MortgageWire Stories from 2004

RESPA Hearing on Tap Tuesday

As promised, House Small Business Committee Chairman Don Manzullo, R-Ill., is going ahead with a Jan. 6 hearing to examine the Department of Housing and Urban Development's decision to finalize a Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule. (Read More)

Annaly to Buy Adviser Affiliate

Annaly Mortgage Management Inc., New York, has announced a merger agreement to acquire Fixed Income Discount Advisory Co., an affiliated investment adviser, for stock valued at $40.5 million to $90.0 million, depending on FIDAC's future revenues and pretax profits. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Rises

The rate-indicative 10-year Treasury bond yield had risen to a level just shy of 4.4% as of noon on Friday. (Read More)

HUD Ends GSE Bonus Points for AH

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has decided not to extend the bonus points Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have used over the past three years to meet their affordable housing goals. (Read More)

MIT Lending Opens Subprime Unit

Wholesale and correspondent originator MIT Lending has opened a subprime division headed by former Home America Lending Inc. executive Steven W. Kaplan. (Read More)

Frisco Bank Has Highest Average Loan Size

First Republic Bank of San Francisco has the largest average loan size among all U.S. lenders, according to figures compiled by the Quarterly Data Report, an affiliate of MortgageWire. (Read More)

COFI Record Lows Continue

For the fourth consecutive month, the Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index stands below the 2% mark, as it continues to set an all-time record low. (Read More)

Mortgage Market Adopts RBC Name

Mortgage Market Inc., Lake Oswego, Ore., has announced the adoption of its parent company's brand name, becoming RBC Mortgage -- Mortgage Market Division. (Read More)

ABFS Elects Directors, Boosts Authorized Stock

American Business Financial Services Inc., Philadelphia, has announced the election of four individuals to its board of directors, and stockholder approval of proposals dramatically increasing the number of authorized shares of common and preferred stock. (Read More)

Levitt Begins Trading on NYSE

Levitt Corp., the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based parent company of a developer of single-family and multifamily homes, has begun trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LEV. (Read More)

Brighouse Tops UK Home Price Growth

The largest annual percentage increase seen in the United Kingdom's local home prices during 2003 was in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, according to rankings by a subsidiary of Halifax PLC. (Read More)

Feedback

Nearly 60% of the responses to our survey question on vesting program approval authority for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in their safety-and-soundness regulator were in favor of the idea. (Read More)

CFC Promotes Kurland to Prez

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has announced the promotion of Stanford L. Kurland to the position of CFC president. (Read More)

FASB May Put LC Project on Hold

The Financial Accounting Standards Board may put its loan commitment project on the back burner because the issue may be losing its "urgency" in light of an expected action by the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

Amstar Revamps Correspondent Unit

Amstar Financial Services Inc., Jupiter, Fla., has announced the restructuring of its Synergy Mortgage Solutions correspondent lending platform. (Read More)

Vets Get Lending Boost

Military veterans will now be able to use their government benefits to purchase more expensive houses as a result of an increase in the limit on GI loans that are bundled into securities sold in the secondary mortgage market. (Read More)

RBC Renames Sterling Branches

RBC Mortgage Co., Chicago, has announced that all the former branches (over 100) of Sterling Capital Mortgage Co. that it acquired in September are being converted to the RBC Mortgage brand. (Read More)

a la mode Touts Appraisal Form Coup

Oklahoma City-based a la mode has announced that it is the only appraisal software vendor to offer every AI Ready-compliant form appraisers can use to do business with the AI Residential Database and AppraisalPort. (Read More)

SNL: REIT Returns Best in 12 Years

The real estate investment trust sector yielded its highest total return in over 12 years in 2003, outperforming the S&P 500 for the third year in a row, according to SNL Financial, a Charlottesville, Va.-based information provider. (Read More)

ABFS Extends Exchange Offer

American Business Financial Services Inc., Philadelphia, has announced the extension of an investment note exchange offer through Feb. 6 due to the response to the offer and the processing volume experienced over the holiday season. (Read More)

One Liberty to Trade on NYSE

One Liberty Properties, Great Neck, N.Y., has announced that it expects to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange Jan. 15 under the ticker symbol OLP. (Read More)

Manzullo to HUD: Drop RESPA Reform Now

The Department of Housing and Urban Development got the cold shoulder from a key politician on Tuesday as the agency tried to defend its revamping of the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act. (Read More)

Countrywide Forms Joint Venture in Hawaii

Countrywide Home Loans Inc., Calabasas, Calif., and Stanford Carr Development LLC, a Honolulu-based residential developer, have announced the formation of a joint venture to offer a variety of home financing programs in Hawaii. (Read More)

AIMCO, GE Create Joint Venture

Apartment Investment and Management Co., Denver, and GE Real Estate, Stamford, Conn., have formed a multifamily joint venture to which AIMCO has transferred interests in 33 of its properties. (Read More)

XBRL Touts Financial Services Release

New York-based XBRL International has announced that version 2.1 of its XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) technical specification will enhance the ability of financial service firms to use the Internet for business reporting by fostering greater interoperability between XML software applications. (Read More)

ABFS Names Industry Vet to Wholesale Post

Mortgage industry veteran Barry P. Epstein has been named to the newly created position of managing director of wholesale lending at American Business Financial Services Inc., Philadelphia. (Read More)

Fed Names Thrift Council Veep

Tad Lowrey, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Jackson Federal Bank, Brea, Calif., has been named vice president of the Federal Reserve Board's Thrift Institutions Advisory Council for 2004. (Read More)

SL Green Names New CEO

Marc Holliday, president of SL Green Realty Corp., New York, has been promoted to chief executive officer of the company and will retain his current title as well. (Read More)

S&P Sees 30% Fall in Private RMBS Issuance

The issuance of U.S. private-label residential mortgage-backed securities will most likely decline by 30% in 2004, a percentage "far less" than the decrease projected for new residential mortgage volumes this year, Standard & Poor's has reported. (Read More)

Omega Closes on Acquisition Line

Omega Healthcare Investors Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Timonium, Md., has closed on a $50 million acquisition line of credit. (Read More)

HRPT Announces Stock Offering

HRPT Properties Trust, Newton, Mass., has announced an offering of 25 million common shares of beneficial interest. (Read More)

Site Links Hispanics, Spanish-Speaking Lenders

Bilingual Scout, a Dallas-based Internet marketing firm, has developed Micasaprestamos.com to guide Spanish-speaking U.S. residents interested in becoming homeowners to find Spanish-speaking mortgage lenders nationwide. (Read More)

Correction

A stock index of multifamily companies compiled by the National Association of Home Builders did not outperform the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index in 2003. (Read More)

OCC Approves Pre-emption Rule

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has approved a final rule that frees national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries from complying with state predatory lending laws. (Read More)

HUD Raises FHA Loan Limits 3%

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has raised the loan limits on Federal Housing Administration single-family loans by more than 3% to keep up with the rising price of housing. (Read More)

Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 574.1 to 599.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the holiday-shortened week ended Jan. 2, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

WHY USA Buys San Diego Mortgage Banker

WHY USA Financial Group Inc., Bloomington, Minn., has announced the acquisition of TCS Mortgage Inc., a San Diego-based mortgage banker. (Read More)

NAR Sees 2nd-Best Year for Home Sales

New- and existing-home sales will both decline this year but should post their second-best totals on record, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

New MI Plunges

The amount of primary new insurance written by the members of the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America totaled $22.0 billion in November, down 28% from $30.6 billion in October. (Read More)

Countrywide Names New Outside Auditor

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has announced that its long-time independent auditor, Grant Thornton LLP, has been replaced by KPMG LLP, but that the move was not based on any dispute with Grant Thornton over accounting principles or practices. (Read More)

BoA Pledges $750B for Community Development

Bank of America Corp. has pledged $750 billion in community development loans and investments over the next 10 years. (Read More)

Ex-Treasury Official Joins BlackRock

Peter R. Fisher, a former undersecretary for domestic finance at the U.S. Treasury, has joined investment management firm BlackRock Inc. as a managing director. (Read More)

Brandywine Announces Stock Offering

Brandywine Realty Trust, Plymouth Meeting, Pa., is selling 2.3 million shares of common stock to Bear, Stearns & Co. in an offering that is expected to bring in $60 million for the office and industrial real estate investment trust. (Read More)

Hersha Reports Options Cancellation Pact

Hersha Hospitality Trust, Harrisburg, Pa., has announced an agreement with Hasu P. Shah, Hersha's chairman and chief executive officer, and trustee K. D. Patel to cancel all the unit options held by them that were issued at the time of the company's initial public offering. (Read More)

OCC Pre-emption Regs Stirring the Pot

The comptroller of the currency's decision to issue two controversial regulations that pre-empt state predatory lending laws and shield national banks from state enforcement is expected to be the subject of very hot hearings after Congress returns. (Read More)

NY AG Blasts Pre-emption Regs

Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has called the comptroller of the currency's pre-emption proposals "ill-advised" and said he will sue, if necessary, to protect New Yorkers. (Read More)

Ex-Freddie CEO Trying to Block Subpoena

Ousted Freddie Mac chief executive Leland Brendsel doesn't want to help the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in its investigation of his former company and is now fighting the agency in court. (Read More)

Rates Inch Higher

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate crept up to 5.87% for the week ending Jan. 9 from 5.85% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Domania to be Acquired by LendingTree?

Rumors that LendingTree has acquired Domania have proven to be premature, MortgageWire has learned. (Read More)

Ryland's Stock Plunges on Sales Disappointment

The Ryland Group, a homebuilder and mortgage banker, saw its stock plunge 12% in trading Thursday after the company said it was disappointed with fourth-quarter sales. (Read More)

1st Fed of South Buys Mortgage Banker

First Federal of the South, Sylacauga, Ala., has announced the acquisition of Walton Mortgage Inc., Chelsea, Ala., for $100,000 in cash. (Read More)

Ex-WaMu Mortgage Chief Joins Ellie's Board

Craig S. Davis, a former president of Washington Mutual's home loans and insurance services group, has joined the board of directors of Ellie Mae. (Read More)

Fannie/Freddie Speeds Mixed

Prepayment rates of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities were mixed in the December reporting period, and changes were generally small on a percentage basis, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary (Read More)

Key EOPT Execs Resign

Two key executives of Equity Office Properties Trust, Chicago, have resigned to pursue other interests, the office real estate investment trust has reported. (Read More)

EOPT, TIAA Form 9 Joint Ventures

Meanwhile, EOPT has announced that certain affiliates recently entered into nine joint venture agreements with the Teachers Insurance Annuity Association that involved nearly $600 million in investments by TIAA. (Read More)

Jones Lang CEO Resigns

The board of directors of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. has announced the resignation of Christopher A. Peacock from the board and as the company's president and chief executive officer. (Read More)

Nomura Expands Fixed-Income Team

Nomura Securities International Inc. has appointed Don MacKinnon head of structured credit trading and asset finance, a new position at the company that includes responsibility for its residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities businesses. (Read More)

Freddie Prices Syndicated Callable

Freddie Mac has priced $2.5 billion of a new 3.875% syndicated callable security due Jan. 12, 2009. (Read More)

Mortgage Jobs Drop

Mortgage lenders reduced their payrolls by 7,500 full-time employees in November, reflecting the sharp dropoff in refinancings that started in September. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Slips

The rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield had fallen to 4.1% as of midmorning on Friday following a report by the Department of Labor showing that December's job growth was "less robust than forecasters projected." (Read More)

SISAC Accredits VeriSign

Secure Identity Services Accreditation Corp., a nonprofit subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has announced the accreditation of VeriSign Inc. as a credential service provider for the mortgage industry. (Read More)

S&P Will Rate MBS With SC Loans

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has announced that it will rate structured finance transactions that include South Carolina loans governed by the state's predatory lending law, which took effect Jan. 1. (Read More)

Ex-CEO of FNIS Resigns From FNF's Board

Patrick F. Stone, until recently the chief executive officer of Fidelity National Information Solutions, has resigned from the board of directors of Fidelity National Financial Inc., the parent company of FNIS. (Read More)

Criimi Mae Director Resigns

Donald J. MacKinnon has resigned from the board of directors of Criimi Mae Inc., Rockville, Md., to accept a position as managing director with Nomura Securities International. (Read More)

Freddie Unveils New Funding Report

Freddie Mac has introduced a new quarterly report on its debt funding activity that indicates the company issued $221.2 billion of debt instruments in the fourth quarter. (Read More)

Analyst Boosts MGIC EPS Estimate

Fox-Pitt Kelton analyst Chris Buonafede has issued a daily research note on MGIC Investment Corp., Milwaukee, raising Fox-Pitt's earnings-per-share estimate for the mortgage insurer in 2004. (Read More)

German Mortgage Bonds Poised for Upgrades?

The credit ratings of certain pfandbriefe issued by German mortgage banks may improve due to the recent release of regulatory calculations related to coverage requirements for the bonds, according to Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Dynex Files Recap Plan

Dynex Capital Inc., Richmond, Va., has announced the filing of a recapitalization plan to exchange preferred stock for unsecured notes and amend its corporate charter to convert three existing series of preferred stock into a single new series. (Read More)

Essex Announces Credit Line, Equity Revamp

Essex Property Trust Inc., Palo Alto, Calif., has announced that it has obtained a five-year, $90 million credit facility from Freddie Mac and restructured two series of preferred stock. (Read More)

Koger Prices Stock Offering

Koger Equity Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Boca Raton, Fla., has priced a public offering of 4.5 million shares of its common stock at $20.45 per share. (Read More)

Feedback

Early responses to our latest survey question have been running in favor of requiring mortgage lenders to book loan commitments as liabilities. (Read More)

Freddie Spent $5.9MM on Lobbying in 1st Half '03

Freddie Mac spent $5.92 million lobbying elected officials during the first half of last year, ranking 10th among all U.S. firms, according to figures compiled by Political Money Line. (Read More)

Philly-Area Mortgage Companies Merge

Arlington Capital Mortgage Corp., Bensalem, Pa., has announced a merger with Windsor Financial Mortgage Corp., West Chester, Pa., that creates what it termed the largest independent retail mortgage lender in the Philadelphia/South Jersey region. (Read More)

AU Systems Must Link to TOTAL or Lose FHA Biz

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is requiring that all automated underwriting systems be linked to the Federal Housing Administration's TOTAL Scorecard by May 1 if they want to continue processing FHA single-family loans. (Read More)

NAHB Sees Small MF Construction Decline

Although apartment vacancy rates are at very high levels and absorption rates are low, the National Association of Home Builders is forecasting that multifamily construction will decline by only 4%-5% in 2004 and 2005. (Read More)

Study: Subprime Lending Benefits Arizona

Subprime mortgage lending contributed an estimated $1.68 billion in spending to Arizona's economy in 2001, according to a study released by the Arizona Financial Services Association. (Read More)

Would-Be REIT Plans IPO

Government Properties Trust, a Maryland company that is seeking real estate investment trust status, is planning an initial public offering of about 14 million common shares with an expected price per share in the $9-11 range. (Read More)

IRS Eyeing Greenbriar

Greenbriar Corp., Dallas, has reported the receipt of notification by the Internal Revenue Service that it may assess penalties against the company in connection with tax-free revenue bond transactions in 1991 and 1992 involving four Georgia nursing homes. (Read More)

Golden West Top Online Thrift

Golden West Financial/World Savings scored highest among savings institutions in the Winter 2004 Online Customer Respect Study, just ahead of Washington Mutual. (Read More)

Countrywide to Get Dual Listing

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has announced that it will become one of the first companies to receive dual listings on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Stock Market. (Read More)

S&P Eyes 180+ Conseco-Linked MH Classes

The ratings on over 180 classes in 45 Conseco Finance Corp. and Conseco-related manufactured housing deals have been placed on CreditWatch with negative implications by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. (Read More)

REIT Names New CFO

C. Jean Mihitsch has been named chief financial officer of Liberty Self-Stor Inc., a real estate investment trust based in the Cleveland suburb of Mentor, Ohio. (Read More)

Nehemiah of CA Now Nehemiah of America

The Sacramento-based Nehemiah Corp. of California, a national pioneer in providing privately funded downpayment assistance, has changed its name to the Nehemiah Corp. of America. (Read More)

FHA: GI/SRI Fund to Shut Down Again

The Federal Housing Administration has announced another shutdown of its multifamily, 203(k) home renovation, reverse mortgage, and condominium and loan insurance programs. (Read More)

BoA Pledges to Join Boston FHLBank

Bank of America, Charlotte, N.C., has made a commitment to become a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston as it seeks regulatory approval to acquire FleetBoston Financial, Providence, R.I. (Read More)

HUD Reports 15 FHA-Lender Suspensions

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced disciplinary actions against 15 Federal Housing Administration lenders who operate branch offices with high default rates. (Read More)

Economists: No Reason for Fed to Tighten

If there are upward pressures on interest rates this year, they probably won't come from the Federal Reserve Board, a panel of top housing economists agreed. (Read More)

Irwin Mortgage Does $5B Flow Deal

Irwin Mortgage Corp., Indianapolis, has agreed to sell $5 billion to $7 billion in "flow" servicing to an undisclosed buyer in a deal brokered by Cohane Rafferty Securities Inc. (Read More)

Consumer Direct to Buy Mortgage Bank

Consumer Direct of America, Las Vegas, has announced an agreement to acquire the approximately $1 million in operating assets of Consulting Services LLC, Atlanta, including its mortgage banking operations. (Read More)

1st Union RE Proposes Merger

First Union Real Estate Equity and Mortgage Investments, a Boston-based real estate investment trust, has announced a proposed merger with Atlantic Realty Trust. (Read More)

E*Trade Cites Talks With TD Bank

E*Trade Financial Corp., New York, in a brief media advisory, said it is holding discussions with TD Bank Financial Group, Toronto, regarding a possible transaction. (Read More)

1st Metro Mortgage Picks LandAmerica

Net branching company 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, Charlotte, N.C., has selected LandAmerica Financial Group, Richmond, Va., to be its vendor for mortgage processing services. (Read More)

Fitch Expands CDO Group

Fitch Ratings has announced an expansion of its collateralized debt obligation group to provide better performance analytics and customer service. (Read More)

Home Properties Promotes 4

Home Properties, a real estate investment trust based in Rochester, N.Y., has announced the promotions of four senior officers to the positions of executive vice president and senior vice president. (Read More)

S&P Eyes 68 Oakwood, OMI MBS Classes

The ratings on 68 classes from 18 Oakwood Mortgage Investors Inc. and OMI Trust manufactured housing transactions have been placed on CreditWatch with negative implications by Standard & Poor's. (Read More)

Oakwood, OMI Classes Downgraded

Ratings on the B-1 classes of Oakwood Mortgage Investors Inc. pass-through certificates series 1998-A and four series of OMI Trust, as well as the rating on class M-2 of OMI Trust 2000-D, have been lowered by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. (Read More)

SL Green Prices Stock Offering

SL Green Realty Corp., New York, has priced a public offering of 1.8 million shares of common stock at $42.33 per share. (Read More)

Applications Jump

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, jumped from 599.9 to 702.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Jan. 9, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

IRS Finalizes Origination Deductions Reg

The Internal Revenue Service has finalized a regulation that essentially allows mortgage lenders to deduct all their origination costs, with the possible exception of mortgage broker fees. (Read More)

InterFirst Unveils Broker Packaging Tool

InterFirst Wholesale Mortgage Lending, Ann Arbor, Mich., has announced the introduction of OneFee "Pricing Tool Only," which is designed to help mortgage brokers create their own guaranteed mortgage packages. (Read More)

FHFB Member Moves to HUD Post

Timothy O'Neill, who has served on the Federal Housing Finance Board since 1995, has taken a new position at the Department of the Housing and Urban Development. (Read More)

Decade Names New CEO

Brian K. Fitzpatrick has been named chief executive officer of Decade Systems Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., a provider of integration and business connectivity systems for the mortgage industry. (Read More)

First Magnus Names Wholesale Chief

First Magnus Financial Corp., Tucson, Ariz., has announced the hiring of Ed F. Wallace Jr. as senior vice president of its Corporate Wholesale Lending Division. (Read More)

Links Names New Co-Chief of MBS Trading

Matthew Weinberg, a veteran mortgage trader, has been named managing director and co-head of the mortgage-backed securities trading desk of Links Securities LLC, New York. (Read More)

Longtime BNP Chair Resigns

BNP Residential Properties Inc., Charlotte, N.C., has reported the resignation of B. Mayo Boddie, its longtime chairman of the board, and the election of Philip S. Payne, chief financial officer and director, to replace him. (Read More)

NY Mortgage Trust Plans IPO

New York Mortgage Trust Inc., a new company formed to acquire The New York Mortgage Co., has announced the filing of a registration statement for an initial public offering of common stock. (Read More)

Brandywine Reports Stock Sale

Brandywine Realty Trust, Plymouth Meeting, Pa., has announced the sale of 2.645 million common shares of beneficial interest to Bear, Stearns & Co. for approximately $69.3 million. (Read More)

Cal-Mortgage Insurer Rating Lowered

The insurer financial strength rating of Cal-Mortgage Loan Insurance Division has been lowered from A to BBB by Fitch Ratings based on its recent downgrade of the state of California's general obligation bonds from A to BBB. (Read More)

CNL Buying Horizon Bay Portfolio

CNL Retirement Properties, an Orlando, Fla.-based private real estate investment trust, is acquiring a portfolio of 20 properties from Horizon Bay Senior Communities, Tampa, Fla., for approximately $562 million. (Read More)

Freddie Prices RefNotes

Freddie Mac has priced $5 billion of 4.5% 10-year Reference Notes due Jan. 15, 2014, and $5 billion of 2.375% three-year Reference Notes due Feb. 15, 2007. (Read More)

JPM-One Deal Won't Affect Mortgages--For Now

J.P. Morgan Chase's $60 billion purchase of Bank One Corp., Chicago, will have little immediate impact on the residential mortgage market. (Read More)

Rates Drop to 6-Month Lows

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 5.66% for the week ending Jan. 16 from 5.87% the previous week as mortgage rates fell to six-month lows, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

HUD IG Launches Jackson Probe

The inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development has launched a probe of acting HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson for statements he made about union activities at a department meeting in October. (Read More)

Beige Book: Housing Market 'Robust'

Refinancings of home mortgages "continued to fall" in December and early January, according to a Federal Reserve Board report, but home sales and construction activity "remained robust." (Read More)

G&E: CRE Should Fare Well in '04

All segments of the commercial real estate industry should do well in 2004, according to an annual real estate forecast by Grubb & Ellis Co., a real estate services firm based in New York. (Read More)

Fitch Won't Rate MBS With High-Cost NM Loans

Fitch Ratings will not rate residential mortgage-backed securities containing high-cost loans from New Mexico, the rating agency has announced. (Read More)

Moody's Cautions on Split Notes in CMBS

The splitting up of the senior notes of large loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities deals into parallel pieces that are securitized into different pools has given rise to some concerns, according to Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

ACB to FHFB: Drop SEC Registration Proposal

America's Community Bankers is asking the Federal Housing Finance Board to withdraw a proposal that would require the Federal Home Loan Banks to register their stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

Radian Incurs $96MM Charge

Radian Group Inc., Philadelphia, has reported that it will add $96 million to the loss reserves of a financial guaranty subsidiary in anticipation of $111 million in claims from a manufactured housing transaction originated and serviced by Conseco Finance Corp. (Read More)

Parasoft Touts Adoption by Countrywide

Parasoft, a software provider based in Monrovia, Calif., has announced that the Servicing Systems Development Division of Countrywide has adopted its Jtest system to address software quality. (Read More)

Transnational Names CFO

Jack A. Thrift has been hired as chief financial officer of Transnational Financial Network Inc., a wholesale and retail mortgage bank based in San Francisco. (Read More)

FirstAm Names EVP

Dennis J. Gilmore, who heads the Property Information Segment of The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., has been named executive vice president of the company. (Read More)

DLJ CMBS Class Off Rating Watch

The B-minus rating on class B-8 of DLJ Commercial Mortgage Corp. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-CG1, has been affirmed and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Securitization Still Faces Hurdles in Asia

Efforts to securitize mortgages and other assets are making headway in Asia, but they still face some challenges, according to two recent reports on the outlook for the market. (Read More)

Fannie Prices Callable BenchNotes

Fannie Mae has priced a $2.5 billion issue of three-year, 2.625% Callable Benchmark Notes due Jan. 19, 2007. (Read More)

JPM-One Deal Would Create Largest HEL Lender

J.P. Morgan Chase's purchase of Bank One, Chicago, would create the nation's largest second-lien lender, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and Home Equity Wire. (Read More)

State of Union to Include RESPA?

President Bush is likely to mention RESPA reform in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, sources are telling MortgageWire. (Read More)

Mortgage Banker Buys Houston Broker

Availent Financial Inc., a mortgage banking company based in Dallas, has announced the acquisition of "substantially all" the assets of First Texas Residential, a Houston-based mortgage brokerage firm. (Read More)

Fitch Updates Predatory Loan Rating Criteria

Fitch Ratings has revised its random-sample criteria for deciding whether to rate mortgage-backed securities supported in part by home loans from jurisdictions with unlimited assignee liability. (Read More)

Fitch Responds to OCC Pre-empt Rule

Fitch Ratings has announced that national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries will not have to put up additional credit enhancement when they issue securities backed by mortgage loans from states with predatory lending laws. (Read More)

164 Conseco/Green Tree MH Classes Downgraded

Fitch Ratings has downgraded 164 classes in 57 Conseco Finance/Green Tree Finance manufactured housing transactions. (Read More)

Survey: MBS Issuance to Plunge in '04

Sell-side debt market participants expect mortgage-backed securities issuance to decline 48%, to $1.6 trillion, in 2004, according to a new survey by The Bond Market Association. (Read More)

HEI Plans to Boost Hotel Investments to $1B+

HEI Hospitality, Norwalk, Conn., plans to increase its hotel investments to more than $1 billion, according to the company. (Read More)

LA REIT Prices Preferred Stock

Maguire Properties Inc., a Los Angeles-based real estate investment trust, has priced a public offering of 9 million shares of 7.625% series A cumulative redeemable preferred stock at a liquidation-preference price of $25 per share. (Read More)

iStar Reports Debt Offering

New York-based iStar Financial, a real estate investment trust, has announced a $350 million offering of 4.875% senior notes due 2009 to qualified institutional investors. (Read More)

Reckson Prices Note Offering

Reckson Associates Realty Corp., Melville, N.Y., has priced an offering of $150 million of 5.15% senior unsecured notes due Jan. 15, 2011. (Read More)

REIT Prices Depositary Shares

PS Business Parks Inc., Glendale, Calif., has priced a public offering of 6 million depositary shares, each representing a tiny fraction of a share of preferred stock, at $25 per share. (Read More)

Feedback

New Mexico's new predatory lending law has drawn considerable comment on The Grapevine. (Read More)

Bush to Offer Zero-Down FHA Loan

Thousands of potential homebuyers without any money for a downpayment would be eligible for government-insured financing under a proposal that will be offered by President Bush in his fiscal 2005 budget. (Read More)

End in Sight for Limit on FHA MF Program?

President Bush may ask Congress to end the statutory limitation on the Federal Housing Administration's multifamily insurance program, Federal Housing Commissioner John Weicher hinted at the National Association of Home Builders annual convention in Las Vegas. (Read More)

Another Home Sales Record Possible?

