Class Sees Rating Fall
April 23, 2007Class M of J.P. Morgan Commercial Mortgage Finance Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-C10, has been downgraded from CC/DR4 to C/DR5 by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Millennium Restates
April 23, 2007A bank holding company here says problems with subprime mortgages originated by its closed joint ventures have forced it to restate its fourth-quarter and full-year 2006 results. Millennium Bankshares Corp. has made a $4.5 million pretax increase in the amount of reserves that it recorded in those periods. It has a net loss of $3.1 million, or $0.35 per share, for the quarter and a net loss of $481,000, or $0.05 per share, for the year. At year-end 2006, Millennium had established reserves of $545,000 associated with the remaining loans held for sale and $874,000 associated with potential repurchase exposure on loans that had already been sold to investors. (Read More)
Fremont General's Woes Affect LandAmerica Financial Segment
April 23, 2007The troubles of Fremont General Corp. have had an impact on a third party, namely LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. here. Its Lender Services segment has had to take a non-cash writedown of $21 million (or $13 million on an after tax basis) as a result of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s cease-and-desist order against Fremont's mortgage originations operation. (Read More)
Friedman Billings Ramsey Sells Its Stake in Fieldstone Investment
April 23, 2007Investment banker Friedman Billings Ramsey here has sold its 6% stake in subprime lender Fieldstone Investment Corp., Columbia, Md., according to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As recently as March 12, FBR - which controls subprime lender First NLC of Deerfield Beach, Fla. - owned 6.06% of Fieldstone which is slated for sale to Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization, a specialty servicer. (Read More)
CFC: Vols and Late Pays Up
April 23, 2007Delinquencies and foreclosures rates are up for Countrywide Financial Corp. here, but so are loan originations, driven by refinancings. This is according to the operating statistics provided by the company for March 2007. (Read More)
CFC Settles with CT Regulator
April 23, 2007Countrywide Home Loans Inc. has entered into a $500,000 settlement with a Connecticut regulator for charging excessive financing fees on 473 borrowers and for failing to register 147 originators with the state's banking department. (Read More)
Company Refining Leads on the Fly
April 23, 2007It comes as no surprise to hear that the more care a prospect takes in supplying his or her contact information online, the greater the likelihood of completing a transaction. TARGUSInfo refines that premise to help lenders know immediately which leads to pursue first. (Read More)
Farmer Mac, Fannie Do Deals
April 23, 2007The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., better known as Farmer Mac, is offering 10-year bullet maturity guaranteed notes due in 2017. (Read More)
Rating Agencies Eye CMBS Concern
April 23, 2007Three major credit rating agencies have sounded concerns about current trends in the commercial mortgage-backed securities market. (Read More)
Builders Group's Economist Believes No Turnaround Until 2011
April 23, 2007In what may be the most dire forecast to date, especially from a spokesman for a major housing trade group, David Seiders of the National Association of Home Builders said earlier this month that it might not be until 2011 before the sagging new home market turns around. (Read More)
'Financing No Problem for Multifamily Builders and Developers'
April 23, 2007Despite an anticipated slowdown in demand for rental apartments, there won't be a corresponding falloff in financing to build them, a panel of lending professionals said here earlier this month at a meeting of multifamily builders and developers. (Read More)
Projects Built to Be Rentals or Sales
April 23, 2007Make way for the "androgynous" multifamily housing development in which the "sex" of the property - for sale or for rent - won't be known until six months prior to the marketing phase begins. (Read More)
Irwin Anticipates Credit Concerns Will Lead to First-Quarter Loss
April 23, 2007Irwin Financial Corp. said it expects to take a loss for the first quarter, blaming conditions in the consumer mortgage market and one impaired commercial credit in Michigan. (Read More)
Targets Lowered For Two MIs
