MortgageWire Stories from 2006

FTC Investigating Bear's EMC

The Federal Trade Commission has launched a preliminary investigation into the residential servicing practices of Bear Stearns' servicing affiliate to see whether the company is violating consumer protection laws. (Read More)

HUD Extends Katrina Program Deadline

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has extended the sign-up date for the Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program from Dec. 31 to March 11, 2006. (Read More)

FHA Hikes Loan Limit on Streamlined 203(k)

The Federal Housing Administration has raised the loan limit on its streamlined 203(k) home repair program from $15,000 to $35,000, which is much higher than expected. (Read More)

New MI Up in November

The total volume of primary new insurance written by the member companies of the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America increased by 6% in November, but the traditional segment of that total fell to its third-lowest level of 2005. (Read More)

COFI Still Rising

The Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index for November stood at 3.190%, an increase of over 11 basis points from 3.074% in October. (Read More)

Related Cap Becomes CharterMac Cap

Related Capital Co., a subsidiary of New York-based CharterMac, has changed its name to CharterMac Capital LLC, according to the parent company. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes ASC MBS Classes

Classes M-3 and M-4 from Asset-Backed Securities Corp. mortgage-pass through certificates series 2002-HE3 have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

CAIT Arranges Credit Facility

Capital Alliance Income Trust Ltd., a San Francisco-based real estate investment trust, has arranged a two-year, $7.0 million credit facility with Franklin Bank SSB, Houston. (Read More)

ABN Settles With HUD on FHA Underwriting

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced what it calls a "landmark" $41 million legal settlement with ABN Amro concerning its Federal Housing Administration underwriting practices. (Read More)

Fed Nearing End of Rate Hikes?

Sensing a slowdown in the housing market that could restrain the growth of consumer consumption, the Federal Reserve appears to be near the end of its interest rate raising cycle, according to minutes of its Dec. 13 monetary policy committee meeting. (Read More)

MDA Acquires MindBox

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd, Richmond, Va., has acquired privately held MindBox LLC, a provider of decisioning mortgage applications, for an undisclosed sum. (Read More)

Apps Fall Again

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 554.1 to 545.9 on a seasonally adjusted -- and holiday-adjusted -- basis during the week ended Dec. 30, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Jones Lang Merges With Spaulding & Slye

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., a Chicago-based real estate services and money management firm, has reported the completion of a merger with Spaulding & Slye, a privately held real estate services and investment company with offices in Boston and Washington, D.C. (Read More)

Radian Reports 'Smart Home' Deal

Radian Guaranty, a Philadelphia-based mortgage insurer, has announced the completion of a Smart Home transaction, its third and largest, to help manage the company's exposure to nonprime mortgage risk. (Read More)

First American's CFO Dies

Thomas A. Klemens, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., died Jan. 3 of blood cancer, the company has reported. (Read More)

NovaStar Mortgage Names New CEO

David A. Pazgan has been named president and chief executive officer of NovaStar Mortgage Inc., the primary loan origination unit of residential mortgage lender NovaStar Financial Inc., Kansas City, Mo. (Read More)

RREEF Names High-Yield Debt Chief

Drew Fung has been named head of U.S. high-yield debt investments at RREEF, the New York-based real estate arm of Deutsche Asset Management, Deutsche Bank's global investment management business. (Read More)

Luminent to Reposition Spread Portfolio

Luminent Mortgage Capital, San Francisco, has announced that it intends to reposition its spread portfolio assets to improve profitability and dividend-paying capacity and that it has discontinued the use of hedge accounting. (Read More)

CharterMac to Relist on NYSE

CharterMac, a New York-based real estate finance company focused on the multifamily sector, has announced the receipt of formal listing approval from the New York Stock Exchange. (Read More)

Ex-MBA Chair in Line for Top Ginnie Post

President Bush intends to nominate former Mortgage Bankers Association chairman Rob Couch to be the new president of Ginnie Mae, according to the White House. (Read More)

NAR Pending Sales Index Falls

A leading indicator of existing-home sales declined in November for the third consecutive month, providing further evidence that the housing market is slowing. (Read More)

30-Year Rate Dips

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.22% to 6.21% over the seven-day period ended Jan. 5, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Survey: ARM Discounts Up, Hybrids Popular

Greater lender discounts for introductory ARM rates and the rising popularity of hybrid ARMs were among the findings of Freddie Mac's 22nd Annual Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Survey. (Read More)

Fitch Unveils CRE Construction Model

Fitch Ratings has released a formal rating methodology on commercial real estate construction loan pools, declaring itself the first major rating agency to do so. (Read More)

REIT Returns Lead the Pack

The real estate investment trust sector recorded a total return of 8.3% in 2005, beating other market benchmarks for the period, according to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. (Read More)

G&E: Prospects Good for CRE in '06

The commercial real estate industry should have another healthy year in 2006, according to an annual real estate forecast by Grubb & Ellis Co., a real estate services firm based in Northbrook, Ill. (Read More)

Union Equity Changes Subsidiary Name

Union Equity Inc., a real estate development and services company based in Palm Beach, Fla., has changed the name of its wholly owned subsidiary Preferred Properties Real Estate Inc. to Home Loans 24/7 Inc. (Read More)

Zacks: Sell MFA Mortgage

Zacks.com, the online unit of Zacks Investment Research Inc., Chicago, has placed MFA Mortgage Investments Inc., a New York-based real estate investment trust, on its #5 Rank List -- Stocks to Sell Now. (Read More)

Thornburg Expands CP Facility to $10B

Thornburg Mortgage Inc., Santa Fe, N.M., has reported doubling the size of its asset-backed commercial paper facility to $10 billion. (Read More)

Mortgage Hiring Spree Over?

Mortgage companies shed 200 employees in November, according to the latest national employment report, ending a 20-month hiring spree that added over 53,000 full-time employees to their payrolls. (Read More)

GSE Reform Compromise Seen as Doable

A compromise on GSE portfolio limits should not be too hard to strike, according to the president of the Financial Services Roundtable, who favors tough limits on the size of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolios. (Read More)

NAR: Investors a 'Wildcard' in Housing Outlook

A National Association of Realtors study last year found that investors accounted for about 23% of home sales transactions, but the NAR's chief economist said investor activity in 2006 is a "wildcard" that could affect home prices and home sales activity. (Read More)

R-G Mortgage Prez Resigns

R&G Financial Corp., San Juan, Puerto Rico, has announced the resignation of Ramon Prats as vice chairman and president, and as president of subsidiaries R-G Mortgage Corp. and R-G Premier Bank, in connection with an investigation by the company's audit committee. (Read More)

FirstAm Names Prez of New Int'l Unit

J. Gregory Harrington has been named president of First American International Services Group, a new division of The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., that will provide offshore services to the mortgage industry. (Read More)

Ex-GOP Chair Joins AMCO Board

AMCO, a Cleveland-based valuation management company, has announced the addition of Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., former chairman of the Republican Party, to its advisory board. (Read More)

Washington Trust Names EVP

Stephen M. Bessette has been named executive vice president of consumer lending (including mortgages) at the Washington Trust Co., Westerly, R.I. (Read More)

Saxon Touts New Mortgage Trade Name

Saxon Capital Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Glen Allen, Va., has announced that it is now conducting the retail business of Saxon Mortgage Inc., a wholly owned indirect subsidiary, under the trade name Saxon Home Mortgage. (Read More)

Bluegreen Completes $204M Securitization

Bluegreen Corp., Boca Raton, Fla., has announced the completion of a $203.8 million private offering of securities backed by vacation ownership receivables, the company's largest securitization to date. (Read More)

Zacks Lists Colonial as High Performer

Zacks.com, the online unit of Zacks Investment Research Inc., Chicago, has identified Colonial Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust, as one of the stocks listed on a Zacks "profit track" that has outperformed the S&P 500 for the past four years. (Read More)

Feedback

Early responses to our latest survey question have narrowly opposed the issuance of federal underwriting guidance on interest-only and payment-option ARMs . (Read More)

ECC to Consolidate, Lay Off 440

ECC Capital Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Irvine, Calif., has announced plans to consolidate seven wholesale loan processing centers into three and lay off more than 440 employees. (Read More)

Fannie 30-Year Speeds Hit 5-Year Low

Prepayment rates for 30-year mortgages in Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities fell by only 10% in December despite a 28-basis-point rise in mortgage rates, but the aggregate speed was the lowest in five years, according to Bear Stearns & Co. (Read More)

Sandler O'Neill Drops GSE Coverage

Investment banking firm Sandler O'Neill has dropped coverage of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac due to what it calls a "realignment" of the companies it covers. (Read More)

NHC Names New Chief of Research Arm

The National Housing Conference has announced that Jeffrey Lubell is the new executive director of its research arm, the Center for Housing Policy. (Read More)

Habitat, CA HFA Create Loan Program

Habitat for Humanity International, Americus, Ga., has joined forces with the California Housing Finance Agency, Sacramento, to establish a loan purchase program designed to create homeownership opportunities for more Californians. (Read More)

RE Firm, Navy Form Housing Venture

Forest City Enterprises Inc., a Cleveland-based real estate company, has announced a 50-year partnership agreement between its Forest City Military Communities subsidiary and the U.S. Navy for the ownership, development, and management of military family housing in the Chicago area. (Read More)

Survey: CMBS Most Competitive Funding Source

Commercial mortgage-backed securities are rated the most competitive funding source for interest rates and loan proceeds, according to a recent borrower survey commissioned by the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association and the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Triad's Kessinger Named Ass't to Prez

Ron Kessinger, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Triad Guaranty Inc., Winston-Salem, N.C., has been named senior EVP and assistant to the mortgage insurer's president and chief executive officer, Mark Tonnesen. (Read More)

Archstone Buys Manhattan Apartments

Archstone-Smith, a Denver-based multifamily real estate investment trust, has acquired a 550-unit Manhattan apartment property for $342 million. (Read More)

Long Beach MBS Classes Downgraded

Eight classes from Long Beach Mortgage Loan Trust, series 2002-2, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Banks Seek CRA Disaster Relief Guidance

Federal banking regulators need to clarify what Community Reinvestment Act credit can be expected by depository institutions for providing assistance to disaster areas hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, according to the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders. (Read More)

Home Equity Overdue Rate Dives

The delinquency rate on home equity loans fell 42 basis points in the third quarter, reflecting overall improvement in the consumer credit sector, according to the American Bankers Association. (Read More)

CBRE Boosts Stake in Japanese Affiliate

CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate services firm, has announced the acquisition of a majority interest in its Japanese affiliate, IKOMA CB Richard Ellis KK, for an undisclosed amount. (Read More)

Investment Banker Forms NY Fixed-Income Unit

Sanders Morris Harris Group Inc., a Houston-based investment banking firm, has announced the formation of an expanded fixed-income unit based in New York. (Read More)

Survey: RE Investors' Hopes 'Soaring'

Real estate investors' hopes are "still soaring" as a result of declining vacancy rates and a "deluge" of capital into real estate, according to a quarterly investor survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. (Read More)

TD Banknorth to Sell $2.6B in MBS

TD Banknorth Inc., a financial services company based in Portland, Maine, has announced a balance sheet restructuring program involving the sale of approximately $2.6 billion of mortgage-backed securities in connection with a pending acquisition. (Read More)

ABN Amro Chair Elected to FHLBank Board

Thomas M. Goldstein, chairman and chief executive officer of ABN Amro Mortgage Group Inc., has been elected to a three-year term on the board of the Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank. (Read More)

Summit Reports GSE-Linked Charge

Summit Financial Group Inc., Moorefield, W. Va., has announced a fourth-quarter pretax impairment charge of $1.5 million related to preferred stock issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Farmer Mac Offering $500M of Notes

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, D.C., has announced a $500 million offering of guaranteed notes by the newly created Farmer Mac Guaranteed Notes Trust 2006-1. (Read More)

HUD Eyes Across-the-Board FHA Loan Limit

Federal housing officials may finally be ready to join the long-standing effort to raise Federal Housing Administration loan limits. (Read More)

Feds Set Capital Thresholds for CRE Loans

Federal regulators want banks and thrifts with high concentrations of commercial real estate loans to use "heightened" risk management practices and to recognize the need for additional capital, according to newly issued regulatory guidance. (Read More)

NAR Raps Grant of CRE Development Authority

The National Association of Realtors is objecting to authority granted to Bank of America and PNC Financial Services Group by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to develop commercial real estate. (Read More)

Applications Climb

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 545.9 to 600.1 on a seasonally adjusted -- and holiday-adjusted -- basis during the week ended Jan. 6, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Silver Hill Touts 'Easy' Commercial Lending

Silver Hill Financial, a Miami-based lender specializing in small-balance commercial real estate loans, has announced the introduction of CLEAR, a residential-style approach that it says will streamline the origination of commercial mortgages. (Read More)

Sizeler Retains Financial Adviser

Sizeler Property Investors Inc., a New Orleans-based real estate investment trust, has announced the retention of Wachovia Capital Markets LLC as a financial adviser to analyze its strategic options, including a sale or merger. (Read More)

Annaly Takes Losses on Rebalanced Portfolio

Annaly Mortgage Management, a New York-based real estate investment trust, has announced a rebalancing of its portfolio through asset sales and a reinvestment of proceeds that resulted in total losses of approximately $148 million in the fourth quarter. (Read More)

First Community Prepays FHLBank Advances

First Community Bancshares Inc., Bluefield, Va., has announced the prepayment of $77 million in Federal Home Loan Bank advances, resulting in $3.7 million in penalties, as part of a restructuring of long-term borrowings. (Read More)

USC: Lavish CRE Capital Flow to Slow

The lavish flow of investment capital into U.S. commercial real estate, which has spurred property values to record levels, is likely to slow this year, according to the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California. (Read More)

Baker Pushes for Recovery Bill Backing

Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., is seeking Bush administration support for his Louisiana Recovery Corp. bill, and he wants to come to terms with the White House by Jan. 31 so that Congress can pass the bill in early February. (Read More)

Fannie Eyeing Construction Loans

Fannie Mae says it wants to work with lenders and homebuilders to bring standardization to the underwriting and servicing of construction loans and bring down costs, according to Fannie Mae president and chief executive Daniel Mudd. (Read More)

Stewart Forms New Arm

Two wholly owned subsidiaries of Stewart Title Co. -- Landata Systems Inc., a technology provider, and Stewart Realty Solutions, formed two years ago to take online transaction management to the real estate and mortgage industries -- will be merged to form Stewart Transaction Solutions, Houston. (Read More)

Rates Decline

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.21% to 6.15% over the seven-day period ended Jan. 12, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Foreclosure.com: Nat'l Inventory Spikes

The nationwide inventory of foreclosed U.S. residential properties jumped 12.7% in December, the biggest surge since March 2005, according to Foreclosure.com, an online foreclosure listing service based in Boca Raton, Fla. (Read More)

RealtyTrac: New Foreclosures Jump

Meanwhile, RealtyTrac, another online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that the number of new properties in some stage of foreclosure rose 13.5% in December. (Read More)

FBR IDs MSAs With High B&C Overdues

Friedman Billings Ramsey has identified 56 metropolitan statistical areas that have persistently high default rates on subprime and alternative-A loans. (Read More)

Genworth Names Chief Risk Officer

Samuel D. Marsico has been named senior vice president and chief risk officer of Genworth Financial Inc., a Richmond, Va.-based holding company that provides mortgage insurance and other insurance products. (Read More)

American Home Lowers Profit Expectations

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., Melville, N.Y., has announced that it expects to record only a small profit in the fourth quarter and that its adjusted annual earnings will fall below its previous guidance of $4.60-$4.80 per share. (Read More)

Freddie Prices RefNotes

Freddie Mac has priced $5 billion of 4.625% two-year Reference Notes due Feb. 21, 2008, and $4 billion of 4.750% 10-year Reference Notes due Jan. 19, 2016. (Read More)

BRT Obtains New Credit Facility

BRT Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Great Neck, N.Y., has reported closing on a new credit facility of up to $150 million. (Read More)

Strategic Hotel Announces Public Offering

Strategic Hotel Capital Inc., Chicago, has announced a public offering of 4.0 million shares of its 8.25% series B cumulative redeemable preferred stock. (Read More)

AHM Buying Most of Waterfield

A day after disclosing that its fourth-quarter earnings would be smaller than expected, American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., Melville, N.Y., has announced an agreement to purchase Waterfield Financial, a top-50-ranked residential lender based in Fort Wayne, Ind. (Read More)

MGIC Acquires Myers Internet

Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Milwaukee, has announced the acquisition of Myers Internet Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of Web-based point-of-sale systems for mortgage originators and real estate agents. (Read More)

Hurricanes Boost MGIC Delinquencies

Delinquencies at MGIC Investment Corp., the nation's largest mortgage insurer, rose 13% in the fourth quarter, in part because of storm damage caused by hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. (Read More)

Allstate CEO Urges Congress to Fix NFIP

The chief executive of Allstate Insurance Co. says Congress needs to fix the insolvent National Flood Insurance Program before it considers tying flood insurance to private homeowners' insurance. (Read More)

H-Cube Buys Mortgage Outsourcing Firm

Dallas-based H-Cube LLC, in conjunction with its Zenta subsidiary, has acquired Global Realty Outsourcing, a Stamford, Conn.-based business process outsourcing company specializing in the real estate and mortgage industries. (Read More)

Broker-to-Banker Venture Unveiled

ComUnity Lending, a mortgage lender based in Morgan Hill, Calif., and Garrett, Watts & Co. have announced the formation of Branker Connect, a partnership aimed at helping brokers "achieve the benefits of becoming a mortgage banker, without the risks." (Read More)

Stewart Sub Names Director of Ops

Ronald D. Rice has been named director of operations at Houston-based Stewart Default Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Mortgage Information. (Read More)

GMAC CMBS Classes Downgraded

Three classes of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2001-C1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

First Union/BoA CMBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of First Union National Bank--Bank of America Commercial Mortgage Trust pass-through certificates, series 2001-C1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes C-BASS RMBS Classes

Classes B-1 and B-2 from Credit Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC series 2000-CB4, a mortgage loan securitization, have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Feedback

Interested in commission structures for loan officers? (Read More)

Treasury: Market Could Adjust to Curbs on GSEs

There is a "wide and sophisticated pool" of mortgage investors who could pick up the slack if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reduce their investments in mortgage assets, according to a high-ranking Treasury Department official. (Read More)

Mortgage Groups Frown on Fannie ADC Move

Fannie Mae's announcement that it wants to play a significant role in the construction lending business is not being well-received by some mortgage groups. (Read More)

Ney Steps Aside

Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, has agreed to step aside temporarily as chairman of the House Administration Committee because of allegations about his links to a lobbying scandal, but he will continue to chair a housing subcommittee. (Read More)

Freddie Sees 'Material' Slowdown in Housing

Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive Richard Syron has told the nation's homebuilders that their industry should experience a "material" slowdown this year. (Read More)

Wells 2nd Home Servicer to Crack $1T

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage has passed the $1 trillion mark in housing receivables, joining an exclusive club that includes itself and Countrywide Home Loans. (Read More)

Fieldstone to Sell Certain Assets to Wausau

Fieldstone Investment Corp., Columbia, Md., has announced an agreement under which Fieldstone Mortgage Co. will sell certain assets related to its conforming lending division to Wausau Mortgage Corp., Pleasanton, Calif. (Read More)

Bank of NY to Buy RE Investment Manager

Urdang Capital Management Inc., a real estate investment manager based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., has announced an agreement under which it will be acquired by The Bank of New York Co. for an undisclosed amount. (Read More)

NREIS Expands CRE Services

National Real Estate Information Services, Pittsburgh, has expanded its commercial services team and begun marketing its commercial services nationwide. (Read More)

Franklin Credit CEO Resigns

Jeffrey Johnson has resigned as president and chief executive officer of Franklin Credit Management Corp., a New York-based finance company specializing in residential mortgage loans, according to Franklin Credit. (Read More)

Synthetic ABS Index Launched

CDS IndexCo LLC and Markit Group Ltd., both based in New York, have announced the launch of ABX.HE, a synthetic ABS index of U.S. home equity asset-backed securities. (Read More)

Feds Launch Hurricane-Linked PSAs

A public service campaign to aid the financial recovery of victims of last year's hurricanes has been launched by the federal financial regulatory agencies. (Read More)

RASC HEL Classes Downgraded

Six classes from two Residential Asset Securities Corp. home equity transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

VA Volume Dives to 20-Year Low

Originations of VA-guaranteed loans declined by 44% in fiscal year 2005 to the lowest level in 20 years, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Read More)

Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 600.1 to 613.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Jan. 13, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

NAR Survey Spotlights Zero-Down Loans

Over 40% of first-time homebuyers used no-downpayment loans in 2005, compared with 18% for repeat buyers, according to an annual survey of buyers and sellers by the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

PMI Hopeful Despite Rising Home Price Risk

The risk of price declines over the next two years has risen in the nation's 50 largest housing markets, but a "soft landing" is likely, according to PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Walnut Creek, Calif. (Read More)

Appraisal Advocacy Coalition Launched

Oklahoma City-based a la mode has announced the formation of the Appraisal Advocacy Coalition, a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting and supporting residential appraisers. (Read More)

Mortgage Cadence Unveils 'Symphony'

Mortgage Cadence, a Denver-based mortgage technology company, has launched Mortgage Cadence Symphony, a new ASP (application software provider) model for small and midsize lenders. (Read More)

Lead Aggregator Seeks Strategic Partner

American Money Network LLC, a San Francisco-based Internet mortgage lead aggregator that manages LoanHounds.com, has announced that it is seeking a strategic partner to expand its business. (Read More)

Wachovia Expands RE Cap Biz to Europe

Wachovia Securities LLC, Charlotte, N.C., has announced that its real estate capital markets group will begin delivering commercial mortgage loan and repo finance products in the United Kingdom and Germany. (Read More)

ECC Cap COO Resigns for Production Job

ECC Capital Corp., Irvine, Calif., says its executive vice president and chief operating officer Steven Szpytek has resigned to take a production job at a subsidiary. (Read More)

Del Mar Names Sales EVP

Rob Katz has been named executive vice president of sales and marketing at Del Mar Database, a San Diego-based Fiserv subsidiary that specializes in providing technology to small and medium-size lenders. (Read More)

Stewart Names General Counsel

E. Ashley Smith has been named executive vice president, general counsel, and chief legal officer of Stewart Information Services Corp., Houston, and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Stewart Title Guaranty Co. and Stewart Title Co. (Read More)

HSBC Okayed as Fannie DUS Lender

HSBC Bank USA NA, New York, has been approved by Fannie Mae as a Delegated Underwriting and Servicing lender, according to the bank. (Read More)

Equity One Closes $275M LOC

Equity One Inc., a real estate investment trust based in North Miami Beach, Fla., has announced the closing of a $275 million, three-year, unsecured revolving credit facility. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes Goldman MBS Classes

Two classes from Goldman Sachs Mortgage Securities Corp. series 2002-3F have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Housing Starts Clipped in December

In yet another sign that the residential market could be cooling, single-family housing starts fell 12% in December to their lowest level since March. (Read More)

Fed Targeting Housing Prices?