Based on the recent and surprising decline in mortgage rates and the continued disappointing employment numbers, the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders now believes housing could see record home sales again in 2004. (Read More)

Hagel Renews Calls for New GSE Regulator

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., says written answers to questions he asked Fannie Mae last year are "incomplete," and he is once again urging that a new independent regulator be created to oversee the mortgage giant. (Read More)

E*Trade Deal Dead

E*Trade Financial Corp., New York, and TD Bank Financial Group, Toronto, have said the parties mutually agreed to terminate discussions that could have led to a possible merger transaction. (Read More)

Wells Funded Record $470B in '03

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, funded a record $470 billion in home mortgages in 2003, the company has reported. (Read More)

Pacifica Names Mortgage Chief

Katty Chow has been named head of residential mortgage lending at Pacifica Bank, Bellevue, Wash., as part of the bank's effort to enhance its consumer mortgage lending program. (Read More)

CA Wholesaler Expects Loss

Citing increased competition among residential mortgage lenders, California wholesaler American Residential Investment Trust now anticipates a loss for the fourth quarter. (Read More)

MGIC Trends Index Holds Steady

The single-family housing market held steady at 6.58 in the fourth quarter, according to Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp.'s national Market Trends Index. (Read More)

Freddie, R&G Launch Puerto Rican Initiative

Freddie Mac and R&G Financial, a Puerto Rico-based financial holding company, have launched CreditSmart Espanol, an credit education initiative designed to educate Puerto Rican families about homeownership. (Read More)

Advantage Credit Teams Up With Hispanic Site

Advantage Credit, Pensacola, Fla., has begun providing credit score and credit correction information to mortgage brokers who subscribe to a recently launched website linking Spanish-speaking U.S. residents to Spanish-speaking brokers and lenders. (Read More)

Financial Title Names Prez

Bruce Maita has been named president of Financial Title Co., Folsom, Calif. (Read More)

Taubman Completes CMBS Financing

Taubman Centers, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., has completed a $347.5 million commercial mortgage-backed securities financing on a Los Angeles shopping center. (Read More)

SASCO Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Structured Asset Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

1st Union HEL Classes Downgraded

Fitch Ratings has downgraded two classes of First Union Home Equity Loan Trust issues. (Read More)

NHP Prices Public Offering

Nationwide Health Properties Inc., Newport Beach, Calif., has priced a public offering of 6.5 million shares of common stock at $19.73 per share. (Read More)

NovaStar Prices Stock Offering

NovaStar Financial Inc., Kansas City, Mo., has priced a public offering of 2.6 million shares of 8.90% series C cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred stock. (Read More)

Post Closes $350MM LOC

Post Properties Inc., Atlanta, has announced the closing of a $350 million unsecured revolving line of credit with a nine-bank syndicate. (Read More)

Correction

Federal regulators are not proposing to change the way banks and thrifts choose which, if any, mortgage affiliates they want included in their Community Reinvestment Act review, as reported Friday by MortgageWire. (Read More)

Housing Starts Slip, but Set Annual Record

Single-family housing starts fell by 0.6% in December, but 2003 will still go down in the record book by topping a construction record that dates back to 1977. (Read More)

Purchase Apps Break Record; Refis Soar

Purchase applications set a record high and refinance applications soared during the week ended Jan. 16 as the Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, surged from 702.6 to 916.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

OFHEO to Decide Soon on Freddie Capital

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight says it will decide next week whether Freddie Mac needs to set aside additional capital until it gets its financial house in order. (Read More)

Ax Falling Hard at WaMu

Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, eliminated the equivalent of 4,500 jobs from its home loans group in the fourth quarter, and more cuts are on the way, a company executive said on a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results (see item below). (Read More)

WaMu Reports '03 Earnings

Washington Mutual has reported earnings of $3.88 billion ($4.21 per share) for 2003, up from $3.86 billion ($4.02 per share) the year before. (Read More)

Fannie Reports Net Income Surge

Fannie Mae reported net income of about $7.90 billion for 2003, up 71.1% from that of the year previous. Diluted earnings per share were up 75%, to $7.91. (Read More)

No Mention of RESPA in State of Union

President Bush did not mention Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act reform in his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, despite the expectations of some Washington insiders. (Read More)

Wilshire Credit Sold to Merrill Lynch

Wilshire Financial Services Group, Beaverton, Ore., has signed an agreement to sell its mortgage servicing subsidiary to Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital. (Read More)

NY AG Sues First Horizon

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court against First Horizon Loan Corp. alleging that it illegally threatened foreclosure on the home of a Rensselaer County homeowner. (Read More)

Wachovia Forms RE Services Group

Wachovia Securities, Charlotte, N.C., has created a real estate services group and named Leslie Fairbanks to head the unit. (Read More)

Stewart Unveils HEL Services Package

Stewart Mortgage Information, Houston, has introduced what it terms the first guaranteed, ready-to-fund home equity loan bundled services package. (Read More)

GE MI Sub Files for IPO

Genworth Financial Inc., a subsidiary of GE that comprises virtually all its life and mortgage insurance businesses, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of common stock. (Read More)

AIM 86 & 88 to Liquidate

American Insured Mortgage Investors LP Series 86 and Series 88 have announced that they expect to receive proceeds from the disposition of their remaining mortgages by the end of January, resulting in their liquidation. (Read More)

Baird & Warner Names Prez, Plans Transition

Timothy J. Good has been named president of Baird & Warner Financial Services, a mortgage company based in Chicago that plans to make a transition this year from mortgage broker to mortgage banker. (Read More)

Mills Names Prez

Mark Ettenger has been named president of The Mills Corp., a retail and entertainment real estate investment trust based in Arlington, Va. (Read More)

Equity Inns Names CFO

J. Mitchell Collins has been named chief financial officer of Equity Inns Inc., Germantown, Tenn., replacing Donald H. Dempsey, who is retiring. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes IMC Classes

Eight classes of certificates issued by four IMC Home Equity Loan Trusts have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Soundview Class Downgraded

Class M-2 of Soundview Home Equity Loan Trust series 2001-1 has been downgraded from A to BBB-minus by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes UK Hotel Notes

Moody's Investors Service has placed on review for possible downgrade approximately 191.2 million pounds (about $350 million) of notes secured by 32 properties operated by Thistle Hotels PLC in the United Kingdom. (Read More)

Simon Completes Note Offering

Simon Property Group Inc., Indianapolis, has reported the sale of $500 million of senior unsecured notes by its partnership subsidiary, Simon Property Group LP. (Read More)

Freddie Prices Euro Notes

Freddie Mac has priced a 4 billion euro (about $5 billion) offering of new 10-year EuroReference Note securities due Jan. 15, 2013. (Read More)

Bush Pulls OFHEO Nomination

The White House has withdrawn the nomination of investment banker and lobbyist Mark Brickell to be the chief regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

MBA to Seek Structural Change at FHA

The Mortgage Bankers Association plans to push for legislation this year that makes structural changes at the Federal Housing Administration to improve the performance of the agency's single-family and multifamily insurance programs. (Read More)

OTS Chief: Reform 'Convoluted' RESPA

The nation's top thrift regulator says the mortgage application and settlement process is so "convoluted and non-understandable" to consumers that it needs to be changed. (Read More)

OTS Wants Thrifts to Prepare for Rising Rates

Meanwhile, the Office of Thrift Supervision wants thrifts to prepare for rising interest rates, and the agency plans to issue new guidance to the industry soon. (Read More)

Rates Dip Further

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.64% for the week ending Jan. 23 from the previous week's 5.66%, another six-month low, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Keynoter: Paperless Loans Key for Underserved

Achieving paperless loans is the path to serving minorities and underserved markets, Fannie Mae's David Flaxman told Thomson Media's 7th Annual Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami in Wednesday's keynote address. (Read More)

BoA Exec Touts Tech Cost-Sharing

While technology is a vital concern to mortgage lenders, it may make more sense to partner with others to get it, even if they are competitors, according to Kevin Shannon, president of consumer real estate for Bank of America. (Read More)

Ocean West, Freedom Mortgage Join Forces

Ocean West Holding Corp., Tustin, Calif., has announced an agreement between its subsidiary Ocean West Enterprises and Freedom Mortgage Corp. of New Jersey under which Ocean West will manage a new division of Freedom Mortgage. (Read More)

PREI Sees Improving RE Market, With Caveat

A strengthening economy should boost demand and improve fundamentals for most real estate sectors this year, but the performance of real estate investments may not improve significantly, according to Prudential Real Estate Investors, Parsippany, N.J. (Read More)

Radian Earnings Fall in '03

Radian Group Inc., Philadelphia, has reported net income of $385.9 million ($4.08 per share) in 2003, down from $427.2 million ($4.41 per share) in 2002. (Read More)

New Century Touts Record Profits

New Century Financial Corp., Irvine, Calif., has reported record net earnings of $245.5 million ($6.56 per share) for 2003, compared with $179.7 million ($4.62 per share) the year before. (Read More)

RAIT Reports Higher '04 Earnings

RAIT Investment Trust, Philadelphia, has reported net income of $47.2 million for 2003, an 8.5% increase from $43.5 million in 2002. (Read More)

Countrywide Promotes Execs

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has announced the promotions of two executives to executive managing director. (Read More)

PREIT to Create Office of Chairman

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Philadelphia, has announced that it will soon create a five-person Office of the Chairman and make several executive changes. (Read More)

Central Pacific Names EVP

Ed Fuchs has been named executive vice president of finance and secondary marketing at Central Pacific Mortgage, a mortgage banking firm and net branch provider based in Folsom, Calif. (Read More)

REIT Prices Note Offering

Federal Realty Investment Trust, Rockville, Md., has announced the pricing of a $75 million offering of 4.5%, seven-year, senior unsecured notes at 99.698. (Read More)

HRPT Prices Offering of Another REIT's Stock

HRPT Properties Trust, Newton, Mass., has priced a public offering of 3 million common shares of beneficial interest of Senior Housing Properties Trust, also of Newton, at $18.20 per share. (Read More)

Fannie Prices BenchNotes

Fannie Mae has priced $4 billion of 3.250% five-year Benchmark Notes at 99.601. (Read More)

MBA: 2004 Could be $2 Trillion Year

The Mortgage Bankers Associations has revised its origination forecast for 2004 upwards to nearly $2 trillion and it expects the industry to shed 65,000 jobs due to the decline in refinancings. (Read More)

Union-Regions Merger Will Create Top 20 Servicer

When Regions Financial, Birmingham, merges with Union Planters Corp., Memphis, it will create a Southeast-based regional mortgage giant that will rank 20th among all residential servicers nationwide. (Read More)

FHA, OFHEO Receive Funding Support

The Senate has passed the $820 billion omnibus appropriations bill that provides additional funding for the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and new loan commitment authority for the Federal Housing Administration multifamily program. (Read More)

GE's Insurance Unit Sees Earnings Drop

The mortgage insurance and other insurance-related businesses that General Electric hopes to spin off this year saw their net earnings decline by 24% during the first nine months of last year, according to new documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

Horizon Starts Wholesale Operation

Horizon Bancorp, Michigan City, Ind., said it would start a wholesale mortgage production operation sometime in the early part of this year. (Read More)

Outsourcing to India Saves 25% for GreenPoint

Taking some of your mortgage processes offshore to India could reduce your costs by 25% on those processes, according to David Rogers, chief technology officer for GreenPoint Mortgage, in Novato Calif. (Read More)

First Horizon Faces Scrutiny in NY Loan Case

First Horizon Home Loan Corp., a subsidiary of the nationally chartered bank, First Tennessee National Corp., has offered to absorb loan payments and reimburse a Rensselaer County homeowner who alleges the bank illegally threatened to foreclose on his home. (Read More)

New Asset-Backed Conduit Launched

Paramax Capital Group plans to launch a new multi-seller, asset-backed commercial paper program, Paramax Capital Funding. (Read More)

Glimcher Realty Prices Preferred Offering

Glimcher Realty Trust, Columbus, Ohio, has priced a $150 million public offering of six million shares of 8.125% redeemable preferred shares at a price of $25.00 per share. (Read More)

Great Lakes Reports Merger Pact

Great Lakes REIT, Oak Brook, Ill., has announced a merger agreement under which it will be acquired by Asian Realty Partners II LP, an affiliate of Transwestern Investment Co. (Read More)

Bombardier MBS Class Defaults

The rating on the B-2 class of Bombardier Capital Mortgage Securitization Corp.'s pass-through certificates series has been lowered from CCC-minus to D (default) by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes SASCO Classes

Three classes of Structured Asset Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through securities have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Resales Rise

Sales of existing single-family homes jumped 6.9% in December to close out another record sales year in which house prices rose 7.5% and inventories of unsold homes remained lean. (Read More)

Feds Eye TILA, HMDA Reg Burden

Federal regulators are seeking comment on ways to eliminate "outdated, unnecessary and unduly burdensome requirements" in the consumer lending regulations that implement the Truth in Lending Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. (Read More)

NAR Restates Anti-Bank/RE Stance

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent actions to pre-empt state real estate lending laws is another reason banks should not be allowed to engage in real estate brokerage activities, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

A Tale of Two States: Texas & Louisiana

Economic growth in Texas this year will exceed the national average, while Louisiana will see economic growth that lags the average rate, Fannie Mae chief economist David Berson said at a mortgage conference in Baton Rouge, La., sponsored by Hibernia National Bank. (Read More)

Downey Names New Prez/CEO

Marangal "Marito" Domingo has been named president and chief executive officer of Downey Financial Corp., Newport Beach, Calif., and Downey Savings and Loan Association. (Read More)

Lenders 1st Choice Names CFO

Raymond Davison has been named chief financial officer of Lenders First Choice, a national provider of settlement services and title insurance based in Simi Valley, Calif. (Read More)

RMBS Top EMEA Structured Asset

Residential mortgage-backed securities became the largest structured finance asset class in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa during 2003, according to Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Origen MH Classes Downgraded

Six classes of Origen Financial Inc. manufactured housing contracts, series 2001-A, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

First Republic Bank Issues Bonds

First Republic Bank and its Trainer Wortham & Co. subsidiary have completed a $275 million collateralized bond obligation, the net proceeds of which have been used to purchase a securities portfolio that consists primarily of mortgage-related debt. (Read More)

Forest City Plans $2.5B Project in Brooklyn

The New York affiliate of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises is planning a $2.5 billion mixed-use project in downtown Brooklyn, which will include an 800,000-square-foot stadium for the Nets NBA basketball team. (Read More)

Correction

BridgeSpan has not ceased all operations, as MortgageWire erroneously reported, and the BridgeSpan website has relaunched after being taken down in the wake of the closure of BridgeSpan Title. (Read More)

Fannie Makes New 1st-Timer Pledge

Fannie Mae has set a new goal to help 6 million families -- including 1.8 million minority families -- become first-time homebuyers over the next 10 years. (Read More)

Fannie Hikes Common Dividend

Meanwhile, Fannie Mae has announced a 15.6% increase in its common stock dividend, from $0.45 per share to $0.52 per share. (Read More)

Freddie Purchases Hit 17-Month Low

Loan purchases by Freddie Mac hit a 17-month low in December, reflecting the slowdown in originations in the primary market. (Read More)

Countrywide Reports Soaring Profits

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has reported consolidated net earnings of $2.37 billion ($12.47 per share) for 2003, up 182% from $841.8 million ($4.87 per share) in 2002. (Read More)

Cap Title to Buy Nationwide Appraisal

Capital Title Group Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., has signed an agreement to acquire Nationwide Appraisal Services Corp., Pittsburgh, in a $25 million cash transaction. (Read More)

GMAC Mortgage Revamps Default Ops

GMAC Mortgage Corp., Horsham, Pa., has announced a restructuring of its default management operations department into two units, one focusing on collections and loss litigation and the other on foreclosure/bankruptcy and real estate owned. (Read More)

Saxon Plans REIT Conversion

Saxon Capital Inc., a residential mortgage lender and servicer based in Glen Allen, Va., has announced that its board of directors has authorized the company to convert to a real estate investment trust. (Read More)

GMAC CMBS Classes Downgraded

Four classes of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-FL1, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

NAR, Mayors Launch Realtor AH Program

The National Association of Realtors and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Council for the New American City have announced the "Realtors Ambassador to Cities" initiative designed to expand urban affordable homeownership opportunities across the country "on a city-by-city basis," NAR said. (Read More)

AmeriVest Files $200MM Universal Shelf

AmeriVest Properties, Denver, has filed a universal shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would permit the offering of up to $200 million of AmeriVest securities. (Read More)

New-Home Sales Fall

New-home sales fell 5.1% in December compared with the level of the previous month, according to new figures compiled by the U.S. Commerce Department. (Read More)

Subcom Chair Wants Delay on OCC Rule

Rep. Sue Kelly, R-N.Y., is putting pressure on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to delay implementation of its pre-emption rule, which protects banks that engage in subprime residential lending. (Read More)

Fannie Retains Former Whitewater Prosecutor

Fannie Mae, which is being audited by its regulator for its accounting practices, has retained the legal services of former Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr and his law firm. (Read More)

Dexma Hires Tim Anderson

Dexma Inc., Edina, Minn., has hired Tim Anderson away from DocuTech, where he held the title of executive vice president. (Read More)

Apps Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 916.1 to 868.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Jan. 23, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

NYC Predatory Law Ruled Invalid

New York City's anti-predatory-lending law was invalidated in a decision issued Monday by a Manhattan Supreme Court judge. (Read More)

Countrywide Reclaims Top Spot

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., originated more home loans than any other lender in the fourth quarter, company chairman and chief executive officer Angelo Mozilo told investors Tuesday on a conference call. (Read More)

Doc Systems Unveils HEL Product Line

Document Systems Inc., Carson, Calif., has released a new home equity product line of its DocMagic software, which the company will make available to its users. (Read More)

Health Care REIT Names SVP/CFO

Mark A. Wallace has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer of Health Care Property Investors, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based real estate investment trust. (Read More)

RE Company Prices IPO

Government Properties Trust Inc., Omaha, Neb., has priced an initial public offering of 16.8 million shares of common stock at $10 per share. (Read More)

Farmer Mac Reports Higher Earnings

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, has reported net income of $25.1 million ($1.77 per share) for 2003, compared with $21.3 million ($2.08 per share) for 2002. (Read More)

Greenpoint MH Deals Downgraded

Twelve classes of Greenpoint Credit Manufactured Housing Trust transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

DLJ CMBS Class Downgraded

Class B-8 of DLJ Commercial Mortgage Corp. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-CKP1, has been downgraded from C to D by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Zacks Gives Radian Thumbs Down

Zacks.com, the online component of Zacks Investment Research, Chicago, has given Radian Group Inc., Philadelphia, its #5 (Strong Sell) rank. (Read More)

Freddie Touts Seniors Housing Deal

Freddie Mac has announced the recent purchase of an $85 million portfolio of mortgages that enabled a new Freddie Mac borrower to finance eight housing campuses for seniors in Pennsylvania. (Read More)

Tenet Plans Hospital Divestiture

Tenet Healthcare Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., has announced that it is seeking buyers for 27 hospitals that it plans to divest in a major restructuring effort. (Read More)

Moody's Sees Strong Canadian CMBS Growth

Canadian commercial mortgage-backed securities issuance is expected to grow by 20%-30% in 2004, Moody's Investors Service has reported. (Read More)

OFHEO Asks 30% Cap Surplus for Freddie

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has asked Freddie Mac to maintain a 30% capital surplus over its minimum capital, a measure that likely will not hamper the mortgage giant's growth. (Read More)

E-Loan Prez/COO Resigns

The chief operating officer of E-Loan resigned on Thursday, a day in which the company revealed that fourth-quarter earnings plunged 95% and its stock skidded by as much as 20%. (Read More)

Rates Inch Up

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.68% for the week ending Jan. 30 from 5.64% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Fed Prompts Spike in Mortgage Rates

A sudden jump in bond market yields in the wake of Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting had translated into about a 1/4% increase in mortgage rates by midday Thursday, according to Barry Habib, author of the Mortgage Market Guide interest rate advisory service for originators. (Read More)

Bankruptcy Bill Revived

The House has revived and passed the conference report on the consumer bankruptcy bill by attaching it to a farm bankruptcy bill. (Read More)

MPF Volume Up 158%

The Federal Home Loan Banks' Mortgage Partnership Finance program funded $72.1 billion of loans last year, up 158% from the total of the year before. (Read More)

ACB: Banks, Thrifts Expect HEL Surge

Banks and thrifts are expecting to see a big jump in home equity lending this year, according a real estate lending survey by America's Community Bankers. (Read More)

Met Mortgage Chair/CEO Resigns

C. Paul Sandifur Jr. has resigned as chairman, president, and chief executive of Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Inc., Spokane, Wash., citing a desire to help the company put recent controversies behind it. (Read More)

Stewart Forms Realty Sub

Stewart Title Co., Houston, has announced the formation of Stewart Realty Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary that will develop and market a bundle of information services, technology applications, and real estate- and mortgage-related services for realty firms. (Read More)

Venture West Names Prez

Scott Braly has been named president of Venture West Funding Inc., El Segundo, Calif., which specializes in apartment, single-family, and commercial mortgage loans. (Read More)

Union Financial Reports Loss, Restructuring

Union Financial Bancshares Inc., Union, S.C., has reported a loss of $1.2 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31 as a result of a balance sheet restructuring. (Read More)

IndyMac Touts Record Earnings

IndyMac Bancorp Inc., Pasadena, Calif., the holding company for IndyMac Bank, has reported record net earnings of $171.3 million ($3.01 per share) for 2003, up 19% from earnings in 2002. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes Vanderbilt MH Classes

The ratings on three classes of Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance Manufactured Housing securitizations have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Johnson Cap Opens NYC Office

Johnson Capital, Irvine, Calif., has opened an office in New York City that will do commercial mortgage loan sales and syndication, with Daniel Lisser and William Nichols as managing directors and co-heads of the company. (Read More)

1st Republic Prices Depositary Shares

First Republic Bank, San Francisco, has priced a $65 million offering of depositary shares representing interests in preferred stock. (Read More)

Freddie Prices Syndicated Callable

Freddie Mac has priced $2.0 billion of a new 5.00%, 10-year syndicated callable due on Jan. 30, 2014. (Read More)

Amex Trading Options on Subprime Lender

The American Stock Exchange has launched trading in options on Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., a San Diego-based subprime lender and servicer. (Read More)

AICPA Drops Controversial Loan-Loss Proposal

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has decided to drop its loan-loss reserve proposal, which had run into strong objections from federal banking regulators and the banking industry. (Read More)

MBA: Data Revision Could Boost Rates

Doug Duncan, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, says he expects the federal government to revise employment data upward soon, and that could portend an increase in the 10-year Treasury yield and mortgage rates. (Read More)

Consumer Direct to Open Title Sub

Consumer Direct of America, a mortgage brokerage consolidator based in Las Vegas, has announced that it will open a title insurance subsidiary in Atlanta. (Read More)

Bush: Let's Simplify Mortgage Apps

When President Bush talks about jobs and the economy, he also talks about his administration's effort to simplify the mortgage process and to boost homeownership. (Read More)

NMHC: Apartment Sector Looking Up

Market conditions in the apartment sector improved in the fourth quarter, as all four indices used by the National Multi Housing Council's quarterly survey stood above an important threshold for the first time in the survey's nearly five-year history. (Read More)

AIMCO Names EVP

Jeffrey Adler has been promoted to executive vice president of property operations at Apartment Investment and Management Co., a real estate investment trust based in Denver. (Read More)

Spirit Finance Completes Stock Offering

Spirit Finance Corp., Scottsdale, Ariz., has completed a private offering of 36 million shares of its common stock with Banc of America Securities, raising total proceeds of $360 million. (Read More)

GMAC-RFC Seeking German Partners

GMAC-RFC is looking for local German business partners to work in conjunction with its recently established mortgage lending effort in that country, a company executive has told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Correction

The name of Tim Anderson, recently hired away from DocuTech by Dexma Inc. as executive vice president for business solutions, was incorrectly given in a headline Wednesday as Steve Anderson. (Read More)

Feedback

Responses to our survey question are running nearly 3-to-1 against requiring mortgage lenders to book loan commitments as liabilities. (Read More)

Bush Firm on New GSE Regulator

In its new budget, the Bush administration is holding firm on creating a new "world-class" regulator for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, noting that a financial crisis at these agencies "could have consequences throughout the economy." (Read More)

OFHEO May Get More $$ for GSE Probes

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is in line to get additional funding for special investigations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in fiscal year 2005. (Read More)

Bush Seeks New FHA Programs

The president's budget calls on Congress to approve two new Federal Housing Administration loan programs -- one for creditworthy homebuyers and another for borrowers with "weak credit histories." (Read More)

Multiple Use of VA Mortgages to End?

The Bush administration is proposing to end multiple use of Department of Veterans Affairs guaranteed mortgages over the next five years. (Read More)

GAO Raps HUD Discounted Sales Program

Nonprofit housing groups are selling Federal Housing Administration-foreclosed homes at prices that exceed the agency guidelines, according to an audit of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's discounted sales program. (Read More)

Met Mortgage, Summit Plan Ch. 11 Filing

Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Inc., Spokane, Wash., and Summit Securities Inc. have jointly announced plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (Read More)

Fannie, Freddie Tout Record MF Fundings

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have announced record multifamily investments of about $36 billion and $22.6 billion, respectively, for 2003. (Read More)

COFI Rise First in 18 Months

The Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index for December 2003 stood at 1.902%, an 8-basis-point increase from November's 1.821%. (Read More)

AmeriDream Caps Processing Fee

AmeriDream Inc., a downpayment assistance provider based in Gaithersburg, Md., has announced the imposition of a $500 cap on the processing fee paid by sellers who use its gift program. (Read More)

BridgeSpan CEO to Resign

BridgeSpan Inc., a title company and online closing specialist that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has announced that Larry Walker will resign as president and chief executive officer next month. (Read More)

$10B Hike Proposed for FHA MF Budget

Under President Bush's fiscal year 2005 budget proposal, the Federal Housing Administration would be allotted $10 billion in additional loan commitment authority to keep its multifamily, 203(k) home renovation, reverse mortgage, and condominium loan programs running. (Read More)

Would Dems Create Housing Trust Fund?

The Democratic presidential candidates rarely talk about housing issues, but it appears that a Democratic win in November could clear the way for the creation of a National Housing Trust Fund to finance the construction of affordable rental housing. (Read More)

Fitch Will Still Rate Cleveland Loans

Fitch Ratings has announced that it will continue to rate residential mortgage-backed securities that include mortgage loans originated in Cleveland and covered by the city's predatory lending ordinance. (Read More)

Primary New MI Declines

Companies that belong to the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America wrote $20.7 billion of primary new insurance in December, down nearly 6% from $22.0 billion in November. (Read More)

NAR: Housing Affordability Improves

The typical American family's ability to purchase a median-priced home increased in the fourth quarter as a result of a seasonal decline in home prices and rising family income, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

MBA, CMSA Seek More Flex in REMICs

The Mortgage Bankers Association and the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association are taking advantage of a "window of opportunity" to seek a loosening of restrictions on the real estate mortgage investment conduit structure, according to a speaker at the MBA's commercial real estate finance/multifamily lending convention in Orlando, Fla. (Read More)

RE Companies Form Q10

New England Realty Resources, a Boston-based company founded by James M. Murphy, has banded together with 11 other companies to form a company called Q10, Mr. Murphy told attendees at the MBA's commercial real estate finance/multifamily housing convention in Orlando. (Read More)

Ocwen Reports '03 Profits

Ocwen Financial Corp., West Palm Beach, Fla., has reported net income of $4.8 million ($0.07 per share) for 2003, compared with a loss of $68.8 million ($1.02 per share) in 2002. (Read More)

Alliance Cap Becomes EverBank

Alliance Capital Partners, Jacksonville, Fla., has changed its name to EverBank Financial Corp., according to the company. (Read More)

MISMO Releases SMART Doc Guide

Version 1.0 of a technical guide to the implementation of SMART documents has been released by the eMortgage Workgroup of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. (Read More)

MBA Names CRE Lobbyist

Josh Denney has been named director of government affairs of the Mortgage Bankers Association, where he will be chiefly responsible for lobbying Capitol Hill on issues involving commercial real estate finance. (Read More)

Co-Founder Returns as REIT CEO

Gregory T. Mutz, chairman of AMLI Residential Properties Trust, Chicago, will resume the position of chief executive officer of the real estate investment trust, AMLI has announced. (Read More)

Freddie, AHP, HSBC Launch $25MM AH Effort

Freddie Mac has partnered with the Affordable Housing Partnership, HSBC Mortgage Corp. (USA), and HSBC Bank USA in a $25 million initiative that will provide affordable homeownership to residents of the New York cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy. (Read More)

Bombardier MH Classes Downgraded

Twenty-six classes from six Bombardier Capital Mortgage Inc. manufactured housing transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

IndyMac MH Classes Downgraded

Thirteen classes of IndyMac Manufactured Housing Contract pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Lehman MH Classes Downgraded

Three classes of Lehman Manufactured Housing 1998-1 have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Moody's: Japan's CMBS Issuance Falls

Japan's commercial mortgage-backed securities issuance declined for the first time on an annual basis in 2003, Moody's Investors Service has reported. (Read More)

Brendsel Must Cooperate With OFHEO

A Federal judge has ordered former Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive Leland Brendsel to testify before the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which continues to probe the mortgage giant's $5 billion accounting scandal. (Read More)

OFHEO Recommends CEO/Chair Split at GSEs

The regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has recommended to the Office of Management and Budget that the two government-sponsored enterprises split the functions of chairman and chief executive officer, according to industry sources. (Read More)

HUD: RESPA Reform Coming by Fall

Budget documents released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development reveal that HUD plans to issue a final rule to simplify the mortgage application and settlement process before the end of September. (Read More)

Homeownership Sets Record

The U.S. homeownership rate ended 2003 at a record rate of 68.6%, according to the government, and homeownership among blacks rose to nearly 50%. (Read More)

Applications Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 868.9 to 855.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Jan. 30, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Fannie Bows on Mandatory Arbitration

Under pressure from consumer groups, Fannie Mae has agreed to stop purchasing subprime mortgages with mandatory arbitration clauses and prohibit prepayment penalties longer than three years. (Read More)

GMACCM Tops MBA Commercial Servicer Ranks

GMAC Commercial Mortgage was the top commercial mortgage servicer at the end of 2003, with a total servicing portfolio of $213.7 billion, the Mortgage Bankers Association has reported. (Read More)

MBA: Commercial Volume Hit Record High in '03

Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations surged in 2003 to a record $116 billion, up more than a third from $86.4 billion the year before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Bank RE Lending on the Rise, Fed Says

Commercial banks are starting to make more loans on office, retail, and industrial properties in response to improving market conditions and more competition from other lenders, according to a Federal Reserve Board survey. (Read More)

LandAm Buys Mortgage Credit Reporting Firms

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va., has announced the acquisition through a subsidiary of two mortgage credit reporting companies: Far West Credit, Salt Lake City, and CommCo Credit, Orange, Calif. (Read More)

Fannie, Deutsche Bank Issue Inflation-Linked Debt

Fannie Mae and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are bringing to market a five-year, $500 million inflation-linked debt security with coupons linked to the changes in the Consumer Price Index, Fannie Mae has reported. (Read More)

ABFS Names EVP of Upland

American Business Financial Services Inc., Philadelphia, has announced the appointment of Peter J. Levasseur as executive vice president of Upland Mortgage Brokerage Services, a division of ABFS's wholly owned subsidiary Home American Credit Inc. (Read More)

GMACCM Names French RE Chief

GMAC Commercial Mortgage Europe has appointed Marc Angoulvent as director of real estate activities in France. (Read More)

Deutsche Classes Downgraded

Nine classes of Deutsche Financial Capital manufactured housing transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Treasury Opposes Stand-Alone GSE Regulator

The Bush administration is sticking to its proposals and does not want Congress to consider the creation of a stand-alone, independent agency to regulate the government-sponsored enterprises, a Treasury official says. (Read More)

NAHB Open to Independent GSE Regulator

Meanwhile, the National Association of Home Builders says it is willing to explore the idea of an independent agency to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to the trade group's chief executive Jerry Howard. (Read More)

Zero-Down Bill Introduced in House

Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, has introduced a bill to create a federally insured zero-downpayment mortgage to increase homeownership opportunities for borrowers who do not have the cash for a downpayment or closing costs. (Read More)

Fannie to Focus on Rental Housing Aid

Fannie Mae has announced that the second phase of its expanded $2 trillion American Dream Commitment, designed to facilitate homeownership for 18 million targeted American families by the end of the decade, will focus on rental housing assistance. (Read More)

Rates Rise

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.72% for the week ending Feb. 6 from 5.68% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

TrueClose Touts Paperless Origination Platform

TrueClose, a Pittsburgh-based technology provider for the mortgage industry, has launched what it says is the first paperless mortgage origination platform for the mortgage industry. (Read More)

QuestSoft Releases CRA Relief

Laguna Hills, Calif.-based QuestSoft has released CRA Relief, a CRA data collection, compliance reporting, and submission partner to the company’s flagship HMDA product, HMDA Relief. (Read More)

Freddie: Cash-Out Refi % Rises

In the fourth quarter, 45% of the homeowners who refinanced their homes got a mortgage at least 5% larger than the original loan, up from 34% in the previous quarter, according to Freddie Mac. (Read More)

ARIT, AmNet Launch Subprime Program

American Residential Investment Trust Inc. and its American Mortgage Network subsidiary have launched a subprime initiative. (Read More)

Freddie Names SVP of Cap Market Acc'ting

Catherine M. Dondzila has been named senior vice president of investments and capital markets accounting at Freddie Mac. (Read More)

PMI Risk Index Rises

There is roughly a one-in-six chance of a general decline in home prices over the next two years, according to the PMI Risk Index, which rose 12 points in the fourth quarter. (Read More)

Fannie Touts Website Changes for MBS

Fannie Mae has made changes to its website that it says makes its mortgage-backed security pool-level data easier for users to obtain. (Read More)

UCFC MH Classes Downgraded

Twenty classes from seven UCFC manufactured housing transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

CWMBS Class Downgraded

Class B3 of CWMBS (Countrywide Home Loans Inc.) mortgage pass-through certificates series 2001-10 (ALT 2001-6) has been downgraded from B to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

S&P: LandAmerica's Title Outlook 'Stable'

The rating outlook for the title insurance operations of LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va., has been revised from negative to stable by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. (Read More)

Freddie Prices $5B of RefNotes

Freddie Mac has priced $5 billion of two-year Reference Notes due Feb. 15, 2006. (Read More)

Mortgage Job Decline Continues

Mortgage lenders reduced their payrolls in December by 5,800 full-time employees, according to the latest government report. (Read More)

Raines Defends Fannie in AEI Speech

Fannie Mae chief Franklin Raines fought back against critics of his company on Friday, saying the mortgage giant does not pose a dangerous threat to the nation's financial system. (Read More)

Wells Plans Major Hiring in LA

Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco, has announced plans to hire over 400 employees in Los Angeles this year, including more than 100 home mortgage loan consultants, terming it the company's "most aggressive hiring plan in recent memory" in any of its markets. (Read More)

Bear: Refi Curve Flattest Since '01

Prepayment rates for agency mortgage-backed securities slowed across the board in the January reporting period, producing "the flattest refinancing curve we have observed since early in 2001," according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. (Read More)

Fed Drops GSEs From Payment System

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the other government-sponsored enterprises will no longer be able to use the Federal Reserve's payment systems as a source of intraday float, starting in July 2006. (Read More)

RE Bank, CRE Portal Form Alliance

Pacific Security Capital, a real estate investment bank headquartered in Portland, Ore., has signed a multiyear exclusive agreement with GlobeSt.com, a commercial real estate news and information portal on the Internet. (Read More)

NYC Housing Agency Names New CEO

Sarah Gerecke, who joined Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City as chief operating officer in 2001, has been named the nonprofit's new chief executive officer. (Read More)

Housing Affordability Drops in CA

Housing affordability in California was down by five percentage points in December from the level recorded a year earlier, according to the California Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Feedback

If you think you're good at placing loans, here's a challenging loan scenario for you from the Grapevine. (Read More)

Fannie Forming MH Network

Fannie Mae is forming a nationwide network of lenders that will fund low-downpayment manufactured housing loans. (Read More)

GMAC-RFC Enters MH Finance Market

Residential Funding Corp., Minneapolis, has announced its entry into the manufactured housing finance market with the formation of GMAC Manufactured Housing. (Read More)

Foreign Banks Eyeing Greenpoint?

Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings are being mentioned as possible suitors for Greenpoint Financial, New York, the nation's 18th-largest residential lender, sources have told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Ellie Mae Hires Top Sales Exec From Calyx

Continuing its full-court press for dominance in broker point-of-sale systems, Ellie Mae has reported hiring away top sales executive Robert Madsen from Calyx Software. (Read More)

PREIT May Lose REIT Status

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Philadelphia, is at risk of losing its real estate investment trust status as a result of failing to opt for taxable REIT subsidiary status for a subsidiary company. (Read More)

CWMBS Classes Downgraded

Ten classes in five CWMBS (IndyMac) Inc. mortgage pass-through deals have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and one other class was placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)

REIT Names New Trustees

Richard Rosan, president of the Urban Land Institute, and Stanley Perla, vice president and director of internal audit at Vornado Realty Trust, have been named to the board of trustees of American Mortgage Acceptance Co., a New York-based real estate investment trust. (Read More)

Impac Prices Stock Offering

Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., Newport Beach, Calif., has priced an offering of 5.0 million shares of its common stock at $19.50 per share. (Read More)

Fannie: No Callable BenchNotes This Month

Fannie Mae has announced that it will not issue Callable Benchmark Notes in February. (Read More)

Fannie Moves to Prop Up MH Sector

In an effort to prop up the sagging manufactured housing sector, Fannie Mae has reinstituted a 5% down, 30-year loan program for factory-built houses with nine lenders on a negotiated basis. (Read More)

GAO Recommends Hybrid GSE Regulator

The General Accounting Office is recommending that Congress consider a single "hybrid" regulator to oversee Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, but it is expressing no view on whether the new regulator should be under the Treasury Department or a stand-alone regulatory agency. (Read More)

BridgeSpan Invites Bids for Assets

BridgeSpan Inc., Frisco, Texas, and its subsidiary BridgeSpan Title Co., have announced that they are "soliciting proposals for the purchase of their respective assets and operations," in whole or in part, in the wake of their Jan. 26 filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions. (Read More)

Countrywide, Paragon Form Mortgage Venture

Countrywide Home Loans, Calabasas, Calif., and Paragon Financial Resources have announced the formation of Paragon Financial Mortgage, which will offer more than 130 loan programs. (Read More)

Texas United Buys Houston Mortgage Company

Texas United Bancshares Inc., La Grange, Texas, has announced the acquisition (by its subsidiary State Bank) of Community Home Loan Inc., Houston. (Read More)

PREIT Retains REIT Status

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Philadelphia, has announced that it will retain its status as a real estate investment trust as a result of retroactive relief granted by the Internal Revenue Service. (Read More)

Trinity Launches Same-Day Draw Service

Trinity Inspection Services Inc., Addison, Texas, has announced the launch of same-day turnaround services for new-construction inspections and draws following a period of pre-launch beta-testing with lenders. (Read More)

Zenodata Touts Automated Chain-of-Title Search

Zenodata Corp., Louisville, Colo., has released Land Record System, a system the company is dubbing the fastest automated chain-of-title search technology in the industry. (Read More)

Fair Isaac Launches Rate Search Option

Fair Isaac Corp., San Rafael, Calif., has introduced what it's calling the first service to help consumers find the best loan rates based on the FICO Credit Score, which can be accessed through the company's website free of charge. (Read More)

Wholesaler Names Mortgage Vet to Board

Mortgage industry veteran Richard A. Mirro has been elected as an independent member of the board of directors of ResMAE Financial Corp., a wholesale specialty residential mortgage lender and servicer based in Brea, Calif. (Read More)

Paramount Names Mortgage Veep

Robert Efros has been named vice president of the mortgage division of Paramount Bank, Farmington Hills, Mich. (Read More)

Post Reports '03 Profits

Post Properties, Atlanta, has reported net income of $2.7 million ($0.07 per share) for 2003, compared with $49.3 million ($1.33 per share) for the previous year. (Read More)

OFHEO Picks D&T for Fannie Audit

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has picked Deloitte & Touche LLP to spearhead a year-long forensic audit into the accounting policies and practices of Fannie Mae. (Read More)

GAO Raps Fannie Board's Composition

Meanwhile, an official of the General Accounting Office has testified that the composition of Fannie Mae's board of directors is not consistent with principles of good corporate governance. (Read More)

Shelby Mulls GSE Advisory Board Idea

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is leaning toward the creation of a new GSE regulatory agency with a strong executive and a "powerful, prestigious advisory board" composed of high government officials. (Read More)

Lenders Try to Block Appraisal Liability

Lender groups are making a last-ditch effort to stop the Department of Housing and Urban Development from issuing a final rule that would make lenders accountable for inaccurate appraisals on Federal Housing Administration loans. (Read More)

VMP Unveils New SMART Doc Viewer

VMP Mortgage Solutions has unveiled Version 2.5 of its SMART Document viewer, which it is touting as the first tool to demonstrate the three aspects of MISMO-defined Level 1 SMART Docs. (Read More)

Applications Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 855.7 to 797.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Feb. 6, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Stewart Jumps on Bundling Bandwagon

Stewart Mortgage Information, Houston, has entered the bundled services arena with the launch of its "Build Your Own Bundle" product. (Read More)

Tech Companies Team Up

Lender E-Source, Vista, Calif., has formed a joint venture with Commerce Velocity, Irvine, Calif., which develops technology to assist lenders in the efforts of loan product development and guideline maintenance. (Read More)

FHA to Hold REO Web Auction

The Federal Housing Administration plans to sell 4,000 foreclosed homes on Feb. 27-28 in a special Internet auction, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (Read More)

PREIT Off Rating Watch Negative

Fitch Ratings has affirmed its ratings on Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Philadelphia, and removed them from Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)

Apps Surge at Countrywide

Application volume at Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., surged 33% in January (to $1.78 billion) from that of the previous month, although it was down about 11% from the volume recorded a year earlier, according to the company. (Read More)

Domania Launches RE Polls

Domania, a Boston-based provider of services to banks, mortgage lenders, and Realtors, has announced the introduction of Domania Real Estate Polls, which will measure consumer sentiment in three real-estate-related categories. (Read More)

MFA Mortgage Prices Stock Offering

MFA Mortgage Investments Inc., New York, has priced a public offering of 7.5 million shares of common stock at $10.13 per share. (Read More)

Maguire Buys Mixed-Use Property

Maguire Properties, Los Angeles, is acquiring a 1.7 million-square-foot Orange County, Calif., mixed-use property from an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors for approximately $260 million. (Read More)

S&P to Add REIT to Small Cap Index

Commercial Net Lease Realty, an Orlando, Fla.-based equity real estate investment trust, has been added to the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 Index. (Read More)

Rates Decline

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.66% for the week ending Feb. 13 from 5.72% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

HMDA Forms to Show Subprime Pricing

Federal banking regulators will release the new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting forms in a few weeks so mortgage lenders can see how the pricing of their subprime loans will be disclosed to the public. (Read More)

OpenClose Launches Fax Storage Module

Mortgage Connect, West Palm Beach, Fla., has announced the launch of a fax storage and retrieval module for its OpenClose MTG platform. (Read More)

4Q Resales Rise at Near-Record Pace

Total existing-home sales -- including condominiums and co-operatives -- set the second-highest pace on record in the fourth quarter, rising in 47 states from the levels recorded a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

NAR: Resale Price Gains Cooling

The median prices of existing homes increased at "respectable rates" during the fourth quarter in most metropolitan areas, but "the rate of growth has cooled," according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Wells Targets Hispanic Homebuyers

Based on data showing that Hispanics are avid Internet users, Wells Fargo has launched El Futuro en Tus Manos ("The Future in Your Hands"), an Internet-based program in Spanish that targets Hispanic homebuyers, small businesses, and other customers. (Read More)

PNC Names RE Finance Chief

Hugh R. Frater has been named executive vice president and head of real estate finance at PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Pittsburgh. (Read More)

CIT HEL Classes Downgraded

Two classes of CIT Home Equity Loan Trust series 1998-1 have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

ARC Prices IPOs

Affordable Residential Communities Inc., Denver, has priced an initial public offering of common stock at $19 per share and of 8.25% series A cumulative redeemable preferred stock at $25 per share. (Read More)

American Home Announces Stock Offering

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., a mortgage real estate investment trust based in Melville, N.Y., has announced a public offering of 10 million shares of common stock. (Read More)

Trizec Reports '03 Profits

Trizec Properties, Chicago, has reported net income of $198.5 million ($1.32 per share) for 2003, compared with a net loss of $188.8 million ($1.26 per share) for 2002. (Read More)

Ginnie Bulk Servicing Deals Set for Bidding

Cohane Rafferty Securities, White Plains, N.Y., is selling a $528 million portfolio of Ginnie Mae servicing rights. (Read More)

OCC Predatory Rules Take Effect

Two controversial rules issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to free national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries from compliance with state predatory lending laws went into effect Feb. 12. (Read More)

Study: 24% of Americans Have Housing Problems

About 65 million low-income Americans, representing 24% of the entire U.S. population, have housing problems such as "cost burdens, substandard conditions, overcrowding, or homelessness," according to a report released by The National Low Income Housing Coalition. (Read More)

Senate Panel to Look at GSE Oversight

The Senate Banking Committee may have two hearings on the regulation of the government-sponsored enterprises during the week of Feb. 23. (Read More)

ABFS Reports Loss in 4Q

American Business Financial Services, Philadelphia, has reported a loss of $24.8 million ($8.35 per share) for the fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2003, down from net income of $2.1 million ($0.69 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

ARIT Income Rises in '03

American Residential Investment Trust Inc., San Diego, has reported record earnings of $29.0 million ($3.57 per share) for 2003, compared with $1.6 million ($0.20 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

Data Tree Names Chief Operating Officer

Data Tree, a San Diego-based provider of online public land records and a member of the First American family of companies, has appointed Robert Karraa as chief operating officer. (Read More)

NFB Buying Greenpoint for $6.3B

North Fork Bancorp, Melville, N.Y., is buying its city-based neighbor Greenpoint Financial, the nation's 18th-largest residential lender, for $6.3 billion in stock. (Read More)

Nat City Buying Subprime Player

National City Corp., Cleveland, has agreed to buy Provident Financial, Cincinnati, for $2.1 billion in stock, a deal that will create the nation's eighth-largest subprime servicer. (Read More)

FHA Capital Ratio Rises

The Federal Housing Administration's capital ratio rose to 5.21% in fiscal year 2003 from 4.52% in fiscal 2002, but capital reserves rose by only $100 million to $22.7 billion, according to the annual actuarial report prepared by Deloitte & Touche. (Read More)

Freddie Touts AH Goal Success

Freddie Mac says it exceeded its affordable housing goals for 2003, even though the secondary-market agency had indicated late last year that it would be a "stretch" due to the record level of refinancings. (Read More)

Freddie Names New Veep

John V. Britti has been named vice president of community lending at Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Top Broker Joins LoanToolbox

Greg Frost, one of the nation's top-producing mortgage brokers, has joined LoanToolbox, Westlake Village, Calif., as vice president for new product development. (Read More)

CBRE Plans IPO

CB Richard Ellis Group, Los Angeles, is planning an initial public offering of its common shares and has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the IPO. (Read More)

AIM 84 Liquidating

The general partner of American Insured Mortgage Investors (AIM 84) has declared the final liquidating distribution of $1.60 per unit, resulting in the termination of the partnership. (Read More)

CNL Reports $1.4B Resort Deal

CNL Hospitality Properties, Orlando, Fla., is acquiring KSL Recreation, a La Quinta, Calif.-based owner and operator of "upscale destination resorts," for $1.366 billion. (Read More)

PNC MBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of PNC Mortgage Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Moody's Sees Rating Improvements

Both commercial and residential mortgage securities saw more upgrades than downgrades from Moody's Investors Service last year, rating agency officials have told MortgageWire. (Read More)

SF Housing Starts Slide

Single-family housing starts fell 8% in January as builders took a slight pause from a record-breaking construction pace in November and December. (Read More)

Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 797.8 to 837.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Feb. 13, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Finance Board Nixes Seeking DOJ Advice

The Federal Housing Finance Board has shot down a resolution to seek an outside legal opinion on the board's legal authority to compel the Federal Home Loan Banks to register their stock. (Read More)

UFMC Enters Title Market

United Financial Mortgage Co., Oak Brook, Ill., has announced a joint venture with Troon Management Corp., Hatboro, Pa., to establish a new title insurance agency. (Read More)

'Do Not Call' Registry Upheld

A U.S. appeals court in Denver has upheld the authority of the federal government to enforce a "do not call" list and protect consumers from unsolicited telemarketing calls. (Read More)

Ocwen's Servicer Ratings Lowered

Moody's Investors Service has lowered Ocwen Federal Bank FSB's ratings for primary servicer of residential subprime mortgage loans and for special servicer from SQ1 ("Strong") to SQ2 (Above Average). (Read More)

AmNet Touts Launch of IBM iSeries Platform

American Mortgage Network, a wholesale mortgage bank serving mortgage brokers nationwide out of San Diego, has launched IBM's eServer iSeries server to add capacity and flexibility for its mortgage broker customers. (Read More)

Tech Firm Automates Short-Term Loan Maintenance

Southfield, Mich.-based Mortgage Builder Software Inc., a provider of mortgage lending software, has released an alternative system for mortgage bankers needing interim servicing capabilities for short-term loan maintenance. (Read More)

KB Home Mortgage Names Prez

Richard Powers has been named president of KB Home Mortgage Co., Los Angeles. (Read More)

Triad Launches COO Search

Triad Guaranty Inc. has retained Heidrick & Struggles to conduct a search for someone to fill the newly created position of chief operating officer. (Read More)

FHLBank-SF Board Elects Vice Chair

Timothy R. Chrisman, chairman of Hawthorne Savings FSB and chief executive officer of Chrisman & Co., has been elected vice chairman of the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. (Read More)

REIT Names CEO

Craig Macnab has been named chief executive officer of Commercial Net Lease Realty Inc., an equity real estate investment trust based in Orlando, Fla. (Read More)

AFRT Snags $520MM in Financing

American Financial Realty Trust, Jenkintown, Pa., has obtained $520 million financing from Lehman Brothers to partly fund the $704.5 million acquisition of State Street Financial Center, a 1.05 million-square-foot Boston office property. (Read More)

Option One Touts 'Best Practice' Update

Option One Mortgage Corp., Irvine, Calif., has announced updated best practices for its wholesale and retail loan origination businesses and its mortgage servicing operation. (Read More)

Rates Hit 7-Month Lows

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.58% for the week ending Feb. 20 from 5.66% the previous week, its lowest rate since the 5.52% recorded last July, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

FHFB Chair Subject of Criminal Probe?

The chief regulator who oversees the Federal Home Loan Bank system is the subject of a criminal probe regarding possible obstruction-of-justice charges, according to a report by Dow Jones. (Read More)

Servicers Favor National Predatory Rules

Lenders would benefit from a national regulation governing abusive lending claims that pre-empts state and local laws, according to the chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association's loan servicing committee. (Read More)

Exec: Beware of Cutting Servicing Fee

Terry Klein, the former head of First Nationwide Mortgage who now works as an industry consultant, says mortgage companies could live to regret reducing mortgage servicing fees the next time a real estate recession surfaces. (Read More)

FirstAm Agrees to Buy SNK/LOGS

The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., has announced the signing of a letter of intent to acquire SNK Holdings Inc., a provider of mortgage default services, and its subsidiaries, including LOGS Financial Services. (Read More)

RESPA Seen as Hot Topic at Jackson Hearing

The Senate Banking Committee will consider the nomination of Alphonso Jackson to be the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Feb. 26, and the anticipated issuance of a Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule is expected to be a hot topic at the hearing. (Read More)

Ambiron Buys E-Trading Tech Developer

Ambiron LLC has acquired Chicago-based Tekom Inc., which builds and maintains secure and reliable screen-based order-entry systems access to both electronically traded and open outcry markets. (Read More)

Loan Protector, FICS Join Forces

Loan Protector Insurance Services, a San Diego-based outsourcer of customized mortgage insurance tracking and verification programs, has developed a custom interface with Financial Industry Computer Systems Inc., a Dallas-based mortgage technology specialist. (Read More)

S&P to Rate Deals With Covered NC Loans

Standard & Poor has decided to rate structured finance transactions that include North Carolina loans governed by the state's anti-predatory-lending law. (Read More)

Thrift Originations Plunge

Thrift originations of one- to four-family loans plunged 37% in the fourth quarter to $143.9 billion, down from a record $230.0 billion in the third quarter, according to the Office of Thrift Supervision. (Read More)

Freddie Honors Top Servicers

Twenty-six single-family mortgage servicers have been honored by Freddie Mac for achieving its Tier One performance rankings, the government-sponsored enterprise has announced. (Read More)

Fannie Names New Board Member

Leslie Rahl has been named to Fannie Mae's board of directors to fill the seat vacated when Stephen Friedman resigned to become assistant to the president for economic policy. (Read More)

Foreign Investment in U.S. RE Seen Rising

Foreign investment in U.S. real estate is expected to increase 11.9% in 2004 (after rising 59% in 2003), with foreign investors targeting 56% of their international allocations for U.S. real estate, according to a survey conducted by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, Washington, D.C. (Read More)

Thornburg Prices Stock Offering

Thornburg Mortgage Inc., Santa Fe, N.M., has priced an offering of 3.5 million shares of common stock at $29 per share. (Read More)

ARCS Closes AH Financing in LA

ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., Calabasas Hills, Calif., has announced the closing of over $17.2 million in tax-exempt variable bond financing for an affordable housing portfolio in urban Los Angeles. (Read More)

Fannie Prices BenchNotes

Fannie Mae has priced $5 billion of 2.375% three-year Benchmark Notes at 99.806. (Read More)

SEC Loan Commitment Guidance Expected Soon

The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to provide guidance soon on how it intends to deal with the issue of accounting for loan commitments. (Read More)

CSC Buys Default Utility From Freddie

Computer Sciences Corp., El Segundo, Calif., has announced the acquisition of EarlyResolution, a default management utility, from Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Fannie Reports Exceeding AH Goals

Fannie Mae said its exceeded its affordable housing goals for 2003 and dramatically increased its lending to minorities. (Read More)

Dallas FHLBank Names Chair

Fred Miller Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Bank of Anguilla (Miss.), has been elected chair of the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas. (Read More)

Criimi Mae Names Trio to Board

Criimi Mae, Rockville, Md., has appointed three new members to fill vacancies on its board of directors, including those created by the resignations of Donald J. MacKinnon and former company chairman William B. Dockser. (Read More)

Hispanic RE Group Names COO

Moises "Moe" Vela Jr., who was the senior adviser on Hispanic affairs to former Vice President Al Gore, has been named chief operating officer and director of marketing at the San Diego-based National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. (Read More)

Freddie Prices Syndicated Callable

Freddie Mac has priced $2 billion of a new 4.125% syndicated callable security due Feb. 24, 2011. (Read More)

Feedback

Do you get into bidding wars with other brokers? (Read More)

OFHEO: GSEs' Loan Limit Too High

The chief regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac says the mortgage giants' conforming loan limit for 2004 is $2,300 too high because of an "improper calculation." (Read More)

Stewart Buys RealtyAssist

Stewart Realty Solutions, Houston, has acquired San Diego-based RealtyAssist, a provider of transaction management and paperless office systems to the real estate, closing, and mortgage industries. (Read More)

Aames Eyes REIT Conversion

Aames Financial Corp., a Los Angeles-based subprime mortgage lender, has announced that its board of directors is considering converting into a real estate investment trust. (Read More)

BridgeSpan Extends Asset Bid Deadline

BridgeSpan Inc., Frisco, Texas, has announced an extension to Feb. 27 of the deadline for submitting written proposals for the purchase of its assets. (Read More)

Master Financial Launches IO Product

Master Financial Inc., a mortgage banking corporation based in Orange, Calif., has announced that it will add interest-only payment options to its Score Select product. (Read More)

Bear MBS Class Downgraded

Class B of Bear Stearns Global Issuance series 2001-A, a resecuritization of the class B certificate from Bear Stearns Asset Home Loan Owner Trust series 2001-A, has been downgraded from BB to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Hanover Cap Reports '03 Profits

Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings Inc., Edison, N.J., has reported net earnings of $9.3 million for 2003 ($1.60 per share) versus $5.1 million ($1.16 per share) the year before, a 38% increase in earnings per share. (Read More)

Fed Favors Privatizing GSEs, Limiting Debt

Proving once again that he's no friend of the housing GSEs, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday that as a "goal" he favors privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or limiting their growth by putting constraints on their debt issuance. (Read More)

Greenspan: FRMs Carry High Premium

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Board chairman told a credit union convention that fixed-rate mortgages are an expensive way to finance a home, and he challenged the industry to come up with new products. (Read More)

GAO: Fed Needs More Anti-Predatory Clout

Federal oversight of the mortgage lending subsidiaries of bank holding companies needs to be improved to deal with concerns about predatory lending, according to the General Accounting Office. (Read More)

Has OCC Pre-emption Gone Too Far?

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, says he is concerned that the comptroller of the currency may have "gone too far" in pre-empting the states' ability to supervise mortgage companies that are subsidiaries of national banks. (Read More)

Freddie Unveils New Flex MF Rate

Freddie Mac has announced that it now offers greater flexibility for newly originated multifamily mortgages in the form of a Float-to-Fixed-to-Float Option. (Read More)

Countrywide Names EVP of Wholesale

Eric Spence has been named executive vice president of the wholesale lending division at Countrywide Home Loans, Calabasas, Calif. (Read More)

Freddie Names MF Veep/Controller

Jay Catalfamo has been promoted to vice president of multifamily business operations and division controller at Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Restructuring Chief Named for Metro Mortgage

William S. Romney has been appointed chief restructuring officer for the bankrupt Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co. Inc., Spokane, Wash. (Read More)

CMBA Touts Alliant Tax Tools

The California Mortgage Bankers Association has announced that a member company, Alliant Information Services Inc., Fullerton, Calif., has developed two new products to help solve problems caused by property taxes and assessment liens. (Read More)

GE Cap Class Downgraded

Class B1 of GE Capital home equity loan pass-through certificates, series 1997-HE2, has been downgraded from CCC to C by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Omega Stockholder Proposes Stock Offering

Omega Healthcare Investors Inc., Timonium, Md., has announced that its largest stockholder, Explorer Holdings LP, proposes to offer approximately 18.12 million shares of Omega's common stock in an underwritten public offering. (Read More)

Moody's Offers Data on Certain Euro MBS

Moody's Investors Service has begun offering data on the historical performance of certain residential mortgage-backed securities deals in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland. (Read More)

Inland Eyeing NYSE Listing

Inland Real Estate Corp., Oak Brook, Ill., is looking to get its common shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. (Read More)

Resales Decline

Sales of existing single-family homes fell 5.2% in January, but stayed above the 6 million mark for the seventh consecutive month. (Read More)

Weicher: FHA Has Enough Power to Police Lenders

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has the necessary legal authority to effectively police Federal Housing Administration lenders that are engaged in abusive or predatory lending, according to FHA Commissioner John Weicher. (Read More)

Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 837.1 to 854.5 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Feb. 20, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Foreclosures Surge in Chicago

A predicted surge in foreclosures in the Chicago metropolitan area has begun, according to Foreclosures.com, a distressed property investment advisory firm based in Fair Oaks, Calif. (Read More)

Moody's: REIT Outlook Stable

The rating outlook for U.S. real estate investment trusts and real estate operating companies is stable, according to Moody's Investors Service, despite "continued negative trends" in, most notably, the multifamily and office sectors. (Read More)

Atlanta FHLBank Names EVP/COO

Jill Spencer has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. (Read More)

New Key Mortgage Unit Names Prez

Allen L. Wehrhahn has been named president of Key Mortgage Services, Parsippany, N.J., a newly formed unit of Cleveland-based KeyBank's Consumer Finance group. (Read More)

CCBI, TIMCOR Join Forces

Commercial Capital Bancorp Inc., a multifamily lender based in Irvine, Calif., and TIMCOR Financial Corp., a provider of services to real estate investors that has offices in Los Angeles and Houston, have announced a marketing agreement under which they will make mutual business referrals. (Read More)

Study: Low-Income Lending Safe

Contrary to popular belief, investing in economically disadvantaged communities and lending to low-income people is as safe as, or safer than, loans to wealthier individuals and communities, according to a study of the performance of over 100 community development financial institutions in 2002. (Read More)

$100MM Loan OK'd for Alaska Military Housing

The board of directors of the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. has approved a $100 million loan to Aurora Military Housing LLC to fund the development of 1,194 housing units at the Elmendorf Air Force base in Anchorage. (Read More)

Allard Links Confirmation to RESPA

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., says he could not support the confirmation of Alphonso Jackson to be the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development if HUD continues to move ahead with its Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule. (Read More)

GSE Chiefs Decry Debt Limit Idea

The chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say limiting their growth by placing constraints on their portfolios and curbing their debt issuance would result in higher mortgage rates. (Read More)

GSEs Balk at Receivership Proposal

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., wants to give a proposed new GSE regulator receivership powers, despite opposition from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

OFHEO IDs 70 Flawed Acc'ting Systems at GSE

The chief regulator of Fannie Mae says the mortgage giant uses more than 70 flawed accounting systems in its financial reporting division, a unit that was responsible for a $1.1 billion accounting mistake back in October. (Read More)

Freddie Chief Apologizes for Scandal

Freddie Mac's new chief has officially apologized for the problems caused by the GSE's $5 billion accounting scandal, and he pledged to work with Congress to strengthen the regulation of the government-sponsored enterprises. (Read More)

New-Home Sales Slip Again

New-home sales slipped by 1.7% in January compared with those of the previous month, according to new figures compiled by the U.S. Commerce Department. (Read More)

30-Year Rate Holds Steady

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was unchanged, at 5.58%, for the week ending Feb. 27, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Merit Launches RE Division