April 23, 2007Analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey have lowered their price targets on MGIC Investment Corp. and Radian Guaranty, two mortgage insurers that are pursuing a merger. (Read More)
'U.S. Mortgages' Top Fund Ranks
April 23, 2007Mutual funds invested primarily in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities (termed U.S. mortgage funds) topped the rankings among mortgage mutual funds in the first quarter, according to data from Lipper Inc., New York. (Read More)
Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Funds
April 23, 20071 Quarter 1 Year 5 Years 12/31/06-3/31/07 3/31/06-3/31/07 3/31/02-3/31/07 Cumulative Cumulative Cumulative Fund Name Tot Return(%) Rank Tot Return(%) Rank Tot Return(%) Rank Federated Adj Rt;Inst 1.48 1 5.23 1 14.17 5 Federated Adj Rt;Insv 1.44 2 5.02 3 12.82 7 Legg Mason P:Adj Rt;A 1.39 3 4.77 7 14.40 4 Legg Mason P:Adj Rt;I 1.35 4 4.90 4 N/A N/A Legg Mason P:Adj Rt;C 1.25 5 4.19 10 11.50 8 Franklin Inv:Adj Gv;A 1.14 6 4.52 8 13.73 6 Legg Mason P:Adj Rt;B 1.12 7 4.02 13 11.26 9 Evergreen Adj Rt;I 1.11 8 5.08 2 16.93 1 Evergreen Adj Rt;IS 1.05 9 4.82 5 15.50 2 Evergreen Adj Rt;A 1.05 9 4.79 6 15.31 3 Franklin Inv:Adj Gv;C 1.04 11 4.23 9 N/A N/A Evergreen Adj Rt;B 0.87 12 4.04 11 11.25 10 Evergreen Adj Rt;C 0.87 12 4.04 11 11.25 10 Average/Total 1.17 13 4.59 13 13.46 11 (c) 2007 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Ginnie Mae Funds
April 23, 20071 Quarter 1 Year 5 Years 12/31/06-3/31/07 3/31/06-3/31/07 3/31/02-3/31/07 Cumulative Cumulative Cumulative Fund Name Tot Return(%) Rank Tot Return(%) Rank Tot Return(%) Rank PIMCO:GNMA;Inst 1.99 1 7.02 1 28.36 1 PIMCO:GNMA;A 1.90 2 6.60 2 25.72 8 PIMCO:GNMA;D 1.89 3 6.59 3 25.77 7 PIMCO:GNMA;B 1.71 4 5.81 10 21.09 32 PIMCO:GNMA;C 1.71 4 5.81 10 21.10 31 DWS US Govt Secs;S 1.54 6 5.98 5 N/A N/A Schwab Inv:GNMA;Sel 1.50 7 5.77 13 N/A N/A DWS GNMA;S 1.46 8 5.86 9 23.28 18 Schwab Inv:GNMA;Inv 1.46 8 5.57 24 N/A N/A PaydenFunds:GNMA 1.40 10 5.97 6 27.43 3 ING:GNMA Income;C 0.97 57 4.85 46 20.89 35 ING:GNMA Income;B 0.97 57 4.84 48 20.93 33 Dreyfus Prem GNMA;C 0.95 59 3.97 61 16.09 55 BlackRock:GNMA;C 0.92 60 4.33 56 17.84 46 BlackRock:GNMA;B 0.91 61 4.31 57 17.79 47 Average/Total 1.26 61 5.29 61 21.67 56 (c) 2007 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
U.S. Mortgage Funds
April 23, 20071 Quarter 1 Year 5 Years 12/31/06-3/31/07 3/31/06-3/31/07 3/31/02-3/31/07 Cumulative Cumulative Cumulative Fund Name Tot Return(%) Rank Tot Return(%) Rank Tot Return(%) Rank PIMCO:Tot Rtn Mtg;Inst 1.98 1 7.53 1 30.60 3 PIMCO:Tot Rtn Mtg;Admn 1.92 2 7.26 3 29.02 6 PIMCO:Tot Rtn Mtg;D 1.88 3 7.09 4 28.06 8 PIMCO:Tot Rtn Mtg;A 1.88 3 7.09 4 28.05 9 AMF:Govt Mortgage 1.85 5 6.52 16 22.34 40 TCW:Total Return Bond;I 1.83 6 7.51 2 32.08 1 Morg Stan Inst:Advisory 1.79 7 6.13 35 29.83 5 Evergreen Inst Mtge;I 1.78 8 6.95 7 N/A N/A JP Morgan:Mtge Secs;Ult 1.73 9 6.79 11 N/A N/A JP Morgan:Mtge Secs;Sel 1.70 10 6.65 14 27.86 10 PIMCO:Tot Rtn Mtg;B 1.70 10 6.30 28 23.39 34 Fidelity Adv Mtge;T 1.01 71 5.74 49 24.72 25 Accessor:Mortg Secs;Inv 0.96 72 4.90 71 19.92 51 Fidelity Adv Mtge;B 0.84 73 5.03 67 20.56 46 Accessor:Mortg Secs;C 0.84 73 4.33 75 N/A N/A Fidelity Adv Mtge;C 0.83 75 4.96 68 20.18 48 Average/Total 1.40 75 6.00 75 23.46 63 (c) 2007 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Workway Sees Rising Demand for Default Talent
April 23, 2007At most shops, lenders are cutting jobs as fast as they can to cope with declining home loan volume. (Read More)
Assisting with Loan Workouts
April 23, 2007Dealing with a borrower on a workout is never a pleasant experience for anyone involved - the borrower or the lender - but a successfully executed workout plan can help the borrower and avoid an ultimate foreclosure, which is where technology can make the difference. (Read More)
Roundup: Panama Produces Its First Cross-Border RMBS Deal
April 23, 2007The first cross-border mortgage-backed securities transaction from Panama, a $149.1 million deal, has been rated. (Read More)
Eyeing international flood risk
April 23, 2007Risk Management Solutions here recently helped launch the first securitization of river flood risk in Great Britain by designing trigger mechanisms and performing risk analysis for the deal. (Read More)
Fund Buys Stake In Brazilian RE
April 23, 2007Morgan Stanley Real Estate Special Situations Fund III plans to acquire a 14.29% stake in Brazilian residential real estate broker and co-developer Abyara Planejamento Imobiliario SA. (Read More)
Greystone Execs View In-House Expertise as Key