The Federal Reserve Board will continue to raise interest rates until it sees a slowdown in housing prices, according to economist Kathleen Camilli. (Read More)

Home Lending Profits Plummet at WaMu

Washington Mutual, Seattle, has reported that it earned just $47 million off its residential lending business in the fourth quarter, a 71% decline from the level of a year earlier. (Read More)

Regulators Hail Launch of XBRL

When hurricanes and downturns in real estate prices raise risk-management issues for banks, the feedback will come much quicker now with the universal adoption of a new Bank Call Reporting System hailed by federal regulators. (Read More)

Fixed Rates Fall Again

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.15% to 6.10% over the seven-day period ended Jan. 19, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Housing Markets Reported Cooling

Nearly two-thirds of the 12 Federal Reserve banks reported in early January that home sales and construction activity in their districts are cooling. (Read More)

Wells Touts E-Mortgage Advance

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, has announced the sale of an electronic mortgage to Freddie Mac that represents the first time a third-party custodian has been involved in an e-mortgage transaction on the MERS eRegistry. (Read More)

Metrocities Forms JV With Keller Williams

Metrocities Mortgage LLC, Sherman Oaks, Calif., and Keller Williams Realty Tri-Valley have announced the formation of Metro East Bay Mortgage, a joint venture based in Pleasanton, Calif., that will serve Contra Costa and Alameda counties. (Read More)

FNB Links Credit Charge to Appraisals

Citing "questionable appraisals" and other factors, FNB Financial Services Corp., Greensboro, N.C., has announced that its banking subsidiary, FNB Southeast, recorded a $13.6 million special provision for credit losses in the fourth quarter. (Read More)

Freddie Prices Reference REMIC

Freddie Mac has priced Reference REMIC R-004, Class AL, a $3.0 billion issue of real estate mortgage investment conduit securities. (Read More)

Mack-Cali Sells $200M of Notes

Mack-Cali Realty LP, Cranford, N.J., has completed the sale of $200 million of senior unsecured notes in two series, according to Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (Read More)

Gladstone Prices Preferred Stock

Gladstone Commercial Corp., a real estate investment trust based in McLean, Va., has announced the pricing of 1.0 million shares of 7.75% cumulative redeemable preferred stock at a $25 liquidation preference per share. (Read More)

Aegis Pulls Plug on Correspondent Unit

Nonconforming loan giant Aegis Mortgage Corp., Houston, has closed its correspondent lending division, industry officials have told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Greenspan: GSE Regulator Needs Clear Guidance

A new GSE regulator needs "precise and clear" guidance from Congress that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should stick to securitizing mortgages rather than acquiring large portfolios of mortgage-backed securities, according to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan. (Read More)

FRB Prez: Too Early to Tell About Housing

Despite some slowing in housing market activity, it is too early for Federal Reserve policy makers to tell whether rising housing prices have been tamed, according to Richmond Federal Reserve Bank president Jeffrey Lacker. (Read More)

Shinsei Buys Stake in Winter Group

Terwin Holdings LLC (d/b/a The Winter Group) has announced the acquisition of Greenpoint Mortgage Holdings LLC's minority interest in Terwin by Shinsei Capital (USA) Ltd., the Delaware-based subsidiary of Shinsei Bank Ltd., Tokyo. (Read More)

First Continental Names Prez

Joel Furst has been named president of First Continental Mortgage and Investment Corp., a chiefly nonprime wholesaler based in Fairfield, N.J. (Read More)

New Century Mortgage Gets New COO

Joseph F. Eckroth has been named executive vice president of New Century Financial Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Irvine, Calif., and chief operating officer of its subsidiary, New Century Mortgage Corp. (Read More)

MFA Mortgage Reports Impairment Charges

MFA Mortgage Investments Inc., New York, has announced that it will recognize about $21 million in noncash impairment charges in the fourth quarter in connection with about $824 million worth of mortgage-backed securities that it no longer plans to hold until a recovery of market value. (Read More)

S&P: Private RMBS Issuance to Slow

Issuance of U.S. private-label residential mortgage-backed securities will decline this year but remain strong enough to record the market's second-best year, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is forecasting. (Read More)

Colliers: Office Market Strong in 4Q

The national office market posted a strong fourth quarter as absorption totaled 25.7 million square feet, up from 19.4 million square feet a year earlier, according to Colliers International, a Boston-based commercial real estate manager. (Read More)

Wells Listed on Zacks Buy List

Zacks.com, the online unit of Zacks Investment Research Inc., Chicago, has identified four stocks, including Wells Fargo & Co., on its Brokerage Buy List portfolio. (Read More)

Ashford Prices Stock Offering

Ashford Hospitality Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Dallas, has priced a follow-on public offering of 10.6 million shares of common stock at $11.15 per share. (Read More)

Feedback

What's the fastest way to raise a FICO score 20-30 points? (Read More)

Ameriquest Settles With 49 States

After months of negotiation, subprime giant Ameriquest Mortgage has agreed to pay $325 million to settle claims with 49 states that the company engaged in abusive lending practices. (Read More)

AmNet Exits Subprime Biz

American Mortgage Network, the San Diego-based wholesaler better known as AmNet, has left the subprime business, according to a source that confirmed published reports. (Read More)

FBR Downgrades Fannie

Friedman Billings Ramsey has downgraded Fannie Mae's stock to "underperform" because the giant mortgage company could be stuck with higher capital requirements and slower portfolio growth for two years. (Read More)

Katrina Hearings to Consider NFIP Reform

The Senate Banking Committee is planning to hold a number of hearings related to Hurricane Katrina early this year that will consider flood insurance reform and legislation to create a Louisiana Recovery Corp. (Read More)

Santander to Buy P.R. Ops of Wells' Island Finance

Santander BanCorp, the San Juan, Puerto Rico, bank whose majority owner is the Spanish bank Banco Santander Central Hispano, has agreed to purchase the Puerto Rican operations of Island Finance, a real estate-secured and consumer lender based in San Juan, from Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco. (Read More)

Wauwatosa Buying Waterstone Mortgage

Wauwatosa (Wis.) Savings Bank has announced that it is purchasing Waterstone Mortgage Corp., Pewaukee, Wis. (Read More)

MuniMae Completes Reorganization

MuniMae, a Baltimore-based multifamily lender and investment manager, has announced the completion of a company reorganization that resulted in an 8% reduction in its work force over the past year. (Read More)

RealEC Releases MI Ordering System

RealEC Technologies, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based provider of supply chain technology to the mortgage industry, has announced the release of a new software system designed to manage mortgage insurance ordering. (Read More)

Visionet Opens Mortgage BPO Center in India

Visionet Systems, Cranbury, N.J., has announced the opening of a new business process outsourcing center in Bangalore, India. (Read More)

BoA Reports '05 Profits

Bank of America Corp., Charlotte, N.C., has reported net income of $16.89 billion ($4.15 per share) for 2005, up 19% from $14.14 billion ($3.69 per share) in 2004. (Read More)

Commercial Cap to Buy RE Intermediary

Commercial Capital Bancorp Inc., Irvine, Calif., and Lawyers Asset Management Inc., an Oakland, Calif.-based "qualified intermediary" that facilitates tax-deferred real estate exchanges, have announced that Commercial Capital will acquire LAMI in an all-stock transaction valued at $8 million. (Read More)

Kennedy Wilson Sells Stake to Japanese Firm

Kennedy Wilson, a real estate investment and services company based in Beverly Hills, Calif., has reported the sale of a 20% stake in its apartment management division to Kenedix Inc., a Japanese real estate company. (Read More)

RealtyTrac: New Foreclosures Rose 25% in '05

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that 846,982 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure in 2005, a 25% increase. (Read More)

Citi RE Lending Names New COO

Al Tappe, an executive at Countrywide Home Loans, has been named chief operations officer of Citigroup's Citi Real Estate Lending, St. Louis, effective Feb. 1. (Read More)

eLynx Names CFO

Scott Carstens has been named chief financial officer of eLynx Ltd., a Cincinnati-based provider of secure document delivery and business process management Web services for the financial services industry. (Read More)

State AGs: Broker 'Up Selling' a Concern

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who headed the Ameriquest Mortgage investigation, is vowing that the states might next tackle the origination practices of loan brokers. (Read More)

Fifth Third Expanding Wholesale Ops

Industry veteran Bob Lewis has been named senior vice president and director of the residential mortgage wholesale channel at Fifth Third Bancorp, Cincinnati, as part of an effort to boost Fifth Third's wholesale market share. (Read More)

LoanPerformance Touts TrueStandings Upgrade

LoanPerformance, a subsidiary of First American Real Estate Solutions, has announced the release of a new high-speed version of TrueStandings Securities Web-based service, which offers access to its mortgage- and asset-backed securities databases. (Read More)

Countrywide Picks Akonix for IM

Countrywide Financial Corp. has chosen San Diego-based Akonix Systems Inc. to provide automated reporting and industry and corporate compliance for the instant messaging system it uses for real-time communications between its employees. (Read More)

PREI Sees Stable but Declining RE Market

Total returns from U.S. real estate investments will remain stable but will begin "a slight decline" this year, according to Prudential Real Estate Investors, Parsippany, N.J. (Read More)

Flood of Defaults Expected in Gulf Coast

A "flood" of mortgage defaults can be expected in the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast region now that 90-day grace periods extended by many lenders have expired, according to ForeclosureS.com, a Fair Oaks, Calif.-based investment advisory firm. (Read More)

Thornburg Doubles CP Facility to $10B

Thornburg Mortgage Inc., Santa Fe, N.M., has doubled the size of its asset-backed commercial paper facility to $10 billion, according to the company. (Read More)

BRE Closes $600M LOC

BRE Properties Inc., San Francisco, has announced the closing of a $600 million unsecured revolving line of credit with a group of 14 lenders. (Read More)

Farmer Mac Issues $500M Guarantee

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, has announced the issuance of a guarantee on $500 million of Guaranteed Notes. (Read More)

Fannie Announces 1Q Dividends

Fannie Mae has announced a common stock dividend of $0.26 per share for the first quarter, unchanged from that of the fourth quarter. (Read More)

Soundview MBS Class Downgraded

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

Fitch Downgrades DLJ MBS Class

Class B2 of DLJ Mortgage Acceptance Corp. residential mortgage pass-through certificate series 1996-QJ has been downgraded from BBB-plus to BB-plus by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

DLJ CMBS Class Downgraded

Class B-4 of DLJ Mortgage Acceptance Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1995-CF2, has been downgraded from B to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Resales Down 3rd Month in a Row

In yet another sign the housing market is cooling, existing-home sales fell 5.7% in December to an annualized rate of 6.6 million units, according to figures released by the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Budget May Propose Risk-Based Pricing for FHA

A legislative proposal that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to use risk-based pricing is expected to be included in the president's fiscal year 2007 budget, sources have told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Flood Program Needs Another Infusion

The National Flood Insurance Program will need another infusion of cash by Feb. 10 to continue to pay claims related to hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma that are estimated to total $23 billion. (Read More)

Syron: Don't Single Us Out as System Risk

Freddie Mac's business model does not require rapid portfolio growth, and its $710 billion portfolio should not be singled out by critics as a "special source of systemic risk," according to the company's president and chief executive, Richard Syron. (Read More)

Irwin Puts Conventional Unit Up for Sale

Irwin Financial Corp., Columbus, Ind., is fielding offers for its conventional mortgage banking affiliate, which ranks 35th among residential funders. (Read More)

Adjusted Apps Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 613.3 to 660.5 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Jan. 20, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Network Launches 'Fair Mortgage' Campaign

The Opportunity Finance Network, a new $4 billion network of 167 financial institutions across the United States, has unveiled a campaign that includes the first phase of a multibillion-dollar "Fair Mortgage" strategy to combat predatory lending. (Read More)

Nat'l City Forms Structured Products Group

National City Corp., Cleveland, has announced the formation of a Structured Products Group in its Capital Markets Division that will include a Mortgage Capital Markets Group. (Read More)

WaMu Hires Retail Mortgage Chief

Mortgage banking veteran Steven F. Stein has been hired to head the Home Loans Retail Production sales channel of Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle. (Read More)

ACB Snags Fannie Exec as Chief Legal Officer

Patricia Ann Milon has left Fannie Mae to become chief legal officer and senior vice president for regulatory affairs at America's Community Bankers. (Read More)

Dynatek CTO Promoted to President

Todd Luhtanen, vice president and chief technology officer at origination vendor Dynatek, Livonia, Mich., has been promoted to president and chief technology officer. (Read More)

HUD Earmarks $58M for YouthBuild

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has earmarked $58 million in grants as part of its YouthBuild Program, which offers job training and continuing education to an estimated 4,300 low-income young people. (Read More)

Flagstar to Lower '02-'04 Earnings

Flagstar Bancorp Inc., Troy, Mich., has announced that it will restate earnings for 2002, 2003, and 2004, resulting in an overall $5.9 million reduction in net earnings. (Read More)

BALL CMBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Banc of America Large Loan Inc.'s series 2003-BBA2 have been downgraded and the ratings have been removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fremont MBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Fremont Home Loan Trust's residential mortgage-backed certificates, series 2002-1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

CWMBS Class Downgraded

Class B3 of CWMBS (IndyMac) Inc. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-H (RAST 2000-A8), has been downgraded from B to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Hersha Reports Credit Pact

Hersha Hospitality Trust, a Philadelphia-based real estate investment trust, has announced a new revolving credit agreement with Commerce Bank NA. (Read More)

Bush Rejects Baker Recovery Proposal

The Bush administration will not support the creation of a Louisiana Recovery Corp. to finance and assist with the reconstruction of New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. (Read More)

Gulf Coast Block Grants Now Available

The Bush administration wants the Gulf Coast states to use $11.5 billion in Community Development Block Grant funds to help homeowners rebuild their homes that were damaged or destroyed in the hurricanes last fall. (Read More)

Freddie Buying $40M in Recovery Bonds

In order to promote homeownership and recovery efforts in Mississippi's Hurricane Katrina disaster areas, Freddie Mac is purchasing $40 million of Mississippi Home Corp. bonds that will be used to finance mortgages with a 5.61% interest rate. (Read More)

MBA Predicts 19.5% Production Decline

Citing a cooling housing market and higher interest rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association is forecasting that residential production will drop by almost 20% this year. (Read More)

Fixed Rates Rise

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.10% to 6.12% over the seven-day period ended Jan. 26, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

BB&T Nixes Certain Eminent Domain Lending

BB&T Corp., Winston-Salem, N.C., has announced that it will not lend to commercial developers that plan to build private projects on land taken from private property owners by eminent domain. (Read More)

GM Mortgage Ops Post Record Earnings

While auto giant General Motors continues to struggle, its mortgage division ripped the cover off the ball in 2005, posting record earnings. (Read More)

IndyMac Reports Record '05 Earnings

IndyMac Bancorp Inc., Pasadena, Calif., the holding company for IndyMac Bank, has reported record net earnings of $300.2 million ($4.54 per share) for 2005, up 42% from pro forma net earnings of $211.3 million ($3.40 per share) in 2004. (Read More)

American Home Reports 4Q Earnings Dive

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., Melville, N.Y., has reported net earnings of $16.7 million ($0.27 per share) for the fourth quarter, compared with adjusted net earnings of $48.6 million ($1.14 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

FASB Nears MSR Mark-to-Market Standard

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is very close to issuing a new standard that will simplify hedge accounting for mortgage servicing rights. (Read More)

Loan City Deploys Xactly Sales System

LoanCity, San Jose, Calif., has announced that it took just 48 hours to deploy the Xactly Incent sales compensation management system for its nationwide network of 200 sales professionals. (Read More)

Empire Equity Embraces Web Tech

Empire Equity Group Inc., Montvale, N.J., has embraced Web-based technology by licensing Dublin, Calif.-based Ellie Mae's Encompass Anywhere product for its origination needs. (Read More)

Seller's RE Market Ending in East?