Merit Financial Inc., Kirkland, Wash., has announced the launch of Merit Real Estate Services, which will serve the buyers and sellers of homes in the Puget Sound region. (Read More)

Champion Names 2 Veeps

Champion Mortgage, Parsippany, N.J., has announced the promotion of Steven K. Ives to vice president of organizational performance and project management and of Terri Finnerty to vice president and chief marketing officer. (Read More)

McCaul Named Reckson Director

Reckson Associates Realty Corp., Melville, N.Y., has announced the appointment of three new independent directors, including Elizabeth McCaul, a former New York state banking regulator. (Read More)

Salomon CMBS Classes Downgraded

Three classes of Salomon Brothers Mortgage Securities VII Inc. CDC Securitization Corp.'s series 2001 CDC deal have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Trammell Crow Teams Up With ING Clarion

Trammell Crow Co., a Dallas-based commercial real estate services company, has announced the formation of an industrial development program with ING Clarion, the U.S. real estate arm of a Dutch company, ING Group NV. (Read More)

Amex Trading Homestore, Saxon Options

The American Stock Exchange has launched trading in options on Homestore Inc., a provider of real estate media and technology systems based in Westlake Village, Calif., and Saxon Capital Inc., an originator and servicer of nonconforming mortgage loans based in Glen Allen, Va. (Read More)

MI Bill Tied to Crucial Tax Legislation

Senate leaders have reportedly agreed to attach a mortgage insurance deduction bill to must-pass tax legislation dealing with export subsidies. (Read More)

SMI Unveils Valuation Warranty

Stewart Mortgage Information, Houston, has unveiled Stewart Assured Value Estimate, which allows lenders to buy warranty coverage for automated valuation model or appraisal products ordered via SMI. (Read More)

S&P to Rate Deals With Cleveland Loans

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has decided to rate structured finance transactions that include Cleveland loans governed by the city's anti-predatory-lending ordinance. (Read More)

AIMCO Prez to Relinquish Post

Apartment Investment and Management Co., Denver, has announced that Peter Kompaniez will relinquish the title of president as of April 1 in conjunction with AIMCO's plan to hire a chief operating officer this year. (Read More)

Equity One CFO Named EVP

Howard M. Sipzner, chief financial officer and treasurer of Equity One Inc., North Miami Beach, Fla., has been appointed executive vice president of the real estate investment trust. (Read More)

RBC Profits Rise Despite Plunge in Originations

Royal Bank of Canada's net income rose 3% to C$793 million (about $592 million) in its most recent quarter despite certain adverse developments, among them a 52% decline in originations at its U.S.-based RBC Mortgage unit. (Read More)

Zacks Gives Thumbs Down to 2 REITs

The stocks of Equity Office Properties Trust, Chicago, and MeriStar Hospitality Corp., Arlington, Va., have received "strong sell" ratings from Zacks.com. (Read More)

Feedback

Responses to our survey question on whether mortgage lenders should be required to book loan commitments as liabilities fluctuated over the past two months, and finished at more than 2-to-1 against the idea. (Read More)

Ex-Freddie CEO Paid $19.4MM

Former Freddie Mac chief executive Greg Parseghian -- who was forced to resign by regulators, but remains as a consultant -- was paid $19.4 million by the company last year, according to a just-released proxy statement. (Read More)

FTC: Broker Comp Proposal Confusing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development should drop its proposal for disclosing mortgage broker compensation, according to the Federal Trade Commission, because testing shows that the disclosures are confusing to consumers. (Read More)

FDIC: GSE Limits No Threat to Banks

A study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has found that the value of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt and mortgage-backed securities held by banks and thrifts would be only marginally affected if Congress stripped away some of the benefits the two government-sponsored enterprises enjoy. (Read More)

NM Repeals Assignee Liability

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has signed a bill that repeals Section 7 of the state's Home Loan Protection Act, because it could have imposed assignee liability with regard to manufactured housing home loans. (Read More)

Private MI Drops

Volume for private mortgage insurers suffered in January as rising interest rates severely cut into production levels, according to data from the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America. (Read More)

COFI Dips to New Low

The Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index stood at 1.811% in January, a decline of 9 basis points and a new record low. (Read More)

FDIC: Bank HELOC Lending Up 33%

Home equity lending at commercial banks grew by 33% in 2003 even though consumers were refinancing at a record pace and consolidating their debts. (Read More)

Data Vision to Integrate With Prymak

Data Vision Inc., Mishawaka, Ind., has announced that it is providing an Extensible Markup Language schema for integrating its RemoteDocs delivery system with the loan origination system developed by Prymak LLC, Greensboro, N.C. (Read More)

Fraud Management Platform Unveiled

TransUnion, Chicago, and Acxiom, Little Rock, Ark., have announced the release of a comprehensive fraud management platform to combat the multibillion-dollar problem of fraud, citing Federal Trade Commission estimates that identity theft alone will grow to an $8.6 billion problem by 2006. (Read More)

UFA: Nonprime Risk Holds Steady

The risk that mortgages of nonprime credit quality will go into default remained steady in the winter of this year, according to University Financial Associates. (Read More)

American Home Prices Stock Offering

American Home Mortgage Investment, Melville, N.Y., has priced a public offering of 12.5 million shares of common stock at $25 per share. (Read More)

OCC Backtracks on State Queries

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has backtracked from a previous position and decided to put national banks on notice that they are expected to resolve consumer complains when contacted by state officials. (Read More)

Financial Freedom Forms 'Affinity' Unit

Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp., Irvine, Calif., has created an Affinity Division, a business development program for nonlender intermediaries such as financial advisers and insurance agents. (Read More)

FDIC Cautions Leveraged Homeowners

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is warning that highly leveraged homeowners with subprime and adjustable-rate mortgages may be stretched too far if interest rates start to rise and local home prices decline. (Read More)

Fairbanks Servicer Ratings Off Watch

The servicer ratings of Fairbanks Capital Corp. have been removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Freddie: Home Prices Rose 8.4% in '03

Home prices increased at an 8.4% rate nationwide in 2003, up from 7.6% the year before, according to Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Barclays Names RE/CMBS Chief

Michael J. Mazzei has been named managing director and head of U.S. real estate and commercial mortgage-backed securities at Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays PLC. (Read More)

ARIT CEO Resigns Accredited Board

John M. Robbins, the chairman and chief executive of American Residential Investment Trust Inc., San Diego, has submitted his resignation from the board of Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., also based in San Diego. (Read More)

Deutsche Bank Hires CMO Analyst

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. has expanded its U.S. mortgage strategy team by hiring Victoria Averbukh as a director responsible for researching and analyzing collateralized mortgage obligations. (Read More)

MuniMae Profits Surge in '03

Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC, Baltimore, has reported net income of $72.5 million ($2.44 per share) for 2003, compared with $28.8 million ($1.13 per share) the year before. (Read More)

NovaStar Picks Zequel Compliance Tool

Miami-based Zequel Technologies has announced that NovaStar Financial, Kansas City, Mo., has licensed and implemented its DynamicPolicy tool for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. (Read More)

Freddie Touts AH Investments

Freddie Mac has announced that it invested nearly $2 billion last year in Low Income Housing Tax Credits and mortgage revenue bonds. (Read More)

Raines: Int'l Investors Still Interested

International investor interest in Fannie Mae's securities has persisted despite concerns about the relative value of the U.S. dollar, Fannie Mae chairman and chief executive officer Franklin Raines told European investors at the company's annual press briefing in London. (Read More)

Paragon Retains Investment Bank

Paragon Financial Corp., a residential mortgage lender based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., has reported the retention of JPS Capital Corp. to help raise $7 million to $10 million in growth capital. (Read More)

LTC to Redeem Preferred Stock

LTC Properties Inc., Malibu, Calif., has called for a redemption of nearly 2 million shares of 9.0% series B cumulative preferred stock, which represents all the outstanding shares of the series B stock. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes German Mortgage Bond

Moody's Investors Service has placed under review for possible downgrade the rating of DEPFA Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG's mortgage pfandbrief. (Read More)

Wells Raps GSEs' AH Policies

The nation's largest mortgage banker, Wells Fargo Home Loans, is complaining that Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's risk policies have limited the supply of affordable loans. (Read More)

Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 854.5 to 878.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Feb. 27, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Greenspan Backtracks on FRMs

Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan has had second thoughts after telling a credit union audience recently that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is an expensive way to finance a home. (Read More)

Freddie's Chief Lobbyist May Leave

Freddie Mac is talking to its chief in-house lobbyist, R. Mitchell Delk, regarding his "continued employment" with the company, according to a spokeswoman for the mortgage giant. (Read More)

Desert Docs Unveils SMART Pak

Putting SMART Docs forms, data, and rules into a single package, Phoenix-based Desert Document Services Inc. has announced the completion of a MISMO-compliant SMART Pak and accompanying software. (Read More)

Citi Launches New DO Feature

St. Louis-based CitiMortgage has declared itself the first lender to launch Fannie Mae's Desktop Originator "Link to Lender" feature, which allows brokers to submit loan data directly from DO to the CitiMortgage wholesale website. (Read More)

HomeBanc to Form REIT, Go Public

HomeBanc Mortgage Corp., Atlanta, has announced plans to form a mortgage real estate investment trust that is expected to go public within several months. (Read More)

MISMO Panel Elects Officers

David Barkley, director of e-commerce relations at Freddie Mac, has been re-elected to chair the Governance Committee of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. (Read More)

BankUnited Names EVP/Residential

Robert Green has been promoted to executive vice president of residential lending at BankUnited FSB, Coral Gables, Fla. (Read More)

Bond Group Names SVP/Counsel

The Bond Market Association has named Marjorie Gross its new senior vice president and regulatory counsel. (Read More)

MuniMae to Sell Stock

Municipal Mortgage & Equity, Baltimore, has agreed to sell 1.95 million shares of its common stock to RBC Capital Markets and Legg Mason Wood Walker. (Read More)

JPMorgan CMBS Class Downgraded

Class J of J.P. Morgan Commercial Mortgage Finance Corp.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-C8, ha been downgraded from CCC to CC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

CSFB CMBS Class Downgraded

Class I of Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1997-C2, has been downgraded from CCC to CC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Freddie Prices $5B of RefNotes

Freddie Mac has priced $5 billion of 3.375%, five-year Reference Notes due April 15, 2009. (Read More)

Principal Residential on Auction Block

Principal Residential Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, the nation's 11th-largest residential servicer, is on the auction block, industry sources have told MortgageWire. (Read More)

FEC Fines Fannie, RNC

The Federal Election Commission has fined Fannie Mae, the Republican National Committee, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee $132,000 for violating federal campaign finance laws, although Fannie's portion of the fine is just $10,000. (Read More)

Fannie Joins RESPA Chorus

Fannie Mae has joined the mortgage industry in calling on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reissue its Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act proposal for another round of public comment. (Read More)

Court: Servicer Can 'Force-Place' Terror Insurance

A servicer is free to "force-place" terrorism insurance if the borrower refuses to get the insurance, a U.S. District Court in New York has ruled in a case initiated by Dallas-based Omni Berkshire Corp. against Wells Fargo. (Read More)

30-Year Rate Inches Up

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate inched up to 5.59% for the week ending March 5 from 5.58% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Craig Demands Meeting on OCC Rules

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is demanding a meeting with Comptroller of the Currency John Hawke Jr. to discuss his agency's rules that shield national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries from state efforts to protect consumers from predatory lending. (Read More)

S&P Reports OCC/Predatory Decisions

Standard and Poor's Ratings Services has announced that it will continue to rate structured transactions containing loans originated by national banks governed by anti-predatory-lending laws in 11 states and in Oakland, Calif., because the lenders would not be subject to assignee liability. (Read More)

HUD Denies Competitive Aim of 'Zero-Down'

The president's proposal to start a Federal Housing Administration zero-downpayment loan program is not meant to compete with "zero-down" products offered by private lenders, according to a Department of Housing and Urban Development official. (Read More)

MARI Rolls Out Fraud Detection System

Mortgage Asset Research Institute Inc., Reston, Va., has introduced an early-alert system to help the industry detect and combat fraud. (Read More)

BLS Offers New Lead-Generation Tools

BLS Funding, Jericho, N.Y., has announced the launch of "BLS at Your Service," which it says offers instant chat and call-connection services as customer-friendly lead-generation tools. (Read More)

Fed: Housing 'Strong,' CRE 'Soft'

Demand for housing remained "strong" in January and February, while commercial real estate markets remained "soft," according to a periodic Federal Reserve Board report on economic activity. (Read More)

GMAC Mortgage Wins New Subservicing Clients

GMAC Mortgage has signed two new subservicing clients, Redwood Trust and MortgageIT. (Read More)

Mortgage Jobs Fall Again

Employment in the mortgage industry fell by 7,300 in January as lenders continued to trim their payrolls for the sixth consecutive month. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Plummets

After weeks of hovering around 4.0%, the rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield plummeted to 3.78% at one point Friday morning, elevating prepayment-related fears among mortgage-backed securities market participants and servicers but giving a boost to mortgage-related stocks. (Read More)

Analysts: Speeds May Hurt Pricing

Prepayment rates for Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities rose broadly in February, prompting the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary to caution that the increases may adversely affect MBS pricing for 5.5% and 6.0% coupons, where the speed-up was the greatest. (Read More)

FHA to Launch Hybrid ARM Program

The Federal Housing Administration is prepared to start endorsing hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages, and the final rule to implement the new loan program is expected to be issued in the next few days. (Read More)

Data-Vision Touts Instant LP Loan Approval

Touting itself as only the second vendor to do so, Data-Vision Inc. has announced the creation of a new interface with Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector to create integrated automated underwriting for consumer-facing mortgage websites. (Read More)

ARIT Reports Private Stock Sale

American Residential Investment Trust Inc., the San Diego-based parent company of the American Mortgage Network wholesale mortgage bank, has announced the purchase of 1.1 million shares of ARIT stock by the D3 Family Funds at $9.50 per share. (Read More)

Cap Lease Funding Plans IPO

Capital Lease Funding, New York, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the initial public offering of 20 million shares of its common stock priced at between $9.00 and $11.00 per share. (Read More)

Realtor Group Sees Rebound in Industrial RE

The industrial real estate sector is rebounding, and the office sector has stabilized, according to a report by the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, Washington. (Read More)

Impac MBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Impac SAC mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-2, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Freddie Declares 4Q Dividends

Freddie Mac's board of directors has announced a dividend of $0.30 per share on the corporation's voting common stock for the first quarter, up from $0.26 in the fourth quarter. (Read More)

Pru German Unit to Launch RE Funds

TMW Immobilien GmbH, the Munich, Germany-based arm of Prudential Real Estate Investors, has established an investment trust to create open-ended real estate funds in Germany. (Read More)

Feedback

Early responses to our latest survey question on whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be regulated by a hybrid agency have been running neck and neck. (Read More)

MBA: RESPA Reform Could Be Overturned

The Mortgage Bankers Association has warned the Bush administration that its RESPA reform changes could easily be overturned in court and has suggested that it might be better to re-propose the rule for public comment. (Read More)

Oak Street Opens Correspondent Channel

Oak Street Mortgage LLC, Carmel, Ind., has announced the launch of Oak Street Mortgage Correspondent Lending, which will be targeted at midsize mortgage originators who sell into the secondary market. (Read More)

S&P Revises NM Criteria

Standard & Poor's has revised its criteria for structured finance transactions that include New Mexico loans governed by the Home Loan Protection Act, eliminating the requirement that issuers identify which loans constitute home improvement loans and manufactured housing loans. (Read More)

New Century Reports $6B in Forward Pledges

New Century Financial Corp., Irvine, Calif., has reported that its secondary marketing subsidiary has entered into six forward commitments for the sale of $6 billion in mortgage loans through June. (Read More)

Freddie Forms New MF AH Panel

Freddie Mac has announced the formation of an Advisory Council Committee on Targeted Affordable Housing in its multifamily division that will monitor market trends and seek comments on the company's affordable housing products. (Read More)

GHR Systems Names New CEO

Cyrus Brinn has been promoted to chief executive officer of GHR Systems Inc., Wayne, Pa., and David Morrison has been promoted to executive vice president and general manager of GHR's Mortgage Automation Solutions division. (Read More)

Vestin Eyed in Informal SEC Probe

Vestin Group, a Las Vegas-based commercial mortgage fund manager and lender, has reported that it is the subject of an "informal inquiry" by the Pacific Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

SCJ Forms Japanese RE Investment Fund

Secured Capital Japan, Tokyo, has announced the formation of a discretionary fund in conjunction with the California Public Employees' Retirement System, Pacific Life Insurance Co., and other institutional investors to invest in Japanese real estate. (Read More)

Omega Reports Credit Facility Commitments

Omega Healthcare Investors Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Timonium, Md., has announced that it has entered into "firm commitments" with three companies for a new $125 million revolving senior secured credit facility. (Read More)

Snow: GSE Regulator Needs Receivership Powers

The new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needs receivership powers to ensure that investors understand that their corporate debt is not guaranteed by the U.S. government, according to Treasury Secretary John Snow. (Read More)

Oxley: 'Good Chance' of GSE Bill This Year

Meanwhile, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee predicted Tuesday that there is a "good chance" Congress will pass legislation this year to strengthen the regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Oxley Says HUD Should Reissue RESPA

The House Financial Services Committee chairman also said Tuesday that the Department of Housing and Urban Development should reissue for additional comment its proposed reform of Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act regulations. (Read More)

Kroll Factual Data Buys Mortgage Credit Firm

Kroll Inc. has announced that its mortgage screening subsidiary, Kroll Factual Data Inc., Loveland, Colo., has acquired The Credit Network Trust, a mortgage credit reporting company, for $20.5 million in cash. (Read More)

MBA: Strong Backing for TRIA Extension

A survey of 40 commercial/multifamily mortgage banking firms has found that all the 29 respondents favor the extension and reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Boutique RE Firm Formed in NYC

Jeffrey M. Granowitz, a former principal at The Praedium Group, has announced the formation of Artisan Realty Capital, a boutique real estate investment firm based in New York. (Read More)

Harvard Study Spotlights Unequal Mortgage Access

Unequal access to home mortgages and a changing market structure are burdening with high-cost mortgage debt low-income homebuyers who lack the knowledge to shop for affordable products, according to research by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies. (Read More)

GMAC-RFC Touts MBS/ABS Record

Residential Funding Corp., Minneapolis, has reported a record $50.1 billion issuance of mortgage-backed securities and mortgage-related asset-backed securities in 2003, up 45.1% from its issuance the year before. (Read More)

220+ Lawmakers Urge RESPA Re-proposal

Over 220 members of Congress have signed a letter that urges the Bush administration to re-propose its Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule for an additional public comment period. (Read More)

Senator Sees Big Yea Vote on GSE Bill

Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, has predicted that the Senate Banking Committee will approve a bill to strengthen the regulation of the three big housing government-sponsored enterprises by a near-unanimous vote. (Read More)

Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 878.7 to 889.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended March 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

ComUnity Opens Subprime Unit

ComUnity Lending Morgan Hill, Calif., has announced the opening of a subprime lending division, CreditFlex Funding, which will be headed by ComUnity veteran Steven T. Walker as division vice president. (Read More)

SEC Clarifies View on Loan Commitments

The Securities and Exchange Commission is telling mortgage originators they can no longer value loan commitments as if they include servicing rights or other intangibles after March 15. (Read More)

Palisades Unveils Impact Components

Palisades Technology Partners, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., has launched Impact Mortgage Services Components, which are designed to plug into point-of-sale and loan origination systems to streamline the delivery of new products and services. (Read More)

ILS Touts Streamlined Loan Process

Integrated Loan Services, Rocky Hill, Conn., has released a product that allows clients to interface directly to ILS to place and display the status of their orders with the company. (Read More)

Green Courte Closes RE Fund

Green Courte Partners LLC, Lake Forest, Ill., has announced the closing of its first investment fund, Green Courte Real Estate Partners LLC, a $120 million private equity fund. (Read More)

ABN Amro Offers Master Servicing

ABN Amro Capital Markets, Boca Raton, Fla., has started offering master servicing in the market and was recently added to the Standard & Poor's Select Servicer List. (Read More)

NRMLA Cites Surge in Reverses

The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association says originations of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (the Federal Housing Administration-insured reverse mortgage product) were up 76% between October 2003 and January 2004 when compared with those of the previous year. (Read More)

NAR: Slow Job Gains Should Restrain Rates

The slow recovery in the job market should help keep the pressure off interest rates and sustain a strong housing market this year, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Orix Servicer Ratings Downgraded

The primary, master, and special servicer ratings of Orix Capital Markets, Dallas, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

CSFB CMBS Classes Downgraded

Three classes of Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2002-TFL1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Kennedy Funding Enters South Pacific

Kennedy Funding, a direct lender based in Hackensack, N.J., has made its first entry into the South Pacific market with a $5.4 million loan to developers of Taunovo Bay, a resort community under construction on the southern coral coast of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. (Read More)

Fixed Rates Plunge; ARMs at Record Low

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 5.41% for the week ending March 12 from 5.59% the previous week, while the average rate for adjustable-rate mortgages sank to a record low, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Foreclosures Tick Upward

While the overall delinquency rate on home loans fell in the fourth quarter, the number of loans in foreclosure increased 5 basis points to 1.29% of outstanding loans, according to the quarterly delinquency survey compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Fannie Hikes Production Forecast by 28%

Fannie Mae hiked its 2004 production forecast by 28% on Thursday to $2.43 trillion, noting that it has "substantially" raised its projection on refinancings. (Read More)

Key Dem Eyes Nat'l Subprime Standard

The second-ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee is working on a bill to protect consumers from predatory lending and to create a national standard for subprime lending. (Read More)

Flowers Affiliates Sell Green Tree Holdings

Affiliates of J.C. Flowers I LLP (known as JCF CFN LLC) have sold their holdings in Green Tree Investment Holdings LLC, which is the former Conseco Finance manufactured housing unit, to an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC. (Read More)

FHA Issues Hybrid ARM Rule

The Federal Housing Administration has issued its hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage rule that will allow FHA lenders to offer this loan product for the first time. (Read More)

Online Services Sue Mortgage Spammers

Several lawsuits have been filed against mass e-mail senders -- who promote products that include mortgage loans -- by four of the major online services, alleging violations of CAN-SPAM, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003. (Read More)

Cohane Offering Large Flow Package

Cohane Rafferty Securities Inc., White Plains, N.Y., is offering a $600 million to $1.2 billion "flow" package of mortgage servicing rights, MortgageWire has learned. (Read More)

VMP Releases SMART Doc Viewer 2.5

Fraser, Mich.-based VMP Mortgage Solutions, a Bankers Systems Inc. company, has released VMP SMART Document Viewer, version 2.5. (Read More)

Calyx, Advectis Partner to Streamline Process

Calyx Software, a provider of desktop loan origination systems based in San Jose, Calif., and Advectis, Alpharetta, Ga., have released what they termed a tighter integration of their flagship products, Calyx Point and BlitzDocs. (Read More)

UFMC, Admiral Asset Form Alliance

United Financial Mortgage Corp., Oak Brook, Ill., has announced an alliance with the media division of New York-based Admiral Asset Group Inc. under which Admiral Asset will advertise UFMC's mortgage products and services in some of UFMC's largest markets. (Read More)

Criimi Mae Reports '03 Loss

Criimi Mae, Rockville, Md., has reported a net loss of $4.1 million ($0.27 per share) for 2003, a major improvement from the net loss of $65.5 million ($4.77 per share) reported the year before. (Read More)

Merit MH Classes Downgraded

Three classes of Merit Securities Corp. manufactured housing contract series 12-1 have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Survey: Bankers More Bullish on CRE

Bankers expect to increase their exposure to commercial real estate collateral this year, according to a survey of 75 financial institutions by San Francisco-based Bridger Commercial Funding that suggests the market is now recovering. (Read More)

IndyMac No. 8 by 2008?

IndyMac Bancorp, Pasadena, Calif., says it hopes to be one of the 10 largest mortgage lenders by market share within four years. (Read More)

AllRegs Seeks Prez/COO

AllRegs, an Eagan, Minn.-based online publisher of mortgage reference information, has begun the search for a new president/chief operating officer as a result of a consolidation of ownership by co-founder Glenn Ford. (Read More)

Fannie Prices Callable BenchNotes

Fannie Mae has priced a $2 billion issue of five-year, 3.125% Callable Benchmark Notes due March 16, 2009. (Read More)

CMS BondEdge Reports RiskMetrics Pact

CMS BondEdge, a Los Angeles-based provider of fixed-income portfolio analytics, has announced an agreement to provide RiskMetrics Group with key rate duration calculations for mortgage- and asset-backed securities with prepayment risk. (Read More)

NCRC v. Ocwen?

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is working with a Chicago law firm to bring a class action lawsuit against Ocwen Federal Bank FSB for allegedly engaging in abusive servicing and foreclosure practices. (Read More)

Freddie Lobbyist Leaves Amid FEC Probe

Freddie Mac's chief lobbyist, R. Mitch Delk, left the company late Thursday after 13 years of service as the mortgage giant was on the verge of providing federal authorities with the results of an internal probe into his political fund-raising activities. (Read More)

Dividend Cap Forms Advisory Firm

Dividend Capital Group, Denver, has announced the formation of Dividend Capital Investments, an investment advisory firm focused on managing public real estate securities. (Read More)

Fannie Touts AH Partnership With NAHB

Fannie Mae has announced a partnership with the National Association of Home Builders to kick off the third phase of the company's expanded American Dream Commitment. (Read More)

Cendant to Use BCE Emergis Appraisal Tool

Cendant Settlement Services Group, a subsidiary of Cendant Corp. based in Moorestown, N.J., has signed up to use BCE Emergis' Emergis Vendor Services Exchange to conduct appraisal transactions electronically. (Read More)

Trizec Promotes Trio to EVP

Stephen Budorick, Paul Layne, and Douglas Winshall have been promoted to executive vice presidents at Trizec Properties Inc., a Chicago-based real estate investment trust. (Read More)

New Century Names 2 EVPs

Patti M. Dodge and Kevin M. Cloyd have been promoted to executive vice presidents of New Century Financial Corp., Irvine, Calif. (Read More)

Newcastle Prices $450MM CDO

Newcastle Investment Corp., New York, has priced a $450 million collateralized debt obligation in an offering by related entities. (Read More)

MetLife Affiliate to Sell Sears Tower

MetLife Inc., New York, has announced the execution of a contract on behalf of an affiliate to sell the Sears Tower in downtown Chicago. (Read More)

JPMorgan CMBS Downgraded

Four classes of J.P. Morgan Commercial Mortgage Finance Corp.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-C8, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Student Housing Rev Bonds Downgraded

The rating on $14.5 million of Will County (Ill.) student housing revenue bonds (Joliet Junior College Project) has been lowered from CC to B-minus by Fitch Ratings and removed from Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)

COPT Closes $300MM Revolver

Corporate Office Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Columbia, Md., has announced the closing of a $300 million unsecured revolving credit facility to replace its $150 million secured revolver. (Read More)

UGRIC Selected by NH HFA

United Guaranty Residential Insurance Co., Greensboro, N.C., has announced its selection by the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority to provide mortgage insurance for the authority's single-family housing programs. (Read More)

UK Report Calls for Mortgage-Tied Changes

Changes to the tax or regulatory treatment of certain mortgage-related products in the United Kingdom are among the recommendations of a long-awaited report released March 12 by the U.K. Treasury. (Read More)

Feedback

What's the deal on co-brokering? (Read More)

RESPA Rule Review Extended

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has extended the regulatory review period for its Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule for 30 days. (Read More)

MBA Raises '04 Production Forecast to $2.5 T

The Mortgage Bankers Association on Monday hiked its 2004 production forecast by 25% to $2.5 trillion, predicting that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates until December -- at the earliest. (Read More)

Freddie Names Boyd as General Counsel

Freddie Mac has hired Ralph Boyd Jr. to be the mortgage finance company's general counsel. (Read More)

Fannie Steps Up Subprime Reviews

Fannie Mae is "stepping up" its pre-purchase reviews of subprime mortgage pools to make sure it is not helping predatory lenders, according to a Fannie Mae attorney. (Read More)

Fannie: AU/Scorecard Set for FHA SF Loans

Fannie Mae's automated underwriting system is ready to process Federal Housing Administration single-family loans using FHA's new scorecard, according to the secondary market agency. (Read More)

Harland E3 Launches, Finally

MortgageWire has learned that Harland has shipped its Interlinq E3 loan production system, the long-awaited successor to MortgageWare. (Read More)

Prime Targeting the Emerging Market

Prime Alliance Solutions, Inc., which serves over 600 credit unions nationwide and originated nearly $20 billion in loans last year, is implementing Dexma’s Emerging Market Toolkit, Dexma announced at the Mortgage Bankers Association's national technology conference. (Read More)

Putting All App Docs on the Web

An offering that includes all the products and services to enable presentation of mortgage application documents for review, acceptance, and approval over the Web was among the flurry of announcements Silanis made at the MBA tech show in Phoenix. (Read More)

E-Signing into 75%-95% Closed Loan Ratios

The implementation of electronic signature technology that has led to 75% to 95% closed loan ratios for online mortgages at Guaranty Bank was a centerpiece at Saturday's eLynx user conference held in Phoenix, just prior to the 2004 MBA national technology show. (Read More)

ICBA, Financial Freedom Team Up

ICBA Mortgage, the mortgage lending affiliate of the Independent Community Bankers Association, has formed an affinity partnership with Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp., Irvine, Calif., to distribute reverse mortgage lending products through IBCA member banks. (Read More)

Moody's May Upgrade Some Pfandbriefe

Moody's Investors Service put the ratings of some pfandbriefe on review for possible upgrade after the upper chamber of Germany's legislature approved changes to the Mortgage Bank Act. (Read More)

Fannie Reports Derivatives Loss

Fannie Mae plans to take $1.5 billion in derivative losses against its 2004 earnings, according to a 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

Bush Backing Off RESPA Reform?