April 23, 2007In-house expertise in various areas of the mortgage market is the most valuable asset for an industry focused on risk, default and asset management, Greystone Servicing Corp. Inc. executives said. The payoff is very low to zero default rates. (Read More)
Credit Suisse to Buy Lime Financial
April 23, 2007Credit Suisse here has agreed to buy the rest of nonprime wholesale residential lender Lime Financial Services, Lake Oswego, Ore., a company it took a small minority stake in last year as part of a funding deal. (Read More)
How Do You Handle YSPs?
April 23, 2007Readyforyieldspread: I am doing a loan for myself in my own shop. Can I get into trouble for taking the yield spread premium and selling the home in a few months? (Read More)
Supreme Court Upholds Feds
April 23, 2007The U.S. Supreme Court said state regulators cannot interfere with the mortgage lending activities of national bank subsidiaries in a ruling that upholds the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's exclusive authority over national banks and their operating subsidiaries. (Read More)
USB's Earnings Decline Slightly in First Quarter
April 23, 2007U.S. Bancorp said its earnings declined slightly in the first quarter of this year from the year-earlier period and the company's mortgage operations contributed to the weakness. (Read More)
New Approaches
April 23, 2007With the mortgage industry growing and changing, the world of mortgage fraud is also growing and changing. In fact, fraud within the industry is skyrocketing with no end in sight. (Read More)
AllRegs and AAMVA Train Lenders To Recognize False IDs
April 23, 2007Many fraudulent mortgage transactions are done through false documents or false forms of identifications. In order to combat this growing trend of mortgage fraud, lenders need to be able to immediately recognize a phony driver's license, passport or permanent resident card from a real one. (Read More)
Rapid Reporting Combats Identity Theft
April 23, 2007Rapid Reporting here, a provider of pre-funding income and identity verification products for financial institutions to help combat fraud, has seen its order volume expand in leaps and bounds in the past couple of years, due in part to the rise in identity theft as well as mortgage companies understanding the importance of keeping compliant. According to Rapid Reporting's 2006 data, 6.4% of all applicants are not who they say they are. (Read More)
FBI, MBA Put Fraud on Notice
April 23, 2007The FBI and the Mortgage Bankers Association have recently entered into an agreement to combat mortgage fraud by making available a Mortgage Fraud Warning Notice as a proactive means of educating consumers and mortgage-lending professionals of the penalties and consequences of this criminal activity. (Read More)
DataVerify Offers Subprime Aid
April 23, 2007According to fraud prevention and decision management tool provider DataVerify Inc. here, it is predicted that many subprime lenders will be forced out of business this year resulting in the top 10 subprime lenders controlling 80% of the market in 2008, up from 65% in 2005 and 55% in 2000. Those who remain are looking for help. (Read More)
AFI Resources Re-Launches Service
April 23, 2007Stated income loans often are misused because they allow applicants to bypass standard underwriting requirements and potentially commit fraud. To help combat this, national verification company AFI Resources, Inc. has re-launched its etaxrecords income verification service. "One client recently did a post-audit with us and some of the statistics showed that of the 150 [mortgages] tested, maybe 80 of them were exaggerated income. This is a simple avoidable scenario you can catch before the funding can take place," said David Munoz, president of AFI Resources. (Read More)
Forensic Accountant Offers Advice
April 23, 2007Of late, mortgage fraud has risen and looks to be continuing to increase. (Read More)
CoreLogic Sees Rise in 'Shot Gunning'
April 23, 2007Many banks and lending institutions are getting hits by a growing multi-closing fraud scheme known as "shot gunning." In this mortgage fraud scenario, scam artists apply for multiple home equity loans with multiple lenders at the same time. Their credit and the loan are often clean, facilitating a fast closing process. Due to the delay between the dates the loans are closed and the dates the liens are filed in the county courthouse, lenders are not aware of the other liens when making their underwriting decisions. (Read More)