The long seller's market in residential real estate is coming to an end on the East Coast, according to ForeclosureS.com, a Fair Oaks, Calif.-based investment advisory firm. (Read More)

E&Y: Prospects Bright for Lodging Market

Thanks in part to high levels of CMBS-related capital flow, the prospects are bright for the U.S. lodging market this year, according to the 2006 U.S. Lodging Report by Ernst & Young LLP. (Read More)

S&P: ABCP Issuance Will Exceed $1T in '06

The issuance of U.S. asset-backed commercial paper, used to finance such assets as residential mortgages and credit cards, is expected to surpass $1 trillion for the first time in 2006, according to Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. (Read More)

7WTC Signs Major Tenant

A major tenant, Beijing Vantone Real Estate, has been signed on for at least 200,000 square feet of space on the top five floors of 7 World Trade Center, and a preliminary, nonbinding agreement has been signed on the deal, according to Silverstein Properties. (Read More)

First California Names Prez

Spencer Carlsen has been named president of First California Mortgage Co., a wholesale and retail mortgage banking company based in Petaluma, Calif. (Read More)

Cantor Fitzgerald Adds RE Research Exec

Philip Martin has been hired as a managing director of real estate equity research at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., a New York-based global provider of financial services to the institutional equity and fixed-income markets. (Read More)

FHLBanks Price $4B Global Bond

The Federal Home Loan Banks have priced a $4 billion, 4.625%, two-year global bond due Feb. 8, 2008. (Read More)

New-Home Sales Rise

New-home sales ticked up 2.9% in December to end another record year on a good footing. (Read More)

Mortgage Companies Hit With Class Actions

Peter Angelos, a nationally known class-action attorney, has filed lawsuits against six mortgage companies alleging that the lenders engaged in predatory practices in Maryland. (Read More)

MGIC Names Prez/COO

Patrick Sinks has been named president and chief operating officer of MGIC Investment Corp., the Milwaukee-based mortgage insurer. (Read More)

Wilshire to Review Strategic Options

Wilshire Enterprises Inc., a real estate company based in Newark, N.J., has engaged Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. to conduct a strategic review of the company's options, according to Wilshire. (Read More)

TRAC Reports Name, Symbol Changes

TRAC Financial Group Inc., Huntington Beach, Calif., which says it will pursue merger-and-acquisition candidates in the mortgage industry, has announced a change in its trading symbol to reflect its name change from Paramco Financial Group. (Read More)

Strategic Hotel Increases Stock Offering

Strategic Hotel Capital Inc., a Chicago-based a real estate investment trust, has announced the pricing of a public offering of common stock that was recently increased from 9.0 million to approximately 18.03 million shares. (Read More)

Eastman CDO Class Downgraded

Class B-1 notes issued by Eastman Hill Funding I Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation partly composed of residential mortgage-backed securities, has been downgraded from B to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

REIT Closes $400M Credit Facility

Healthcare Realty Trust Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Nashville, Tenn., has announced the closing of a new $400 million revolving credit facility with a syndicate of 12 banks. (Read More)

Feedback

A question about co-brokering has sparked a heated debate on the Grapevine. (Read More)

Lehman Cuts Jobs at ALS, BNC

Lehman Brothers has trimmed roughly 300 workers from two of its nonprime mortgage affiliates -- Aurora Loan Services of Colorado and BNC Mortgage, Irvine, Calif., industry officials have confirmed to MortgageWire. (Read More)

OFHEO: Delay Likely for Fannie Report

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is signaling that its long-awaited report on Fannie Mae's accounting scandal may not be ready for release by the end of March, as previously indicated. (Read More)

NYSE OKs Continued Listing of Fannie

Fannie Mae -- which had been in danger of being delisted by the New York Stock Exchange -- has received a reprieve. (Read More)

New Orleans Overdues Rise Above 20%

The percentage of homeowners in hurricane-stricken New Orleans that are 90 days or more past due on their mortgage payments is moving above 20%, according to data on Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages. (Read More)

American Bank Buys Minnesota Mortgage

American Bank of Saint Paul, St. Paul, Minn., has announced the acquisition of Minnesota Mortgage Financial Corp. from Gaertner Meiers Inc. for an undisclosed amount. (Read More)

Oriole Proposes to Buy MF REIT

Oriole Partnership LLC, Palo Alto, Calif., has proposed to acquire all outstanding common shares of The Town and Country Trust, a Baltimore-based real estate investment trust whose board has already recommended a merger agreement proposed by another company. (Read More)

Pittsburgh FHLBank Names CFO

Kristina K. Williams has been named to succeed Eric J. Marx as chief financial officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh. (Read More)

Prime Alliance Sees 34% Rise in Volume

Minneapolis-based Prime Alliance Solutions Inc., a partnership between technology vendor Dexma and Boeing Employees' Credit Union, has reported handling over 140,000 loans (about $25 billion in loan volume) last year, a 34% increase from the previous year's level. (Read More)

A.M. Best Launches Bank Coverage

A.M. Best Co., Oldwick, N.J., has initiated analysis and coverage of the U.S. banking industry and says it plans to publish a series of regular bank-related research papers and analytical methodologies. (Read More)

Spirit Prices Stock Offering

Spirit Finance Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Scottsdale, Ariz., has priced a public offering of 12 million shares of common stock at $11.76 per share. (Read More)

Wholesaler Argent Trims Staff by 15%

Argent Mortgage, the nation's largest subprime wholesaler, on Monday trimmed 15% of its work force (600 positions), citing a "challenging economic environment" in the industry. (Read More)

Aames Restructures as Prez Resigns

Aames Investment Corp., a Los Angeles-based mortgage real estate investment trust, has announced the resignation of its president and chief operating officer, John Vella, as part of a management restructuring that consolidates its retail and wholesale channels. (Read More)

Countrywide's Profits Rise

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has reported net earnings of $2.5 billion ($4.11 per share) for 2005, compared with $2.2 billion ($3.63 per share) in 2004, citing record annual mortgage volume amid declining profit margins on prime loans. (Read More)

Capital Title Subsidiary Buys Flood Zone Biz

Capital Title Group Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., has announced the acquisition of the flood zone determination business of America's Flood Services Inc., Rancho Cordova, Calif., by Capital Title's subsidiary, CTG Real Estate Information Services. (Read More)

LoanCity Expands Alt-A Program

LoanCity, a wholesale mortgage lender based in San Jose, Calif., has expanded its alternative-A program, increasing loan limits to $3 million for first mortgages and to $600,000 for alt-A second mortgages. (Read More)

Fitch: HFA Assets Reverse Downtrend

After two years of shrinking portfolios, 30 state housing finance agencies recorded a slight increase in aggregate total assets in fiscal year 2005, according to Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Results Delayed Pending Mortgage Review

W Holding Company Inc., Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, has announced that it will postpone the release of its financial results for the fourth quarter and for 2005 until it completes a review of the accounting presentation of certain mortgage-related transactions. (Read More)

Gramercy Issues $50M in Trust Securities

Gramercy Capital Corp., a New York-based commercial real estate specialty finance company, has announced the issuance of $50 million of trust preferred securities through a wholly owned subsidiary. (Read More)

Pending Home Sale Decline Continues

The slowdown in home sales continued through December, according to a leading indicator of existing-home sales that has declined for four consecutive months. (Read More)

Bush Offers No New Gulf Coast Plans

President Bush did not spell out any new plans to help New Orleans and the Gulf Coast states rebuild in his state of the union speech Tuesday evening. (Read More)

Homeownership News Mixed for Minorities

The homeownership rate for Hispanics finally hit 50% in the fourth quarter, while the homeownership rate for blacks declined to 48.0%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. (Read More)

Adjusted Apps Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 660.5 to 626.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Jan. 27, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Fed Hikes Target Rate to 4.5%

The Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policy arm of the Federal Reserve Board, has raised its target for the federal funds rate to 4.5%, saying that "possible increases in resource utilization" and "elevated energy prices" could add to inflation pressures. (Read More)

ResMAE Launches Commercial Ops

ResMAE Mortgage Corp., Brea, Calif., has announced the launch of a commercial lending operation in California that will specialize in multifamily properties of five units or more. (Read More)

Seattle Financial Names Prez

Robert E. Story Jr. has been named president of Seattle Financial Group, a family-owned mortgage banker that comprises Seattle Mortgage, Seattle Savings Bank, Reverse Mortgage of America, and other brands. (Read More)

Equity Residential Reports 4Q Profits

Equity Residential, a Chicago-based real estate investment trust, has reported net income of $215.2 million ($0.74 per share) for the fourth quarter, compared with $137.6 million ($0.48 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

Trizec to Replace AMLI in REIT Index

Trizec Properties Inc., Chicago, will replace AMLI Residential Properties Trust, Chicago, in the S&P REIT Composite Index after the close of trading on a date to be announced, Standard & Poor's has announced. (Read More)

Morgan Stanley CMBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Capital I Trust commercial mortgage-backed securities, series 2001-TOP1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

REIT Boosts Credit Facility

Entertainment Properties Trust, Kansas City, Mo., has amended its credit facility, increasing it to $200 million and changing several other aspects of the credit line. (Read More)

Social Security Official Up for OFHEO Job?

The White House is considering former investment banker James B. Lockhart III, deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration, to head the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, MortgageWire has learned. (Read More)

Louisiana Ex-Guvs Urge 2nd Look at Baker Plan

Three former Republican governors of Louisiana are urging President Bush to take a "second look" at Rep. Richard Baker's plan for rebuilding New Orleans and other areas of the state that lay in ruins. (Read More)

Fed Guv: B&C IOs Not Huge Concern, But...

Mortgage lenders have been making "stated income" loans for years, but the Federal Reserve is starting to have concerns about banks that fund loans without requiring the borrower to provide proof of income. (Read More)

Rates Climb

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.12% to 6.23% over the seven-day period ended Feb. 2, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Freddie Welcomes Flattening Yield Curve

Freddie Mac says it expects that a flattening yield curve will increase its opportunities to expand its credit guarantee business and invest in fixed-rate mortgages this year. (Read More)

Freddie Names General Counsel

Robert Bostrom has been named executive vice president and general counsel of Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Western Regional Show to Close Doors

The Western Regional Mortgage Lenders Conference will shut its doors after the 2006 event, according to the show's organizers. (Read More)

Fairway Launches Alternative Lending Unit

Fairway New England Mortgage, Needham, Mass., has announced the formation of an alternative lending division that will focus solely on nontraditional financing. (Read More)

New Century Names Morrice CEO

New Century Financial Corp., an Irvine, Calif.-based real estate investment trust, has announced that its vice chairman, president, and chief operating officer, Brad A. Morrice, will become chief executive officer as of July 1. (Read More)

REIT Reports 4Q Profits

Equity Office Properties Trust, Chicago, has reported net income of $19 million ($0.02 per share) for the fourth quarter, compared with $61.3 million ($0.15 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2004. (Read More)

Franklin Cites Impact of Mortgage-Linked Loan

Franklin Bank Corp., a thrift holding company based in Houston, has reported that its performance in the fourth quarter was adversely affected by a $5.8 million nonperforming mortgage banker finance loan. (Read More)

AFL-CIO Launches New NYC Housing Effort

New York-based AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust and AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust have announced that they surpassed their goal of investing $750 million over five years and are now launching the second phase of their New York City initiative. (Read More)

Mortgage Layoffs Continued in December

Mortgage companies trimmed 1,400 full-time employees from their payrolls in December, following 2,000 job cuts in November. (Read More)

Ohio Bank Buying Union/Waterfield

Sky Financial Group, Bowling Green, Ohio, has agreed to purchase Union Federal Bank of Indianapolis, and its parent company, Waterfield Mortgage, for $330 million in stock and cash. (Read More)

Acoustic Home Loans Chief Departs

Frank J. Curry, president of nonconforming lender Acoustic Home Loans, Orange, Calif., has left the company, industry sources have told MortgageWire. (Read More)

HMDA Probes Eye Pricing Discretion

Ongoing investigations and examinations of institutions flagged by Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for possible fair-lending violations are focusing on pricing discretion at the retail and wholesale level, according to an industry attorney and litigator. (Read More)

In a First, Bulk New MI Tops Traditional

In a sign of where the mortgage industry may be heading, the volume of primary new insurance written by members of the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America that came through the bulk channel in December topped the volume of the traditional channel for the first time ever. (Read More)

Feds Plan Katrina Parley in New Orleans

Federal banking regulators are holding a special two-day meeting in New Orleans to talk with bank and thrift executives about the problems they are facing in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and how they are meeting the needs of their communities. (Read More)

TCT Receives 3rd M&A Offer

In addition to a merger offer from Magazine Acquisition and a competing offer from Oriole Partnership, the Town and Country Trust has received a third acquisition offer from Berkshire Property Advisors. (Read More)

MISMO Panel Re-Elects Officers

David Barkley of Freddie Mac has been re-elected to chair the Governance Committee of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, and Adam Hall of IndyMac Bank and Lisa Bolelli of First American Real Estate Information Services have been re-elected vice-chairs. (Read More)

Paragon Hires Phil Esposito

Paragon Financial Corp., Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., has announced the signing of Hall of Fame hockey great Phil Esposito under a marketing plan that aims to teach the mortgage business to current and former athletes. (Read More)

HomeBanc Prices Preferred Stock

HomeBanc Corp., the Atlanta-based parent company of HomeBanc Mortgage Corp., has priced a public offering of 2.0 million shares of 10% series A cumulative redeemable preferred stock at $25 per share. (Read More)

IMA Offering $40M Bulk Package

Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Denver, is brokering a $40 million package of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bulk servicing rights. (Read More)

REIT Prices Stock Offering

Entertainment Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Kansas City, Mo., has priced a public offering of 1 million shares of its common stock at $41.25 per share. (Read More)

MDC Added to S&P MidCap 400

M.D.C. Holdings Inc. has been added to the S&P MidCap 400 Index, according to the Denver-based homebuilder. (Read More)

Feedback

Responses to our survey question on whether federal regulators should issue underwriting guidance on interest-only and payment-option ARMs are running strongly against the idea. (Read More)

Bush Budget Seeks GSE Shrinkage

In its new budget proposal, the Bush White House is sticking to its guns in regard to shrinking the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Ginnie Fee Hike Proposed

The Bush administration is proposing to increase Ginnie Mae guarantee fees to cover $43 million in administrative expenses, according to budget documents released by the White House on Monday. (Read More)

Freddie's Tech View: What's Available Now?

"What's out there that we can buy right now?" was the question Freddie Mac's Ed Albrigo threw out to attendees in his keynote address opening the 9th Annual Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami. (Read More)

New Century Unit Buys Access Lending Assets

New Century Warehouse Corp. has completed the purchase of certain assets (and the assumption of certain related liabilities) of Access Lending Corp., according to New Century Financial Corp., the Irvine, Calif.-based parent company of New Century Warehouse. (Read More)

Starwood Closes 2 RE Funds

Starwood Capital Group Global LLC, an investment management firm based in Greenwich, Conn., has announced the closing of two real estate funds. (Read More)

NetBank Reports Mortgage-Related Loss

NetBank Inc., an Atlanta-based online bank, has reported a mortgage-related net loss of $180,000 ($0.00 per share) for 2005, compared with net income of $4.2 million ($0.09 per share) in 2004, although the company did record a profitable fourth quarter. (Read More)

Irwin Links Earnings Decline to Mortgage Ops

Irwin Financial Corp., Columbus, Ind. -- which recently announced that its conventional mortgage banking unit, Irwin Mortgage, is for sale -- has reported net income of $6.5 million ($0.23 per share) for the fourth quarter, compared with $13.9 million ($0.47 per share) a year earlier, a decline it attributed to a loss in its mortgage banking operations. (Read More)

COFI Rises 10bps

The Eleventh Federal Home Loan Cost of Funds Index stood at 3.296% in December, a 10-basis-point rise from 3.190% in November. (Read More)

Bimini Mortgage Becomes Opteum

Bimini Mortgage Management Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Vero Beach, Fla., has announced a corporate name change to Opteum Inc. (Read More)

Roundtable Seeks Review of Fannie ADC

The Financial Services Roundtable has asked the Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct a review of Fannie Mae's construction lending program, which the Roundtable opposes. (Read More)

Ginnie Fee Proposal Rankles MBA

The Bush administration's proposal to charge a one-time, 6-basis-point upfront fee on each single-family and multifamily Ginnie Mae securitization has raised the hackles of the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

GMACCM Touts 'Smart' Outsourcing

GMAC Commercial Mortgage, Horsham, Pa., is touting its strategy to use technology as an enabler for outsourcing at the 9th Annual SourceMedia Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami Beach, Fla. (Read More)

Nat'l City Using Tech to Cut Redundancy

Joseph McCartin, chief information officer at National City, recently told a crowd at the 9th Annual SourceMedia Technology Conference that his institution is implementing technology so that live people only have to touch a loan in exceptional cases. (Read More)

Freddie Touts MF Volume Record

Freddie Mac has announced that it closed a record $26.2 billion in new multifamily business transactions in 2005, a 10% increase from $23.8 billion in 2004. (Read More)

MBA: Commercial Originations Surged in '05

Originations of commercial and multifamily loans were 48% higher in 2005 than in 2004, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Wachovia Tops Commercial Servicer List

The Mortgage Bankers Association's ranking of top commercial and multifamily mortgage loan servicers places Wachovia at the top of the list in total primary and master servicing volume, at $233.2 billion. (Read More)

Paragon Buying Shearson Home Loans

Paragon Financial Corp., Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., has announced an agreement to acquire Shearson Home Loans Inc. from Consumer Direct of America Inc. (Read More)

CBA Partners With GMACCM

CBA Commercial LLC, Stamford, Conn., has announced a partnership arrangement with GMAC Commercial Mortgage to participate in the CBAC Authorized Lender Program. (Read More)

Resource Capital Prices IPO

Resource Capital Corp., a Philadelphia-based real estate investment trust, has priced an initial public offering of 4.0 million shares of its common stock, including approximately 1.9 million shares sold by the selling stockholders, at $15 per share. (Read More)

Impac Renames Commercial Sub

Impac Multifamily Capital Corp. has been renamed Impac Commercial Capital Corp., according to Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., the parent company and a real estate investment trust based in Newport Beach, Calif. (Read More)

Mozilo Named to Home Depot Board

Home Depot Inc., the world's biggest home improvement chain, has announced the naming of Angelo Mozilo to its board. (Read More)

FNIS Names CFO

Jeffrey S. Carbiener has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Fidelity National Information Services, Jacksonville, Fla. (Read More)

Republic Allies With 1031 Exchange Firm

Republic Title Co., Chicago, has announced that 1031 exchange services will now be offered to its attorney agents and other customers through an alliance with Nationwide Exchange Services. (Read More)

Wells Expands NASCAR Sponsorship

Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco, has announced the expansion of its association with NASCAR's Petty Enterprises to include Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and the rest of the company's business groups. (Read More)

Community Banks Adopting Mortgage Innovations

Community bank and thrifts are adopting new mortgage products, practices, and technology even though they continue to retain two-thirds of their loan volume in portfolio, according to a survey by America's Community Bankers. (Read More)

Adjusted Apps Dip Again

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 626.8 to 619.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Feb. 3, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Clayton Buys Mortgage Resource Network

Clayton Holdings Inc., a provider of information and analytics to the banking and fixed-income securities markets, has announced the acquisition of Mortgage Resource Network, a Dallas-based provider of outsourced mortgage origination support and pre-close due diligence services. (Read More)

Flagstar, BeesPath Empower Closing Agents

Flagstar Bank, Troy, Mich., has announced the integration of its Digital Document Transfer platform with BeesPath Inc.'s RecordsDirect to create what it calls the first system to extend image delivery services to closing agents in the mortgage industry. (Read More)

Freddie: Cash-Out Refi % Rises

In the fourth quarter, 80% of the homeowners who refinanced their homes got a mortgage at least 5% larger than the original loan, up from 73% in the previous quarter, according to Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Cincinnati FHLBank Registers With SEC

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati has become the fourth FHLBank to complete the stock registration process with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

CoreLogic Unveils Mortgage Risk Monitor

CoreLogic, a provider of mortgage risk assessment and fraud prevention systems, Sacramento, Calif., has announced the development of the Core Mortgage Risk Monitor, a map that forecasts the most likely locations of fraud "hot spots" over the next 12 to 18 months. (Read More)

1st Metro Names Nat'l Sales Trainer

Ryan Steinert has been named national sales trainer for originators at 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, Charlotte, N.C. (Read More)

HomeBanc Prices Preferred Stock

HomeBanc Corp., Atlanta, has announced the pricing of a public offering of 2.0 million shares of 10% series A cumulative redeemable preferred stock at $25 per share. (Read More)

GSEs Eyeing Subprime Market

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are talking about getting involved in the subprime market to increase their credit guarantee business and better serve their customers. (Read More)

Dan Mudd, Fannie's $13M Man in '05

Daniel Mudd, the man in charge of fixing Fannie Mae's $12 billion accounting scandal, earned about $13 million in compensation last year, according to an 8K statement filed by the mortgage giant with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

ComUnity Lending Consolidates Nonprime Unit

ComUnity Lending, Morgan Hill, Calif., has consolidated its CreditFlex Funding nonprime lending division into its overall operations. (Read More)

TCT Acquisition Battle Heats Up

The battle for the acquisition of the Town and Country Trust, a Baltimore-based real estate investment trust, is heating up. (Read More)

eAppraiseIT Buys Network Appraisal Services

Valuation technology company eAppraiseIT LLC, Poway, Calif., has announced the acquisition of Network Appraisal Services, Kalamazoo, Mich. (Read More)

Rates Inch Up

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.23% to 6.24% over the seven-day period ended Feb. 9, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Banks Report Weaker SF Mortgage Demand

Commercial banks are reporting "weaker" demand for single-family mortgage loans, and they say they expect to see an increase in delinquencies on commercial real estate loans and nontraditional single-family loans this year, according to a periodic survey by the Federal Reserve Board. (Read More)

MBS Speeds Drop in January

Prepayment rates on 30-year fixed-rate agency mortgages fell 23% in January, chiefly as a result of a seasonal slowdown in housing turnover and refinancing activity over the holiday season, according to Bear Stearns & Co. (Read More)

Fannie MF Investments Hit $25.6B in '05

Fannie Mae's multifamily investments totaled $25.6 billion last year, making it the second-best year for the company on that score, Fannie has reported at the Mortgage Bankers Association's commercial real estate finance convention in Orlando, Fla. (Read More)

Fidelity Names Prez, COO

Brent Bickett has been named president of Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., and Alan L. Stinson, FNF's chief financial officer, has been named to the additional post of chief operating officer. (Read More)

Delta MBS Classes Downgraded

Five classes from three Delta Funding Corp. home equity issues have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings and four classes from two other issues have been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)

FHA Deregulates Closing Costs

The Federal Housing Administration is getting out of the business of telling lenders what fees they can charge borrowers to close a single-family loan. (Read More)

NovaStar Delays Earnings; Stock Hit

Subprime lender NovaStar Financial postponed its fourth-quarter earnings release Friday morning, sending its stock down 12%. (Read More)

OCC Adopts Liberal CRA/Katrina Policy

National banks located outside the disaster areas hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita are eligible for Community Reinvestment Act credit for providing loans, investments, and services to help with the rebuilding in the Gulf Coast states, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. (Read More)

Attorney Offers RESPA Litmus Test

The "litmus paper test" of whether something is a violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act is whether one is not certain of its legality, according to Lawrence Jacobson, an attorney from Beverly Hills, Calif. (Read More)