President George Bush seems be turning his back on Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act reform in the face of stiff opposition to the administration's proposed RESPA rule. (Read More)

Countrywide Splits Stock Again

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has declared a three-for-two stock split to be effected as a stock dividend payable on April 12 to shareholders of record on March 26. (Read More)

NASD Takes Aim at Securities Brokers over Refinancing

The National Association of Securities Dealers has suspended two securities brokers for making unsuitable investment recommendations to customers, advising them about how to use proceeds obtained from cash-out home mortgage refinancing. (Read More)

Housing Starts Fall

Single-family housing starts fell 4.1% in February as construction activity declined for the third consecutive month. (Read More)

Tech Firm Previews New Mortgage XSites Product

In the next 30 to 60 days, the firm "a la mode," based in Oklahoma City, plans to release Mortgage XSites, a product designed to make it possible for small- to mid-size brokers, loan officers and other lender representatives to create a customized website that includes workflow options. (Read More)

Fannie Mae Supports eMortgage Initiative

As part of a panel discussion held at this year's MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference and Expo, Fannie Mae managing director, eMortgage solutions Charlotte Haberacker said that the company is a real believer in this approach to conducting business. (Read More)

BillMatrix Offers ATM Card for Mortgage Payments

BillMatrix Corporation, Dallas, has launched a program to utilize the ATM electronic funds networks for mortgage payments taken over the telephone and Internet without a personal identification number. (Read More)

DataQuick Launches its own AVM Platform

DataQuick, San Diego, has acted as a reseller of automated valuation models (AVMs), and has now stepped up to produce its own AVM solution called the Valuator. (Read More)

Guardian Mortgage Documents and MortgageFlex Partner

Guardian Mortgage Documents (GMD), Lakewood, Colo., and MortgageFlex Systems Inc. have formed a strategic alliance that will allow MortgageFlex customers to customize upfront disclosure documents and related documents involved in the closing process through a newly-designed interface. (Read More)

Advocacy Group Calls for Capping GSE Portfolios

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, an advocacy group that seeks to limit government spending, is calling on Congress to strengthen oversight and limit the amount of mortgage-securities that the government-sponsored enterprises can hold in portfolio. (Read More)

CTX Names Habib National Sales Trainer

CTX Mortgage Co. has hired Barry Habib as national sales trainer. (Read More)

GHR Brings Its LOS to Liberty

The Tampa, Fla.-based Liberty Home Loans plans to use GHR Systems, Inc. loan origination system to process and close its residential mortgages, GHR reported at the Mortgage Bankers Association's national technology conference in Phoenix. (Read More)

Refinancing Activity Surges

The Mortgage Bankers Association's composite index of loan applications increased by 25.6% to hit 1117.1 in the week ending March 12, its highest level since last July. (Read More)

FDIC Chief: Prepare for Higher Rates

Mortgage lenders ought to be thinking about is going to happen when interest rates start to rise above their historical lows, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman Donald Powell. (Read More)

MISMO Compliance Tool to Come this Summer

As part of a panel discussion held at this year's MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference and Expo, Phoenix, the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Org. (MISMO) announced that the next step to promote industry adoption of the standards will include the development of MX Compliance Service. (Read More)

London Bridge Links Up With MortgageHub

London Bridge Group has acquired the rights to market MortgageHub's lending wholesale/correspondent Web service platform as a component of BridgeLink network. (Read More)

MBA and BOMA Form Training Partnership

The Mortgage Bankers Association and the Building Owners & Managers Association International have joined forces to provide information and training on the commercial real estate industry to each group's members. (Read More)

Boykin to File SEC Papers Late

Boykin Lodging Company, Cleveland, has notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that it will not file its 10-K financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2003, by March 15. (Read More)

Congressman Seeks to Overturn OCC Pre-Emption

Rep. Barney Frank D-Mass., said he will attempt to overturn the OCC's preemption of state and local predatory lending laws by passing a congressional resolution of disapproval if the OCC does not seek a compromise. (Read More)

Report: B&C Loans Linked to Neighborhood Foreclosures

A report from the Woodstock Institute, Chicago, identifies a "strong relationship between skyrocketing foreclosures and and increased levels of high-cost, subprime mortgage lending." (Read More)

Delta to File for Proposed Offering

Delta Financial Corporation, Woodbury, N.Y., said it intends to file a registration with the SEC in the second quarter to issue stock. (Read More)

CreditXpert Offers to Help Raise Credit Scores

CreditXpert, Towson, Md., says it has a new product that will allow lenders to approve more loans by helping applicants raise their credit scores. (Read More)

Freddie Reports Fixed Mortgage Rate Decline

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate slipped slightly to 5.38% during the week ending March 18 from 5.41%, while the average rate for adjustable-rate mortgages inched down to yet another record low, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

ACB Questions Federal Housing Board Authority

The Federal Housing Finance Board does not have the legal authority to repeal the Federal Home Loan Banks' long-recognized exemption from Securities and Exchange Commission registration, according to a legal opinion obtained by America's Community Bankers. (Read More)

MBA Study Predicts Upswing in Tech Spending

According to the first Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) technology study previewed at this year's MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference and Expo, Phoenix, lenders are going to invest heavily in technology throughout 2004. (Read More)

Zacks Lists LandAmerica #5 Strong Sell

Zacks.com, the online unit of Zacks Investment Research, Chicago, has put LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., the Richmond, Va.-based title insurer on its "#5(Strong Sell)" list. (Read More)

Report: REITs Could Prompt Housing Investment in U.K.

Additional efforts to structure a United Kingdom version of the U.S. real estate investment trust tax vehicle are among the ways that the U.K. could improve investment in housing, according to a report released by the U.K. Treasury on Wednesday. (Read More)

Correction: NASD Suspends Securities Brokers

The National Association of Securities Dealers recently suspended two securities brokers, not mortgage brokers as originally reported in MortgageWire and charged another with making unsuitable investment recommendations to customers. (Read More)

Fannie and Freddie Federal Subsidies Soar

Federal subsidies going to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac jumped by more than 80% over the past three years to $19.9 billion in 2003, according to an update by the Congressional Budget Office. (Read More)

BB&T Discloses Impairment Hit

BB&T Corporation, Winston-Salem, N.C., has lowered its earnings estimate for this year to reflect the impact that "fluctuating interest rates" have had on its mortgage operation. (Read More)

Guaranty Reopens Under New Name

Guaranty National Bank, Tallahassee, Fla., which was recently closed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, has reopened the doors to its five offices here as Hancock Bank of Florida, a newly-chartered bank. (Read More)

Washington Mutual Shuffles Staff

Washington Mutual, Seattle, has made some personnel changes to enhance its capital markets efforts. (Read More)

Mercury Leery of Lodgian Stock Offering

Mercury Partners, Greenwich, Conn., has expressed concern about a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing by Lodgian proposing the issue of $175 million of common stock. (Read More)

Analyst Raises Freddie Target

Sandler O'Neill & Partners has raised its price target for Freddie Mac's stock to $74, citing "too steep a discount" in the current price relative to Fannie Mae's shares. (Read More)

Wachovia Chooses Palisades LOS

Wachovia Corp., the fourth largest bank holding company in the U.S., has selected Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based Palisades Technology Partners' Impact Mortgage Services Suite for implementing their new loan origination system. (Read More)

Feedback

How is the slowing market impacting the mortgage broker community? (Read More)

HUD Kills RESPA Reform -- For Now

In a surprise move early on Monday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development withdrew a final rule that would simplify the mortgage closing process by revamping the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. (Read More)

FHFB Chairman Resigns

John Korsmo, chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Board, is resigning as head of the agency, the White House confirmed late Friday afternoon. (Read More)

New Risk Mgmt Company Formed

Rob Kessel, Marc Felisky, Lindsay Hill, and Glen Brown have formed a new company called Compass Analytics LLC, San Francisco, that will provide outsourced hedge management services and license its pipeline risk management analytics to customers. (Read More)

Analyst: Timing of Rate Dip Bad for Servicers

With mortgage rates falling to their lowest level in six months in mid-March, some lenders may face an unpleasant impairment timing scenario when they report first-quarter financial results. (Read More)

Framework, DSI Join Forces

Framework Inc., Tarrytown, N.Y., and Document Systems Inc., Carson, Calif., have announced the integration of Framework's LendWare credit fulfillment platform and DSI's FillMagic document processing engine. (Read More)

CCBI, SVN Form Alliance

Commercial Capital Bancorp Inc. and Sperry Van Ness International Inc., both based in Irvine, Calif., have announced a strategic alliance under which SVN will promote CCBI as its provider of financing, banking, and deposit products. (Read More)

Phoenix Foreclosures Surge

Postings of new notices of foreclosure auctions in the Phoenix metropolitan area have reached nearly 1,500 per month, according to Foreclosures.com, a Fair Oaks, Calif.-based investment advisory firm specializing in distressed property. (Read More)

OMB: Anti-Tying Laws RESPA Reform Issue

Even though RESPA reform was (more or less) killed by HUD on Monday, the White House had raised concerns about how a new rule would be affected by state anti-tying and anti-affiliation laws. (Read More)

Home Equity Delinquencies Decline

Despite a rise in credit card overdue rates, the percentage of home equity loans and lines of credit that were overdue at the end of last year declined, according to the American Bankers Association. (Read More)

FirstPoint Acquires Prymak

FirstPoint Inc. has acquired Prymak Inc., both based in Greensboro, N.C., and announced that it will operate Prymak as a wholly owned subsidiary, keeping all local employees and operations intact. (Read More)

IntraPrise Buys Merit Dynamics

IntraPrise Solutions Inc., Newton, Pa., has acquired the business of Merit Dynamics Inc., a provider of loan product information to the mortgage industry based in Cape May Court House, N.J. (Read More)

MortgageIT Files for IPO

MortgageIT Holdings Inc., New York, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. (Read More)

TowerGroup Spotlights Rising Tech

TowerGroup, Needham, Mass., has released a new report designed to track what it expects to be the leading-edge technologies in the mortgage industry throughout this decade. (Read More)

ILOG Enhances BRMS Offering

ILOG, a provider of software components and services based in Mountain View, Calif., has introduced ILOG JRules 4.6, an offering in ILOG's Business Rule Management System product line. (Read More)

Ex-Fiserv Exec Moves to GHR

GHR Systems Inc., Wayne, Pa., has appointed former Fiserv executive Ted Morse senior vice president of sales and business development for its Mortgage Automation Solutions division. (Read More)

Coventry Raises $330MM for RE Fund

Coventry Real Estate Advisors, New York, has raised $330 million in equity capital from institutional investors for its Coventry Real Estate Fund II. (Read More)

CountryPlace Snags Warehouse Line

Palm Harbor Homes Inc., Dallas, has announced that its CountryPlace Mortgage Ltd. subsidiary has arranged a $200 million warehouse borrowing facility. (Read More)

Fannie Prices BenchNotes

Fannie Mae has priced $4 billion of 4.125% 10-year Benchmark Notes at 99.485. (Read More)

Freddie Reports RefNote Repo

Freddie Mac has reported the repurchase of $1.85 billion of outstanding Reference Notes securities. (Read More)

New-Home Sales Jump

New-homes sales jumped 5.8% in February as low mortgage rates and better weather combined to boost homebuying. (Read More)

Apps Fall Slightly

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, dipped from 1117.1 to 1114.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended March 19, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

FHA Would Consider Zero-Down for Condos

Federal Housing Commissioner John Weicher said Wednesday that his agency is willing to consider a zero-downpayment mortgage for homebuyers who want to buy condominiums and cooperatives. (Read More)

MBA Chair Cites 'Troubling Themes'

There are "three troubling themes" that are affecting the mortgage industry, Mortgage Bankers Association Chairman Rob Couch told the Northeast Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations in Atlantic City Wednesday. (Read More)

FTC Finalizes Telemarket 'Scrub' Rule

The Federal Trade Commission has finalized a rule that will require telemarketers to "scrub'" their call lists every 31 days to make sure they include all phone numbers listed on the national "do-not-call" register. (Read More)

Freddie Changes Multilender Swap Program

Freddie Mac has announced a change in its Multilender Swap program under which lenders will swap conventional 15- and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for Giant PCs instead of a pro rata share of a Gold PC. (Read More)

EOPT Reports Changes to Board

Equity Office Properties Trust, a Chicago-based real estate investment trust, has reported changes to its board of trustees that will reduce the board's size to nine members. (Read More)

Arizona Bank Names Mortgage SVP

Timothy F. Gilker has been named senior vice president and manager of the residential mortgage loan department of Arizona Bank & Trust, Mesa, Ariz. (Read More)

German Mortgage Bond Pricing Seen Improving

The recent approval of changes to Germany's Mortgage Bank Act, combined with a federal net-present-value directive published by German officials in December, have improved pricing for pfandbriefe, according to an executive from the Berlin-based German Association of Mortgage Banks. (Read More)

Resales Rise, Hold Above Benchmark Level

Sales of existing single-family homes rose 2.0% in February, only the eighth month on record in which the resale pace has reached or surpassed the 6 million mark, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Fixed Rates Inch Up; ARMs at Record Low

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.40% for the week ending March 26 from 5.38% the previous week, while the average rate for adjustable-rate mortgages sank to another record low, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Shelby Plans Mark-up of GSE Bill

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is preparing to conduct a committee mark-up of a bill to strengthen the regulation of the housing government-sponsored enterprises on March 30 or 31, according to a committee spokesman. (Read More)

MBA: Finding RESPA Consensus a 'Challenge'

The real challenge in crafting a new RESPA regulation will be devising a system that is agreeable to all the parties involved, according to Ron Alba of the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Nehemiah, AmeriDream Seek Zero-Down Revisions

Nehemiah Corp. of America, Sacramento, Calif., and AmeriDream Inc., Gaithersburg, Md., have called on Congress to make "essential revisions" to the Zero Downpayment Act of 2004 (H.R. 3755) to better protect consumers from higher costs and avoid the risk of increased foreclosure. (Read More)

Del Mar Adds New Execs

Del Mar Database, the San Diego-based provider of DataTrac, a mortgage system that connects mortgage applications of the lender's choice through data input and management, has named three new vice presidents. (Read More)

MGIC Names Cap Markets Manager

Whit Brame has been named capital markets manager of Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Milwaukee, the principal subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corp. (Read More)

Wellsford Retains Financial Adviser

Wellsford Real Properties, New York, has retained Lazard Freres & Co. to advise the real estate merchant banking firm on strategic options. (Read More)

IRIS Launches New Doc Services Products

Image Recognition Integrated Systems Group, a technology provider based in Brussels, Belgium, has released three new products designed to move paper documents and forms into a digital format. (Read More)

Fitch: Receivership Wouldn't Affect GSE Ratings

If Congress decides to equip the new GSE regulator with receivership powers, it should not affect the ratings of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's debt securities, according to Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Freddie Cuts Minimum ARM Servicing Fee

Freddie Mac has established an across-the-board minimum servicing fee of 25 basis points on its adjustable-rate mortgage products. (Read More)

NAR Raps Ginnie 'Prepay Penalties'

Ginnie Mae is forcing Federal Housing Administration borrowers to pay "prepayment penalties," according to the National Association of Realtors, and it wants the agency to change its policy. (Read More)

Senate Panel Sets Flood Mark-up, Jackson Vote

The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a mark-up of a flood insurance bill on March 31, and a vote on the nomination of Alphonso Jackson to be the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (Read More)

Aames Files With SEC on Revamp, IPO

Aames Financial Corp., a Los Angeles-based subprime mortgage lender, has reported the filing of two registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the company's proposed conversion into a real estate investment trust and a related initial public offering. (Read More)

Resale Prices Up 20% in CA

The median price of an existing home in California was 20.7% higher in February than the level recorded a year earlier, and resales were up 3.9%, according to the California Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Florida Resales Jump

Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida were 18% higher in February than they were a year earlier, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Illinois Resales Steady

Sales of existing single-family homes in Illinois totaled 6,669 in February, up slightly from 6,662 in February 2003 but still a record high for that month, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors. (Read More)

FMAC Classes Downgraded

Three classes of FMAC Loan Receivables Trust, series 1998-C, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

St. Louis Expands Electronic Recording

The city of St. Louis has begun recording loan satisfactions via a "level 3" electronic recording initiative using technology from U.S. Recordings, a Saint Paul, Minn.-based company that provides mortgage recording systems. (Read More)

S&P 500 to Include E*Trade

Standard & Poor's has announced that E*Trade Financial Corp., a New York-based provider of online discount brokerage services and retail mortgage lending, will replace FleetBoston Financial Corp. in the S&P 500 Index as of the close of trading on March 31. (Read More)

Feedback

What's a good way to say, "I'm sorry, but the second HELOC didn't go through and your payment is $300 higher"? (Read More)

GSE Bill Provides for Receivership

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could face higher minimal capital requirements if they get into financial trouble and could be placed in receivership if they fail, under a bill unveiled March 26 by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala. (Read More)

GSE Agency Would Have Product OK

The new regulatory agency for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks proposed by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., would be responsible for approving new products and lines of business and overseeing compliance with affordable housing requirements. (Read More)

Shelby Bill Cites 'Unique' FHLBank Structure

The Senate's GSE bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to recognize the unique structure of the Federal Home Loan Banks as a way to facilitate voluntary registration of FHLBank stock. (Read More)

HUD Eyes Freddie WaMu Purchase

Freddie Mac's purchase of $6 billion in multifamily loans from Washington Mutual has come under government scrutiny, and Freddie may not be able to count the housing units toward its 2003 affordable housing goals. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Jumps

The rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield, which had been hovering close to 3.7%, rose dramatically Monday morning and stood at 3.9% around noon, according to Yahoo! Finance. (Read More)

FNF Buys Remainder of Hansen

Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has announced the acquisition of the 45% of Hansen Quality Loan Services Inc. -- a provider of collateral score products and automated valuation models to the mortgage and investment banking industries -- that it did not already own. (Read More)

Fitch: MH Recovery Still Far Off

The picture for the manufactured housing segment has improved, but a recovery is still far off, according to a report from Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Shurgard to Restate Earnings

Shurgard Storage Centers Inc., Seattle, has announced that certain accounting adjustments have been made that will require a restatement of historical financial statements and will prevent the company from filing its Form 10-K for 2003 by March 30. (Read More)

EOPT Issues 1B of Notes

Equity Office Properties Trust, Chicago, has issued $1 billion of 4.75% senior unsecured notes due March 2014, with an effective interest rate of 5.54%. (Read More)

Mills Shifts Opry Stake to German Firm

The Mills Corp., Arlington, Va., is transferring a 50% joint venture interest in Opry Mills to Kan Am Grund, a German real estate fund operator, for $158.1 million. (Read More)

FHLBank Declares Dividend, With Caveat

The board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle has declared a class B(1) annualized stock dividend of 4% for the first quarter, but cautioned that market trends may result in lower dividends later this year. (Read More)

Pols Voice Concerns About Nat'l Predatory Bill

Lawmakers on Tuesday expressed hopes of someday passing legislation to establish national fair-lending standards for subprime funders, but there were indications that getting there could be difficult. (Read More)

Sarbanes Withholding Support of GSE Bill?

Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., appears to be withholding his support from the GSE bill proposed by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala. (Read More)

NAHB Raps Shelby Bill

The National Association of Home Builders has announced its opposition to the GSE bill drafted by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and said the bill needs to be redrafted. (Read More)

HUD Publishes Interim Rules on DPA, Reverses

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has published two interim final rules to jump-start its new downpayment assistance program and reduce the cost of refinancing federally insured reverse mortgages. (Read More)

RealEC Partners With ACI

RealEC Technologies, Santa Ana, Calif., has announced a strategic alliance with appraisal-technology provider ACI to improve appraisal delivery on behalf of lenders, appraisers, and appraisal management companies. (Read More)

Fed to Hold Meetings on Chase Merger

The Federal Reserve Board will hold public meetings in New York and Chicago in April on the proposed $58 billion merger of J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One, partly in response to objections that the deal's implications for community access to credit and mortgage loans have not been fully explored. (Read More)

Highwoods Names New CEO

Ed Fritsch, president and chief operating officer of Highwoods Properties Inc., Raleigh, N.C., has been elected to succeed Ron Gibson as chief executive officer of the real estate investment trust. (Read More)

Stewart Buys Majority Stake in Pueblo Office

Stewart Title Co., Houston, has announced the acquisition of a majority interest in Stewart Title of Pueblo, Colo., for an undisclosed amount. (Read More)

Luminent Prices Stock Offering

Luminent Mortgage Capital Inc., San Francisco, has priced a public offering of 12 million shares of common stock at $14 per share. (Read More)

Fannie Names 24 to Advisory Council

Fannie Mae has named 24 new members to its 44-member National Advisory Council. (Read More)

TICC Completes Loan to MortgageIT

Technology Investment Capital Corp., Greenwich, Conn., has announced the completion of a $15 million senior secured loan to MortgageIT Inc. (Read More)

Banking Panel Approves HUD Nominee

The Senate Banking Committee has unanimously approved the nomination of Alphonso Jackson to be the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (Read More)

Critic Wants Probe of Freddie MF Deal

FM Policy Focus, which is backed by competitors of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, wants Congress to investigate a $6 billion multifamily swap that helped Freddie Mac meet its affordable housing goals last year. (Read More)

Treasury Lukewarm on GSE Bill

The Bush administration generally supports the GSE bill drafted by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., but the bill could be improved by imposing tougher affordable housing goals and a stricter product approval process, according to Treasury Secretary John Snow. (Read More)

Dems Draft Substitute for Shelby Bill

Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee have drafted a GSE regulator bill that could be offered as a substitute for the bill drafted by committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., sources have told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Applications Slip

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 1114.9 to 1091.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended March 26, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

DeepGreen Launches HEL Outsourcing

DeepGreen Financial, Cleveland, has announced the creation of GreenMax, a new business channel that will deliver the company's home equity lending platform to banks, credit unions, and other financial services companies. (Read More)

Panel OKs Flood Insurance Extension

The Senate Banking Committee has unanimously approved a four-year extension of the National Flood Insurance Program along with reforms to reduce the cost of repetitive flood claims. (Read More)

Countrywide Predicts $7.5B in Earnings by '08

At a company investors conference March 30, Countrywide said the company hopes to more than double annual pretax earnings to $7.5 billion by 2008. (Read More)

Former BCE Prez Joins Ellie Mae

Ellie Mae Inc., Dublin, Calif., has appointed Gunnar Bergstrom, former president of Electronic Mortgage Services at BCE Emergis Inc., as vice president of business development for Lender Services. (Read More)

Vestin Estimates '03 Loss

Vestin Group Inc., a Las Vegas-based commercial mortgage lender, has announced that it will report a net loss of approximately $5.2 million ($1.16 per share) for 2003, compared with a net loss of $3.8 million ($0.54 per share) in 2002. (Read More)

Fieldstone Reports Earnings Adjustment

Fieldstone Investment Corp., Columbia, Md., has reported a one-time adjustment that increases by $14 million its earnings for the fourth quarter and for all of 2003. (Read More)

1st State Sells M&A-Linked Mortgage Loans

First State Bancorp., Albuquerque, N.M., has announced the sale of 194 residential mortgage loans that were obtained in the acquisition of First Community Industrial Bank in 2002. (Read More)

Fannie May Have to Restate Re Impairment

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae may have to restate previous years' earnings because of its accounting for impairment charges on manufactured housing loans as well as other assets, the company's regulator said Thursday, expanding on an earlier statement regarding its capital position. (Read More)

Countrywide Expands Into CRE

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has announced its expansion into the commercial mortgage market with the formation of Countrywide Commercial Real Estate Finance Inc., a subsidiary of Countrywide Capital Markets Inc. (Read More)

NAHB Backing Sarbanes GSE Bill

The National Association of Home Builders is supporting a GSE bill drafted by Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., that would create tougher affordable housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but does not include receivership powers. (Read More)

Rates Rise

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.52% for the week ending April 2 from 5.40% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Court: IL Law Pre-empts Federal Laws

The Illinois Appellate Court for the First Judicial District has ruled that the Illinois Interest Act pre-empts two federal laws that ban certain types of predatory lending. (Read More)

Study: NJ Law Led to Plunge in Subprime Lending

New Jersey's new predatory lending law has prompted a "startling" decline in subprime lending in the state, according to a study conducted for the National Home Equity Mortgage Association and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. (Read More)

Bankruptcy Court OKs BridgeSpan Bid Procs

BridgeSpan Inc., Frisco, Texas, has announced that the San Jose Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California has approved bidding procedures for the company's sale of assets. (Read More)

COFI Rises

For the second time in the past three months, the Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index has increased from a record a low. (Read More)

Pan Asia Bank, GMACCM Forge Alliance

Pan Asia Bank has agreed to introduce the U.S.-based GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp.'s specialty real estate investment products into the Taiwan market, according to GMACCM. (Read More)

Paramount Names Mortgage Veep

Bob Waun has been named vice president for private mortgage lending at Paramount Bank, Farmington Hills, Mich. (Read More)

DDR Buys $2.3B Portfolio

Developers Diversified Realty, Cleveland, is purchasing a portfolio of 110 retail properties from Benderson Development Co. for a total price of about $2.3 billion. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes Merit MH Classes

The ratings on four classes of the Merit Securities Corp. series 12-1 manufactured housing securitization are being reviewed for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Hanover Announces 10-K Late Filing

Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings Inc., Edison, N.J., has announced that it will notify the Securities and Exchange Commission of a late filing of its annual report on Form 10-K. (Read More)

Senate Panel Passes GSE Regulator Bill

The Senate Banking Committee on Thursday afternoon narrowly approved legislation to create a new, tougher regulator for all three housing government-sponsored enterprises. (Read More)

Senator Slams Fannie Over TV Ad

A senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee has criticized Fannie Mae for a television ad it started airing a few days before the panel began considering legislation to create a new GSE regulator. (Read More)

Mortgage Employment on Rise Again

Falling interest rates forced the nation's mortgage bankers and brokers to add more workers in February, according to new employment numbers released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Read More)

Analyst: Jobs Report Sparked MBS Illiquidity

Mortgage-backed securities experienced a brief period of illiquidity Friday morning following the release of a stronger-than-expected March employment report (see item above), according to Art Frank, director of MBS at Nomura Securities International Inc. (Read More)

Private MI Dips

The dollar volume of primary private mortgage insurance written during February totaled $14.4 billion, down 1.7% from $14.7 billion in January, according to data from the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America. (Read More)

SNL: REIT Index Hits Record High

The SNL Equity REIT Index ended the first quarter at an all-time high as the real estate investment trust sector continued its strong performance, according to SNL Financial, a Charlottesville, Va.-based information provider. (Read More)

Cornerstone Co-COO Resigns

Debra A. Jones has resigned as executive vice president and co-chief operating officer of Richmond, Va.-based Cornerstone Realty Income Trust Inc., the real estate investment trust has reported. (Read More)

Lehman CMBS Class Downgraded

Class M of Lehman Brothers Inc.'s LB 2002-LLF C3 commercial mortgage pass-through certificates has been downgraded from BB to BB-minus and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

COMM Classes Downgraded

Three classes of COMM 2000-FL3's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Feedback

Responses to our survey question are running against the idea of establishing a hybrid agency -- run by a strong executive and overseen by an advisory board -- to regulate the housing government-sponsored enterprises. (Read More)

Abernathy Warns of 'Financial Corvairs'

Assistant Treasury Secretary Wayne Abernathy has warned against adopting new laws at either the federal or the state level that ban specific financial products, comparing such laws to "financial Corvairs" that could blow up on their well-intended sponsors on impact. (Read More)

BCE Downsizes U.S. Operations

BCE Emergis plans to downsize its Greensboro, N.C., office by this October, but denies reports it will exit the U.S. by the end of the year, MortgageWire has learned. (Read More)

Jackson Sworn In as HUD Chief

The Senate has confirmed Alphonso Jackson to be the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (Read More)

Fannie, Builders Split Over Receivership

The Senate Banking Committee's decision to include receivership powers in a GSE regulator bill not only spit Republicans and Democrats, it also split two allies -- the National Association of Home Builders and Fannie Mae. (Read More)

Shelby Plans to Renew Receivership Push

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., says he plans to continue pressing for a bill that includes stronger receivership powers for the regulator of the housing government-sponsored enterprises. (Read More)

Stewart Title Buys Colorado Title Firm

Stewart Title of Pueblo, Colo., has acquired First American Title Co. of Southern Colorado, located in La Veta, which will be renamed Stewart Title of Huerfano County. (Read More)

PMI Euro Unit Buys UK MI

The PMI Group Inc.'s European unit has completed its acquisition of a Royal & Sun Alliance Group mortgage insurance subsidiary in the United Kingdom. (Read More)

PW Funding Names Key Exec

Neil P. Cullen has been named managing director and a member of the Office of the President of PW Funding Inc., the mortgage banking subsidiary of New York-based CharterMac. (Read More)

Eurohypo Notes Downgraded

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the long-term credit ratings of the class B notes of Eurohypo 2000-1, a synthetic German residential mortgage-backed securities transaction. (Read More)

Fannie: No Callable BenchNote in April

Fannie Mae has announced that it will not issue a Callable Benchmark Note in April. (Read More)

HUD Eyes Tougher AH Goals for GSEs

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is getting close to issuing a proposed rule that would impose tougher affordable housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

New Century Votes for REIT Conversion

New Century Financial Corp., a subprime mortgage lender based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that its board of directors has voted to convert the company into a real estate investment trust. (Read More)

JVI, FNC Form Alliance

Just Valuation Inc., Altamonte Springs, Fla., and FNC Inc., Oxford, Miss., have announced a strategic alliance that will make JVI's residential appraisal and inspection services available through FNC's CMS collateral information management system. (Read More)

S&P: '03 Bad Year for Commercial Mortgages

Last year was the most stressful year for commercial mortgage loans since the early 1990s, according to a Standard & Poor's study of such loans. (Read More)

Centex Title Names CFO

David A. Priestley has been named chief financial officer of Centex Title & Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Dallas-based Centex Corp. (Read More)