Change to Key GSE Provision
April 23, 2007Fallout from the subprime debacle could result in changes to a key provision in a GSE reform bill that raises the conforming loan limit in high-cost areas, but restricts Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from holding those higher-balance loans in portfolio. (Read More)
Mortgage Industry Equity Composite
April 23, 2007MIEC Index: 122.8 Change: 7.4 Company 4/19/2007 4/12/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 22.11 21.02 5% 19.51 36.96 13.33% 4.48 Astoria Federal (AF) 27.54 26.15 5% 25.75 31.88 6.95% 15.06 Countrywide Financial 38.25 33.59 14% 32.20 45.26 18.79% 8.87 Corp. (CFC) Doral Financial (DRL) 1.79 1.61 11% 1.19 10.00 50.42% n/a Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 9.37 8.23 14% 7.26 11.27 29.06% 6.92 Fiserv, Inc (FISV) 53.80 54.36 -1% 41.30 55.15 30.27% 21.28 Fannie Mae (FNM) 58.02 53.92 8% 46.17 62.37 25.67% n/a Fidelity National (FNF) 25.89 24.88 4% 17.92 26.21 44.48% 10.89 Franklin Bank (FBTX) 16.12 15.71 3% 14.99 21.88 7.54% 23.69 Freddie Mac (FRE) 64.85 60.02 8% 55.64 71.92 16.55% 22.69 Kaufman & Broad (KBH) 43.85 42.15 4% 37.89 67.45 15.73% 10.67 Accredited Home Lenders 10.86 9.30 17% 3.77 60.13 188.06% 4.29 (LEND) LandAmerica Financial (LFG) 80.06 77.81 3% 58.75 79.96 36.27% 14.15 IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) 31.03 29.16 6% 26.27 50.50 18.12% 6.54 PMI Mortgage Ins. (PMI) 47.45 44.75 6% 40.69 51.46 16.61% 10.36 Radian Group (RDN) 58.74 53.33 10% 50.82 67.35 15.58% 8.28 NetBank, Inc (NTBK) 1.81 1.73 5% 1.48 7.41 22.30% n/a Triad Guaranty (TGIC) 43.87 40.03 10% 38.45 58.62 14.10% 10.08 Washington Mutual (WM) 42.25 38.86 9% 38.73 47.01 9.09% 11.59 Notes: NMN compares last Thursday's closing price to that of the 52-week low. (Read More)
SouthStar Files For BK, NC B&C
April 23, 2007Subprime lender SouthStar Funding LLC here has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which means the company will be liquidated. (Read More)
How Business Rules Technology Helped One Company
April 23, 2007Agility is very important in the mortgage industry, especially given the current down market. Pinnacle Financial Corp. here saw business rules technology as a way to take their institution to the next level and realize real strategic benefits in this area. (Read More)
People
April 23, 2007CALIFORNIA Pasadena-IndyMac Bank has added new members to its mortgage bank. (Read More)
Pinnacle Switches AU Systems
April 23, 2007Agility is very important in the mortgage industry, especially given the current down market. Pinnacle Financial Corp. here saw this technology as a way to take their institution to the next level and realize real strategic benefits through the use of technology. (Read More)
ARC Sells Manufactured Housing
April 23, 2007Affordable Residential Communities is selling its manufactured home community business to an affiliate of Farallon Capital Management for a total of $1.79 billion, including cash and assumption of debt. (Read More)
Apollo Buying Innkeepers USA
April 23, 2007Innkeepers USA Trust, a hotel real estate investment trust, is being acquired by an associate of New York-based Apollo Investment Corp. for $1.5 billion. (Read More)
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April 30, 2007
Subprime Wholesaler Closes
April 30, 2007MILA Inc. here, once a fast-growing subprime wholesaler, has closed its doors, the apparent victim of loan buyback requests it could not handle. (Read More)
Subprime Retail Volume Leaders in 2006
April 30, 2007($ in Millions) Retail Volume Percent Market Rk Organization Name 2006 2005 Change Share 1 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage $18,999 $22,183 -14% 12.79% 2 HSBC Finance $17,202 $16,647 3% 11.58% 3 Countrywide Financial Corp. $15,232 $14,832 3% 10.25% 4 CitiFinancial (E) $12,455 $13,298 -6% 8.38% 5 Ameriquest Mortgage Corp. (E) (1) $6,578 $17,876 -63% 4.43% 6 Chase Home Finance $4,624 $3,898 19% 3.11% 7 New Century Financial Corp. (BK) $4,100 $5,291 -23% 2.76% 8 Nationstar Mortgage/Centex $3,462 $3,670 -6% 2.33% 9 Aegis Mortgage Corporation (E) (2) $2,888 $3,474 -17% 1.94% 10 Ace Mortgage Funding, Inc. $2,632 $2,119 24% 1.77% 11 First Franklin Financial (3) $2,285 $2,210 3% 1.54% 12 Accredited Home Lenders $2,276 $1,618 41% 1.53% 13 Popular Financial Holdings/Equity One, Inc. $2,082 $1,413 47% 1.40% 14 Option One Mortgage Corp. (4) $2,058 $3,602 -43% 1.39% 15 Delta Funding Corp. $1,952 $1,762 11% 1.31% Totals: $98,825 $113,893 -13% 66.53% Notes: Results may be incomplete because some firms would not disclose production breakdowns. (E) Estimate. (Read More)