AmeriVest to Liquidate

AmeriVest Properties Inc., a Denver-based real estate investment trust, has announced the approval by its board of directors of a plan to liquidate the company. (Read More)

ANTs, SFG Launch Direct-Lending System

ANTs Software Inc., Burlingame, Calif., has announced the launch of the SFG Bancorp system, which offers to reduce a one- to three-day loan application process to a single 22-minute phone call. (Read More)

Arlington Cap Picks Archive SaaS System

Arlington Capital Mortgage Corp., Bensalem, Pa., has picked Archive Systems' ASPEN 360 Software-as-a-Service system to create a central repository to give its branches online access to loan documents. (Read More)

MSDW MBS Classes Downgraded

Six classes of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Mortgage Capital 2000-F1 have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes Aegis ABS Class

Class B of Aegis Asset Backed Securities Trust, series 2003-1, has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Feedback

How much money is a borrower required to bring to the table to get a mortgage loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration? (Read More)

HUD Offers Storm-Related CDBG Grants

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has opened the door for Louisiana, Mississippi, and other Gulf Coast states to apply for $11.5 billion in community development block grants to rebuild homes severely damaged in hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. (Read More)

Freddie Extends Katrina Moratorium

Freddie Mac is extending its foreclosure moratorium in many Gulf Coast communities for another three months, but starting March 1, servicers can initiate foreclosures in 65 counties and parishes that sustained only minimal storm damage in hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (Read More)

Fannie, TradeWeb Unveil New Trading Tech

Fannie Mae and Thomson TradeWeb, a fixed-income trading network based in Orlando, Fla., have announced the introduction of technology that will enable institutional investors to directly access and trade Fannie Mae's Discount Notes online through authorized dealers. (Read More)

LBA Realty to Buy Bedford

Bedford Property Investors Inc., Lafayette, Calif., has announced an agreement under which it will be acquired by an affiliate of LBA Realty LLC, Irvine, Calif. (Read More)

Asian RE Group Allies With 4 Others

The Asian Real Estate Association of America has announced a partnership with four local Asian real estate associations in the United States aimed at closing "the Asian-American homeownership gap." (Read More)

Zacks: Sell Starwood

Zacks.com, the online unit of Zacks Investment Research Inc., Chicago, has placed Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, on its #5 Rank List -- Stocks to Sell Now. (Read More)

Freddie Prices RefNotes

Freddie Mac has priced $5 billion of 4.875%, three-year Reference Notes due on Feb. 17, 2009. (Read More)

Brookdale Arranges $330M LOC

Brookdale Senior Living Inc., Chicago, has announced the establishment of a $330 million credit facility, of which $250 million is earmarked for acquisitions. (Read More)

Capital Trust Sells $50M of Trust Securities

Capital Trust Inc., a New York-based real estate investment trust, has announced the sale of $50 million of trust preferred securities through its consolidated statutory trust subsidiary, CT Preferred Trust I. (Read More)

Storms Wiped Out Estimated $67B in Housing

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wiped out residential capital stock totaling $67 billion, and only $37 billion is insured, according to new estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (Read More)

People's Choice Hopes to Go Public

Subprime lender People's Choice Financial Corp. is undergoing an audit in preparation for an initial public offering, a spokesman for the company has told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Wells Fargo Tops $1T in Servicing

Wells Fargo & Co., whose home loan unit is based in Des Moines, Iowa, has reported that its managed servicing portfolio now exceeds $1 trillion in home loans and commercial mortgages serviced for others. (Read More)

TCT Acquisition Fight Still Going Strong

The battle for the acquisition of The Town and Country Trust, a Baltimore-based real estate investment trust, is still going strong, with both Magazine Acquisition and Oriole Partnership hiking their bids. (Read More)

Scotiabank Buys Canadian Mortgage Lender

Toronto-based Scotiabank has announced an agreement to buy the mortgage business of Maple Financial Group Inc., including residential mortgage lender Maple Trust Co. (Read More)

Alaska Fund to Buy Stake in Simpson Housing

Simpson Housing Limited Partnership LLLP, Denver, and Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Juneau, Alaska, have announced an agreement under which APFC would acquire a co-controlling stake in Simpson, a large private multifamily development and operating company. (Read More)

PREI, Black Mountain Form CRE Venture

Prudential Real Estate Investors, Parsippany, N.J., has announced the formation of an exclusive lending program with Black Mountain Capital Inc., Burlingame, Calif., that offers short-term bridge loans to the commercial real estate industry. (Read More)

eAppraiseIT Names SVP/Marketing Chief

DeAnna McCann has been named senior vice president and chief marketing officer of eAppraiseIT, a provider of real estate valuation services based in Poway, Calif. (Read More)

Paragon Hires Baseball All-Star

Paragon Financial Corp., Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., has announced the signing of All-Star second baseman Davey Johnson to a multiyear deal under a recently announced marketing plan that involves teaching the mortgage business to current and former athletes. (Read More)

LandAmerica to Restate Earnings

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., a real estate company based in Richmond, Va., has announced that it will restate its audited financial results for fiscal years 2000-2004 and unaudited quarterly results for the first three quarters of 2005 to correct an accounting error that resulted in a net understatement of reported earnings. (Read More)

Vornado Prices Debt Offering

Vornado Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Paramus, N.J., has announced the pricing of an offering of $250 million of 5.6% senior unsecured notes at 99.906 by its operating partnership, Vornado Realty LP. (Read More)

Mid Ocean CBO Classes Downgraded

Two classes of notes issued by Mid Ocean CBO 2000-1 Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation that includes mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

HarbourView CDO Class Downgraded

The class B notes issued by HarbourView CDO III Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation that includes mortgage-backed securities, has been downgraded from CCC to C by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Coalition Urges HUD to Revoke ADC Ruling

The Consumer Mortgage Coalition is urging the Department of Housing and Urban Development to revoke a decision that gave Fannie Mae the green light to expand its construction lending program. (Read More)

2nd Group Slams Fannie ADC Effort

GSE critic FM Policy Focus also wants regulators to shut down Fannie Mae's acquisition, development, and construction lending program, arguing that the "venture is not consistent with governing law." (Read More)

Baker: Price Tag of Recovery Plan Only $20B

A Louisiana Recovery Corp. could facilitate the rebuilding of New Orleans and other hurricane-devastated areas in Louisiana with a $20 billion federal line of credit, not the $100 billion that critics in the Bush administration have claimed, according to Rep. Richard Baker, R-La. (Read More)

HUD Expands Storm Rental Aid

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has expanded a rental assistance program in order to enable hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees to receive vouchers to live anywhere in the United States. (Read More)

Texas Offers $16M for Rita Home Loans

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs has announced the release of $16 million for loans to qualified homebuyers wishing to buy a home in the 22 East Texas counties designated as the Hurricane Rita Gulf Opportunity Zone. (Read More)

Wells Offers Options to Storm Victims

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, has announced a mail campaign to give customers affected by last year's Gulf Coast hurricanes a chance to select a repayment option that meets their personal needs. (Read More)

MBA Sees $6-8T in Housing Capital Needs

Over the next two decades, the mortgage industry will need to attract $6-8 trillion of new capital to finance the housing needs of a rapidly expanding population, Mortgage Bankers Association chairman Regina Lowrie has told attendees at the MBA's annual mortgage servicing conference in Phoenix. (Read More)

Bernanke: Housing Will Cool

In his maiden voyage before Congress, newly minted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted Wednesday that housing markets will cool but "not change sharply." (Read More)

Applications Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 619.3 to 574.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Feb. 10, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Study: Resets Won't Badly Hurt Economy

Mortgage payment resets may result in $110 billion in foreclosure losses over several years, but this would represent less than 1% of total U.S. mortgage lending during the same period and would not significantly affect the economy, according to a study by First American Real Estate Solutions. (Read More)

NAR: Price Gains Strong, but Cooling

House prices posted double-digit gains in half of the covered metropolitan statistical areas in 2005, but "the overall pace of growth has cooled slightly," according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

4Q Resales Rise to 3rd-Highest Level

Total existing-home sales -- including condominiums and co-operatives -- set the third-highest pace on record in the fourth quarter, rising in 24 states from the levels recorded a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

WaMu Cutting Mortgage Jobs by 19%

Washington Mutual, the nation's third-largest residential lender, revealed late Wednesday that it is slashing its mortgage work force by a stunning 19% (2,500 jobs), closing 10 processing sites in an effort to trim costs. (Read More)

Housing Starts Set Another Record

Single-family housing starts jumped 12.8% in January as warm weather sent the pace of construction up to a record level. (Read More)

HUD Will Show Hand on RESPA in Spring

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is continuing its work on reforming the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and expects to share its views with the industry this spring, a department official has told MortgageWire. (Read More)

OTS Chief Cautions About Option ARMs

The director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, John Reich, says adjustable-rate mortgage products with negative amortization features are "not appropriate for unsophisticated borrowers or those with weaker credit capacities." (Read More)

Mortgage Lenders Embracing 'Predictive Analytics'?

Mortgage lenders are now following in the footsteps of credit card and auto lending operations by incorporating predictive analytics to better manage risk, according to James Caldwell, a partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP, at the MBA's National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo in Phoenix. (Read More)

MBA: Katrina Price Tag $8-10B in Big Easy

The cost of repairing the 95,000 properties in New Orleans damaged by flooding related to Hurricane Katrina will total $8 billion to $10 billion, according to a study by the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Fannie Extends, Limits Moratorium

Fannie Mae has extended and limited its foreclosure moratorium in the Gulf Coast states to 21 counties and parishes that sustained the most damage in hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (Read More)

Rates Rise Further

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.24% to 6.28% over the seven-day period ended Feb. 16, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Thrift Originations Off 10% in 4Q

Thrift originations of single-family loans fell 10% in the fourth quarter and borrowings against home equity lines edged up slightly, according to the Office of Thrift Supervision. (Read More)

Ex-Freddie Exec Named AREAA COO

Jim Park, a former executive at Freddie Mac, has been named chief operating officer of the Asian Real Estate Association of America, San Diego. (Read More)

Foreclosure.com: Inventory Rises 3.5%

The nationwide inventory of foreclosed residential properties rose 3.5% in January, to 95,073, according to Foreclosure.com, an online foreclosure listing service based in Boca Raton, Fla. (Read More)

NAREIT Allies With Index Provider

In a bid to make investment in real estate investment trusts more attractive, especially to institutional capital, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts has joined forced with index provider FTSE Group. (Read More)

iStar Prices $1B of Notes

New York-based iStar Financial Inc. has priced $1.0 billion of senior unsecured debt in two series of fixed-rate notes. (Read More)

ABFC Class Downgraded

Class B of Asset Backed Funding Corp. mortgage-backed securities series 2002-SB1 has been downgraded from B to CCC by Fitch Ratings, and class M-3 has been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)

Correction

A recent item on a study by First American Real Estate Solutions should have indicated that the projected $110 billion in losses stemming from mortgage payment resets over several years referred to foreclosure losses, and that this would likely represent less than 1% of total U.S. mortgage lending over the same period (not less than 1% of annual U.S. mortgage lending, as incorrectly reported). (Read More)

Fannie Eyes Streamlined ARM Refi

Fannie Mae is working with lenders to develop a streamlined refinancing process for borrowers who want to bail out of adjustable-rate mortgages. (Read More)

Panelist: Nonprime Going Mainstream

In the wake of the prime lending sector's refinance contraction, the nonprime sector has picked up and become more mainstream, accounting for 28% of total loan originations, according to a panel member at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Mortgage Servicing Conference and Expo in Phoenix. (Read More)

Louisiana to Use CDBG Funds to Rebuild

Louisiana is planning to use Community Development Block Grant funds to help rebuild hurricane-damaged homes and to buy out homeowners who can't rebuild due to new flood and development restrictions. (Read More)

Homecomings Extends Mortgage Relief

Homecomings Financial Network Inc., Dallas, has announced an extension (for an unspecified period) of its mortgage relief for families most affected by Hurricane Katrina. (Read More)

Mag Acquisition Wins Bid War for TCT

Magazine Acquisition has won a bidding war against Oriole Partnership for The Town and Country Trust, Baltimore, with an offer of $40.20 per common share and operating partnership unit of TCT, plus a payment of prorata dividends on TCT's shares/OPUs. (Read More)

Pulte Sells Stake in Mex Mortgage Banker

Pulte Homes Inc., Bloomfield Hills, Mich., has announced the sale of its subsidiary Pulte Mortgage's investment in Hipotecaria Su Casita, a Mexico-based mortgage banking company, for approximately $50 million. (Read More)

Dallas FHLBank Refiles With SEC, Restates

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas has announced the refiling of its Form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including restatements of annual earnings for 2001 through 2004 and of quarterly earnings for the first quarter of 2003 through the first quarter of 2005. (Read More)

Indianapolis FHLBank Files SEC Registration

Meanwhile, the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Bank System has reported the filing of a Form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the FHLBank of Indianapolis. (Read More)

CFO of FHLBank Atlanta Resigns

Lee Puschaver has resigned as executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta to "pursue other interests," according to the FHLBank. (Read More)

Homefield Names EVP to Head Texas Ops

Michael D. Meyer has been named executive vice president for the new Texas operations of Homefield Financial, a mortgage banker based in Irvine, Calif. (Read More)

Fieldstone Names EVP/CFO

Nayan V. Kisnadwala has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Fieldstone Investment Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Columbia, Md. (Read More)

MISMO Releases 1st Commercial Standard

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has released its first data standard for the commercial/multifamily mortgage industry. (Read More)

Soundview Class Downgraded

Class B of Soundview Home Equity Loan Trust series 2000-1 has been downgraded from BBB to BB-plus by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Feedback

Here's a cautionary tale of e-mail, computer security, and a credit report. (Read More)

NAHREP, NAMB Join Forces

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers have announced an alliance to promote the exchange of information, training, and services between their combined 41,000 members. (Read More)

FHA Embarks on Aggressive Ad Campaign

The Federal Housing Administration is entering the new age and pretty soon it will have a stand-alone website, a call center for consumers and an advertising campaign. (Read More)

CoreLogic Technology Aides Disaster Recovery

Sacramento-based CoreLogic has adapted its HistoryPro application to help speed up insurance claims posted by victims of Katrina and Rita. (Read More)

RESPRO Elects New Chair

Brian Levy, senior vice president and general counsel of Milwaukee-based Shelter Mortgage, has been elected chairman of the Real Estate Services Providers Council, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association. (Read More)

Interthinx Integrates Fraud Tool with VueCentric

Interthinx, a provider of fraud prevention and decision support tools for the mortgage industry based in Calabasas, Calif., has integrated its fraud prevention systems with VueCentric’s loan origination system, Mortgage Dashboard. (Read More)

Hedging Forces Bank of America to Restate Earnings

Bank of America will restate earnings going back to 2002 to adjust for the accounting of certain derivative transactions related to hedging interest rate risk and foreign exchange exposure. (Read More)

FHLB Earnings Rise, But Loan Holdings Fall

Combined earnings of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks totaled $2.4 billion in 2005, up 25% from 2004, according to preliminary report by the FHLBank's Office of Finance. (Read More)

Fed Sees Home Price Cooling

The Federal Reserve's interest rate setting committee is seeing signs that the housing market is cooling and the majority of members expect a "gradual moderation" in house price appreciation. (Read More)

GMAC Launches Wholesale Web Application

Horsham, Pa.-based GMAC Bank's wholesale lending unit launched a Web application called Get Scenario, available to its broker and correspondent customers, which enables users to enter loan level data attributes and almost instantly receive a list of eligible products for sale through GMAC Bank. (Read More)

Former Dynatek Exec Joins Martopia

Martopia, a marketing and public relations firm specializing in the mortgage and financial services industry based in Chicago, has hired Michael Hammond as vice president of business strategy. (Read More)

McMahon Joins First American as CFO

Frank V. McMahon has been named vice chairman and chief financial officer of The First American Corp. (Read More)

Blackstone to Acquire Meristar Hospitality

MeriStar Hospitality, Bethesda, Md., is being acquired by an affiliate of The Blackstone Group in an approximately $2.6 billion transaction. (Read More)

Howard, Spencer, Raines on Hook for Fannie Mess

Fannie Mae's former chief financial officer Timothy Howard and former controller Leanne Spencer were primarily responsible for abusing accounting rules that led to the GSE's $11 billion earnings scandal, according to a long awaited internal report conducted by retired U.S. senator Warren Rudman. (Read More)

Shelby Reiterates Intentions on GSE Reform Bill

The Rudman report on Fannie Mae's accounting problems does not seem to give proponents of GSE reform new ammunition to pass legislation, but Senate Banking Committee chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said he remains committed to pass a bill this year. (Read More)

Market Reacts Favorably to GSE Report

Fannie Mae's stock climbed 2.83% in the hours after the Rudman Report was released. (Read More)

Call Reports Will Require More Mortgage Data

Federal regulators will be collecting more information about the mortgage banking activities of commercial banks, including single-family originations and earnings, under new revisions to the bank call reports. (Read More)

Oxley Seeks Investigation of Title Industry

House Financial Services Committee chairman Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, has directed the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of kickbacks and other anti-competitive practices in the title insurance industry. (Read More)

Fitch Offers Trigger Alerts

Fitch Ratings has unveiled a new Web portfolio management tool, Fitch Alert Surveillance Tracker. (Read More)

VMP Parent in Acquisition Mode

At their 2006 Summit in Las Vegas John Bryant, SVP of banking at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, said that banking is one of two growth areas for the company this year, with the mortgage space being the most profitable division within the banking umbrella. (Read More)

Bankruptcy Reform Criticized

A study conducted by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys claims that 97% of consumers seeking relief under the new law are unable to repay debts. (Read More)

FBR Ends 2005 in the Red

Investment banking firm Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group lost $170.9 million in 2005, with a previously disclosed write-down of its mortgage-backed securities portfolio serving as the main cause of the company's disappointing results. (Read More)

Freddie Sees Double-Digit Growth Rate

Freddie Mac said its total portfolio of loans and guaranteed loans grew at an annualized rate of 13.2% in January. (Read More)

NAHB Sees No Fallout from Rudman Report

A longtime ally of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the National Association of Home Builders, sees nothing in the Rudman report that would justify placing portfolio limits on the two government sponsored enterprises. (Read More)

Mills Looking at 'Strategic Alternatives'

The Mills Corporation, an Arlington, Va., retail real estate investment trust, is looking at a possible sale of the company as it contemplates some strategic alternatives. (Read More)

HUD Extends Foreclosure Moratoriums

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued Mortgagee Letter 2006-05, extending foreclosure moratoriums that affect FHA loans in areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. (Read More)

Illinois Court Ruling a Victory for Servicers

Mortgage companies have scored a victory in the bankruptcy court for the Northern District of Illinois, according to the law firm of Stewart Chapman, Pierce & Associates. (Read More)

Interest Margins Stable

A.M. Best Co. said that net interest margins remained stable for the banking industry in the third quarter of last year. (Read More)

Mortgage Rates Dip Slightly

The average rate on 30-year, fixed rate mortgages was 6.26% for the week ending February 23, down two basis points from the previous week, according to Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Refinancing Falls Again

The refinancing share of loan applications fell to 38.2% for the week ending February 17, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. (Read More)

Amex Adds Firms to Options Trading List

The American Stock Exchange has launched trading in options on the stocks of several mortgage-related firms. (Read More)

New-Home Sales Slide

Sales of new single-family homes fell 5% in January despite unusually warm weather and favorable mortgages rates. (Read More)

GE Completes Divestiture of Genworth

General Electric Co., Fairfield, Conn., has announced that it will complete its total divestiture of Richmond, Va.-based Genworth Financial, the holding company it spun off to own its former life and mortgage insurance operations. (Read More)

Fannie Purchases Slip in January

Fannie Mae acquired $51.1 billion in loans during January, its weakest purchase month since June of last year. (Read More)

Kearny Sells Freddie Securities

Kearny Financial Corp., Fairfield, N.J., has sold a portfolio of government agency notes and Freddie Mac common stock in a rebalancing of the bank holding company's securities portfolio. (Read More)

Countrywide Signs Tennis Champs

Three-time tennis Grand Slam champions Bob and Mike Bryan have been signed by Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., to a multiyear endorsement deal. (Read More)

C-BASS MBS Classes Downgraded

Three classes from two Credit Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC mortgage loan securitizations have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and four classes from two other C-BASS transactions have been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)

SFA CABS I Class Downgraded

Class A of Structured Finance Advisors Collateralized Asset Backed Securities Trust I Ltd. has been downgraded from B to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes Ameriquest HEL Issues

Two classes from two Ameriquest Mortgage Securities Inc. home equity issues have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

GS Mortgage CMBS Classes on Review

Classes B-1 and B-2 of GS Mortgage Securities Corp. residential mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2003-HE1, have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Astoria Debt Ratings Affirmed