Nehemiah Offers Mortgage Payment Insurance

Nehemiah Corp. of America, Sacramento, Calif., has introduced a mortgage payment protection insurance policy to help its downpayment gift recipients protect their homes in case of job loss. (Read More)

Fannie, Realtors Launch Homebuyer Ed

A "Borrow With Confidence" homebuyer education campaign has been unveiled in Franklin, Tenn., by Fannie Mae, the Tennessee Association of Realtors, the Williamson County Association of Realtors, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes Ocwen MBS Classes

Twelve classes from four series of securities issued by Ocwen Residential MBS Corp. and backed by seasoned, re-performing mortgage loans have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

ARIT Changing Name to AmNet Mortgage

American Residential Investment Trust Inc., the San Diego-based parent company of the American Mortgage Network wholesale mortgage bank, has announced that it will soon change its corporate name to AmNet Mortgage Inc. (Read More)

HomeBanc Discloses RESPA Probe

HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. has disclosed that it is the subject of a government inquiry into possible violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act involving its alliances with nearly 100 real estate brokers and homebuilders. (Read More)

Apps Decline Overall

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 1091.3 to 1012.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended April 2, although purchase applications rose, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Fannie MBS Speeds Jump

Prepayment rates for Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities rose sharply in March as the speed of the massive 5.5% 2003 coupon surged 48%, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. (Read More)

Freddie Sees Home Sales Record in '04

Total home sales are likely to set another record this year as interest rates remain low and mortgage originations remain high, according to Freddie Mac's latest economic forecast. (Read More)

Credit Plus, DSI Form Cross-Marketing JV

Credit Plus Inc., a credit information services company based in Salisbury, Md., has partnered with Document Systems Inc., Carson, Calif., in what amounts to a cross-marketing arrangement. (Read More)

Arbor Prices IPO

Arbor Realty Trust, New York, has priced an initial public offering of its common stock at $20 per share. (Read More)

GMAC Eyes China Market

GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. is carefully considering China as a possible business opportunity, an executive at the company has told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Conti HEL Classes Downgraded

Five classes of ContiMortgage Corp. home equity loan transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

GMAC CMBS Class Downgraded

Class F of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2001-FL1, has been downgraded from B1 to B3 by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Rates Jump

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumped to 5.79% for the week ending April 9 from 5.52% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

OFHEO Rule Would End Chair/CEO Titles

Fannie Mae chairman and chief executive officer Franklin Raines would be required to drop one of his titles under a strict corporate governance rule proposed by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. (Read More)

Edwards Targets OCC Pre-emption Rules

Legislation that would strike down federal rules pre-empting state predatory lending laws for national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries has been introduced by Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., who recently abandoned his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. (Read More)

7WTC Deal Downgraded

Banc of America Large Loan Inc.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2001-7WTC -- secured by mortgage loans on a leasehold interest in 7 World Trade Center -- have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

NAIC Seeks Action on TRIA

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo., has sent a letter to Congress regarding the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, asking for "Congressional action this year to avoid market disruptions that will occur in the absence of a federal backstop program." (Read More)

MERS Registers Half of Market

MERS, the electronic registry for tracking ownership of mortgage servicing rights, is now registering about 50% of new loans that are being originated, MERS president and chief executive officer R. K. Arnold has told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Danvers Chooses Fiserv's easyLender

Danvers Savings Bank, Danvers, Mass., has signed up to employ Lake Mary, Fla.-based Fiserv Lending Solutions' easyLender LOS product. (Read More)

SFA CDO Classes Downgraded

Three classes of notes issued by SFA Collateralized Asset-Backed Securities I Trust have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes 11 CSFB CMBS Classes

Eleven classes of Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2002-TFL1, have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Equity Inns Selling Stock

Equity Inns Inc., Germantown, Tenn., has entered into an underwriting agreement with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to sell 2.4 million shares of its common stock. (Read More)

Castaneda Gets Nod to Chair FHFB

President Bush has designated Alicia R. Castaneda to be the new chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Board, which oversees the Federal Home Loan Banks. (Read More)

More Competition Ahead for Fannie & Freddie?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could face more competition if the Federal Home Loan Banks' mortgage purchase programs reach their potential and federal regulators adopt the new Basel II international risked-based rule, according to an Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank working paper. (Read More)

Wescom CU Enters CRE Market

Wescom Credit Union, Pasadena, Calif., is entering the commercial real estate lending market and has hired Dean Lambertson as vice president for its new commercial real estate division. (Read More)

Moody's Downgrades Sun Communities

The ratings of Sun Communities Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Southfield, Mich., and its operating partnership have been lowered by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

MH Resecuritization Class Downgraded

The rating on class A-4 of ABSC Manufactured Housing Contract Resecuritization Trust 2004-OAK1 has been lowered from AA-minus to A by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and removed from CreditWatch with negative implications. (Read More)

New Health Care REIT Completes Offering

Medical Properties Trust Inc., a newly formed real estate investment trust based in Birmingham, Ala., has reported the completion of a private offering of 25.3 million shares of common stock. (Read More)

Brookfield Agrees to Issue Preferred Stock

Brookfield Properties Corp., New York, has announced an agreement to issue $150 million of cumulative redeemable preferred shares (denominated in Canadian dollars) to a syndicate of investment dealers led by CIBC World Markets Inc. (Read More)

Housing Affordability Inches Up in California

Housing affordability in California improved slightly in February from the January level, although it was down by six percentage points from the level recorded a year earlier, according to the California Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Feedback

Should RESPA be abolished? (Read More)

HUD Mulls Tighter AH Regs

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is considering tightening its regulations so that mortgage purchase transactions with buyback provisions could not be counted toward Fannie Mae's or Freddie Mac's affordable housing goals. (Read More)

CBA Raps CRA Proposal

Federal regulars are piling on "unwarranted" compliance issues as part of a new scheme for scoring Community Reinvestment Act performance, according to the Consumer Bankers Association. (Read More)

FNF Slated to Buy Computer Firm

Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., and Sanchez Computer Associates, Malvern, Pa., have announced that FNF is expected to complete its acquisition of Sanchez on Wednesday, assuming approval by Sanchez shareholders on that date. (Read More)

ComplianceEase Touts New Product

ComplianceEase, a division of San Francisco-based LogicEase Solutions Inc., has released PredatorAnalyzer AssureCert, which the company is calling "the industry's first fully-warranted automated compliance solution." (Read More)

BoA Unveils New HELOC

Bank of America, Charlotte, N.C., has introduced a no-fee home equity line of credit on the West Coast that it says offers competitive rates and flexible payment terms. (Read More)

SC Bank Names Regional Prez

Alex Shuford has been named regional president of Beaufort County for South Carolina Bank and Trust, Columbia, S.C., and will head the bank's retail and commercial banking and mortgage lending efforts in the county. (Read More)

Louisville Joins Anti-Predatory Campaign

The Louisville, Ky., metropolitan area has launched a local version of Freddie Mac's "Don't Borrow Trouble" campaign to help families avoid falling prey to scams and other unscrupulous lending practices. (Read More)

Canadian Housing Starts Rise

The seasonally adjusted rate of Canadian housing starts stood at 247,000 in March, up from a revised 216,200 in February, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (Read More)

Lenders Seek Nat'l Predatory Standard

Eight national lender organizations are calling on the House and the Senate to enact a national predatory lending standard to address the problem of abusive lending practices. (Read More)

CBA Rips Anti-Pre-emption Effort

The Consumer Bankers Association is urging U.S. senators not to support legislative resolutions that would overturn the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's pre-emption regulations. (Read More)

Regions, Union to Combine Mortgage Ops

Regions Financial Corp., Birmingham, Ala., and Union Planters Corp., Memphis, have announced plans to integrate their respective mortgage companies, Regions Mortgage and Union Planters Mortgage, in connection with their previously announced merger. (Read More)

Countrywide, Coldwell Banker Form Venture

Countrywide Home Loans Inc., Calabasas, Calif., and Montana-based Coldwell Banker Wachholz & Co. have announced the formation of Granite Peak Mortgage Services in Kalispell, Mont. (Read More)

Ginnie Targeting Retail Investors?

Ginnie Mae wants the flexibility to lower the denomination of its mortgage-backed securities, which could be a sign that it plans to go after retail investors. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Hits 4.3%

The rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.3% Tuesday morning, according to Yahoo! Finance. (Read More)

Nevada Fines Complete Home Loans

Scott Bice, commissioner of the Nevada Mortgage Lending Division, has issued a cease-and-desist order and a $10,000 fine to Omni Home Financing Inc., doing business as Complete Home Loans, for unlicensed activity, including the use of advertising simulating a government entity. (Read More)

Mortgage Vet Joins E*Trade

E*Trade Bank, New York, has hired industry veteran Terry Rowland to head its correspondent lending division. (Read More)

Household Names Vice Chairs

Bobby Mehta and Sandy Derickson have been named vice chairmen of Household International Inc., Prospect Heights, Ill. (Read More)

Citi Launches Home Rebate Card

Citi has announced the introduction of the Citi Home Rebate Platinum Select MasterCard, featuring a program that turns everyday purchases into rebates to pay down the principal on a mortgage. (Read More)

MDC Boosts Credit Facility

M.D.C. Holdings Inc., a Denver-based home builder and mortgage lender, has renewed its $600 million unsecured credit facility, increasing the total commitment amount to $700 million with an option to expand it to $850 million under certain circumstances. (Read More)

Applications Plunge

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, plummeted from 1012.9 to 788.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended April 9, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Treble Trouble for Servicers?

The Department of Housing and Urban Developing has issued a proposed rule that would implement a 1998 law that requires Federal Housing Administration to impose penalties on servicers that fail to take loss mitigation actions to help troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure. (Read More)

Decade, Ellie Mae Form Alliance

Decade Systems Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., has formed a strategic partnership with Ellie Mae Inc., Dublin, Calif., whereby Decade will act as Ellie Mae's preferred integration provider and a reseller of Ellie Mae's ClickLoan technology. (Read More)

Survey: 4 Key Gaps Retard Homeownership

Four critical "gaps" -- involving information, affordability, credit, and confidence -- must be addressed in order to close a fifth one, the gap between the overall homeownership rate and the minority homeownership rate, according to Fannie Mae's annual National Housing Survey. (Read More)

Freddie Aids Renter-to-Homeowner Effort

A new initiative to help holders of federal housing rental vouchers become homeowners has been launched by Freddie Mac, the Montgomery County (Pa.) Housing Authority, and Harleysville National Bank and Trust Co. (Read More)

Salomon MBS Class Downgraded

Class F of Salomon Brothers Mortgage Securities VII Inc. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1996-C1, has been downgraded from B-plus to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

DeepGreen Names Nat'l Sales Director

DeepGreen Financial, a Cleveland-based home equity lender, has announced the hiring of mortgage industry veteran James L. Gear Jr. as national sales director. (Read More)

Master Financial Names Veep

Mike Berkley has been named vice president and director of sales at Master Financial Inc., a mortgage banking company based in Orange, Calif. (Read More)

Predatory Lending Pub Now in Spanish

The federal Interagency Task Force on Fair Lending has published a Spanish-language version of a brochure that alerts consumers to borrowing pitfalls, including high-cost home loans, and offers tips for getting the best financing deal. (Read More)

Rates Continue to Climb

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.89% for the week ending April 16 from 5.79% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

MBA Hikes '04 Forecast, With Caveat

The Mortgage Bankers Association hiked its production forecast for 2004 on Wednesday but cautioned that the Federal Reserve could tighten credit sooner than most think -- maybe even by June. (Read More)

PREI: Home Price Rises to Continue

Median home prices are likely to rise at an annual rate of 2.5% to 3.0% over the next five years, according to Prudential Real Estate Investors, Parsippany, N.J., which has developed a new model to predict housing prices. (Read More)

JPMorgan Chase, Bank One Pledge $800B

JPMorgan Chase & Co., New York, and Bank One Corp., Chicago, which are expected to merge later this year (pending approval), have committed to investing $800 billion in home mortgages, small business lending, and community development lending across the country over the next 10 years. (Read More)

Karrison Buys Mortgage Banker

Karrison Compagnie Inc., Dallas, has reported the acquisition of all issued and outstanding shares of American Fidelity Inc., a mortgage banker based in Baton Rouge, La., in exchange for 9.2 million shares of Karrison's common stock. (Read More)

Analyst: REITs Should Yield 12%

The real estate investment trust sector should yield an overall return of 12% for 2004, according to David Fick, a managing director with Baltimore-based Legg Mason. (Read More)

REIT Correction Termed Overdue

Meanwhile, industry experts at another conference said the recent 15% downdraft in real estate investment trust stock prices was overdue. (Read More)

Online Docs Aligns With Mortgage Banking Co-op

Concord, Calif.-based Online Documents Inc., a subsidiary of Stewart Mortgage Information, and Lenders One, a mortgage banking cooperative headquartered in St. Louis, have formed a marketing alliance to provide mortgage document services for Lenders One co-op members. (Read More)

Framework Upgrades LendWare

Framework Inc., Tarrytown, N.Y., has upgraded LendWare Workflow, its Web-based software service component that supports the configuration, management, and automation of business tasks, XML-based integrations, and fulfillment processes. (Read More)

CenterPoint Eyes $400-500MM Portfolio Sale

CenterPoint Properties Trust, Oak Brook, Ill., has announced an agreement in principle to sell a $400-500 million portfolio to a U.S. real estate investment trust that will be a subsidiary of a yet-to-be-formed Australian listed property fund. (Read More)

PNC MBS Classes Downgraded

Four classes of PNC Mortgage Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Freddie Prices RefNotes

Freddie Mac has priced $4 billion of 2.875% three-year Reference Notes due May 15, 2007, and a $1 billion reopening of 4.5% 10-year Reference Notes due Jan. 15, 2014. (Read More)

Housing Starts Jump in March

Single-family housing starts rose 5.5% in March as construction activity accelerated in response to better weather, low mortgage rates, and strengthening economy. (Read More)

Housing Index Rises

The NAHB Housing Market Index jumped in April, rising from 64 in March to 69, according to the National Association of Home Builders. (Read More)

HRPT to Buy Hallwood Realty

HRPT Properties, Newton, Mass., is acquiring Dallas-based Hallwood Realty Partners for a total cash price of about $250 million. (Read More)

NovaStar Hit With Securities Suits

At least four separate securities lawsuits have been filed against subprime residential mortgage lender NovaStar Financial Inc., Kansas City, Mo., in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. (Read More)

ACE Title Reinsurance Downgraded

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings April 15 on ACE Capital Title Reinsurance Co. from AA to A-plus and then withdrew the ratings. (Read More)

MGIC Taps Northern Trust

Northern Trust, Chicago, has announced its appointment by Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Co., Milwaukee, to provide domestic custody services for $5.5 billion in general insurance assets. (Read More)

Zacks Still Bearish on MGIC

Remaining bearish on mortgage insurance company stocks, Zacks.com, Chicago, has once again given Milwaukee-based MGIC Investment Corp. a rating of #4 Sell. (Read More)

Feedback

Must a lender agree to reinstate a foreclosed loan? (Read More)

Fannie Mae Sees Drop in GAAP Income

Fannie Mae, Washington, has reported earnings of $1.90 billion ($1.90 per share) under generally accepted accounting principals for the fiscal first quarter, down 2.1% from $1.94 billion ($1.93 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

Fannie Purchases Hit High for the Year

Fannie Mae bought $59.1 billion in mortgages during March, its best showing of the year, but a 46% decline from the same month a year ago. (Read More)

Servicing Values Sink in First Quarter

The value of mortgage servicing rights "materially declined" in the first quarter, according to an analysis by New York-based MIAC. (Read More)

Freddie Mac Joining IO Bandwagon

Freddie Mac is joining the bandwagon for interest-only mortgages. (Read More)

Higher Rates Seen as No Big Deal

Although any run up in interest rates will have a profound effect on homebuyers at the margin, the nation's largest secondary mortgage market outlets don't think higher loan rates will have a big impact on mainstream buyers. (Read More)

Ameriquest Backs the National Pastime

Ameriquest Mortgage Co., Orange, Calif., has signed on to be the official mortgage company of Major League Baseball. (Read More)

ALTA: '03 Revs Tops for Title Insurers

A recent study indicates that last year was the strongest on record for title industry revenues, according to the American Land Title Association. (Read More)

Fitch Concerned about Abbreviated Appraisals

Fitch Ratings, New York, said it is "concerned with the used of non-full appraisals to value properties in declining markets." (Read More)

PrivateBancorp Acquires Corley

PrivateBancorp Inc., Chicago, has agreed to purchase Corley Financial Corp., a Chicago-based mortgage banker. (Read More)

WaMu's Earnings Up 10% Despite Drop in Home Loans

Washington Mutual earned $1.05 billion, or $1.18 per diluted share in the first quarter, up 10% on a per share basis from one year earlier. (Read More)

Wells Fargo's Income Up Sharply

Wells Fargo & Co., the nation's largest mortgage servicer, reported record net income of $1.8 billion in the first quarter, or $1.03 per share, up 18% and 17% from the first quarter of last year, respectively. (Read More)

'Homeowners Not Over-Leveraged'

Concerns that homeowners tapped themselves out during the recent refinance binge are overblown, according to Washington area mortgage banker Robert Broeksmit. (Read More)

Servicing Valuation Rule Under Fire

At the MBA's National Secondary Market Conference in Washington, D.C., the issue of fair valuation of mortgage servicing rights to create a more balanced financial picture of mortgage banking businesses was debated. (Read More)

Fannie Transitions to Web-Based Technology

Fannie Mae will continue to convert its existing technology to a completely Web-based platform in an effort to upgrade its old DOS-based technology, Mortgage Wire learned at the MBA's Secondary Market Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C. (Read More)

Digital Docs Releases HUD-1 Product

Digital Docs, Dallas, launched an interactive HUD-1 solution with an embedded e-sign feature at the MBA's Secondary Market Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C. (Read More)

Fannie to Strengthen Capital Reserve

Fannie Mae has decided to increase its capital reserves in response to political pressures and a lack of attractive mortgage investments. (Read More)

Freddie: Affordable Housing Goal Becoming Burdensome

Freddie Mac is facing a "massive increase" in its affordable goals in 2004 and in 2005, according to Freddie executive vice president and chief operating officer Paul Peterson. (Read More)

Freddie Claims Success in Reducing Price Gap

Freddie Mac's effort to prop up the pricing of its newly issued mortgage-backed securities is working, according to a company official. (Read More)

CSFB Unit Names New Head of MBS

Credit Suisse Asset Management, a division of Credit Suisse First Boston, has named Kevin Barry head of U.S. mortgage-backed and government securities. (Read More)

Tasker Joins ARIT Board

Former Mortgage Bankers Association president Herbert B. Tasker has joined the board of directors of American Residential Investment Trust Inc., San Diego. (Read More)

NovaStar Faces SEC Scrutiny

NovaStar Financial, Kansas City, Mo., said the Securities and Exchange Commission notified it last Friday that it is conducting an informal inquiry into certain business practices. (Read More)

Moody's Expects CRE Rebound

Commercial real estate property types across the country are likely to rebound over the next year, with some exceptions, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Lawmaker: Kerry Would Bolster GSE Regulation

A Kerry administration would be able to pass legislation that improves the regulation of the housing GSEs and increases their support for affordable housing where the Bush administration has failed, according to a Democratic lawmaker. (Read More)

GE to Buy WMC Mortgage

General Electric -- which four years ago dumped its 'A' paper mortgage unit and is in the process of getting out of mortgage insurance -- has agreed to buy WMC Mortgage, Woodland Hills, Calif., the nation's 12th largest subprime funder. (Read More)

Purchase Apps Stable, Refis Slip

Mortgage applications slid 5.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended April 16, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Countrywide's Earnings Jump in First Quarter

Countrywide Financial Corp. reported consolidated net earnings of $691 million in the first quarter, up 112% over net earnings of $326 million in the first quarter of last year. (Read More)

VirPack Makes Delivery Pact With Countrywide

Vienna, Va.-based VirPack has announced an agreement with Countrywide to enable correspondents to make imaged delivery of loans to Countrywide possible. (Read More)

National Bank to Acquire Mortgage One Banc

Lorain, Ohio-based National Bank has signed a non-binding agreement to acquire Mortgage One Banc, also headquartered in Lorain. (Read More)

SL Green Forms Specialty Finance Firm

SL Green Realty, a New York-based office real estate investment trust, has formed Gramercy Capital, a specialty finance company that will focus on originating and acquiring loans and other fixed-income investments secured by commercial real estate. (Read More)

Fannie Prices $5 Billion in Benchmark Notes

Fannie Mae has priced $5 billion of two-year Benchmark Notes with a 2.5% coupon at 99.929. (Read More)

NAHB Expects Interest Rate Tightening

The National Association of Home Builders now expects the Federal Reserve Board to start tightening short-term interest rates by the end of summer. (Read More)

Golden West Profits from Portfolio Growth

Adjustable-rate lending specialist Golden West Financial, parent of World Savings Bank, earned $1.93 per share in the first quarter, up 16% from the same period a year earlier. (Read More)

Greenwich Capital Adds to MBS Staff

Ken Hackel has joined RBS Greenwich Capital Markets as managing director and co-head of fixed-income strategy, and Alec Crawford has joined RBS Greenwich Capital as managing director in the mortgage pass-through trading group. (Read More)

Standard & Poor's Executive Dies

Leo C. O'Neill, a Standard & Poor's executive whom the rating agency said "played a key role in expanding the company's growth and influence in the capital markets," died due to complications from cancer on Tuesday. (Read More)

Freddie CEO: Reform, Earnings May Take Time

Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive Richard Syron is planning for both the passage of government-sponsored enterprise oversight reform legislation and the release of revised earnings, but indicated in talks at The Bond Market Association annual meeting in New York that it may take some time for both to come to fruition. (Read More)

Ginnie Cashes In on Servicing Fees

Ginnie Mae's decision last year to reduce servicing fees on Ginnie II mortgage-backed securities has really paid off. (Read More)

Commerce National to Delay Opening

Commerce National Bank, Fullerton, Calif., said it has decided to terminate the planned opening of its mortgage division. (Read More)

Long-Term Mortgage Rates Inch Higher

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, long-term mortgage rates continue to slowly increase in line with the current economic growth. (Read More)

Entyre Releases Web-based Wholesale Product

Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Entyre Inc has launched it’s Web-based X4 Wholesale Lending System, an ASP-based closing system that gives lenders control of who “touches” their loans, and what those participants are allowed to do. (Read More)

Homeownership Remains Steady in Q1

The U.S. homeownership rate remained stuck at 68.6% in the first quarter, according to the government, while minority homeownership rose slightly. (Read More)

Anderson Eyeing Opportunities in Africa

Ginnie Mae executive vice president George Anderson said he wants to work in the private or public sector to help African countries develop secondary mortgage markets after he leaves the agency in June or July. (Read More)

Five Classes of RMF 1977-1 Downgraded

Five classes of Red Mountain Funding LLC's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1997-1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings and three others are being placed on watch for a possible downgrade. (Read More)

ACORN Protests Alleged Wells Predatory Lending Practices

More than 125 members of Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now will demonstrate outside Wells Fargo's annual meeting on Tuesday, April 27, at the bank's San Francisco headquarters to protest what ACORN calls "abusive mortgage loans." (Read More)

Fed Says Fannie and Freddie Purchases Don't Up Liquidity

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's claims that their purchases and holdings of mortgage-backed securities increases liquidity in the secondary market and lowers mortgage rates is not very convincing to Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan. (Read More)

Washtenaw Reports $3.1 Mil. Loss

The Washtenaw Group Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich., has reported a loss of $3.1 million ($0.69 per share) for the first quarter, compared with a profit of $2.7 million ($0.60 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

Delta Initiates Major Buy Back

Delta Financial Corp., Woodbury, N.Y., has made an offer to redeem all outstanding shares of its Series A 10% preferred stock. (Read More)

Ocwen Enters Into Regulatory Agreement

Subprime servicing specialist Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB, has entered into a supervisory agreement with its regulator, promising to end certain billing practices and to expedite the handling of consumer complaints. (Read More)

New Century Makes Public Offering

New Century REIT Inc., a corporation created by New Century Financial Corp., Irvine, Calif., to operate its business after it converts to a real estate investment trust, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to make a public offering of $750 million worth of common stock. (Read More)

Lending Activity Reports Mixed

Home building and sales remain strong across the country but reports about mortgage lending activity are mixed, according to the Federal Reserve Board's Beige Book. (Read More)

Down Payment Assistance Programs Pay Off

Down payment assistance programs have become efficient economic tools in helping low-to-moderate-income families become homeowners and accumulate wealth, according to a first-ever study of the economic impact of privately funded DPA programs launched by the Nehemiah Corporation of America, Sacramento, Calif. (Read More)

WaMu Promotes Ely and Brooks

Washington Mutual, Seattle, has made some personnel changes in its multifamily operations, promoting Edward Ely to head of the multifamily lending division. (Read More)

New-Home Sales Jump

New home sales jumped 8.9% in March to set a new monthly record, and it is beginning to look like 2004 could be a record year for home sales. (Read More)

Fannie's Raines Got 46% Salary Hike

Fannie Mae increased the compensation of its two top officers last year by 46% and 72%, respectively, according to a just-released proxy statement filed by the mortgage giant with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

MERS Launches eRegistry

MERS, Vienna, Va., has announced the launch of the MERS eRegistry, an electronic system for recording the owner and custodian of registered e-notes that the company termed a "significant step" toward an all-electronic mortgage. (Read More)

ACORN Protests Wells Lending Practices

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now has announced plans for a demonstration outside Wells Fargo's annual meeting on Tuesday at the bank's San Francisco headquarters to protest what ACORN calls "abusive mortgage loans." (Read More)

TRIA Renewal Expected

The Bush administration should use its authority and direct insurance companies to continue to offer terrorism insurance in 2005, according to 19 Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee. (Read More)

Freddie to Enhance PC Pools

Freddie Mac has announced that, as part of an ongoing review of its mortgage participation certificate disclosure practices, it will implement enhancements for all PC pools beginning in July 2004. (Read More)

Delphi to Use SwiftSend Delivery Product

SwiftView Inc., Portland, Ore., has entered into an agreement with Delphi Information Sciences Corp. to offer its SwiftSend LoanDocs Web-based electronic document delivery service to customers of Delphi's Discovery mortgage banking software. (Read More)

Late Pays Rise for Seniors' Housing

Delinquencies on permanent mortgage debt backed by housing and care properties for senior citizens increased to 4.6% in the fourth quarter of 2003, according to the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industries, Annapolis, Md. (Read More)

Valocity Names New Prez/CEO

Shawn McGowan has been named president and chief executive officer of Valocity, a Memphis-based provider of valuation systems. (Read More)

Fannie Names 26 Advisory Panel Members

Fannie Mae has announced the appointment of 26 new members to its 55-member Housing Impact Advisory Council, which meets three times a year with the company's senior management to discuss affordable housing issues. (Read More)

Resales Jump

Sales of existing single-family homes jumped 5.7% in March as low mortgage rates fueled a strong start for the spring homebuying season. (Read More)

Ney Sets Zero-Down Mark-up

Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Financial Services housing subcommittee, has scheduled an April 28 mark-up of a bill to create a federally insured zero-downpayment mortgage program. (Read More)

ResMAE Unveils New Broker Service

ResMAE Financial Corp., Brea, Calif., has announced the introduction of TotalAccess, a Web-based pipeline management service for mortgage brokers. (Read More)

Fair Isaac to Buy London Bridge Software

Fair Isaac Corp., San Rafael, Calif., and London Bridge Software Holdings PLC, London, have announced an agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer by Fair Isaac to acquire the ordinary shares of London Bridge. (Read More)

HFF Forms Securities Affiliate

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate capital intermediary, has announced the formation of HFF Securities LP. (Read More)

FTC to Refer Credit Reporting Complaints

The Federal Trade Commission has found a new approach to making sure that the three national credit reporting agencies are working with consumers to correct inaccurate or incomplete credit reports. (Read More)

S&P Raises Cendant Outlook

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised its outlook for Cendant Corp. to positive from negative. (Read More)

Foreclosures Still High in Chicago

Foreclosures in the Chicago metropolitan area are continuing at a rate far above their historical average, according to Foreclosures.com, a distressed property investment advisory firm based in Fair Oaks, Calif. (Read More)

Inland Splits Chairman/CEO Roles

The board of directors of Inland Real Estate Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Oak Brook, Ill., has announced that it is splitting the role of chairman and chief executive officer at the REIT. (Read More)

PREIT Names CFO

Robert F. McCadden has been named chief financial officer and executive vice president of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Philadelphia. (Read More)

Treasury Reviews Powers on Limiting GSE Debt

The Treasury Department is reviewing its authority to limit the debt issuances of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a top Treasury Department official said Wednesday. (Read More)

Oxley Eyeing GSE MF Transactions

The House Financial Services Committee is reviewing several large multifamily loan transactions that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac used in 2003 to meet their affordable housing goals. (Read More)

Apps Inch Up Overall as Refis Fall

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 744.5 to 748.0 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended April 23, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

1st Community Plans Sale of Mortgage Sub

First Community Bancshares Inc., Bluefield, Va., has announced plans to exit the mortgage banking business by selling its Richmond, Va.-based subsidiary United First Mortgage to certain members of UFM's management. (Read More)

Wells Stockholders Reject 'Predatory' Review

Stockholders of Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco, have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by the Coalition for Responsible Growth asking the company's board to conduct a special executive compensation review to address so-called predatory lending practices. (Read More)

Moody's Raises Fairbanks' Rating

Moody's Investors Service has raised the servicer rating on Fairbanks Capital to SQ3, which signifies average, from a below-average rating of SQ4. (Read More)

Fitch Downgrades CWMBS Classes

Five classes of CWMBS (Countrywide Home Loans) Inc. residential mortgage-backed certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

1st Nationwide MBS Classes Downgraded

Four classes of First Nationwide Trust mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Delta Reports 1Q Loss

Delta Financial Corp., Woodbury, N.Y., has reported a loss of $9.3 million ($0.55 per share) for the first quarter, compared with net income of $6.7 million ($0.36 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

Equity Residential Reports EPS Decline

Equity Residential, Chicago, has reported earnings per share of $0.35 for the first quarter, a 14.6% decline from EPS of $0.41 for the first quarter of 2003. (Read More)

Countrywide Grants $1MM to NHE

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has announced a grant of $1 million to the National Housing Endowment in support of the nonprofit organization's efforts "to safeguard the future of affordable housing and elevate housing to a national priority." (Read More)

Mortgage Pay-Protect % Rises in UK

The percentage of the United Kingdom market covered by mortgage payment protection insurance has increased slightly to 25.6% from 23.5%, according to new research released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. (Read More)

30-Year Rate Back Above 6%

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.01% for the week ending April 30 from 5.94% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Will House Nix OCC Pre-emption?