News Analysis: Cerberus Set For #1 B&C?
April 30, 2007Even though subprime shops might be considered an endangered species these days, hedge fund giant Cerberus Capital Management has made a huge bet on the business coming back. (Read More)
Dodd Wants a Crackdown
April 30, 2007Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is turning up the heat on the Federal Reserve Board to use its regulatory authority to clamp down on deceptive lending practices and to do it quickly. (Read More)
CFC Is Battling Back
April 30, 2007Countrywide's net profit fell by 37% in the first quarter as problems in the subprime sector dragged down results, but that doesn't mean the company is retreating from the market. (Read More)
An Evergreen: RESPA Reform
April 30, 2007It's alive! The Department of Housing and Urban Development's long-awaited proposal to revamp disclosures on residential loan closings could come as early as this summer. Then again, since RESPA reform has been kicking around for the past 15 years, maybe not. (Read More)
Big Loss for First NLC
April 30, 2007Hurt by its subprime mortgage businesses, most notably its subsidiary First NLC, Friedman Billings Ramsey reported a net loss of $185.9 million, or $1.08 per share, for the first quarter, down from after-tax earnings of $26.6 million, or $0.16 per share, a year earlier. (Read More)
IndyMac's Earnings Fall 41% As Profit Margins Shrink, Costs Rise
April 30, 2007IndyMac's earnings fell to $52.4 million, or $0.70 per share, in the first quarter, down from $79.8 million, or $1.18 per share, in the first quarter of 2006. (Read More)
GI: 7% of Mortgages Have Negative Equity
April 30, 2007Roughly 7% of U.S. homeowners have negative home equity and the housing industry is currently in the throes of a "deep recession," according to the chief economist for Global Insight Inc., a forecasting firm. (Read More)
CFC Will Commit $3M More To AH
April 30, 2007Countrywide Financial Corp. chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo called on the industry again to dedicate more resources to affordable housing, while backing his words with a new $3 million commitment. (Read More)
OceanFirst Is Pushed into the Red by Early Payment Defaults
April 30, 2007Still suffering a hangover from subprime mortgage loans, OceanFirst Financial Corp. here lost $5.4 million, or $0.47 per share, for the first quarter. This is compared with net income of $4.3 million, or $0.37 per share, for the same period one year prior. (Read More)
Bank of America Eyes Mortgages
April 30, 2007Bank of America chairman and CEO Kenneth Lewis cited mortgage lending as one of the bank's top growth prospects during the company's annual meeting last week. (Read More)
Editorial: New Deals
April 30, 2007Lenders looking to get rid of mounting portfolios of real estate-owned due to mortgage industry retrenchment need to start thinking creatively about disposition techniques. (Read More)
Open Forum: FHA Needs to Be Revitalized
April 30, 2007Over the last 73 years of its existence, the FHA has served as a powerful engine to expand homeownership across the country. It has played a critical and essential role in providing access to capital for low- and moderate-income families. Most recently, however, the FHA has come to look more and more like an anachronism. Critics have said that they are out of touch with the marketplace, their mortgage products are outdated, they are a technological dinosaur and they are hard to do business with. (Read More)
Getting a Handle on Debt: Consumers' Grip Has Been Slipping
April 30, 2007In getting a better handle on recent mortgage and home price concerns, the market seems to be focusing increasingly on signs that consumers who lost their grip on inordinately high levels of debt were a notable catalyst. (Read More)
Fitch: Commercial CDOs Shouldn't Suffer from Subprime Mess
April 30, 2007Commercial real estate-backed collateralized debt obligations don't have much exposure to the subprime sector, according to Fitch Derivative. (Read More)
GMH and Fidelity Form Partnership
April 30, 2007GMH Communities Trust, a housing real estate investment trust that focuses on the student housing market, has got into a joint venture with Fidelity Real Estate Group. (Read More)
Transnational Backs Out of Deal to Buy Texas Bank's Mortgage Unit
April 30, 2007Transnational Financial Network Inc. here is unwinding its acquisition of the mortgage lending division sold to it by Texas Capital Bank, Dallas. (Read More)