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the long-term issuer default rating and short-term rating for Astoria Financial Corp. and Astoria Savings and loan. (Read More)

Resales Weakest Since Early '04

Existing-home sales fell by almost 3% in January to their weakest level in almost two years, according to figures released Tuesday morning by the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

B&C Volumes Up Almost 30% in '05

Subprime funders originated a record $809 billion in home mortgages in 2005, a 28% increase from the level of the year before, according to newly released figures from the Quarterly Data Report. (Read More)

Bank C&D Loans Surge in 4Q

Construction and development lending at banks and thrifts accelerated at a 33% annual rate in the fourth quarter, the highest rate of construction lending since 1986, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (Read More)

Doral Cuts $694M From Previous Earnings

Doral Financial Corp., San Juan, one of Puerto Rico's major mortgage lenders, has completed the restatement of its financial results, a process that shaved $694.4 million from the company's retained earnings through the end of 2004. (Read More)

Bank to Restate; Cites REMIC Error

Beverly Hills Bancorp, Calabasas, Calif., has announced that it will restate its 2004 audited financial statements as a result of errors that included the computation of taxable "excess inclusion income" on its interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits. (Read More)

ECC Takes Hit After Killing Dividend

ECC Capital Corp., Irvine, Calif., saw its share price get clobbered Feb. 27 after the subprime lender revealed that it would not pay a dividend for the first quarter of 2006. (Read More)

NovaStar Shares Spike on Earnings

NovaStar Financial, Kansas City, Mo., saw its share price rise 16% Monday after the company reported that quarterly earnings rose and it had clarified a previously disclosed tax issue. (Read More)

Wells Forming JV With Homebuilder

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, and Dominion Homes, a homebuilder based in Dublin, Ohio, have announced plans to form a joint venture that will originate and fund mortgage loans for Dominion customers and the general public. (Read More)

Mississippi Plans CDBG Aid Via Lenders

Mississippi is planning to use lenders to distribute grants of up to $150,000 to borrowers whose homes were damaged or destroyed by flooding in Hurricane Katrina. (Read More)

Grubb & Ellis Prices IPO

Grubb & Ellis Realty Advisors, Northbrook, Ill., has priced an initial public offering of approximately 20.8 million units at $6 per unit, for expected total proceeds of about $106 million after underwriting discount and commissions. (Read More)

BentleyForbes Forms Hospitality Affiliate

BentleyForbes, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate investment and operations company, has announced its entry into the resort and hotel market with the formation of an independent operating affiliate, BentleyForbes Hospitality Group LLC. (Read More)

Freddie, WKFS Forge Bilingual Alliance

More lenders will be able to use new bilingual tools designed to bring Spanish-speaking borrowers to the marketplace thanks to a partnership between Freddie Mac and Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, Minneapolis. (Read More)

Ramco-Gershenson Names EVP

Thomas Litzler has been named executive vice president for development and new business initiatives at Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Farmington Hills, Mich. (Read More)

Hospitality REIT Closes on LOC

Highland Hospitality Corp., a real estate investment trust based in McLean, Va., has closed on a three-year, $150 million unsecured revolving credit facility. (Read More)

Katrina-Linked FHA Defaults Surge

Nearly 35% of Federal Housing Administration borrowers in hurricane-stricken New Orleans are 90 days or more past due on their mortgage payments as of Nov. 30, according to an FHA report. (Read More)

Senator Revising AH Fund Amendment

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., says he is refining his GSE amendment so that Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's contribution toward an affordable housing fund would be based on the size of their mortgage portfolios rather than their earnings. (Read More)

Central Pacific Mortgage Buys Ivanhoe

Central Pacific Mortgage, Folsom, Calif., has announced that it is acquiring the mortgage production operations, including the retail branch offices and wholesale production platform, of Ivanhoe Financial Inc., Orlando, Fla. (Read More)

Applications Dip

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 578.5 to 571.5 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Feb. 24, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Delta Reports 4Q Profits

Delta Financial Corp., Woodbury, N.Y., has reported earnings of $5.7 million ($0.27 per share) for the fourth quarter, up from $215,000 ($0.01 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

OFHEO: House Prices Rose 13% in '05

House prices increased at a 13% annual rate in 2005, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, as record home sales pushed up house prices. (Read More)

New Century Bank Renames Mortgage Unit

New Century Bank, Dunn, N.C., has announced the formation of a separate mortgage division under the name NC Bank Mortgage to avoid confusion with New Century Mortgage, the wholesale mortgage division of New Century Financial Corp., Irvine, Calif. (Read More)

Fieldstone Changes Name of 9 Offices

Fieldstone Mortgage Co., Columbia, Md., has announced a name change for nine East Coast retail branch offices that had been operating under the d/b/a of Broad Street Mortgage Co. (Read More)

COFI's Slow Rise Continues

The slow but steady rise in the Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index continued in January, according to the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. (Read More)

FirstAm Names DataTree Prez

Michael T. Henney, president of First American Corp. subsidiary Data Trace, has been named to the additional role of president of DataTree LLC, a San Diego-based First American subsidiary that provides recorded property documents. (Read More)

GSE 'Bloated' Portfolios Legacy of Scandals?

The legacy of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accounting scandals is their "bloated" mortgage portfolios, which are out of sync with the enterprises' housing mission, according a high-ranking Treasury Department official. (Read More)

Senator Questions Need for FHA

Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., is throwing cold water on Bush administration proposals to revive the Federal Housing Administration single-family program, and he suggested Thursday that it may be time to shut down or privatize the FHA. (Read More)

PHH, Saxon Delay Financial Reports

Two publicly traded mortgage lenders -- one prime, the other subprime -- are delaying financial disclosures because of valuation and accounting concerns. (Read More)

Apps Don't Augur Well for MIs in '06

It may be a long year for the mortgage insurance industry if the number of applications received in January is any indicator. (Read More)

G REIT to Liquidate

G REIT Inc., Santa Ana, Calif., has announced stockholder approval of a plan of liquidation, involving the sale of 25 properties, that is expected to take up to two years. (Read More)

Morgan: Short Golden West

Morgan Stanley is recommending to clients that they short the stock of Golden West Financial Corp., Oakland, Calif., one of the nation's largest originators of adjustable-rate mortgages (Read More)

Zacks Advises Selling REIT

Zacks.com, the online unit of Zacks Investment Research Inc., Chicago, has placed General Growth Properties on its #5 Rank List -- Stocks to Sell Now. (Read More)

Radian MI Sub Names Prez

Mark A. Casale has been named president of Radian Guaranty Inc., the principal mortgage insurance subsidiary of Radian Group Inc., Philadelphia. (Read More)

Impac Unit Gets New Prez

Elaine Batlis has been named president of Impac Warehouse Lending Group Inc., a division of Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., Newport Beach, Calif. (Read More)

IndyMac Bank Names EVP/Risk Officer

Ruthann K. Melbourne has been named executive vice president and chief risk officer of enterprise risk management at Pasadena, Calif.-based IndyMac Bank. (Read More)

GE Cap Classes Downgraded

Two classes of GE Capital home equity loan pass-through certificates, series 1997-HE4, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Jones Lang Closes $450M LOC

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., a Chicago-based real estate services firm, has announced the closing of a $450 million, five-year unsecured revolving credit facility. (Read More)

40 Lenders Leave MD County Over Bias Law

At least 40 mortgage firms -- and counting -- will no longer fund loans in Maryland's most prosperous county because of a new anti-discrimination law that carries a minimum penalty of $500,000 per violation. (Read More)

Groups Warn of Threat to Ginnie Program

A Bush administration budget proposal poses a "serious threat" to the future of the Ginnie Mae mortgage securitization program, according to a letter circulated on Capitol Hill by housing and financial services groups. (Read More)

PRIA, MISMO Form 'Landmark' Alliance

The Property Records Industry Association and the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization have announced what they termed a "landmark alliance" that creates a seamless "plug and play" between PRIA and MISMO standards to streamline the property recordation process. (Read More)

30-Year Rate Dips

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.26% to 6.24% over the seven-day period ended March 2, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

LoopNet Files for IPO

LoopNet, an online commercial real estate marketplace, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. (Read More)

GE to Sell Genworth Stock

Genworth Financial, Richmond, Va., has announced the pricing of a General Electric secondary public offering of approximately 71 million shares of Genworth class A common stock at $32.75 per share. (Read More)

Home Prices Rise at 12.5% Rate in 4Q

Home prices increased at an annualized rate of 12.5% nationwide in the fourth quarter, down from a revised rate of 13.4% in the third quarter, according to the Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index released by Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Equity Residential Eyes Sale of Housing Unit

Equity Residential, Chicago, has announced the retention of J.P. Morgan to assist the company in the possible sale of its Lexford housing division. (Read More)

Freedom Title Allies With 1031 Exchange Firm

Freedom Title Corp., Chicago, has announced that 1031 exchange services will now be offered to its agents through an alliance with Nationwide Exchange Services. (Read More)

Feedback

By a 2-to-1 margin, responses to our survey question on whether federal regulators should issue underwriting guidance on interest-only and payment-option ARMs opposed the idea. (Read More)

MBA Sees 'Chilling' Effect From MD Law

The Mortgage Bankers Association says a pending law in Maryland will have a "chilling" affect on lenders and loan investors working in the state's most prosperous county because it affects both the primary and secondary markets. (Read More)

NAR: Home Sales Decline Slowing?

A leading indicator of existing-home sales edged down by only 1.1% in January, which may be signaling that the decline in homes sales over the past five months is beginning to level off, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Blackstone to Buy CarrAmerica

CarrAmerica Realty Corp., Washington, D.C., has announced a merger agreement under which it will be acquired by an affiliate of The Blackstone Group in a transaction valued at approximately $5.6 billion. (Read More)

Judge Overturns CA Junk Fax Law

A federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., has ruled in favor of the parties suing to overturn California's Junk Fax Law. (Read More)

FBR: Gulf Subprime Defaults Jump

In the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, massive property damage and high unemployment rates pushed default rates on subprime mortgages up to 32.6% in Louisiana and 29.9% in Mississippi as of Dec. 30, according to Friedman Billings Ramsey. (Read More)

Seattle FHLBank Reports '05 Profits

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle has posted a $1.7 million profit for 2005 and says it "no longer anticipates a loss in 2006" as the bank continues to recover from a plunge into the mortgage purchase business and rebuilds its advance business. (Read More)

EMC Names EVP, SVP

William Glasgow Jr. has been named executive vice president of quality assurance at EMC Mortgage Corp., Irving, Texas, and Kurt W. Reheiser has been named senior vice president of conduit technology. (Read More)

Synthetic CMBS Index Launched

CDS IndexCo LLC and Markit Group Ltd., both based in New York, have announced the launch of CMBX, a synthetic index of U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities. (Read More)

Freddie Declares 1Q Dividends

Freddie Mac's board of directors has announced a dividend of $0.47 per share on the corporation's voting common stock for the first quarter, the same as in the fourth quarter. (Read More)

PREIT Amends Credit Facility

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Philadelphia, has reported an amendment to its $500 million credit facility that lowers the interest rate range from 1.05%-1.55% to 0.95%-1.40%. (Read More)

Court Blocks Law That Spooked MD Lenders

A Maryland circuit court on Tuesday morning halted -- for now -- the enforcement of an ordinance on discriminatory lending that had caused 50 lenders to pull out of Montgomery County. (Read More)

GSE Bill's AH Limit Unconstitutional?

A House-passed GSE bill that restricts nonprofit groups from receiving affordable housing grants due to their political activities raises serious First Amendment concerns, according to an analysis by the Congressional Research Service. (Read More)

Texas Seeks Rita-Linked CDBG Aid

Texas is seeking $2 billion in additional aid from the federal government, including $367 million in Community Development Block Grant funds to repair and rebuild housing damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Rita, despite opposition from the Bush administration. (Read More)

Public Storage Buying Shurgard

Public Storage, a Glendale, Calif.-based real estate investment trust, is acquiring Seattle-based Shurgard Storage Centers, another self-storage REIT, for about $5 billion. (Read More)

Countrywide Wholesale Promotes Trio

Countrywide, America's Wholesale Lender, a division of Countrywide Home Loans Inc., has announced the promotions of Brian Robinett to chief operating officer and of two other key executives. (Read More)

WaMu Names Wholesale Chief

Mortgage industry veteran Arlene Hyde has been named director of the Home Loans Wholesale Channel of Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, as part of a realignment of the company's home loan distribution channels. (Read More)

NY Mortgage Reports '05 Loss

New York Mortgage Trust Inc., New York, has reported a loss of $5.3 million ($0.29 per share) for fiscal year 2005, compared with net income of $4.9 million ($0.27 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes CarrAmerica

CarrAmerica, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate investment trust, has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings in response to the REIT's announcement that it is being acquired by The Blackstone Group. (Read More)

Independence I 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)

Independence II CDO Classes Downgraded

Three classes of securities issued by Independence II CDO Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Freddie Prices RefNotes

Freddie Mac has priced $5 billion of 5.125% five-year Reference Notes due April 18, 2011. (Read More)

S&P Reports Change in REIT Index

Biomed Realty Trust Inc. will replace CenterPoint Properties Trust in the S&P REIT Composite Index after the close of trading on March 8, Standard & Poor's has announced. (Read More)

HUD Mum on RESPA Proposal

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is working on RESPA reform but says it does not plan to share its approach with industry groups until it issues a proposed rule. (Read More)

OFHEO: Still 'No Comment' on GSE Portfolios

Even though the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight says it likes many aspects of pending GSE legislation, the agency is still refusing to comment on a final bill's main sticking point -- the ability of a regulator to shrink the massive portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Proposal Targets FHLBank Capital, Dividends

The Federal Housing Finance Board is proposing to increase the retained earnings requirements for the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks and to prohibit the banks from paying dividends in the form of stock. (Read More)

Sun Launches Mortgage Unit, Podcasts

Sun National Bank, Vineland, N.J., has announced the launch of a residential mortgage subsidiary, Sun Home Loans Inc., and its entry into the podcasting arena as a way of educating consumers about the mortgage process. (Read More)

Apps Inch Up

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 571.5 to 575.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended March 3, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Agency MBS Speeds Rise

Prepayment rates for conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in agency mortgage-backed securities recorded "modest gains" in the February reporting period, according to Bear Stearns & Co. (Read More)

Downey Names New CFO

Brian E. Cote has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Downey Financial Corp. and its subsidiary, Downey Savings and Loan Association, Newport Beach, Calif. (Read More)

CapSource Revises Treatment of MBS

CapitalSource Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Chevy Chase, Md., has reported changes to its balance sheet of Dec. 31, 2005, involving the accounting treatment of about $2.3 billion of mortgage-backed securities and about $2.2 billion of related repurchase agreements. (Read More)

E*Trade CDO Classes Downgraded

Four classes of securities issued by E*Trade ABS CDO I Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation supported in part by residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

SASCO MBS Class Downgraded

Class M-3 of Structured Asset Securities Corp. residential mortgage-backed certificates, series 2002-BC1, has been downgraded from BBB to BB by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Equity One Prices Senior Notes

Equity One Inc., a real estate investment trust based in North Miami Beach, Fla., has announced the pricing of $125 million of 6.00% senior unsecured notes at 99.277. (Read More)

WellFound Decade Merges With Lydian Data

Jacksonville, Fla.-based WellFound Decade has merged with Lydian Data Services, Boca Raton, Fla., to form Lydian Technology Group. (Read More)

Rudman to Testify on Fannie Scandal

Warren Rudman, a former Republican senator from New Hampshire, is preparing to testify before the House Financial Services Committee March 14 on his investigation of Fannie Mae's $10.8 billion accounting scandal. (Read More)

Rates Hit Multi-Year Highs

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.24% to 6.37% over the seven-day period ended March 9, representing its highest level since September 2003, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

More CDBG Funds OK'd, but Not Earmarked

The House Appropriations Committee has approved an additional $4.2 billion in Community Development Block Grant funds, but the appropriators did not earmark it exclusively for Louisiana as requested by the Bush administration. (Read More)

UCFC MH Classes Downgraded

Nine classes of United Companies Financial Corp.'s manufactured housing deals have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fitch Downgrades CDC MBS Classes

Three classes from three issues of CDC Mortgage Capital Trust mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

GE Cap CMBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of GE Capital Commercial Mortgage Corp. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

FelCor Names EVP

Troy A. Pentecost has been named executive vice president and director of asset management at FelCor Lodging Trust Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Irving, Texas. (Read More)

Highland Prices Hotel-Linked Offering

Highland Hospitality Corp., a real estate investment trust based in McLean, Va., has priced a public offering of 7.3 million shares of common stock aimed at helping finance the purchase of two hotels at $12.35 per share. (Read More)

Mortgage Jobs Decline Again

Mortgage companies trimmed 2,900 full-time employees from their payrolls in January, marking the third consecutive month in which employment in the mortgage banker/broker sector has declined. (Read More)

MBA Asks Senate Panel for More FBI $

The Mortgage Bankers Association has asked a Senate subcommittee to push for an additional $6.25 million in government spending to combat mortgage fraud. (Read More)

Freddie Quarterly 'Update' Coming

Freddie Mac, which is still toiling with the remnants of a $5 billion accounting scandal, will release full-year 2005 earnings in May. (Read More)

Comment Period Extended on CRE Guidance

In response to industry requests, federal regulators have extended the comment period on proposed guidance regarding commercial real estate and construction lending until April 13 to give banks and thrifts an extra 30 days to file written comments. (Read More)

Morgan Stanley Closes $4.2B RE Fund

Morgan Stanley Real Estate, New York, has concluded fundraising for Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund V International with $4.2 billion of equity commitments from global private and institutional investors. (Read More)

AH Capital Provider Realigns Management

Enterprise Community Investment Inc., a Columbia, Md.-based provider of capital for affordable housing, has announced a realignment of the company's management team as part of a restructuring of business lines. (Read More)

AmNet Names Prez/COO

Charlotte I. Catalfo has been named president and chief operating officer of American Mortgage Network, a San Diego-based wholesale mortgage bank and a wholly owned subsidiary of Wachovia Bank NA. (Read More)

Fitch to Adjust Criteria for Subprime IOs

Fitch Ratings has announced that it will adjust its treatment of interest-only affordability features on two- and three-year subprime hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages to reflect higher odds of default. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes 319 CMBS Classes

Fitch Ratings has announced that 319 classes from 75 commercial mortgage-backed securities deals have been placed on Rating Watch Positive, chiefly due to "a flurry of defeasance activity" in the fourth quarter. (Read More)

Feedback

Early responses to our latest survey question favor using risk-based mortgage insurance premiums to help revitalize the FHA's single-family program. (Read More)

Fannie Reports More Accounting Errors

Fannie Mae has found a few more errors in its accounting practices as it continues to make "significant progress" in restating its earnings for 2004, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

Cap One Buying North Fork for $14.6B

Capital One Financial Corp., McLean, Va., is buying North Fork Bancorporation in a cash and stock transaction valued at $14.6 billion. (Read More)

President Defends NO Strategy

President Bush says he is "comfortable" with the federal government's strategy for rebuilding New Orleans despite the slow progress so far. (Read More)

Seller's Market in Homes Ending?