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and 29 co-sponsors have introduced two resolutions to overturn the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's pre-emption rules. (Read More)

Zero-Downpay Mark-up Postponed

Democrats and Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee were close to an agreement on a bill to create a federally insured zero-downpayment mortgage program, when the mark-up scheduled for April 29 was postponed. (Read More)

1st Metro Offers Compensation Options

1st Metropolitan Mortgage, a national mortgage broker headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., has announced that it will offer a choice of two compensation plans to its branch managers, one based on funded loan volume and the other on a percentage of gross revenue. (Read More)

NovaStar Reports 1Q Profits

NovaStar Financial Inc., Kansas City, Mo., has reported net income of $29.7 million for the first quarter, up from $23 million in the same period of 2003. (Read More)

CMAC CMBS Classes Downgraded

Three classes of Commercial Mortgage Acceptance Corp. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1997-ML1, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service and four others have been placed on review for possible downgrade. (Read More)

1st Fed Hires Income Property Lending Chief

Hal Rose, a 35-year veteran of real estate lending, has been hired by First Federal Bank of California, Santa Monica, to lead its Income Property Lending Group. (Read More)

Freddie Prices Syndicated Callable

Freddie Mac has priced $2 billion of a new 4.25% syndicated callable security due May 4, 2009. (Read More)

Pru: Pensions' Role Growing in Asian RE

Asia's growing pension industry is playing an increasing role in the region's real estate markets, heightening the competition with Western institutional investors for real estate assets, according to a report from the global real estate investment advisory business of Prudential Financial Inc. (Read More)

Groups Urge Overturn of OCC Pre-emption Regs

Consumer and community groups are urging senators to support two resolutions, sponsored by Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., that would overturn agency regulations that exempt national banks from compliance with state predatory lending laws. (Read More)

Treasury Seeks Terror Insurance Comments

The Treasury Department is seeking public input before it decides on whether to extend a requirement that insurance companies provide terrorism insurance. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Rises Above 4.5%

The rate indicative 10-year Treasury yield climbed above 4.5% Thursday afternoon, according to Yahoo! Finance. (Read More)

Moody's: CMBS Performed Well in 1Q

Commercial mortgage-backed securities performed well in the first quarter, with 142 confirmations of rating actions, 68 upgrades, and 40 downgrades, Moody's Investors Service has reported. (Read More)

Boardwalk to Reorganize as REIT

Boardwalk Equities Inc., Calgary, Canada, has received the shareholder and regulatory approvals needed to reorganize as a real estate investment trust. (Read More)

CAR Reports Big Homebuyer Income Gap

The median income of California households fell $41,360 short of the $93,680 needed to buy a median-priced home in the first quarter, according to the California Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Feedback

Responses to our survey question on whether the housing GSEs should be regulated by a hybrid agency run by a strong executive but overseen by an advisory board ran neck-and-neck, finishing slightly in favor of the idea. (Read More)

Unveiling AH Goals, HUD Says GSEs 'Don't Lead'

Declaring that the GSEs "don't lead the market" when it comes to funding affordable housing, the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday published proposed rules that would boost their purchase of these loans by 5%-10% on average. (Read More)

HUD: Nothing 'Suspicious' So Far on Swaps

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has yet to find anything "suspicious" in regard to three large GSE affordable housing multifamily loan swaps that the agency is reviewing, Assistant Housing Secretary John Weicher said Monday. (Read More)

CNL REIT to Buy Its Adviser

CNL Hospitality Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Orlando, Fla., has announced a merger agreement under which it will acquire its external adviser, CNL Hospitality Corp. (Read More)

COFI Reverses Course

The Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index reversed course and headed downward again in March, nearly erasing a 3-basis-point rise in February. (Read More)

LendingTree, AAA Join Forces

LendingTree Inc., Charlotte, N.C., has announced an agreement with AAA to provide mortgage and home equity loans and realty services to AAA members in participating clubs. (Read More)

Shelbourne REITs Completing Liquidation

The liquidating trusts of three affiliated real estate investment trusts -- Shelbourne Properties I, II, and III -- have announced the transfer of all the REITs' remaining assets to the respective trusts. (Read More)

Accredited's Nix to REIT Status Lauded

Piper Jaffray analyst Robert Napoli has applauded the decision of Accredited Home Lenders, San Diego, to buck the growing trend of publicly traded subprime lenders converting to real estate investment trust status. (Read More)

Exec to Leave Bond Group for eSpeed

Paul Saltzman, executive vice president and general counsel at The Bond Market Association, is leaving to join eSpeed as chief operating officer, according to the two organizations. (Read More)

Deutsche CMBS Classes Off Watch

Classes G and H of Deutsche Mortgage & Asset Receiving Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1998-C1, have been removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

PacificEx Trading Impac, UDRT Options

The Pacific Exchange has announced the beginning of trading in options on Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. and United Dominion Realty Trust Inc. (Read More)

Private MI Jumped in March

The lower interest rate environment that sparked a brief boom in March boosted volume for the member companies of the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America. (Read More)

Keystone Reports $1.5B Merger Pact

Keystone Property Trust, West Conshohocken, Pa., has announced a $1.5 billion merger agreement under which a partnership of Aurora, Colo.-based ProLogis and affiliates of investment companies managed by Eaton Vance Management will acquire Keystone and its subsidiaries. (Read More)

Freddie: Cash-Out Refi % Holds Steady

In the first quarter, 43% of the homeowners who refinanced their homes got a mortgage at least 5% larger than the original loan, nearly unchanged from a revised 44% in the previous quarter, according to Freddie Mac. (Read More)

NAR: Housing Affordability Improves

The typical American family's ability to buy a median-priced home increased in the first quarter as a result of a drop in mortgage interest rates, rising family income, and a decline in home prices, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

NASD: 100% LTV Mortgages Very Risky

The National Association of Securities Dealers has issued a warning to investors about the risks associated with mortgages having a 100% loan-to-value ratio, also known as pledged-asset mortgages. (Read More)

GMAC Sub Gets New CEO

Lane Barnett has been named president and chief executive officer of GMAC Real Estate Franchised Offices, an operating subsidiary of GMAC Home Services, Oak Brook, Ill. (Read More)

REIT Prez/COO Retires

Gary M. Ralston has retired as president and chief operating officer of Commercial Net Lease Realty Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Orlando, Fla. (Read More)

Equity Office Reports Earnings Drop

Equity Office Properties Trust, Chicago, has reported net income of $65.3 million ($0.16 per share) for the first quarter, a 54% decline from $141.7 million ($0.35 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

MuniMae 1Q Profits Dive

Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC, Baltimore, has reported net income of $1.2 million ($0.04 per share) for the first quarter, compared with $13.9 million ($0.50 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

Fannie Ranked Tops as Corporate Citizen

Fannie Mae has reported that it was ranked No. 1 by Business Ethics magazine among the nation's top companies for its commitment to socially responsible behavior. (Read More)

RBS Buying Charter One, a Top-30 Servicer

Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to purchase Charter One Financial Inc., Cleveland, a top-30 residential servicer, for $10.5 billion. (Read More)

Freddie Controller Bolts for Morgan

Freddie Mac controller Edmond Sannini, who is working on a project to re-engineer the mortgage giant's accounting systems, is leaving the company to take a position at Morgan Stanley, MortgageWire has learned. (Read More)

Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 748.0 to 780.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended April 30, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Wintrust to Buy Mortgage, RE Companies

Wintrust Financial Corp., Lake Forest, Ill., has announced plans to acquire SGB Corp. (d/b/a WestAmerica Mortgage Co.) and its affiliate, Guardian Real Estate Services Inc. (Read More)

Fed Holds Rates Steady, but Hints at Hikes

The Federal Reserve left the federal funds overnight rate unchanged Tuesday, but hinted that it might soon raise interest rates at a "measured" pace. (Read More)

NovaStar Hit With Another Suit

Yet another class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri against NovaStar Financial Inc., Kansas City, Mo., on behalf of shareholders who bought stock between Nov. 3, 2003, and April 12, 2004. (Read More)

Franklin Names CFO

Howard N. Morof has been named chief financial officer of Franklin Financial Group, a Southfield, Mich.-based financial services organization specializing in the residential mortgage industry. (Read More)

Mortgage Consulting Firm Names Tech SVP

David Williamson has been promoted to senior vice president of technology and strategic initiatives at The Performance Group, a consulting firm for the mortgage banking industry based in Concord, N.H. (Read More)

Gables Names SVP

Cristina F. Sullivan has been promoted to senior vice president of asset management operations at Gables Residential, Boca Raton, Fla. (Read More)

Simon Buys Puerto Rican Property

Simon Property Group, Indianapolis, has acquired Plaza Carolina, a 1.1 million-square-foot San Juan, Puerto Rico, retail property for $309 million, as well as interests in two Northeastern United States properties. (Read More)

Citi, NTIC Expand Partnership

CitiFinancial, New York, and the Chicago-based National Training and Information Center have announced an expansion of their partnership into the area of promoting stable homeownership through financial literacy. (Read More)

Asia Properties to Buy Stake in Thai Firm

Asia Properties Inc., Bellingham, Wash., has agreed to purchase 500,000 shares of common stock in Quest Resorts, a corporation that owns and manages golf and beach resort developments in Thailand. (Read More)

IndyMac to Buy Reverse Lender

IndyMac Bank, Pasadena, Calif., has reported an agreement to buy the nation's largest reverse mortgage lender, Financial Freedom Holdings Inc., Irvine, Calif. (Read More)

Rates Continue to Climb

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.12% for the week ending May 7 from 6.01% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Hits 4.6%

The rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.6% Thursday morning, according to Yahoo! Finance. (Read More)

REMIC Tax Bill Gets Boost

Commercial real estate interests are stepping up their efforts to pass a REMIC modernization bill now that they have received a favorable revenue ruling from the Joint Committee on Taxation. (Read More)

FHA Zero-Down Bill Advances

A key House subcommittee passed legislation Wednesday that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure zero-down mortgages, but with certain conditions attached. (Read More)

Condo, Co-op Sales Dip

Sales of existing condominiums and cooperatives dipped slightly to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 937,000 in the first quarter, still not far below the record rate of 941,000 set in the third quarter of last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Simple Remote Unveils Pipeline Mgmt Tech

Simple Remote LLC, New York, has announced the introduction of customizable software to enable mortgage brokers and lenders to manage their deal pipeline and track contacts. (Read More)

American Residential Changes Name to AmNet

American Residential Investment Trust Inc., San Diego, has completed its name change to AmNet Mortgage Inc. (Read More)

Wilshire Picks New CEO

Joseph W. Kiley III has been elected chief executive officer of Wilshire Financial Services Group Inc., Calabasas, Calif., effective upon the expected resignation of CEO Stephen P. Glennon. (Read More)

RAIT Names EVP

Samuel J. Greenblatt has been promoted to executive vice president and director of originations at RAIT Investment Trust, Philadelphia. (Read More)

Criimi Mae Reports Earnings Drop

Criimi Mae, Rockville, Md., has reported net income of $2.5 million ($0.16 per share) for the first quarter, a 42% decline from $4.3 million ($0.28 per share) for the first quarter of 2003. (Read More)

Airline Partners With RE Award Firm

America West Airlines has announced a partnership with Awards for Mortgage and Real Estate that enables members of the airline's frequent-flyer program to earn miles for mortgages and other real-estate-related transactions. (Read More)

Mortgage Jobs Rose in March

Employment in the mortgage industry jumped 1.7% in March as low mortgage rates spurred refinancing and homebuying. (Read More)

Fannie Ordered to Write Down MH Assets

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has ordered Fannie Mae to write down the value of its $8 billion manufactured housing portfolio by May 14. (Read More)

Baker Slams Fannie Over MH Assets

Meanwhile, the elected official with chief oversight authority over Fannie Mae slammed the mortgage giant and its supporters Thursday for sticking their heads in the sand in regard to the company's accounting woes. (Read More)

FRBank Prez: Repeal GSEs' Treasury Credit Line

Congress should repeal a $2.25 billion line of credit that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maintain with the U.S. Treasury, according to St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole. (Read More)

S&P: Implicit GSE Guarantee No Longer Presumed

Confidence that the U.S. government would definitely step in and support holders of government-sponsored enterprises' debt if the GSEs ran into financial difficulties is "not there anymore," a Standard & Poor's analyst said in a Friday morning conference call. (Read More)

Fairbanks OKs Florida Settlement

Subprime servicer Fairbanks Capital Corp. has agreed to refund Florida homeowners $1.65 million for allegedly charging improper fees, according to state officials. (Read More)

Fannie MBS Speeds Jump

Prepayment rates for Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities jumped during the April reporting period, especially among 2003 vintage 5.0% and 5.5% coupons, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. (Read More)

AFT Teams With McDash on Prepay Tool

Applied Financial Technology, San Francisco, has entered into an agreement with McDash Analytics, Denver, that will provide McDash clients with AFT's short-term prepayment projections as well as housing turnover and refinancing scores. (Read More)

MILA Touts New Jumbo Loan

MILA Inc., Mountlake Terrace, Wash., a wholesale nonprime lender also doing business as Mortgage Investment Lending Associates, has announced the addition of a jumbo loan program available to qualified borrowers for up to $1 million in 13 states. (Read More)

Origen Prices IPO

Origen Financial Inc., Southfield, Mich., has priced an initial public offering of 8 million shares of common stock at $8 per share, for a total offering of $64.0 million. (Read More)

Evans Names Fannie Vet as COO

Fannie Mae veteran Alan F. Greenwald has been named chief operating officer of A. F. Evans Co., a real estate developer and manager based in Oakland, Calif. (Read More)

Cousins CFO to Relinquish Post

Cousins Properties Inc., an Atlanta-based real estate investment trust, has announced that Tom G. Charlesworth will retire from full-time employment and turn over his duties as chief financial officer to James A. Fleming in the summer. (Read More)

MortgageTree Names EVP

Diana Grossmann has been promoted to executive vice president at MortgageTree Lending, Modesto, Calif. (Read More)

Moody's Downgrades Sun

The ratings of Sun Communities Inc. and its operating partnership, Sun Communities Operating LP, have been lowered by Moody's Investors Service and withdrawn. (Read More)

Feedback

Early responses to our latest survey question -- whether Congress should overturn the OCC pre-emption rules that exempt national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries from compliance with state predatory lending laws -- have been running neck-and-neck. (Read More)

Fannie MH Hit Could Reach $2.4B -- Smith Barney

Fannie Mae could be forced to write down the value of its manufactured housing loan portfolio by as much as $2.4 billion, according to a new analyst reported released by Smith Barney. (Read More)

Allard: GSEs Need More Competition

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., says more competition is needed in the secondary mortgage market that is currently dominated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Deloitte: Housing to Spur Consumer Spending

Surging home values will spur consumer spending on furniture, consumer electronics, and home improvements in the months ahead, according to Deloitte Research's Leading Index of Consumer Spending. (Read More)

Few Mortgages Have 100% LTVs, Fed Says

Only 3% of first-mortgage loans originated by commercial banks in the past 12 months had loan-to-value ratios of 100% or more, according to a Federal Reserve Board survey. (Read More)

Survey Finds Drop in Refi Plans

Only 8% of Americans plan to refinance their mortgage in the next year, down from 16% in October 2002, according to the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index. (Read More)

eMortgage Alliance Elects Board

The eMortgage Alliance, a consortium of companies collaborating on the development of an end-to-end electronic mortgage system, has elected a new governance board. (Read More)

Ameriquest, Rangers Ink Ballpark Pact

Ameriquest Mortgage Co., Orange, Calif., and the Texas Rangers have announced a 30-year agreement under which The Ballpark in Arlington has been rechristened Ameriquest Field in Arlington. (Read More)

Conseco HEL Classes Downgraded

Three classes of Conseco Home Equity 2000-B have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes CWABS Class

Class BF of Countrywide asset-backed securities series 2000-2, group 1, has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Entrust Restructures Note

Entrust Financial Services Inc., Denver, has announced a restructuring of a $2 million convertible promissory note. (Read More)

HK RE Market Poised for Rebound?

Hong Kong's property market, which has been in a slump since 1997, "appears to be finally poised for a sustainable recovery," according to Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Fannie Pegs MH Writedown at $240MM

Fannie Mae said it expects to take a $240 million writedown on $8.3 billion in securities that were recently criticized by its regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. (Read More)

Freddie Sees Record Home Sales

Total home sales remain likely to set another record this year even though interest rate expectations have been revised upward and total originations will likely decline somewhat, according to Freddie Mac's latest economic forecast. (Read More)

NAR: Home Sales Should Hold Firm

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors is predicting that home sales will remain at near-record levels in the short run and then decline to levels that are still strong by historical standards. (Read More)

House GOP Leaders Seek TRIA Extension

Members of the House Republican leadership have sent a letter urging Treasury Secretary John Snow to extend the "make available" requirement of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act until Dec. 31, 2005, the Mortgage Bankers Association has reported. (Read More)

FHLBank 1Q Earnings Fall

Federal Home Loan Bank earnings fell 16.2% in the first quarter, compared with those of a year earlier, as low interest rates continued to undercut profits and mortgage purchases fell dramatically. (Read More)

ICBA, Habitat Form Alliance

The Independent Community Bankers of America has announced the formation of a national alliance with Habitat for Humanity International to enable community bankers to help more low-income families attain "affordable, dignified" housing. (Read More)

RE Bank Names Senior EVP

Kevin J. Brennan has been promoted to senior executive vice president of Carlton Advisory Services, a New York-based national real estate investment bank. (Read More)

CWMBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes in two CWMBS (IndyMac) Inc. mortgage pass-through deals have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes Amresco MBS Class

Class B-1F of Amresco Residential Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates series 1997-3, group 1, has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Citi Inks Deal to Buy Principal

Citigroup, one of the most active buyers in the mortgage space over the past few years, has agreed to pay $1.26 billion for Principal Residential Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, the nation's 11th-largest residential servicer. (Read More)

Apps Fall; ARM Share Hits 10-Year High

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 780.9 to 742.2 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 7, while the ARM share of applications reached the highest level in nearly 10 years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Senate Passes Bill With MI Deduction

The Senate has passed by a 92-5 vote a huge tax bill called the Jumpstart Our Business Strength Act that includes a temporary one-year deduction for mortgage insurance premiums. (Read More)

NAR: Voters Oppose OCC Pre-emption

Voters are overwhelmingly opposed to a ruling by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that pre-empts states' regulatory authority over national banks, according to the a poll commissioned by the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Raines: Banks Will Lose Interest in Mortgages

Fannie Mae chairman and chief executive Franklin Raines is predicting that commercial banks will soon loose their appetite for investing in mortgages as short-term interest rates rise. (Read More)

Sandler Cuts Fannie Earnings Estimates

Investment banker Sandler O'Neill, a long-time bull on Fannie Mae, has reduced its earnings estimates on the mortgage giant, citing the company's troubles with its $8 billion manufactured housing portfolio. (Read More)

AFSA Warns Against HMDA Data Misuse

The scheduled release of the new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data next year presents severe reputational risk for subprime lenders, and the Federal Reserve Board needs to prevent the misuse of the data, according to the American Financial Services Association. (Read More)

New Regs Govern REMIC-Related Fees

Fees paid to induce taxpayers to become the holders of noneconomic residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits have to be accounted for in certain ways under regulations that went into effect May 11. (Read More)

Basel II Standards Coming in June?

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision plans to publish the text of its Basel II international capital standards at the end of June, the Bank for International Settlements has reported. (Read More)

GMAC Launches Equity Rewards MasterCard

GMAC Mortgage Corp., Horsham, Pa., has announced the introduction of a no-annual-fee credit card that helps cardholders pay down their mortgage via rewards for retail purchases. (Read More)

1Q Resales Stay at Near-Record Pace

Total existing-home sales -- including condominiums and co-operatives -- stayed at near-record levels in the first quarter, rising in 42 states and the District of Columbia from the levels recorded a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

DocuTech Names Chief Tech Officer

Kirk Reese has been named chief technology officer at DocuTech Corp., a mortgage software technology company based in Idaho Falls, Idaho. (Read More)

Dynex Reports 1Q Loss

Dynex Capital Inc., Glen Allen, Va., has reported a net loss to common stockholders of $6.6 million ($0.60 per share) for the first quarter, compared with net income of $12.5 million ($1.15 per share) for the same period last year. (Read More)

CSFB CMBS Classes Downgraded

Fifteen classes of Credit Suisse First Boston commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2002-FL2, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Independence CDO Classes Downgraded

Three classes of notes issued by Independence I CDO Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation partly composed of residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Freddie CEO Sees Slower Portfolio Growth

The rapid growth of Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolio over the past 10 years is no longer "feasible," according to the company's top executive. (Read More)

Rates Jump

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.34% for the week ending May 14 from 6.12% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Climbs Above 4.8%

The rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield rose definitively above 4.8% Thursday morning, establishing a new high for the year. (Read More)

Countrywide Unveils 'Optimum Loan'

Countrywide Home Loans Inc., Calabasas, Calif., has announced the introduction of the Optimum Loan Program, which the company says can "help overcome common obstacles to qualifying for a mortgage loan." (Read More)

Freddie, NAPMW Form Educational Alliance

Freddie Mac and the National Association of Professional Mortgage Women have announced an educational alliance to strengthen the association members' origination and secondary-market knowledge and further their professional development. (Read More)

Ginnie Servicing Portfolio For Sale

The Prestwick Mortgage Group, Alexandria, Va., is brokering the sale of servicing rights on a $37 million portfolio of Ginnie Mae loans. (Read More)

PMI Risk Index Improves

There is about a one-in-seven chance of a general decline in home prices over the next two years, according to the PMI Risk Index, which has improved in recent months. (Read More)

Amex Trading Options on Boston Properties

The American Stock Exchange has launched trading in options on Boston Properties Inc., a Boston-based real estate investment trust. (Read More)

Mortgage Broker Day Proclaimed

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has announced that Congress recently proclaimed June 7 National Mortgage Broker Day. (Read More)

Fannie Prices Callable BenchNotes

Fannie Mae has priced a $2 billion issue of three-year, 3.750% Callable Benchmark Notes due May 17, 2007. (Read More)

Syron: 'Elevate' Freddie's Housing Mission

Freddie Mac became too complacent and resistant to change under its previous leadership, according to its new top executive, who says he wants to make a clean break and "elevate" the enterprise's commitment to its housing mission and expanding homeownership. (Read More)

Calyx Seeks to Enjoin Ellie Mae

Calyx Software, San Jose, Calif., has filed for a preliminary injunction against its rival Ellie Mae, Dublin, Calif., that broadens an earlier dispute alleging that Ellie Mae committed copyright infringement. (Read More)

'Blue Skies Ahead' for Subprime?

While the prime side of the mortgage business is expected to slow somewhat this year in the absence of a strong refinancing market, the subprime sector could actually post some gains, says the chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

White House Seeks More Money for OFHEO

The White House, anticipating that Congress will not pass a government-sponsored enterprise regulatory bill this year, is asking legislators for an additional $19.3 million to fund the operations of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. (Read More)

S&P Changes Criteria for 'Predatory' Loans

Based on a study of over 40 federal, state, and municipal anti-predatory-lending laws, Standard & Poor's has decided to require additional credit enhancement for loans governed by such laws in 12 states and the District of Columbia and that are included in mortgage-backed securities it rates. (Read More)

Housing Bubble Seen in 20 Big Cities

There is definitely a housing bubble, but the good news is that it exists in only 20 big cities, according to economist Scott Franklin, a featured speaker at the MBA's Commercial Mortgage Asset Administration and Technology Conference in Nashville. (Read More)

MBS Fell in 1Q, but HEL Deals Rose

Although the volume of new home equity securitizations increased in the first quarter, the bulk of the mortgage-related securities market saw a decline in issuance, The Bond Market Association has reported. (Read More)

Oak Street Plans IPO

Oak Street Financial Services Inc., Carmel, Ind., has announced a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of common stock. (Read More)

CapSource Names RE Chief

Christopher T. Kelly has been named director and head of real estate in the structured finance group of CapitalSource Finance LLC, a specialized commercial finance company based in Chevy Chase, Md. (Read More)

ABFS Reports Loss in 1Q

American Business Financial Services, Philadelphia, has reported a loss of $33.2 million ($10.53 per share) for the fiscal third quarter ended March 31, compared with net income of $221,000 ($0.06 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

AmNet Takes 1Q Loss

AmNet Mortgage Inc. (formerly American Residential Investment Trust), San Diego, has reported a net loss of $5.7 million ($0.72 per share) for the first quarter, compared with net income of $12.2 million ($1.53 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

Redwood Prices Stock Offering

Redwood Trust Inc., a financial institution based in Mill Valley, Calif., that invests in real estate loans, has priced a public offering of 1.05 million shares of common stock at $45.20 per share. (Read More)

Merit MH Classes Downgraded

Four classes of certificates in the Merit Securities Corp. series 12 manufactured housing deal have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

First Union HEL Class Downgraded

Class B of First Union Home Equity Loan Series 1997-2 has been downgraded from BB-minus to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Salomon CMBS Class Downgraded

Class MF-3 of Salomon Brothers Mortgage Securities VII Inc.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates series 2001-1, group 1, has been downgraded from BBB to BB by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Feedback

Here's something amusing to help get a head start on the weekend. (Read More)

Senator Seeks Probe of OFHEO

Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., has asked the HUD inspector general to conduct an investigation of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and its release of confidential information about a special examination of Fannie Mae's accounting policies and practices. (Read More)

Vision RE Agrees to Buy Mortgage Broker

Vision Real Estate Management and Development Inc., Albany, N.Y., has signed a letter of intent to acquire MEM Financial Solutions Inc., a mortgage brokerage based in Half Moon, N.Y. (Read More)

AAMG Offers OneFee to Relocation Clients

The National Lending Center Affinity and Relocation Lending division of ABN Amro Mortgage Group, Ann Arbor, Mich., has begun offering the company's guaranteed OneFee mortgage to clients of Real Living's Corporate Relocation Management. (Read More)

BPO Tracker Now Called Clear Capital

BPO Tracker, a provider of loan valuation outsourcing based in Truckee, Calif., has announced that it has changed its name to Clear Capital.com Inc. (Read More)

1st Metro Names CEO

Daniel Jacobs has been promoted to chief executive officer of 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, a Charlotte, N.C.-based national mortgage broker. (Read More)

Heritage Names SVP/COO

Robert G. Prendergast has been named senior vice president and chief operating officer of Heritage Property Investment Trust Inc., Boston. (Read More)

CharterMac Sub Completes Stock Offering

CharterMac, New York, has announced that its subsidiary Charter Mac Equity Issuer Trust has completed a $104 million preferred equity offering to institutional investors. (Read More)

Housing Starts Dip

Single-family housing starts edged down 0.6% in April, but construction activity was still at a historically high rate. (Read More)

NFIP Extension Hits Delay

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., possibly as well as other senators, has placed a hold on a bill to extend the National Flood Insurance Program, and lenders are worried that Congress may miss a June 30 deadline to pass the bill and prevent a shutdown of the flood insurance program. (Read More)

Dems Rap CRA Proposal

Federal regulators should withdraw a proposed rule that would "dramatically weaken" the effectiveness of the Community Reinvestment Act, according to 29 Democratic senators and one independent. (Read More)

Playground, Wells Form Joint Venture

Playground Investments Inc. and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Inc., have signed a joint venture agreement to form Playground Financial Services LLC, which will offer home financing products and services for resort real estate buyers. (Read More)

S&P Downgrades PMI & Chief MI Sub

Standard & Poor's has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. and its long-term counterparty credit and senior debt ratings on the company's parent, The PMI Group Inc. (Read More)

First Magnus Picks SharperLending's Platform

First Magnus Financial Corp., a privately held mortgage banking company in Tucson, Ariz., has selected SharperLending LLC, Spokane, Wash., to support its wholesale and correspondent divisions. (Read More)

NY Mortgage Adds 10 Branches

The New York Mortgage Co. LLC, New York, has announced the addition of 10 new branch offices as part of an assumption agreement with SIB Mortgage Corp. (Read More)

CRE Late Pays Below 0.5% in California

Commercial mortgage delinquencies in California are below 0.5% for the 22nd consecutive month, the California Mortgage Bankers Association has reported. (Read More)

OFHEO, GSE Lawyers Eye BoA Servicing Deal

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and outside counsel for Freddie Mac are investigating what is being described as a servicing "transaction" between the mortgage giant and one of its former top strategic alliance partners, Bank of America. (Read More)

Feds to Study MPF's AH Results

Federal regulators are initiating a joint study to see how well the Mortgage Partnership Finance program, which was created by the Federal Home Loan Banks five years ago, is doing at funding affordable housing loans. (Read More)

Applications Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 742.2 to 654.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Fannie Lowers Origination Forecast

Fannie Mae has lowered its 2004 mortgage origination forecast from $2.58 trillion to $2.30 trillion, according to the government-sponsored enterprise's latest economic outlook. (Read More)

Family Homeowner Rate Lower Than in '70s?