Bay Area Housing Continues Decline
April 30, 2007Year-over-year home sales decreased 14% across the Bay Area during the first quarter of 2007. However, new listings continued to accumulate, growing by 10% across the region year-over-year. (Read More)
JER to Buy Highland Hospitality
April 30, 2007JER Partners Acquisitions, a private equity investor, is acquiring Highland Hospitality Corp. for a total of $2 billion. (Read More)
Capital One Has Mortgage Loss, Lowers Estimate
April 30, 2007Capital One Financial got kudos from analysts for its acquisition of North Fork Bank and along with it, GreenPoint Mortgage, but the acquisition of GreenPoint's mortgage business didn't yield positive results in the first quarter. (Read More)
Bank of America Sees Higher Net
April 30, 2007Bucking an industry trend, Bank of America increased its mortgage-related income during the first quarter. (Read More)
Some Lenders Allegedly Using 'Disputes' to Jack Up Credit Scores
April 30, 2007Coll323: I was talking to an account executive on the phone. My borrower was a few points shy of his cutoff for 100% financing and he suggested I "spike the score" by creating an online dispute for two or three items on his credit report. He claims that the disputed items are not calculated into the score so by disputing the items and waiting a few days for the dispute to be reported, it would increase the borrower's score but only for the 30 days that it would take to investigate the claim. I was shocked. He said he had done it on several files and had one borrower's score that increased by more than 45 points. Are subprime lenders that desperate for business? Better question: would you do this in order to get the file closed? I personally said pass. My job is not worth one deal. (Read More)
Fidelity Pioneers Online Closings
April 30, 2007Wachovia is drawing high marks for its campaign just launched to offer customers the option of closing a mortgage loan refinancing online without ever leaving their home or office. Bank customers who go to Wachovia.com and click on mortgage are presented with a banner ad inviting them to close a loan "from any location with an Internet connection." The online service is powered by ClosingStream, a product of Fidelity National Information Services' LSI. "The early indication is that close to a third of our customers are selecting a Web-based closing," Wachovia director of operations Tom Wood told NMN. Moreover, he said customer satisfaction with the online closing "is higher than with our traditional closing." The factor he credited is ClosingStream's greater control the process. "We don't have that control with a visit from a mobile notary or a tradition office closing." (Read More)
NatCity Stars in Reality Television
April 30, 2007National City Mortgage here, like most lenders, wants to more efficiently reach first-time homebuyers, but wants to ensure borrower suitability as well. To make this process more efficient the lender has partnered with HomeTeam to help educate the borrower before transitioning them over to National City. (Read More)
MSRs Nip Huntington's Earnings
April 30, 2007Huntington Bancshares here saw its earnings slip in the first quarter, with a negative adjustment to the value of its mortgage servicing rights playing a role in the decline. (Read More)
MIC Offers Workout Expertise
April 30, 2007Today, there is a lot of talk about using Federal Housing Administration loans to refinance troubled B&C borrowers out of risky loan products. But one company that's built its business around Veterans Affairs lending believes its retail loan origination staff can also play a role in saving troubled borrowers by modifying their current loans. (Read More)
PA Regulator Urges New Loan Rules
April 30, 2007To improve accountability in the mortgage industry and keep hard-working families from losing their homes, Pennsylvania acting banking secretary Victoria A. Reider is urging swift action on legislation to stop abusive lending practices blamed for many foreclosures. (Read More)
Roundup: Opteum Abandons Conduit, Wholesale Lending Channels