The five-year seller's market in homes is coming to an end, according to the latest forecast from the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Fannie Names Cap Markets EVP

Linda Knight has been promoted from senior vice president and treasurer of Fannie Mae to executive vice president for capital markets. (Read More)

E-Loan Names Head of New-Home Initiative

David Drow has been named to head a new-home purchase financing initiative planned by E-Loan, an online consumer-direct lender based in Pleasanton, Calif. (Read More)

LandAmerica Names EVP

John A. Magness has been promoted to executive vice president and Southwest regional leader at LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va. (Read More)

MuniMae to Restate Earnings

Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC, Baltimore, has reported that it will restate its net earnings upward for 2004 and the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, 2005, and restate them downward for 2002 and 2003. (Read More)

GMH Delays Earnings Release

GMH Communities Trust, Newtown Square, Pa., has postponed the release of its results for the fourth quarter and the 2005 fiscal year, revised downward its earnings guidance for 2005, and withdrawn its earnings guidance for 2006. (Read More)

Snow: 'Big Misunderstanding' Over Portfolios

Treasury Secretary John Snow says there is a "big misunderstanding" that the Bush administration wants a fixed limit on the size of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolios. (Read More)

Treasury: Market Could Adjust to Curbs on GSEs

There is a "wide and sophisticated pool" of mortgage investors who could pick up the slack if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reduce their investments in mortgage assets, according to a high-ranking Treasury Department official. (Read More)

Demand Rising for Fannie IO FRMs

Fannie Mae is starting to see more demand for its fixed-rate, interest-only product as interest rates on riskier adjustable-rate loans increase. (Read More)

MIPIM Spotlights Internationalization of CRE

More than 21,000 people from around the globe are registered to attend MIPIM -- the International Property Market, a symbol of the growing internationalization of the real estate sector that opened Tuesday in Cannes, France. (Read More)

Chinese Capital Looking In, Not Out

The Chinese economy is growing like topsy, but real estate interests looking for investment capital had better search elsewhere, according to a panel of China "watchers" at MIPIM. (Read More)

Credit Agencies Launch Joint Score

The three national credit reporting companies have launched a jointly developed credit scoring system designed to simplify the credit granting process by providing a consistent score to the marketplace. (Read More)

Fidelity Joins Forces With RE FormsNet

Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions, a division of Fidelity National Information Services Inc., has announced an agreement with RE FormsNet LLC to facilitate direct integrations between Fidelity's transaction management technology and RE FormsNet's ZipForm and WINForms real estate form applications. (Read More)

SFA CABS II Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Structured Finance Advisors Collateralized Asset Backed Securities Trust II CDO Ltd. have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Pols Want '98 Bonuses Given Back to Fannie

After hearing testimony that Fannie Mae executives manipulated accounting rules in 1998 to maximize their bonuses, Congressmen are calling on the GSE to recapture the money from former executives, including Franklin Raines and James Johnson, both of whom served (at different times) as chairman and CEO. (Read More)

Option One Parent Gets S&L OK

Tax return giant H&R Block has received final approval to start a savings and loan, a move that will allow the depository to purchase mortgages from its subprime affiliate, Option One Mortgage, a top-10-ranked nonconforming lender. (Read More)

MBA Chair Urges Greater Diversity

The chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Regina Lowrie, is calling on the mortgage banking industry to foster a more diverse work force so that it looks more like the customers it deals with. (Read More)

Serious Overdues Spike in Wake of Katrina

Almost 76,000 homeowners in Louisiana and Mississippi were seriously delinquent on their mortgages at the end of last year, four months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Apps Drift Lower

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 575.6 to 574.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended March 10, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

NAR: CRE Investment Set Record in '05

Investment in commercial real estate rose 44% last year to a record $268 million of investment-grade real estate (not counting transactions valued at less than $5 million), according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

CharterMac Prez Named CEO

Marc D. Schnitzler, president of CharterMac, a New York-based multifamily real estate finance company, has been named to the additional post of chief executive officer. (Read More)

ForeclosuresMass Launches ForeclosuresConn

ForeclosuresMass, Framingham, Mass., has announced the launch of ForeclosuresConn, a new division that will offer Connecticut foreclosure data. (Read More)

ABSC Classes Downgraded

Four classes of Asset Backed Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and two classes have been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)

CSFB CMBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Credit Suisse First Boston's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2001-CF2, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fannie Prices BenchNotes

Fannie Mae has priced $3 billion of 4.875% three-year Benchmark Notes at 99.657. (Read More)

OTS Didn't Talk to Spitzer About H&R Block

In granting approval to H&R Block to open a savings and loan, the Office of Thrift Supervision did not check with the New York State attorney general about a pending fraud probe of the tax giant, an agency spokesman has told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Single-Family Starts Decline

Led by a dramatic decline in building activity in the Northeast, single-family housing starts fell 2.3% in February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.8 million units, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. (Read More)

Delinquencies Rise Sharply

The national delinquency rate for residential mortgage loans rose to 4.70% at the end of last year, up from 4.38% a year earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Rates Decline

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.37% to 6.34% over the seven-day period ended March 16, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Commercial/MF Debt Rose 14% in '05

Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose to $2.64 trillion at the end of 2005, a 14.2% rise over 2004 levels. (Read More)

MBA Counsel Sees More 'High-Cost' Loans in '06

There could be more loans that meet high-cost triggers in 2006, according to Ken Markison, senior director and regulatory counsel in the Mortgage Bankers Association's Office of Government Affairs. (Read More)

CRE Market Gone Global

The internationalization of real estate has gone truly global, according to two research reports released in Cannes, France, where more than 20,000 real estate professionals from all over the world are attending MIPIM, the International Property Market. (Read More)

Euro RE Funds Court Nouveau Riche

The nouveau riche who have accumulated small fortunes as a result of the information technology boom are being courted in Europe as prime candidates to invest in real estate projects, according to panelists appearing at MIPIM, the International Property Market. (Read More)

Foreigners Can Now Own in Dubai

A new property law in the United Arab Emirates allows foreigners to own real estate in the small Middle Eastern country on the Arabian Gulf. (Read More)

Fed Finds Slower Housing Markets

Housing construction and sales has slowed in many of the Federal Reserve Bank districts over the past two months, according to the Fed's latest snapshot of economic activity. (Read More)

Banks Urged to Plan for Avian Flu

Federal banking regulators are urging financial institutions and their technology providers to start preparing contingency plans for a possible outbreak of avian flu so that they can continue to provide essential services during a pandemic. (Read More)

ACORN, Countrywide Canvass Katrina Victims

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now has launched a telephone and door-to-door campaign financed by Countrywide Financial Corp. to find Gulf Coast evacuees and put them in touch with their lender. (Read More)

FHA Launches First-Timer Ad Campaign

The Federal Housing Administration has launched a spring advertising campaign focusing on minority first-time homebuyers in 16 major cities. (Read More)

Deutsche Bank Buys Stake in Mex Originator

Deutsche Bank has announced the acquisition of a 49% interest in Fincasa Hipotecaria, a Mexican mortgage originator, from Ixe Grupo Financiero. (Read More)

CalHFA Offers 40-Year Mortgage

The California Housing Finance Agency has announced the introduction of a 40-year fixed-rate mortgage product aimed at helping first-time homebuyers afford a home. (Read More)

Asian RE Group Forms Advisory Board

The San Diego-based Asian Real Estate Association of America has announced the formation of a National Advisory Board made up of "some of the leading thinkers" in the housing, real estate, and academic communities. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes Ameriquest HEL Issues

Classes M9, M10, and M11 of the ARSI series 2004-PW1 Ameriquest Mortgage Securities Inc. home equity issue have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

GMACCM Sale Nears as GM Posts Steep Loss

The sale of GMAC Commercial Mortgage, Horsham, Pa., should close by the end of March, industry sources have told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Panel OKs Flood Insurance Reform

The House Financial Services Committee has passed a flood insurance reform bill that hikes premiums for second homes and commercial properties and increase penalties for lenders that allow flood insurance to lapse on mortgaged properties in flood zones. (Read More)

House Passes CDBG Funds, Nixes Earmark

The House has approved $4.2 billion in Community Development Block Grant funds for hurricane relief but brushed aside the Bush administration's request to earmark the funds exclusively for Louisiana. (Read More)

Baker Won't Give Up on 'RTC' for NO

Despite a negative reaction from the White House, Louisiana Congressman Richard Baker won't give up on his plan to create a tax-free development corporation, much like the savings-and-loan bailout's Resolution Trust Corp., to finance and manage the rebuilding of New Orleans. (Read More)

Doral Signs Regulatory Consent Orders

Doral Financial Corp., San Juan, Puerto Rico, has announced the signing of consent orders with banking regulators that assess no monetary penalties but restrict its payment of dividends and require it to review its mortgage portfolio and submit plans on maintaining capital adequacy and liquidity. (Read More)

Aames to End REIT Status

Aames Investment Corp., a Los Angeles-based subprime mortgage lender, has announced that it will end its status as a real estate investment trust in conjunction with a cost reduction initiative. (Read More)

Farmer Mac Reports '05 Profits

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, has reported net income of $27.3 million ($2.37 per share) for 2005, compared with $28.2 million ($2.32 per share) for 2004. (Read More)

Saxon to Restate Earnings

Saxon Capital Inc., a residential mortgage lender and real estate investment trust based in Glen Allen, Va., has announced that it will restate its earnings for the years 2001 through 2005 and its quarterly earnings for 2004 and the first three quarters of 2005. (Read More)

Cap Trust Closes CDO

Capital Trust Inc., New York, has announced the closing of CT CDO IV, a $489 million collateralized debt obligation supported by commercial mortgage-backed securities and other commercial real estate debt. (Read More)

Feedback

Are account executives beginning to abandon the wholesale mortgage biz? (Read More)

HUD Eyeing Settlement Markups

Mortgage lenders who routinely mark up the costs of appraisals and other settlement services provided by third parties may soon have HUD looking over their shoulder. (Read More)

NCRC Alleges Redlining by 5 Lenders

The National Community Reinvestment Act has filed fair-housing complaints against five lenders alleging that they are redlining African-American neighborhoods by denying mortgage loans to applicants with homes valued at less than 100,000. (Read More)

ABA Sees Cooling Housing Market Thru '07

The housing market will continue to cool over the next two years as mortgage rates gradually rise to 6.7% by the end of 2007, according to a panel of bank economists. (Read More)

CBOE to Offer RE Resales-Based Futures

The CBOE Futures Exchange, Chicago, has announced that it plans to launch futures contracts based on median prices in the National Association of Realtors' data on existing-home sales. (Read More)

Mortgage Vet Buys 50% Stake in South Bay

CorpHQ Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., has announced the acquisition by mortgage industry veteran Jeff Hoagland of a 50% ownership interest in CorpHQ's portfolio company, South Bay Financial Solutions. (Read More)

Atlanta FHLBank Registers With SEC

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission along with its 2005 financial results, which show that earnings grew by 17% to $344.1 million last year. (Read More)

First BanCorp Signs Consent Orders

First BanCorp., San Juan, Puerto Rico, has announced the signing of consent orders with banking regulators related to incorrect accounting for mortgage-related transactions with Doral Financial Corp. and R&G Financial Corp., both of San Juan. (Read More)

Long Beach Classes Downgraded

Eighteen classes from four Long Beach Mortgage Loan Trust transactions and one Long Beach Home Equity Loan Trust deal have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings and seven classes from four other deals have been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)

MKP CBO Classes Downgraded

Four classes of notes issued by MKP CBO I Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation partly composed of residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

'Predatory' Bill May Be Modeled on NC Law

Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., says he is trying to find a consensus on predatory-lending legislation by using a North Carolina law as a model, and sources indicate that the high-ranking House Financial Services Committee member wants to hold a mark-up this spring. (Read More)

FASB Gives Servicers Accounting Option

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has formally opened the door for mortgage companies to adopt "fair-value" accounting for mortgage servicing rights. (Read More)

MortgageBrokers.com to Buy NJ Broker

MortgageBrokers.com Inc., Toronto, has announced the signing of a letter of intent to acquire a privately held, New Jersey-based mortgage broker and banker. (Read More)

Segway, TRAC Mortgage Ink JV Pact

TRAC Financial Group, Huntington Beach, Calif., has announced a joint venture marketing agreement between its subsidiary Segway Financial Inc. and TRAC Mortgage Inc., a previously unaffiliated mortgage broker based in La Verne, Calif. (Read More)

Fidelity Launches Web Lead-Gen Tool

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions has deployed NeighborhoodHomeSales.com, a Web-based lead generation product. (Read More)

Boston Fed Sees Dip in Housing Construction

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is forecasting a modest decline in housing construction and a flattening of house prices in New England, but "we could be wrong," the bank's president says. (Read More)

Cincy FHLBank Reports '05 Earnings

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati has reported earnings of $219.7 million for 2005, down 3.2% from the level of the previous year when it reaped $68.9 million in prepayment fees. (Read More)

S&P Unveils Euro MBS/ABS Pricing Service

Standard & Poor's has announced the introduction of what it says is the first service using cash flow analysis and modeling to evaluate prices of European structured finance securities. (Read More)

Vertical Lend Hires CFO

Nicholas G. Hahn has been hired as chief financial officer of Vertical Lend Inc., a financial services company based in Melville, N.Y., that boasts several mortgage-related units. (Read More)

Societe Generale Names CDO Chief

Dansby White has been named managing director and head of the U.S. Collateralized Debt Obligation Group of Paris-based Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking. (Read More)

Freddie's CFO Resigns

Freddie Mac chief financial officer Martin Baumann has resigned from the congressionally chartered mortgage company but says he will stay on as a special adviser through the end of May. (Read More)

Working Family Homeownership Down?

The homeownership rate for working families with children is below the level recorded in 1978, despite a prolonged national effort to increase homeownership opportunities to record levels, according to a new report titled "Locked Out." (Read More)

Applications Dip

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 574.4 to 565.0 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended March 17, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

FTC Slates Alternative Mortgage Workshop

The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop May 24 on the benefits and risks associated with interest-only and payment-option mortgages. (Read More)

Dallas FHLBank Hopeful on Reg Compliance

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas says it should be able meet a proposed regulatory hike in retained earnings by the time the final rule goes into effect. (Read More)

Metrocities, Keller Williams Form Mortgage JV

Metrocities Mortgage LLC, a residential mortgage lender based in Walnut Creek, Calif., and Keller Williams Realty International, Austin, Texas, have announced the formation of Western Security Mortgage, a joint venture that will serve Contra Costa, Alameda, Solano, and neighboring California counties. (Read More)

IDS, Byte Establish Docs Alliance

International Document Services Inc., Salt Lake City, and Byte Software, Kirkland, Wash., have announced an alliance that offers mortgage professionals new options for legally compliant closing documents. (Read More)

NAMB EVP Resigns

Mike Nazankiewicz has resigned as executive vice president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, ending a six-year run at the helm of the trade group. (Read More)

BNY Names EVP

Margo Cook, formerly a mortgage-backed securities specialist at BNY Asset Management, has been named executive vice president of the company, the investment management arm of The Bank of New York. (Read More)

Buyer's Market -- but Homebuyers Beware?

It's a buyer's market, according to the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents, but sellers who have used their homes like ATM machines are going to be tough to negotiate with, particularly on price. (Read More)

S&P, Fiserv to Launch Home Price Indices

Standard & Poor's has announced that it is joining forces with MacroMarkets and Fiserv to publish the S&P/Case-Shiller Metro Area Home Price Indices. (Read More)

Resales Reverse Course, Rise 5.2%

Existing-home sales jumped 5.2% in February after a five-month decline, but economists contend that this spike will not reverse the downward trend in home sales. (Read More)

KKR, Others Pay $9B for 78% of GMACCH

After a year of negotiations, an investor group that includes Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts and mortgage-backed security inventor Lewis Ranieri has finally closed on its purchase of GMAC Commercial Holding Co., paying almost $9 billion for the unit. (Read More)

Bachus Shoots for 3/29 'Predatory' Mark-Up

House Financial Services subcommittee chairman Spencer Bachus says he is optimistic about drafting a bipartisan predatory-lending bill by March 29 so his subcommittee can mark it up and pass it. (Read More)

American General Disputes Fair-Housing Claim

American General Financial Services Corp. is disputing a fair-housing complaint by a national community organization alleging that it has a $70,000 minimum-loan policy and routinely denies applications for home equity loans below that amount. (Read More)

Fixed Rates Dip Again

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.34% to 6.32% over the seven-day period ended March 23, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Commerce Velocity Unveils New Module

Responding to widespread interest in technology that improves the correspondent-investor transaction, Irvine, Calif.-based Commerce Velocity has announced the launch of a correspondent module that enables lenders to accept and then automatically decision and price loans submitted in flow, batch, or bulk mode. (Read More)

RealtyTrac: New Foreclosures Rise

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that the number of new properties in some stage of foreclosure rose 13% in February. (Read More)

GE RE Invests in Chinese Fund

GE Real Estate, Stamford, Conn., has reported its first commercial real estate investment in China, a $20 million investment in the newly formed CITIC Capital Vanke China Property Development Fund. (Read More)

NAMB, DECA Launch Literacy Program

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers and the Distributive Education Clubs of America have announced a partnership to foster financial literacy among high school and college students and to promote career opportunities in the financial services industry. (Read More)

Morgan Stanley MBS Classes Downgraded

Eleven classes from seven Morgan Stanley mortgage-backed security transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings and one class has been placed on Rating Watch Negative. (Read More)

New-Home Sales Lowest in Nearly 3 Years

New-home sales dropped 10.5% in February to the lowest level in nearly three years, adding further evidence that the housing market is cooling. (Read More)

NCRC, Lenders OK 'Predatory' Compromise

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition and lenders on its mortgage finance advisory council have agreed on a compromise predatory-lending bill, MortgageWire has learned. (Read More)

Former MS AG to Monitor Ameriquest

Former Mississippi Attorney General Michael Moore has been picked to monitor the lending practices of Ameriquest Mortgage as part of that firm's $325 million legal settlement with the states. (Read More)

Clayton Prices IPO

Clayton Holdings has announced the sale of $127.5 million of stock through an initial public offering. (Read More)

NovaStar to Buy $940M Bulk Mortgage Pool

NovaStar Financial Inc., Kansas City, Mo., has announced an agreement to buy approximately $940 million of nonconforming mortgage loans that it plans to include in an asset-backed securitization structured as a financing. (Read More)

Brandywine Reports Note Offering

Brandywine Realty Trust, Plymouth Meeting, Pa., has announced an agreement by its operating partnership, Brandywine Operating Partnership LP, to sell $850 million of unsecured notes. (Read More)

ALTA Names New Arbitration Administrator

The American Land Title Association has appointed the Minneapolis-based National Arbitration Forum as its new administrator for title insurance arbitrations. (Read More)

KKR Names Investment Analysis Chief

Ryan J. Marshall has been named to oversee the investment analysis desk of KKR Financial LLC, the San Francisco-based manager of KKR Financial Corp., a real estate investment trust. (Read More)

Amresco MBS Classes Downgraded

Three classes from three Amresco Residential Securities Corp. transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Solstice CDO Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Solstice ABS CDO Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation that includes residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Town & Country Being Replaced in S&P Indices

The Town and Country Trust, Baltimore, will be replaced in the S&P REIT Composite Index and the S&P SmallCap 600 Index after the close of trading March 31 because it is being acquired by a joint venture, Standard & Poor's has announced. (Read More)

Feedback

Beware of crooked lead generation companies, says a recent posting on the Grapevine. (Read More)

OCC: IO, Option-ARM Regulation May Be Tough

Proposed regulatory guidance on interest-only and payment-option ARMs may be tougher than a lot of people realize, according to the deputy comptroller of the currency. (Read More)

Bachus Postpones House Markup of Predatory Bill

Financial Services subcommittee chairman Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., has postponed a markup of a predatory lending bill that was originally scheduled for March 29. (Read More)

OFHEO Appoints Supervision Director

The Office of Federal Housing Oversight has appointed Len Reid to be director of the office of supervision -- a new position at the agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Atlanta FHLBank Says Rule Forces Dividend Cut

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta said it would have to cut dividends to meet a higher level of retained earnings proposed by its regulator -- the Federal Housing Financing Board. (Read More)

Home Prices Seen Slipping in the West

Flattening home price appreciation, slowing home sales and rising interest rates could lead home prices in the Western U.S. to slip, causing a rise in foreclosure activity, according to ForeclosureS.com. (Read More)

John Vella Heads to EMC Mortgage

EMC Mortgage Corporation, a subsidiary of The Bear Stearns Companies, has hired John Vella as president and chief operating officer. (Read More)

Home Capital Names EVP/Ops

Nigel Drummond has been named executive vice president for operations of Home Capital Inc., an Atlanta-based mortgage lender. (Read More)

Banks Still Favor Commercial Real Estate

A survey of bank real estate loan officers concludes that banks' appetite for commercial real estate loans remains strong despite higher interest rates. (Read More)

PREIT Enters $150M of Swaps

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, a Philadelphia-based shopping center REIT, has entered into $150 million (notional amount) of interest rate swap agreements, according to PREIT. (Read More)

Realty Income Prices 5.2 Million Share Offering

Realty Income Corporation, Escondido, Calif., has offered 5,200,000 shares of common stock at $24.39 in a deal expected to close on March 29. (Read More)

MSDW CMBS Class Downgraded

Class L of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Capital I Inc. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-LIFE1, has been downgraded from B to B-minus by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Iowa AG May Target Loan Officers

When the states agreed to a landmark $325 million legal settlement with subprime giant Ameriquest Mortgage, prosecutors did not single out individual loan officers but in the future they might. (Read More)

Groups Seek Big Changes to IO, Option ARM Rule

The proposed regulatory guidance on interest-only and payment option mortgages should be substantially revised or withdrawn, according to America's Community Bankers. "ACB believes that restrictions on the use of these mortgage products are unnecessary for regulated financial institutions," ACB president and chief executive Diane Casey-Landry said in a comment letter. (Read More)

Home Equity Delinquency Rate Falls

Late payments on home equity loans fell in the fourth quarter of 2005, according to the American Bankers Association. (Read More)

Servicers Still Grappling with 'Reg AB'

Mortgage servicers and their auditors are still grappling with the testing and reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission's new asset-backed securities (AB) regulation and the Mortgage Bankers Association is urging SEC to delay the initial reporting period. (Read More)