The national homeownership rate for families with children, especially for low- to moderate-income working families with children, is lower than the rates in the 1970s even though the overall homeownership rate in the United States stands at a record high, according to a National Housing Conference study. (Read More)

Pru Mortgage Names Principal

Prudential Mortgage Capital, Newark, N.J., has appointed Carmen Bowser a principal with the company's National Accounts Group in New York City. (Read More)

Quicken to Expand in Michigan

Quicken Loans Inc. plans to expand its operations in Troy, Mich., and create 1,200 new jobs, which will result in the creation of an estimated 4,695 indirect jobs over the next four years, Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm has announced. (Read More)

FirstAm Okays Stock Buyback

The board of directors of The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., has authorized the repurchase of up to 100 million shares of the company's common stock. (Read More)

Fannie Prices BenchNotes

Fannie Mae has priced $4 billion of 4.250% five-year Benchmark Notes at 99.486. (Read More)

HUD to Resurrect RESPA Reform?

The Department of Housing and Development has not given up on RESPA reform. (Read More)

Fixed Rates Dip

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.30% for the week ending May 21 from 6.34% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Marsh & McLennan to Buy Kroll

Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., New York, will acquire Kroll Inc., New York, as part of a strategic move to broaden its risk and insurance services and enhance its market share in risk management services. (Read More)

MBA Cuts Origination Forecast

The Mortgage Bankers Association has joined Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in revising origination projections downward for this year, cutting its forecast from $2.6 trillion to $2.4 trillion. (Read More)

Ostara Inks Pact With Sunset Mortgage Sub

Ostara Corp., Wernersville, Pa., has announced an agreement with Sunset Commercial Group, a subsidiary of Franklin Center, Pa.-based Sunset Mortgage Co., under which Ostara and a subsidiary will be able to use and offer short-term commercial bridge loans. (Read More)

AMAC Names COO

John Garth has been named chief operating officer and senior vice president of American Mortgage Acceptance Co., a New York City-based multifamily real estate investment trust. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes Bear ABS Classes

Two certificates from a series of Bear Stearns asset-backed securities issued in 2001 have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Astoria Authorizes Stock Repo

The board of directors of Astoria Financial Corp., Lake Success, N.Y., has authorized the repurchase of 8 million shares of the company's common stock, approximately 10% of its outstanding common shares. (Read More)

Post Adviser Frowns on Proposal

Glass, Lewis & Co., an independent proxy advisory company, has recommended that shareholders of Post Properties vote against a proposal by John Williams, an ex-chief executive of Post, at the Post annual meeting May 27, according to the Atlanta-based real estate investment trust. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes Marsh & McLennan Debt

The senior debt rating of Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., New York, has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings in the wake of an announcement that the company will acquire Kroll Inc., a risk consulting company that serves the mortgage industry and others, for $1.9 billion. (Read More)

FNB Southeast Names Prez

Pressley A. Ridgill has been named president of FNB Southeast, Greensboro, N.C., the regional banking organization of FNB Financial Services Corp. (Read More)

O'Neill Properties Names COO

W. Kirk Wycoff has been named chief operating officer of O'Neill Properties Group, King of Prussia, Pa. (Read More)

Digital Map Adds ex-CEO of FNIS to Board

Patrick F. Stone, a former chief executive officer of Fidelity National Information Solutions Inc., has been named to the board of directors of Digital Map Products, a developer of Internet-hosted mapping applications. (Read More)

Long Beach RMBS Class Downgraded

Class BF of Long Beach Mortgage Loan Trust series 2000-LB1, group 1, has been downgraded from BBB to BB-minus and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Prime Property Debt Downgraded

The ratings on the senior debt of Prime Property Fund and Prime Property Funding II Inc. have been lowered from A2 to A3 by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Feedback

Who is the real player in net branching now that the refi boom is over? (Read More)

Fed Eyes Holding Company Subprime Lending

Federal Reserve Board examiners are finally taking a peek at the subprime lending activities of consumer finance companies and mortgage banking companies that are owned by bank holding companies. (Read More)

Panel Okays VA Guaranty Hike

The House Veterans Affairs Committee has approved a bill that would increase the VA loan guarantee so that veterans and military personnel could get no-downpayment loans of up to $333,700, which is the Freddie Mac conforming loan limit. (Read More)

Bradford Mortgage Buys Scottish Bank Unit

Bradford Mortgage Co., Winston-Salem, N.C., has acquired the mortgage division of The Scottish Bank, a community bank based in Charlotte, N.C., for an undisclosed amount. (Read More)

NAR: AH No. 3 Voter Concern

Housing affordability now ranks third among voter concerns and is likely to be an issue for about two-thirds of American voters in the November election, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Freddie to Integrate Info1 Into LP

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va., has announced an agreement to integrate its credit reporting subsidiary, Info1 Holding Co., into Freddie Mac's automated underwriting system. (Read More)

NAHB Sees End of MF Slump

The National Association of Home Builders is seeing signs that the slump is over for the multifamily sector, the Washington-based trade association has reported. (Read More)

ARM Use May Augur Rise in CA Defaults

The widespread use of adjustable-rate mortgages by California homebuyers in 2003 could lead to a rise in defaults later this year as interest rates rise, according to Foreclosures.com, a Fair Oaks, Calif.-based investment advisory firm specializing in distressed property. (Read More)

Will Rates Spark Foreclosure Surge in Vegas?

Meanwhile, Foreclosures.com also forecast that rising interest rates will "spark a surge in Las Vegas foreclosure activity later this year." (Read More)

Resales Hit 2nd-Highest Level Ever

Existing-home sales rose 2.5% in April to the second-highest monthly rate ever as the expectation of rising mortgage rates contributes to a very strong spring homebuying season. (Read More)

FTC Probing Aames

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Aames Financial Corp., a subprime lender based in Los Angeles, according to a public filing. (Read More)

FHA Defaults Spur Loss Mitigation Efforts

With the Federal Housing Administration single-family default rate above 6%, servicers have increased the use of pre-foreclosure sales and other loss mitigation tools over the six months ended March 31. (Read More)

Merrill Unveils Blended-Rate Mortgage

Merrill Lynch Credit Corp., New York, has announced the introduction of the Blended-Rate mortgage, an adjustable-rate loan that it says combines the lower rates of an ARM with the lower risk of fixed-rate mortgages. (Read More)

Genworth/GEMI Goes Public, but at Lower Price

Genworth Financial, the parent company of G.E. Mortgage Insurance, Raleigh, N.C., went public Tuesday, but at a price several dollars short of what it hoped for. (Read More)

PMI Beats Out MGIC in New MI Rankings

The PMI Group, San Francisco, long the No. 2-ranked mortgage insurance company in the nation, is now No. 1. (Read More)

FirstAm to Buy Kansas Title Companies

First American Title Insurance Co., Santa Ana, Calif., has announced an agreement to acquire Columbian National Title Co., Topeka, Kan., and its affiliated title companies from McCaffree Financial Corp. (Read More)

Fannie Expands 'MyCommunityMortgage'

Fannie Mae has introduced the "MyCommunityMortgage" product, previously available to housing finance agencies, as a flexible-terms supplement to current mortgage revenue bond programs for low- to moderate-income borrowers and communities offered by some HFAs. (Read More)

Related Closes LIHTC Fund

Related Capital, a subsidiary of New York-based CharterMac, has closed a $225 million corporate tax credit fund. (Read More)

Harlach Buys Hungarian RE Firm

Harlach AG, a property investment company based in Zurich, Switzerland, has purchased Pacont Kft, a real estate company based in Budapest, Hungary, from ABB. (Read More)

Chase CMBS Class Downgraded

Class I of Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1997-2, has been downgraded from B-minus to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

New-Home Sales Drop

New-home sales dropped 11.8% in April but remained above the 1 million mark for the 14th consecutive month. (Read More)

Applications Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 654.1 to 632.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 21, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

NJ Court Upholds OTS Authority

The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that the Office of Thrift Supervision acted within its authority in deciding that non-federally-supervised mortgage lenders could no longer ignore state restrictions on prepayment penalties. (Read More)

Freddie's Portfolio Slips in April

Freddie Mac has reported that its total mortgage portfolio, which includes guaranteed mortgage-backed securities as well as its retained loans, contracted by 2% in April after eight straight months of growth. (Read More)

OTS: 44% of Thrift 1Q Loans Were ARMs

Thrifts originated $130.4 billion in single-family loans in the first quarter, and nearly half (44%) were adjustable-rate mortgages. (Read More)

Faith-Based Homeownership Effort Launched

A faith-based campaign to help more Rhode Island families become first-time homeowners has been announced by Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., the Faith Community Coalition for Homeownership, the Cathedral of Life Community Development Corp., Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Freddie Prices Euro Notes

Freddie Mac has priced a 3 billion euro (about $3.63 billion) offering of new five-year EuroReference Note securities due July 15, 2009. (Read More)

MBS Rockers Raise $30K+ for Charity

Wall Street mortgage-backed securities professionals performing at a rock 'n' roll benefit in New York raised more than $30,000 for two charities Tuesday night, according to an event organizer. (Read More)

FNF Plans Noninsurance Ops Spinoff

Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has announced a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed spinoff of its noninsurance operations into a separately traded public company. (Read More)

Treasury Sec'y Owned $10MM in GSE Bonds

Treasury Secretary John Snow, while pushing for tighter regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, unwittingly owned $10 million in bonds issued by the two mortgage giants as well as other housing government-sponsored enterprises. (Read More)

Economists: Originations to Average Nearly $3T

Mortgage originations will average close to $3 trillion a year from 2004 to 2013, according to the chief economists of three trade groups and two secondary market agencies. (Read More)

MBA: Commercial Volume Grew in 1Q

Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations totaled $20.9 billion in the first quarter, up 2.8% from the volume recorded a year earlier, according to a quarterly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Fixed Rates Inch Up

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.32% for the week ending May 28 from 6.30% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

FDIC: Bank, Thrift MBS Holdings Top $1T

Banks and thrifts added $121 billion in mortgage-backed securities to their portfolios in the first quarter as their combined MBS investments topped $1 trillion for the first time, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (Read More)

MGIC Unveils Mortgage Payment Protection

Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Milwaukee, has announced a new program under which borrowers with eligible MGIC-insured loans can obtain protection from home foreclosure in the event of disability or involuntary unemployment. (Read More)

Fitch Awards 1st 'Small Loan' CMBS Servicer Rating

Imperial Capital Bank has received a CPS3 Small Loan rating from Fitch Ratings for primary servicing of commercial mortgage-backed securities, the first such rating given out by the rating agency. (Read More)

ABA Launches Mortgage Education Effort

The American Bankers Association has launched a campaign to educate consumers about mortgage lending. (Read More)

Index: Luxe Home Values Jump in LA, San Diego

Luxury home values were up dramatically in the first quarter from those of a year earlier in Los Angeles and San Diego, according to the Prestige Home Index released by First Republic Bank, San Francisco. (Read More)

Fed Fines Citi Subprime Unit

The Federal Reserve Board has fined Citigroup's subprime lending unit $70 million for abusive lending practices, which were discovered during examinations in 2000 and 2001. (Read More)

State to Appeal Pre-emption Ruling

The Connecticut Department of Banking plans to appeal a federal district court ruling in Wachovia Bank v. Burke that federal law pre-empts the authority of state officials to regulate a national bank's mortgage subsidiary. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Rebounds

The rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield had risen back above 4.6% as of midday Friday after falling below that level the day before. (Read More)

Freddie Director Resigns

Christina Seix has resigned from the board of directors of Freddie Mac to avoid a conflict of interest that could arise from a pending acquisition of her investment advisory firm. (Read More)

NYC Report: AH Funds Not Spent on Housing

Little if any of the $600 million fund the city of New York and the Battery Park City Authority agreed to invest in affordable housing development in 1989 has been spent on housing, according to a report by the New York City Independent Budget Office. (Read More)

Colonial Joins Freddie Hall of Fame

Colonial Savings FA, Fort Worth, Texas, has become the 27th company to be inducted into Freddie Mac's Hall of Fame for achieving Tier One servicing status four years in a row, according to Colonial. (Read More)

Feedback

Responses to our survey question are running 5-to-1 in favor of overturning OCC pre-emption rules that exempt national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries from compliance with state predatory lending laws. (Read More)

Freddie Plans Earnings Release by EOM

Freddie Mac says it is still working toward releasing its quarterly and annual financial results for 2003 by the end of June. (Read More)

OFHEO: House Price Rise Slowed in 1Q

House prices rose 7.71% over the 12 months ended March 31, but slowed to a 3.84% annual rate in the first quarter, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. (Read More)

COFI Hits Another Low

As other rates continue to rise, the Eleventh Federal Home Loan Cost of Funds Index has set another new low. (Read More)

Hopkins, Rockwood Form New Company

Hopkins Real Estate Group, Newport Beach, Calif., has joined forces with Rockwood Capital Corp., San Francisco, to form a new company to develop, redevelop, and acquire retail properties in California. (Read More)

Assisted Living Mulls Naming Adviser

Assisted Living Concepts, Dallas, is considering the appointment of a financial adviser to assist it in "exploring various strategic alternatives," according to the company. (Read More)

HEI Closes Lodging Fund

HEI Hospitality, Norwalk, Conn., has announced the closing of a $275 million discretionary equity fund specializing in lodging investments. (Read More)

WMC Names Northeast Division Chief

Kathleen Lipps has been named senior vice president of the Northeast Division of WMC Mortgage Corp., a subprime wholesale lender based in Woodland Hills, Calif. (Read More)

American Home Changes NYSE Symbol

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., Melville, N.Y., has begun trading under a new ticker symbol, AHM, on the New York Stock Exchange. (Read More)

Applications Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 632.4 to 624.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 28, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Old Republic Forms Bundling Unit

Old Republic National Title Insurance Co., Minneapolis, has created a new unit that will be dedicated to providing bundled services and pricing solutions to its network of independent agents and direct operations. (Read More)

HUD Touts First-Time Homebuyer Grants

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that it will provide $161.5 million in financial assistance to first-time homebuyers by providing grants of up to $10,000 per family. (Read More)

Private MI Dips

Members of the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America wrote $19.5 billion of private mortgage insurance in April, down 3.7% from $20.3 billion in March. (Read More)

Freddie: Home Prices Rose 8.5% 1Q-1Q

Home prices increased 8.5% nationwide over the 12 months ended March 31, up from 5.1% in the comparable period a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac. (Read More)

AHM, Signature Bank Join Forces

American Home Mortgage Corp., Melville, N.Y., has announced that it will be providing private-label mortgage processing services for Signature Bank, New York, through AHM's online channel, Mortgage Select. (Read More)

AMB Renews $500MM LOC

AMB Property Corp., a San Francisco-based real estate investment trust, has obtained an early renewal of a $500 million senior unsecured revolving line of credit that was due to mature in December 2005. (Read More)

Bear MBS Class Downgraded

Class B-4 of Bear Stearns Mortgage Securities Inc. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1997-6 FRM, has been downgraded from CCC to C by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Freddie Prices $3B of RefNotes

Freddie Mac has priced $3 billion of five-year Reference Notes due July 15, 2009. (Read More)

Correction

Colonial Savings FA, Fort Worth, Texas, was among 10 companies (not 27) to be inducted into Freddie Mac's Hall of Fame earlier this year for achieving Tier One servicing status four years in a row. There were 27 single-family mortgage servicers that achieved Tier One status from Freddie Mac for superior investor reporting and default management in two or more quarters of 2003. (Read More)

Treasury: Farmer Mac LOC Uncertain

Farmer Mac may not have access to a $1.5 billion line of credit with the U.S. Treasury under certain circumstances, a Treasury Department official has told the House Agriculture Committee. (Read More)

FCA Backs Higher Farmer Mac Cap Mandate

The chairman and chief executive officer of the Farm Credit Administration says she would support congressional action to raise Farmer Mac's capital requirements. (Read More)

Zero-Down Passes House Panel

The House Financial Services Committee has approved a bill that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure zero-downpayment loans for first-time homebuyers. (Read More)

Fixed Rates Dip

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.28% for the week ending June 4 from 6.33% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

MBA: Terror Coverage Worries Servicers

Commercial servicers expect that only 20% of their portfolios, representing $132 billion in loans, will have terrorism risk insurance in place by next spring if the "make available" provision of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act is not extended, according to a survey conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

American Equity Buys Integrity Mortgage

American Equity Mortgage, St. Louis, has announced the acquisition of Integrity Mortgage Corp., Columbus, Ohio, for an undisclosed amount. (Read More)

ServiceLink Forms REO Sub

ServiceLink LP, a Pittsburgh-based closing management company, has announced the formation of AssetLink LP as an independent subsidiary to focus on the sale of bank-owned properties acquired through mortgage foreclosures. (Read More)

AmeriDream Unveils Downpay/Jobless Program

AmeriDream Inc., a downpayment assistance provider based in Gaithersburg, Md., has launched the DreamKeeper Mortgage Payment Relief Program, which combines mortgage payment protection against involuntary unemployment and disability with the downpayment gift. (Read More)

Upromise Launches Mortgage Program

Upromise Inc., Needham, Mass., has announced the launch of a program in conjunction with Awards for Mortgage & Real Estate under which members can earn 0.25% of their home loan amount at closing in Upromise ScholarDollars. (Read More)

Syron Elected Chair of Freddie Foundation

Richard F. Syron, Freddie Mac's chairman and chief executive officer, has been elected chairman of the board of the Freddie Mac Foundation. (Read More)

Consumer Direct Begins Private Offering

Consumer Direct of America, a Las Vegas-based consolidator in the mortgage brokerage industry, has announced a private placement of approximately $5 million of securities. (Read More)

Mortgage Jobs Jump

Mortgage lenders added 5,200 full-time employees to their payrolls in April, according to the May employment report released June 4 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Read More)

HUD Dragging Feet on DPA Report?

The Department of Housing and Urban Development still does not know whether downpayment assistance programs offered by nonprofit organizations are pushing up Federal House Administration default rates, and it doesn't seem to be in a hurry to find out. (Read More)

Deutsche Bank Forms Correspondent Unit

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., New York, has announced the formation of a Correspondent Lending Group in Boca Raton, Fla., that buys closed subprime mortgage loans from originators on a bulk and a loan-by-loan flow basis. (Read More)

Criimi Mae to Take Hit From CMO Refi

Criimi Mae, Rockville, Md., has refinanced a 7%, $45.7 million collateralized mortgage obligation and says it expects to take a financial statement loss of about $1.1 million in the second quarter as a result. (Read More)

GoldMedalMortgage.com Sponsors Olympian

GoldMedalMortgage.com, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., has announced that it will sponsor Olympian Mike Powell, the world record holder in the long jump. (Read More)

Treasury: Africans Should Explore Mortgage Finance

The "time is right" for many African countries to "seriously address the issue of mortgage finance" with the help of the United States, according to John B. Taylor, U.S. Treasury undersecretary for international affairs. (Read More)

Brochure Touts Benefits of Renting

A new brochure titled "Don't Buy the Myths: Renting Can Be a Smart Investment" has been issued by the National Multi Housing Council and the National Apartment Association. (Read More)

Feedback

What is the lowest credit score loan you have ever done? (Read More)

New NAMB Chief Seeks Quicker Prosecutions

The new president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers has called for an industry-government alliance at the state and local level to expose and, most importantly, to prosecute predatory lenders. (Read More)

Pickel Urges Brokers to Reach 'Underserved'

A. W. Pickel, the outgoing president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, has issued a personal challenge to mortgage brokers to fill the needs of certain underserved communities in America. (Read More)

NAMB Issues RFP for Predatory Lending Study

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is putting out a request for proposal that calls for a comprehensive study of how state anti-predatory-lending laws have affected credit availability. (Read More)

DocuTech Launches Lender Advocate Website

DocuTech Corp., Idaho Falls, Idaho, has launched a new interactive Lender Advocate website that it describes as a one-stop compliance and educational center for the mortgage industry. (Read More)

Calyx Drops Injunction Request Against Ellie

Calyx Software, San Jose, Calif., has decided to drop its request for an injunction against Ellie Mae, Dublin, Calif. (Read More)

NAHB Urges FHA to Change Default Standards

The mortgage affiliates of homebuilders are starting to get clipped under the Federal Housing Administration's Credit Watch program, and their trade group is urging the FHA to change its default standards so they are not penalized for concentrating on home purchase loans. (Read More)

MBS Speeds Plunge for Major Coupons

Prepayment rates for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities plunged among major coupons during the May reporting period, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. (Read More)

Myers Ups Its Offering

Myers Internet has released a new website product that enables mortgage originators to originate mortgages by marketing to the for-sale-by-owner market. (Read More)

Genworth Unveils Underwrite Express

Genworth Financial Inc., Raleigh, N.C., has announced the introduction of Underwrite Express, an online service that the company says combines the benefits of two of its mortgage technology platforms. (Read More)

BrokerOneSource Makes Gains

Wachovia has signed up to participate on Wayne, Pa.-based GHR Systems' Web-based origination marketplace, BrokerOneSource. (Read More)

Fitch: CMBS Defaults 'Extraordinarily' Low

Defaults on commercial mortgage-backed securities have been "extraordinarily low" during the 14-year history of the bonds, according to a study by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

E-Loan Promotes COO to Prez

Mark Lefanowicz, chief operating officer of E-Loan Inc., Pleasanton, Calif., has been promoted to president of E-Loan and will retain his position as COO. (Read More)

Freddie Declares 2Q Dividends

Freddie Mac's board of directors has announced a dividend of $0.30 per share on the corporation's voting common stock for the second quarter. (Read More)

Pollock Resigns as Chicago FHLBank Prez

In a surprise move, Alex Pollock has resigned as president of the Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank to become a resident fellow at a Washington think tank. (Read More)

Chase Offers HELOC Incentives

Chase Home Finance is offering incentives to brokers for home equity line-of-credit products, an executive from the company told attendees at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers' 2004 annual conference in Salt Lake City. (Read More)

Sysdome Creates Broker Fraud Tool

Calabasas, Calif.-based Sysdome has announced the release of its new BrokerScore product designed to detect broker fraud. (Read More)

DocuTech Launches PowerLend

DocuTech Corp., a provider of compliance services and documentation technology, has debuted its new PowerLend product at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers conference in Salt Lake City. (Read More)

ARC Systems Releases Loan Finder Express

ARC Systems, a mortgage automation provider based in Austin, Texas, has announced the release of Loan Finder Express, an underwriting tool designed for mid-tier lenders and brokers. (Read More)

a la mode Debuts Mortgage XSites

Oklahoma City-based a la mode inc. has debuted Mortgage XSites -- websites containing business tools to generate leads and cut paperwork, among other things -- at the annual convention of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. (Read More)

REITs in Store for UK?

Publicly traded real estate investment trusts could become a reality in the United Kingdom by next May, according to Nicholas Ritblat, executive director of The British Land Co. (Read More)

Harvard: Strong Decade Ahead for Housing

Housing is expected to enjoy another decade of significant growth driven mainly by women, minorities, and immigrants, a trend that will generate even bigger affordability challenges, according to an annual report by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. (Read More)

GreenPoint CEO Joins Freddie's Board

Thomas S. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of GreenPoint Financial Corp., has been elected to the board of directors of Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Applications Fall

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 624.6 to 568.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the holiday-shortened week ended June 4, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

AAMG Rolls Out Broker Tool

ABN Amro Mortgage Group has rolled out an electronic mortgage broker tool to the market at large, and the company has more broker-oriented technology improvements in the works, AAMG executives told reporters at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers annual convention. (Read More)

Stewart Launches Default Tools

Stewart Mortgage Information, a Houston-based wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp., has announced the formation of Stewart Default Solutions Inc. to offer default management and technology systems for the mortgage and consumer services industry. (Read More)

Cardinal to Buy Mason Mortgage

Cardinal Financial Corp., Tysons Corner, Va., has announced an agreement to acquire George Mason Mortgage LLC, Fairfax, Va., from United Bankshares Inc., Parkersburg, W. Va., for $17 million in cash. (Read More)

Texas Regional to Buy Valley Mortgage

Texas Regional Bancshares Inc., McAllen, Texas, has agreed in principle to acquire Valley Mortgage Co., also of McAllen, in a cash/stock transaction valued at approximately $13.63 million. (Read More)

Aether to Build MBS Portfolio

Aether Systems Inc., Owings Mills, Md., has hired FBR Investment Management Inc. to assist it in assembling and managing a leveraged portfolio of mortgage-backed securities. (Read More)

GMAC Dismisses Suit Against LendingTree

Lending Tree Inc., Charlotte, N.C., has reported that General Motors Acceptance Corp. has dismissed a recently filed complaint alleging that LendingTree was attempting to trade on GMAC's reputation by using or appropriating GMAC's trademark as a domain name. (Read More)

Fannie OKs Valuation Option to Aid Indians

Fannie Mae has announced that it has given the green light, at least temporarily, to the use of a cost-based valuation alternative (when sales comparables are not available) that aims to eliminate mortgage lending barriers to Native Americans. (Read More)

FTC Mandates Free Credit Reports

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a final rule that requires the three major credit-reporting agencies to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months. (Read More)

Bond Group Names London Chief

Manfred Schepers has been appointed senior managing director and head of The Bond Market Association International in London. (Read More)

LendingTree: Popularity of HELs Rising

Twice as many respondents in a recent survey are likely to have home equity loans by the end of the year as had them in 2003, indicating the rising popularity of such loans, according to LendingTree Inc., Charlotte, N.C. (Read More)

IndyMac Prices Stock Offering

IndyMac Bancorp Inc., Pasadena, Calif., has priced an offering of 3.2 million shares of common stock at $31.75 per share. (Read More)

Countrywide Hits $700B in Servicing

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., surpassed $700 billion in mortgage servicing rights for the first time in May. (Read More)

Freddie Reports RefNote Repo

Freddie Mac has reported the repurchase of $1.465 billion of outstanding Reference Notes securities. (Read More)

Rates Rise

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.30% for the week ending June 11 from 6.28% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Panel to Vote on Securitizing Reverses

The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to vote June 14 on a massive corporate tax bill that would make it easier to securitize reverse mortgages and addresses other securitization issues. (Read More)

Pollock Exit Spurs Exec Search

The sudden resignation of its president, Alex Pollock, is forcing the Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank to initiate a search for a successor. (Read More)

Wells Hit With Class Action Suit

A class action lawsuit has been filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago by borrowers against Wells Fargo Financial, alleging that Wells has violated an Illinois state law barring loans with interest rates above 8% from having fees greater than 3%. (Read More)

Loan Protector Adds Escrow Unit

Loan Protector Insurance Services, Solon, Ohio, has announced the formation of a new department dedicated to researching, processing, and verifying insurance documents for escrowed and impounded mortgage loans serviced by the company. (Read More)

Genworth Prices $1.9B of Debt

Genworth Financial Inc., a mortgage insurer based in Richmond, Va., has priced a $1.9 billion public offering of four series of senior debt securities. (Read More)

Fannie Prices Callable BenchNote Reopening

Fannie Mae has priced a $500 million reopening of a $2.0 billion issue of three-year Callable Benchmark Notes due May 17, 2007. (Read More)

Bank of England Raises Rates

The Bank of England has raised interest rates 0.25% to 4.5%, citing a continuing global economic recovery and a housing market that "remains buoyant." (Read More)

ACB Blasts Ginnie MBS Proposal

America's Community Bankers says it is "strongly opposed" to a proposal that would allow Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities to be sold in denominations as small as $1,000. (Read More)

Will AH Funding Dip Boost EAH Loans?

Affordable housing advocates say the decrease in government funding for AH programs is likely to attract more private funding into the marketplace and stimulate demand for employer-assisted housing loans. (Read More)

LandAm Sub Buys House Smart

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va., has announced the acquisition of House Smart Inc., an Atlanta-based commercial and residential property inspection company, by LandAmerica's subsidiary Inspectech. (Read More)

MH Owner Picks Origen for Mortgage Services

Affordable Residential Communities Inc., Denver, has selected Origen Financial Inc., a manufactured housing lender based in Southfield, Mich., to provide loan origination and servicing activities for residents in its communities. (Read More)

COMM Classes Downgraded

Classes K-JP and M-JP of COMM 2002-FL6 commercial mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fannie Launches Tech Tool for Hispanics

Home Counselor Online, a Spanish-language technology tool aimed at promoting homeownership among Hispanics, has been launched by Fannie Mae. (Read More)

Canada's CRE Outperforming U.S.'s

Canada's commercial real estate markets continued to outperform those in the United States in the first quarter, Moody's Investors Service has reported. (Read More)

Feedback

Can writing FHA loans be as profitable as writing subprime loans? (Read More)

MBA: Delinquency Rate Declines

The overall seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for home loans fell by 16 basis points to 4.33% in the first quarter, but new foreclosures have increased slightly, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Defaults Poised to Rise in Vegas?

Despite "record demand" for homes in Clark County, mortgage defaults may rise in the Las Vegas metropolitan area in the near future, according to Foreclosures.com, a distressed property investment advisory firm based in Fair Oaks, Calif. (Read More)

Countrywide to Use Sysdome's TPR

Countrywide has chosen Calabasas, Calif.-based Sysdome Inc.'s Third Party Review product to help streamline its broker approval and maintenance process. (Read More)

Michigan Servicing Portfolio For Sale

The Prestwick Mortgage Group, Alexandria, Va., is brokering the sale of servicing rights on a $140 million portfolio of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, all on properties in Michigan. (Read More)

Arbor Veep Resigns

Arbor Realty Trust Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Uniondale, N.Y., has reported the resignation of Daniel M. Palmier as executive vice president of asset management. (Read More)

Nashville Launches 'Smart Commute' Program

The Smart Commute Initiative, which helps homebuyers qualify for a mortgage with savings from the use of public transportation, has been launched in Nashville, Tenn., according to Fannie Mae, a participant in the program. (Read More)

Tougher GSE Governance Standards Sought

The Consumer Mortgage Coalition is calling on the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to beef up its corporate governance proposal and impose tougher standards on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Greenspan Sees 'Flat' Home Sales