April 30, 2007Opteum Inc., Vero Beach, Fla., is no longer accepting applications in Opteum Financial Services' conduit and wholesale channels and will exit those lines of business. The company blames deterioration in the secondary market for closed loans and continuing weakness in consumer demand for mortgage products and services. "Recently, some secondary-market investors in closed mortgage loans have changed their terms and have delayed settling whole-loan trades involving certain alt-A mortgage product," said Jeffrey J. Zimmer, chairman, president, and chief executive of Opteum Inc. "This has forced OFS to re-market loans in respect of which it believed it had already obtained purchasing commitments, and has resulted in an estimated $22 million pretax loss associated with mortgage loans originated by OFS." Mr. Zimmer said the company decided to exit the conduit and wholesale origination businesses because it believes that the adverse market environment may continue for some time. OFS will keep open its retail operation, consisting of 24 offices in Georgia, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. (Read More)
Cuomo Targets Mortgage firms?
April 30, 2007New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has issued generic subpoenas to about 30 mortgage lenders and servicers asking about industry practices, and he may focus on mortgage broker compensation, according to a mortgage banking attorney. "Given his recent foray into the student lending world, it wouldn't surprise me if he looks at payments by lenders to mortgage brokers," said Larry Platt, a partner in the Washington office of K&L Gates. But he stressed that he has no inside knowledge. "I am just speculating." The subpoenas were issued in the past few days, and they generally relate to appraisal practices, mortgage broker practices, and the way lenders slot borrowers into different loan products. "There is no accusation of any wrongdoing," and it appears that the AG's office is trying to get a handle on how the industry operates, Mr. Platt said. "Any subpoenas that were received are part of an ongoing investigation - that's all I can say," said Arthur Harris, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo's office. Mr. Platt said he suspects that the New York AG will focus on payments by lenders to brokers, which are called yield-spread premiums, based on his tenure at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1997, then-Secretary Cuomo tried unsuccessfully to impose strong disclosure requirements on broker compensation, which industry groups considered anti-YSP (c) 2007 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Read More)
Farmer Mac Touts $8B Portfolio
April 30, 2007The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, D.C., has announced the guarantee of a $1 billion note transaction that boosted its total guarantee volume to a record level of over $8 billion. Farmer Mac said the transaction was part of the government-sponsored enterprise's AgVantage program, which guarantees timely payment of principal and interest on notes issued by a trust and secured by the corporate obligation of an agricultural mortgage lender, which is in turn secured by agricultural mortgages. (Read More)
Ashford Prices Stock Offering
April 30, 2007Ashford Hospitality Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Dallas, has priced a follow-on public offering of 42.5 million shares of common stock at $11.75 per share. Wachovia Securities, Merrill Lynch & Company, and Morgan Stanley & Company acted as the joint book-running managers of the offering. The underwriters were granted an option to buy up to 6.375 million additional shares to cover any overallotments. (Read More)
Roundup: Investors Urge Congress Not to Limit Subprime Options
April 30, 2007Wall Street investment bankers, lenders and servicers are exploring ways to help distressed borrowers whose loans are in subprime securitizations and are trying to convince Congress that they can get the job done and prevent massive foreclosures. (Read More)
BoA CMBS Deal Downgraded
April 30, 2007Class K of Banc of America Large Loans Inc.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2004-BBA4, has been downgraded from BBB-minus to BB-plus by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)
Blue Heron Class Downgraded
April 30, 2007The class A notes issued by Blue Heron Funding IX Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation consisting partly of residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, has been downgraded from F1-plus to F1 by Derivative Fitch. (Read More)
Another Blue Heron Downgrade
April 30, 2007The class A-1 and A-2 notes issued by Blue Heron Funding V Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation partly composed of residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded from F1-plus to F1 by Derivative Fitch. (Read More)