Aames Closing Offices, Paring Down Staff

Aames Investment Corp., Los Angeles, said it is in the process of closing two of its wholesale centers, as well as eliminating 100 positions from that channel of business. (Read More)

MortgageIT to Issue $50 Million of TPS

MortgageIT Holdings, New York, a residential mortgage REIT, has issued $50 million of trust preferred securities in a private placement. (Read More)

Fieldstone to Make Late SEC Filing

Fieldstone Investment Corp., a real estate investment trust whose subsidiary originates non-conforming mortgages, said it is filing a Form 12b-25 Notification of Late Filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

Real Estate Index's Stock Begins Trading

INREEX, formally the International Real Estate Exchange, announced that its stock has begun trading as a Pink Sheet issue under the symbol IRXI. (Read More)

Fitch Upgrades GMACCM's Servicer Ratings

Fitch Ratings has raised the primary and master servicer ratings for GMAC Commercial Mortgage to 'CPS1-minus' while affirming the special servicer rating at 'CSS1.' (Read More)

Net Branch Company QuoteMeARate Goes Bust

QuoteMeARate.com, a Houston-based net branch operator, closed its doors this week amid allegations of loan fraud, MortgageWire has learned. (Read More)

HUD Seeks FHA Risk-based Premiums

Homebuyers with good credit would be able to get a Federal Housing Administration insured mortgage with no upfront insurance premium under a legislation proposal the Department of Housing and Urban Development is finalizing. (Read More)

RESPA Soon, Jackson Tells NAMB

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is preparing to issue a Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act reform proposal soon, according to secretary Alphonso Jackson. (Read More)

LandAmerica to Buy Capital Title

Looking to increase its market share in the west, LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va., has agreed to buy Capital Title Group Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., in a deal valued at $251 million. (Read More)

Morgan Stanley Calls PHH a Bargain

Morgan Stanley has initiated coverage on PHH Corp., Mt. Laurel, N.J., the nation's 10th largest residential servicer, saying the company is undervalued. (Read More)

REITs Added to S&P 500

Standard & Poors, New York, said it is adding a pair of REITs to its S&P 500 index, replacing companies in other sectors that are being acquired. (Read More)

Wachovia Exec Joins Fifth Third

Carlos Winston Wilkinson, who had headed up the retail mortgage division of Wachovia Mortgage Corp., Charlotte, N.C., has joined Cincinnati's Fifth Third Bank as executive vice president and head of its consumer bank. (Read More)

American Spectrum Decides Not To Become REIT

American Spectrum Realty, Houston, said its board of directors has determined that it is not in the best interests of the company to restructure as a real estate investment trust. (Read More)

REITs Appear in Zacks Growth and Income Highlights

The Zacks Growth and Income Profit Track strategy looks for stocks with unusually high dividend yields. (Read More)

Bush Proposes Raising FHA Loan Limits in High Cost Areas

The Bush administration is proposing to increase loan limits on Federal Housing Administration single-family loans so that FHA is not shut out of high-cost areas of California and Massachusetts. (Read More)

MBA Survey Finds Increase in Apps, Even as Rates Increase

The Mortgage Bankers Association Weekly Mortgage Application Survey for the week of March 24 shows its Market Composite Index at 571.7. (Read More)

Freddie Pushing New Tech Strategy

An army of Freddie Mac-ers is scouring the vendor halls at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference now underway in San Diego. (Read More)

Point Moves to Become More Integrated

In more news from the MBA Tech Show, Calyx Software has embarked on a strategic mission to both support the MISMO standards and become a more fully integrated solution. (Read More)

Fiserv Gets MISMO Certified

At the MBA tech show, Fiserv noted that both its easyLENDER and UniFi PRO loan origination systems have received certification for credit reporting and mortgage insurance application through the MXCompliance service, an eXtensible Markup Language-based compliance process developed by MISMO. (Read More)

Companies Join to Form E-Mortgage Chain

Synergistic Technologies, MRG Document Technologies and World Wide Notary formed an alliance by which the three companies will jointly offer mortgage lenders an end-to-end e-mortgage solution. (Read More)

PR Lender Appoints CFO, CAO

Doral Financial Corp., San Juan, P.R., the largest mortgage lender on the island, has named Lidio Soriano as its chief financial officer. (Read More)

NYAG Appealing Ruling Barring National Bank Investigation

New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer's office confirmed today that the AG has asked a Federal Appeals Court to overturn an October ruling that blocked him from investigating whether some national banks are discriminating against minorities seeking residential mortgage loans. (Read More)

GMAC Residential Funding Releases Updated Compliance Engine

GMAC Residential Funding, Minneapolis, has launched an enhanced version of its Assetwise Compliance Engine. (Read More)

Fitch Downgrades SFA ABS III

Fitch Ratings, Chicago, has downgraded the $12.6 million Class C notes and $12.5 million preference shares SFA ABS III Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation managed by Structured Finance Advisors. (Read More)

Freddie Takes Hit; But '05 Earnings Total $2.5 Billion

Freddie Mac, which is still not current on its financial reporting, unveiled preliminary earnings of $2.5 billion for 2005 while revealing a $500 million write down in the fourth quarter tied to its holdings of interest-only assets. (Read More)

Irwin Unloading Servicing?

Irwin Financial Corp., Columbus, Ohio, is toying with the idea of selling $14 billion in servicing rights housed at its mortgage affiliate, sources told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Centex Home Equity Being Sold to Fortress

A unit of Fortress Investment Group has agreed to purchase Centex Home Equity Co., Dallas, in a deal valued at about $575 million. (Read More)

Technology Investment Is Rising

The mortgage lenders that will stay in business are those spending on tech right now, said MBA chief economist Doug Duncan at a press briefing at the MBA tech conference now underway in San Diego. (Read More)

ATM and Equifax Establish Joint Venture

ATM Corp., a Pittsburgh-based provider of settlement solutions, has joined forces with Equifax to launch a national settlement services company. (Read More)

ECC May Drop REIT Status

ECC Capital Corp., the Irvine, Calif.-based real estate investment trust, said it is considering dropping that status and becoming a "C" Corp. (Read More)

Capital Alliance Shuts Subsidiary

Capital Alliance Income Trust Ltd., San Francisco, is discontinuing the operations of Capital Alliance Funding Corp., its mortgage banking subsidiary. (Read More)

Rates Rise on Inflation Worries

The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending March 30, 2006 finds the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 6.35%, up from last week's average of 6.32%. (Read More)

Fitch: No Imminent Concern over Mills' Properties

With the possible sale of all or part of Mills Corp., Fitch Ratings, Chicago, looked at the U.S commercial mortgage-backed securities transactions that have exposure to the company. (Read More)

Cerberus, Citi, Aozora Buy 51% of GMAC

Cerberus Capital Management, New York, and two partners have inked a deal to buy 51% of General Motors Acceptance Corp., the parent of Residential Capital Corp., the nation's fifth-largest mortgage banker. (Read More)

Matrix Sells Servicing Advisory Unit

Matrix Bancorp, Denver, has sold its servicing advisory group to Security National Holding Co. and former employees of the unit for about $4.1 million. (Read More)

Newkirk, Winthrop Form JV

Newkirk Realty Trust Inc. and Winthrop Realty Trust, two Boston-based real estate investment trusts, have announced the formation of a joint venture to acquire and originate loans secured directly or indirectly by real estate assets. (Read More)

COFI Records Biggest Rise in Current Streak

For the first time since the Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index began its current streak of increases in May 2004, the index has risen over 20 basis points in a single month. (Read More)

Longua to Lead NYU REIT Center

New York University has appointed Lawrence Longua to be director of the NYU REIT Center, a forum for the study and analysis of publicly traded real estate investment trusts within NYU's Real Estate Institute. (Read More)

GMH Fires CFO, Plans Restatement

GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Newtown Square, Pa., has announced the firing of its chief financial officer and says it expects to restate certain previously reported financial results. (Read More)

Fieldstone Restatement Linked to Mortgage Sub

Fieldstone Investment Corp., Columbia, Md., has restated its earnings from 2003 through the first three quarters of 2005 to correct accounting errors related to the timing of its recognition of income tax paid by its Fieldstone Mortgage Co. subsidiary. (Read More)

Visionet to Help Form UAE Secondary Market

A corporation created to establish a secondary mortgage finance system in the United Arab Emirates has chosen Visionet Systems, a Cranbury, N.J.-based mortgage technology provider, to help facilitate the sale of loans to U.S. and European investors. (Read More)

CapitalSource Prices $782MM Deal

CapitalSource, a Chevy Chase, Md.-based real estate investment trust, has priced a privately placed securitization of $782.25 million of debt. (Read More)

GSMPS MBS Classes Downgraded

Three classes of GS Mortgage Participation Securities mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

BCF MBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of BCF LLC mortgage-pass through certificates, series 1997-R2, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

California B&C Lender Cuts Jobs

Subprime lender Mandalay Mortgage, Woodland Hills, Calif., trimmed its workforce by at least 70 positions on Monday, industry sources have told MortgageWire. (Read More)

Fed Plans Hearings on Predatory HE Lending

The Federal Reserve Board intends to hold public hearings this summer on home equity lending that will address predatory lending practices and mortgage disclosure issues. (Read More)

Fed Okays 'Significant' Citi Expansion

The Federal Reserve Board has given Citigroup the green light to make "significant" acquisitions, saying the financial services giant has improved its compliance risk management program. (Read More)

Fed: HMDA Subprime Loan % Will Rise

Mortgage lenders should expect a higher proportion of their originations to be classified as subprime loans in their Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports for 2005, according to the Federal Reserve Board. (Read More)

MICA: Good News & Bad News

There was good news and bad news in February for the members of the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America. (Read More)

PMI: Home Price Risk Up, but Rate Slows

The risk of price declines over the next two years has risen in 48 of the nation's 50 largest housing markets, but the rate of appreciation has slowed in 21 of the markets, according to PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Walnut Creek, Calif. (Read More)

Farmer Mac Touts $6B Portfolio

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, D.C., has announced the issuance of a long-term standby purchase commitment that boosted its portfolio of loans, guarantees, and commitments to a record level of $6 billion. (Read More)

Resource Cap Added to Russell 3000

Resource Capital Corp., a Philadelphia-based specialty finance company that invests in real-estate-related and commercial finance assets, has been added to the Russell 3000 Index. (Read More)

Merit MH Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Merit Securities Corp. residential mortgage-backed securities series 12-1 have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Lenders Now Say Housing Bubble Exists

Two-thirds of lenders nationwide believe a real estate bubble exists, and half believe it will burst within six months, according to a quarterly survey by Phoenix Management Services, Chadds Ford, Pa. (Read More)

Bush Seeks FHA MH Overhaul

The Bush administration is proposing a complete overhaul of a Federal Housing Administration program that insures manufactured housing loans that are not secured by real estate. (Read More)

FHA Risk-Based MI Faces Resistance

A Bush administration reform proposal that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to charge risk-based mortgage insurance premiums is not going down well with Democrats and consumers groups. (Read More)

Panel OKs Extra CDBG Funds for Gulf

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $5.2 billion in Community Development Block Grant funds, $1 billion more than the Bush administration requested, to support housing assistance programs in the hurricane-stricken areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. (Read More)

NAR: 2nd-Home Sales Set Records in '05

Sales of vacation and investment homes hit record highs last year and together accounted for nearly 40% of residential transactions, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 571.7 to 612.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended March 31, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

CRE Investor Frenzy Subsiding, Survey Finds

Commercial real estate fundamentals are improving, but the "frenzy of interest" shown by investors in recent months is subsiding, according to a quarterly investor survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. (Read More)

Trump Mortgage to Trade on Its Name

While the unique selling proposition for the new Trump Mortgage LLC, New York, will be educating the customer before, during, and after the origination process, its main marketing point is its name. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes LandAmerica

The ratings of LandAmerica Financial Group and its title insurance subsidiaries have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Morgan CMBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Morgan Stanley Capital I Inc. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-LIFE 1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

OCC: Guidance Not Aimed at CRE Cutback

Recent regulatory guidance is not meant to force banks and thrifts to "cut back" on their commercial real estate lending, according to Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan. (Read More)

Minority Thrift to Buy Community Cap Bank

Carver Bancorp Inc., a minority-owned thrift holding company based in New York, has agreed to acquire Community Capital Bank, a community bank based in the borough of Brooklyn, in an $11.1 million cash transaction. (Read More)

Rates Climb

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.35% to 6.43% over the seven-day period ended April 6, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Mills Restructures, Cites Added Layoffs

The Mills Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Arlington, Va., has announced a restructuring that involves further layoffs, a new reporting structure, and the naming of Richard J. Nadeau as executive vice president for finance and accounting. (Read More)

TBMA, SIA Plan Merger

The boards of The Bond Market Association and the Securities Industry Association have endorsed the concept of merging the two associations into a new entity that "will more effectively represent the member companies and industry while enhancing the public's trust and confidence in the markets." (Read More)

Int'l Mortgage Association Formed

An international mortgage association with a focus on developing a global market in Mexico has been formed. (Read More)

PMI Links MI Premiums to Counseling

PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Walnut Creek, Calif., has announced the introduction of a program that offers lower mortgage insurance premiums on loans to borrowers who complete in-depth homeowner counseling sessions. (Read More)

Triad Names 2 SVPs

Kenneth W. Jones has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer of Triad Guaranty Insurance Corp., a mortgage insurer based in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Stephen J. Haferman has been named senior vice president of risk management and technology services. (Read More)

Franklin Credit to Restate Earnings

Franklin Credit Management Corp., New York, has announced that it will restate its earnings for 2003, 2004, and three quarters of 2005 to expense certain fees and costs related to the acquisition of residential mortgage loans. (Read More)

Delta Prices Private Placement

Delta Financial Corp., Woodbury, N.Y., has reported the pricing of a private placement of 2.5 million shares of its common stock at $8.25 per share. (Read More)

MESA ABS Class Downgraded

Class B of MESA Trust asset-backed certificates, series 2001-2, has been downgraded from B-plus to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Mortgage Jobs Rebound to New High

Employment in the mortgage industry hit a new high in February as lenders added 6,500 full-time employees after trimming their payrolls during the previous three months. (Read More)

OTS Sounds Alarm on Lax Underwriting

Office of Thrift Supervision Director John Reich is sounding the alarm that some lenders are allowing their underwriting standards to slip and that examiners will be closely monitoring lending standards and credit quality. (Read More)

Ney Gets Dem Co-Sponsor for FHA Reform

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., has joined Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, in co-sponsoring a Federal Housing Administration reform bill that the Bush administration wants to pass this year. (Read More)

Clear Choice to Buy Allstate Home Loans

Clear Choice Financial Inc., Tempe, Ariz., has announced the execution of a letter of intent to acquire Allstate Home Loans Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based wholesale and retail mortgage provider. (Read More)

CRE Companies Form JV

Duke Realty Corp., Indianapolis, and Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate, Cincinnati, have entered into joint venture to develop four retail properties valued at about $350 million. (Read More)

Agency MBS Speeds Rise

Prepayment rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities increased by 21% in March, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. (Read More)

RBC Cap Names REIT Analyst Team

RBC Capital Markets, New York, has announced the hiring of four analysts from Cleveland-based KeyBanc as equity research analysts in the real estate investment trust sector. (Read More)

Annaly Prices Stock Offerings

Annaly Mortgage Management Inc., New York, has priced a public offering of 34.1 million shares of the company's common stock at $11.75 per share, for estimated gross proceeds of $401 million. (Read More)

Health Care REIT Prices Stock Offering

Health Care REIT Inc., Toledo, Ohio, has priced a public offering of three million shares of common stock at $36 per share, yielding gross proceeds of $108 million. (Read More)

Sunstone Prices Preferred Stock

Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc., San Clemente, Calif., has priced a public offering of 2.2 million shares of 8.0% series A cumulative redeemable preferred stock at $25 per share. (Read More)

Wachovia CMBS Class Downgraded

Class L of Wachovia Bank's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates series 2004-Whale 3 has been downgraded from BBB-minus to BB by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fitch Downgrades FAIC MBS Class

Class B-1 of Fund America Investors Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1994-A, has been downgraded from A-minus to BBB-minus by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Remodelers ABS Class Downgraded

Class B of Remodelers Home Improvement Loan asset-backed certificate series 1995-2 has been downgraded from BBB to BB by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes Franklin MBS Classes

Three classes from First Franklin Mortgage Loan Trust, series 2002-FF2, have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Feedback

Responses to our survey question on whether the administration should use risk-based mortgage insurance premiums to help revitalize the FHA's single-family program are running narrowly in favor of the idea. (Read More)

Lenders Face Deadline for Recovery Opt-In

Mortgage lenders can help Mississippi homeowners who are receiving state grants to rebuild their homes in executing the closing documents, but they only have until April 17 to decide whether they want to participate in the hurricane recovery assistance program. (Read More)

Feds Fear Basel Ia Too Burdensome

In designing a more risk-sensitive capital standard for small and midsize banks, federal regulators are concerned that a Basel Ia proposal could become too complex and burdensome. (Read More)

Fitch: CMBS Overdues Decline

Delinquencies on commercial mortgage-backed securities declined to 0.68% in March, according to a Fitch Ratings delinquency index. (Read More)

SMI Unveils New AVM Tool

Stewart Mortgage Information, Houston, has launched Collateral Profile, an alternative real valuation product available through e-Title, SMI's national vendor management company. (Read More)

ECC Execs Volunteer for Pay Cuts

ECC Capital Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Irvine, Calif., has announced that four senior executives have offered to take significant reductions in compensation to help the mortgage finance REIT cut costs. (Read More)

Canadian Housing Starts Rise

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in Canada rose to 252,300 units in March from 242,500 units in February, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (Read More)

SASCO MBS Class Downgraded

Class B5 of Structured Asset Securities Corp. residential mortgage-backed certificates, series 2001-16H, has been downgraded from B to CCC by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes RFSC MBS Classes

Classes M-2 and M-3 of RFC's RFSC series 2003-RP1 securitization have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Consumer Groups Seek Broker Fee Regs

Consumer groups are reminding the Department of Housing and Urban Development that RESPA reform also means regulating mortgage broker compensation so that consumers know up front how much they are paying the broker in a loan transaction. (Read More)

ACB Raps CRE Limit Proposal

Federal regulators should not impose "mechanical and arbitrary" thresholds on concentrations of commercial real estate loans that would discourage banks from making CRE loans, according to America's Community Bankers. (Read More)

SEC Gives Servicers a Break on ABS Rule

The Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to give servicers a break when it comes to filing "Compliance with Applicable Servicing Criteria" reports at the end of this year under a new asset-backed securities regulation. (Read More)

ECC Announces Layoffs

ECC Capital Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Irvine, Calif., has announced that it will lay off approximately 170 employees nationwide, representing about 17% of its total work force. (Read More)

Lenders, NeighborWorks Target Foreclosures

Twelve major mortgage lenders have allied with the NeighborWorks Center for Foreclosure Solutions, Washington, D.C., to launch a campaign to avert foreclosures in demographic and geographic hot spots. (Read More)

Wells Names Cap Markets Chief

Mortgage industry veteran John Gibbons has been named head of capital markets for the residential lending businesses of Wells Fargo & Co.'s Home and Consumer Finance Group. (Read More)

Self-Storage REIT's Prez/CFO Resigns

U-Store-It Trust, a Cleveland-based self-storage real estate investment trust, has reported the resignation of Steven G. Osgood, its president and chief financial officer, to "pursue other opportunities." (Read More)

S&P Revises REIT Composite Index

Standard & Poor's and Morgan Stanley Capital International have announced forthcoming revisions to their Global Industry Classification Standard that will result in major classification changes in the S&P REIT Composite Index. (Read More)

Hillary Seeks FHA Loan-Limit Hike

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., has introduced a bill that would raise Federal Housing Administration loan limits in New York City and other high-cost areas up to the $417,000 conforming loan limit. (Read More)

Applications Fall

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 612.8 to 579.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended April 7, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

U.S. Bank Home Mortgage Buys AssuraFirst

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank Home Mortgage has announced the acquisition of family-owned AssuraFirst Financial, Southfield, Mich., formerly known as Homestead Mortgage USA. (Read More)

Realtors Update Housing Forecast

Existing-home sales will be off 6% this year from last year's record pace and new-home sales will fall by 10.9%, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

FICC Plans Central MBS Counterparty

Fixed Income Clearing Corp., New York, has announced plans to develop services to support a central counterparty for mortgage-backed securities that it hopes to establish within two years. (Read More)

Zacks Blog Cautions on Saxon

Zacks.com, the online unit of Zacks Investment Research Inc., Chicago, has reported a recent posting on its Analyst Blog noting that the company is maintaining its Hold recommendation on Saxon Capital but cautioning about its risks. (Read More)

ResCap Prices Bond Offerings

Residential Capital Corp., Minneapolis, has priced senior and subordinated bond offerings totaling $3.5 billion in principal. (Read More)

Medical REIT Prices Stock Offering

Windrose Medical Properties Trust, Indianapolis, has priced a public offering of 2.3 million common shares at $14.80 per share. (Read More)

30-Year Rate Hits 4-Year High

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.43% to 6.49% over the seven-day period ended April 13, representing its highest level since July 2002, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Above 5%

The rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield surpassed the 5% level overnight in a move that at least one analyst said "probably" means that "overseas investors are concerned." (Read More)

Economist Sees 8% Home Sales Drop

Home sales will decline by about 8% this year and housing starts will drop more than 10%, according to Diane Swonk, chief economist of Chicago-based Mesirow Financial. (Read More)

OTS Expands CRA Disaster Relief Criteria

The Office of Thrift Supervision has amended its Community Reinvestment Act regulation so that thrifts can receive CRA credit for providing assistance in disaster areas outside their usual market. (Read More)

FEMA Okays Rebuilding in Most of NO

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released flood guidance that will allow rebuilding in almost all of New Orleans, even though homes and other structures must be elevated by at least three feet to qualify for federal flood insurance. (Read More)

Freddie Names SVP for Op Risk

Gareth Davies has been named senior vice president for enterprise operational risk at Freddie Mac, effective April 24. (Read More)

Dynatek Awarded MISMO AUS Seal

Loan origination vendor Dynatek Inc., Livonia, Mich., has been certified for automated underwriting systems by the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. (Read More)

Fed Official Cites Housing Uncertainties

Federal Reserve Governor Donald Kohn says the behavior of the housing market is one of the "great uncertainties" in the Fed's economic outlook and is being monitored "closely." (Read More)

USA Commercial Files for Ch. 11

USA Commercial Mortgage Co., Las Vegas, and certain affiliates have announced a filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and the naming of a new chief executive officer. (Read More)

RE/Max, Metrocities Form Alliance

RE/Max Coastal Properties, Mission Beach, Calif., and Metrocities Mortgage, Sherman Oaks, Calif., have announced the formation of San Diego Coast Mortgage. (Read More)

ICBA Raps CRE Threshold Proposal

The federal banking regulators' proposal to establish concentration thresholds for commercial real estate lending is "flawed" and should be abandoned, according to the Independent Community Bankers of America. (Read More)

ALTA: Title Problems on the Rise

More than a third of all residential real estate transactions were found to have title problems in 2005, up from a quarter of such transactions in 2000, according to a survey by the American Land Title Association. (Read More)

FNIS Plans to Enter Japanese RE

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. plans to expand its property valuation services to the Japanese real estate market by working with New City Corp., a company that will act as a data supplier and market the services in that country. (Read More)

Feedback

A recent visitor to the Grapevine posted a message proposing a "candid discussion" of the future of the mortgage industry. (Read More)

Nonprime Wholesaler Goes Belly Up

Acoustic Home Loans, a nonprime wholesale lender based in Orange, Calif., has gone out of business. (Read More)

Fannie Loosens Standards to Boost AH Totals

Fannie Mae has loosened its mortgage approval standards for lower-income borrowers as it strives to meet its government-mandated affordable housing goals. (Read More)

Nonprime Wholesaler Goes Belly Up

Acoustic Home Loans, a nonprime wholesale lender based in Orange, Calif., has gone out of business. (Read More)

LoanCity to Announce New AU System

San Jose, Calif.-based wholesaler LoanCity is poised to announce the release of AU 2.0, a proprietary automated underwriting system that delivers recommendations and stipulations in the same format and time frame as Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter. (Read More)

Reliant Pioneers 50-Year Loans

Reliant Home Warranty Corp., Toronto, has announced underwriting approval to offer what it calls North America's first 50-year amortization program for nonprime high-ratio mortgages. (Read More)

Amherst Touts Alt-A Conduit Pact

Amherst Funding Group LP, an Austin, Texas-based company that buys and trades newly originated residential mortgage loans, has announced an agreement with Denver-based SN Capital Markets LLC to market Amherst's alternative-A correspondent conduit. (Read More)

MI Developers Form Alliance

Two Michigan developers, Grand Sakwa Properties and Lormax Stern Development, have teamed up to invest up to $1 billion in U.S. retail properties over the next three to five years. (Read More)

Citi Names Correspondent Sales Chief

Mortgage industry veteran Ed Abufaris has been named national sales director for correspondent lending at CitiMortgage, St. Louis. (Read More)

Bear Stearns MBS Classes Downgraded

Four classes of Bear Stearns Asset Backed Securities Inc., series 1999-1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Bear Stearns CMBS Classes Off Watch

Six classes of Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc. series 2001-Top 2 Trust Fund have been removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Housing Starts Plummet

Single-family housing starts plummeted 11.2% in March from record levels in January and February as builders got overextended. (Read More)

'Elite' Mortgage Company Launched

Quentin Caruana has announced the formation of Sage Credit Co., an Irvine, Calif.-based mortgage brokerage firm that he says will fund its own loans and employ only "elite industry performers with proven track records for success." (Read More)

Metrocities, RE Firm Form Mortgage JV

Metrocities Mortgage LLC, a residential mortgage lender based in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and Keller Williams Realty Leaders have announced the formation of Metro Home Mortgage, a joint venture that will serve Indiana's Lake and Porter counties. (Read More)

Visionet Releases High-Cost Detection Tool

Visionet Systems, Cranbury, N.J., has launched VisiHCLAS, a high-cost predatory-lending analysis and remediation tool for lenders and servicers. (Read More)

Dexma, LexisNexis Join to Combat ID Theft

Minneapolis-based Dexma has forged a new relationship with information and services provider LexisNexis U.S. that Dexma says will help its customers and those of Prime Alliance Solutions fight fraud. (Read More)

Wells' Profits Rise Despite Mortgage Falloff

Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco, has reported record net income of $2.02 billion ($1.19 per share) for the first quarter, up 9% from $1.86 billion ($1.08 per share) a year earlier, despite a revenue plunge at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. (Read More)

ICBA Chooses Compliance Partner

ComplianceEase, a San Francisco-based provider of automated compliance and risk-management systems, has been selected by ICBA Mortgage, a subsidiary of the Independent Community Bankers of America, as the Premier Value Provider for anti-predatory/high-cost lending compliance solutions. (Read More)

A.M. Best Spotlights Construction Loans

Nearly 2,000 banks and thrifts -- 22% of all such institutions -- have construction loans on their books that exceed 100% of total capital, and 24 banks have concentrations that exceed 500% of capital, according to A.M. Best & Co. (Read More)

RealtyTrac: New Foreclosures Fall

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that the number of new properties in some stage of foreclosure fell 13% in March. (Read More)

Fed Trust Raises Funds for Mortgage Ops

Federal Trust Corp., a holding company based in Sanford, Fla., has announced the sale of 850,000 shares of its common stock at $10 per share in a private placement aimed at raising funds to support mortgage subsidiary operations, among other things. (Read More)

Freddie to Pay Record FEC Fine

Freddie Mac has agreed to pay a record $3.8 million civil penalty to the Federal Elections Commission, settling allegations that it used corporate resources to raise $1.7 million for mostly Republican candidates between 2000 and 2003. (Read More)

Applications Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 579.4 to 569.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended April 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

WaMu's Mortgage Profits Plunge

The net income of Washington Mutual Inc.'s mortgage segment plunged from $323 million in the first quarter of 2005 to $38 million in the first quarter of this year, although profits rose overall, the Seattle-based thrift has reported. (Read More)

Feds OK Chicago FHLBank Funding Method

Federal regulators have signed off on a concept that would allow the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago to use an off-balance-sheet mechanism to fund its Mortgage Partnership Finance program. (Read More)

Dallas FHLBank Reports '05 Profits

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas has reported $242.4 million in earnings for 2005 in filing its first annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

TeleTech, LenderLive Form Alliance

Englewood, Colo.-based TeleTech Holdings Inc. and LenderLive, a Glendale, Colo.-based mortgage fulfillment provider, have entered into an exclusive partnership that brings a global delivery network to LenderLive's operations. (Read More)

UCG, LoanToolbox Join Forces

United Communications Group, Rockville, Md., a provider of business information, tools and guidance, has formed a strategic partnership with Westlake Village, Calif.-based LoanToolbox, a provider of educational and marketing tools for mortgage originators. (Read More)

$1.8B MSR Portfolio for Sale

The Prestwick Mortgage Group, Alexandria, Va., is brokering the sale of mortgage servicing rights on a $1.8 billion portfolio of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. (Read More)

Bear CMBS Class Downgraded

Class L of Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-WF2, has been downgraded from CC to C by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Mortgage Cap CMBS Class Downgraded

Class M of Mortgage Capital Funding Inc.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1998-MC1, has been downgraded from CCC to B-minus by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fannie Prices BenchNotes

Fannie Mae has priced $4 billion of 5.125% five-year Benchmark Notes at 99.481. (Read More)

Fannie Sets High-Cost Loan Test

Fannie Mae has established a points-and-fees test on subprime loans to provide lenders with clearer guidance on what high-cost loans the mortgage company will not purchase. (Read More)

Fannie Encourages Opt-In to MS Program

Fannie Mae is encouraging lenders and servicers to participate in a Mississippi housing assistance program, despite some legal concerns about the subordination agreements they have to sign to work with homeowners receiving the assistance grants. (Read More)

Former OFHEO Chief: Cut GSE Portfolios

The former director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight believes the on-balance-sheet portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be reduced by Congress. (Read More)

Fannie Unveils Benchmark REMICs

Fannie Mae has announced the introduction of Benchmark REMICs, a multiclass real estate mortgage investment conduit security with enhanced structural, price transparency, and liquidity features for fixed-income investors. (Read More)

WMC Mortgage to Offer Pre-Quals by PDA

In May, WMC Mortgage, now a GE company, will launch a pre-qualification program that loan officers can access on their BlackBerrys and other hand-held devices. (Read More)

ING Names Int'l RE Finance Exec

ING Real Estate has appointed Michiel Rang as senior managing director for international real estate finance and a member of the management board of ING Real Estate Finance. (Read More)

Church REIT Completes 1st Securitization

Foundation Capital Resources Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Jackson, Miss., has announced the completion of its first securitization, a $137 million transaction backed by church-related mortgage assets. (Read More)

LoanCare Servicer Rating Upgraded

LoanCare Servicing Center Inc.'s residential primary servicer rating for prime product has been upgraded from RPS3-minus to RPS3 by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

GSRPM MBS Classes Downgraded

Three classes of GSRPM Mortgage Loan Trust, series 2002-1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Freddie Settles Shareholder Suit

Freddie Mac has agreed to pay $410 million to settle class action lawsuits filed by investors who lost millions of dollars when the company restated earnings tied to its $5 billion accounting scandal. (Read More)

Freddie to Servicers: Opt In to MS Program

Freddie Mac is "directing" servicers to participate in the Mississippi homeowners' assistance program even though the mortgage giant is annoyed that residents are not required to place their rebuilding grants in escrow accounts. (Read More)

Cincy FHLBank Suspends AH Programs

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati has suspended two voluntary affordable housing programs for Katrina victims and minority homebuyers due to proposed capital changes that could carry a $500 million price tag. (Read More)

Capstead Reports 1Q Loss

Capstead Mortgage Corp., Dallas, has reported a net loss from continuing operations of $2.35 million ($0.12 per share) for the first quarter, compared with net income of $2.54 million ($0.13 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

Freddie Makes Euro Tender Offer

Freddie Mac has announced that it will conduct cash tender offers during the week of April 24 for the repurchase of a targeted group of European-style callable debt securities with expired options. (Read More)

Freddie Prices Reference REMIC

Freddie Mac has priced Reference REMIC R-006, Class AK, a $2.25 billion issue of real estate mortgage investment conduit securities. (Read More)

Bear Stearns Implements UniFi

Fiserv Lending Solutions, Brookfield, Wis., has implemented its UniFi PRO loan operating system at Bear Stearns Residential Mortgage Corp. (Read More)

Feedback

Here's a tip on how to survive in the mortgage business when the going gets tough. (Read More)

WaMu to Buy Commercial Capital

Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, has agreed to acquire Irvine, Calif.-based Commercial Capital Bancorp Inc. for $983 million, or $16 per share, in cash. (Read More)

Guidance Sought on Lending to Illegals

The 14,000-member National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals has called for clear guidance from federal regulators regarding mortgage lending to undocumented immigrants. (Read More)

ebank, Madison Launch ebank Mortgage

Atlanta-based ebank Financial Services Inc., a thrift holding company and the parent of ebank, has announced an agreement with Madison Mortgage Corp. to establish ebank Mortgage LLC, an Internet-based mortgage lender. (Read More)

Best Cautions Banks About CRE Revs

The banking industry could be vulnerable to a downturn in commercial real estate markets, according to an A.M. Best report that shows banks generated 42% of their revenues from CRE lending. (Read More)

RealtyTrac: New Foreclosures Surge in 1Q

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that 323,102 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure in the first quarter, a 38% increase from the level recorded in the previous quarter and a 72% year-over-year increase. (Read More)

Foreclosures Up in Several W, SW Markets

Meanwhile, foreclosures rose significantly in several Western and Southwestern housing markets in the first quarter, according to ForeclosureS.com, a Fair Oaks, Calif.-based investment advisory firm. (Read More)

Moody's Analyzes Growing REIT CDO Sector

Moody's Investors Service has published a report explaining its approach to assessing the risks of U.S. collateralized debt obligations backed by the debt of real estate investment trusts. (Read More)

Freddie Sets Times for Stockholder Proposals

Freddie Mac has announced the timeframe for submitting stockholder proposals in connection with its annual stockholders' meeting later this year. (Read More)

Resales Edge Up

Existing-home sales edged up 0.3% in March in the face of rising mortgage rates and slowing house price appreciation, which dropped into single digits for the first time in over two years. (Read More)

FBR: # of MSA Price 'Bubbles' Rises

Some 75 metropolitan statistical areas are now facing home price "bubbles," up slightly from a previous reading, according to a new research report issued by Friedman Billings Ramsey, Arlington, Va. (Read More)

Fed Eyes HMDA Subprime Filter

Federal Reserve Board researchers say they believe they can filter the 2005 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data and identify which higher-priced loans are really subprime loans and which are being reported just because of the flattening of the yield curve last year. (Read More)

Wachovia to Buy NYC MF Lender

Wachovia Corp., Charlotte, N.C., has announced an agreement to acquire American Property Financing Inc., a New York-based multifamily lender and a subsidiary of Emigrant Bank, for an undisclosed amount. (Read More)

PMI Unveils New Mortgage Calculator

In its latest effort to regain market share from piggyback mortgages, PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Walnut Creek, Calif., has introduced a mortgage calculator that will take a first mortgage, along with some mortgage insurance options, and compare it with a first mortgage combined with a second. (Read More)

Trump Launches Hotel Project in Panama

Donald Trump is venturing into the Central American commercial real estate market with the launch of a hotel project in Panama City, Panama, in partnership with Roger Khafif, president of the K Group, a Panama-based resort developer. (Read More)

New Foreclosures Fall in NYC

New foreclosure activity fell 16% in New York City in February, according to Foreclosures.com, a real estate investment advisory firm based in Fair Oaks, Calif. (Read More)

IndyMac Reports 1Q Profits, Record Volume

IndyMac Bancorp Inc., Pasadena, Calif., has reported earnings of $80 million ($1.18 per share) for the first quarter, up 26% from $63 million ($0.98 per share) a year earlier, and record mortgage volume of $20 billion. (Read More)

Fannie Announces 2Q Dividends

Fannie Mae has announced a common stock dividend of $0.26 per share for the second quarter, unchanged from that of the previous quarter. (Read More)

Ocwen RMBS Classes Downgraded

Four classes of Ocwen Residential MBS Corp. Home Equity Loan Trust securities have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

IndyMac May Sell Stake in Reverse Lender

IndyMac Bancorp, which acquired Freedom Financial from Lehman Brothers in 2004, may now spin off a stake in the nation's largest reverse mortgage lender through an initial public offering. (Read More)

New-Home Sales Rebound

New-home sales rebounded 13.8% in March and exhibited new strength despite rising mortgage rates and growing inventories of unsold homes. (Read More)

If Pols Don't Like RESPA Plan…

Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson said Wednesday that if Congress doesn't like the agency's forthcoming plan to revamp the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act, HUD "will start over again." (Read More)

Administration Softening on GSE Portfolios?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be able to invest in mortgage-backed securities, but only to the extent that it supports their basic secondary-market mission, according to Treasury Secretary John Snow. (Read More)

Fannie to Offer Alternative to 'Exotics'?

Fannie Mae needs to "do more" so that working families trying to afford a home have an alternative to exotic mortgages, according to the mortgage giant's top executive. (Read More)

Wachovia Tops MBA Commercial/MF Ranks

The top commercial and multifamily loan originators for 2005 were Wachovia, Wells Fargo, and Capmark Financial Group (previously GMAC Commercial Mortgage), according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

Applications Fall

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 569.6 to 548.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended April 21, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Tenants-in-Common RE Company Launched

Spectrus Real Estate Group, a company specializing in the sale of tenants-in-common ownership in commercial, retail, and industrial properties and undeveloped land, has been formed in Boise, Idaho. (Read More)

Fitch Unveils Distressed Recovery Ratings

Fitch Ratings has announced the introduction of Distressed Recovery ratings for U.S. and European structured finance transactions (including residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities) that are designed to estimate recoveries for distressed and defaulted securities. (Read More)

Bank of Canada Raises Rates

The Bank of Canada has raised interest rates by 25 basis points. (Read More)

Radian Names SVP

Russell E. Johnson has been hired as senior vice president for loss management at Radian Guaranty Inc., a Philadelphia-based provider of mortgage insurance. (Read More)

Cap Lease Funding Prices Stock Offering

Capital Lease Funding, New York, has priced a public offering of 5 million shares of its common stock at $10.55 per share. (Read More)

FNF Eyes Major Restructuring

Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has sent a proposal to two majority-owned firms -- Fidelity National Information Services Inc. and Fidelity National Title Inc. -- that would result in the creation of two independent public companies. (Read More)

Lockhart in Line for OFHEO Post?

President Bush is expected to appoint James B. Lockhart III as acting director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which supervises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to sources. (Read More)

Clinton: FHA Limit Hike May Pass This Year

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., says she supports comprehensive Federal Housing Administration reform but believes her limited bill to increase the FHA single-family loan limit could be passed this year. (Read More)

NAHB: Speculators Leaving Home Market

The nation's homebuilders are reporting that purchase cancellation rates are up and that housing speculators are walking away from properties, according to the industry's leading trade group. (Read More)

Fed: Mortgage Demand Declining

The Federal Reserve Board is reporting that demand for residential mortgages continued to decline in most sections of the country in early April, and residential sales and house price increases are slowing. (Read More)

Rates Still Rising

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.53% to 6.58% over the seven-day period ended April 27, representing its highest level since June 2002, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

1Q Profits Off at Countrywide

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has reported net earnings of $683.5 million ($1.10 per share) for the first quarter, a 1% decline from $688.9 million ($1.13 per share) in the first quarter of 2005. (Read More)

NAMB, Credit Bureau Form Education Alliance

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with PRBC, a national credit bureau, to educate consumers on how to document their creditworthiness with commonly recurring bill payments. (Read More)

Franklin Credit Names CEO

Alexander Gordon Jardin has been named chief executive officer of Franklin Credit Management Corp., a New York-based company that specializes in buying, managing, and selling subprime residential mortgage assets. (Read More)

Kilroy Boosts Credit Facility to $550M

Kilroy Realty Corp., Los Angeles, has increased the size of its unsecured revolving credit facility to $550 million and extended its term to April 2010. (Read More)

Ventas Closes $500M Credit Facility

Ventas Realty LP has closed a new $500 million unsecured revolving credit facility, according to Ventas' parent company, Ventas Inc., Louisville, Ky. (Read More)

Hersha Prices Public Offering

Hersha Hospitality Trust, a Philadelphia-based real estate investment trust, has announced the pricing of a public offering of 6.52 million shares of common stock at $9 per share. (Read More)

Public Storage Prices Depositary Shares

Public Storage Inc., Glendale, Calif., has priced a public offering of 18 million depositary shares, each of which represents one-thousandth of a share of series I 7.25% cumulative preferred stock, at $25 per share. (Read More)

Conseco/Green Tree MH Classes Downgraded

Fitch Ratings has downgraded 21 classes in Conseco Finance/Green Tree Finance manufactured housing transactions. (Read More)

Bernanke: Treasury Could Limit GSE Debt

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke says the Treasury Department should consider using its power to limit the issuance of corporate debt by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if Congress fails to pass GSE legislation. (Read More)

Alesco Financial to Merge With Sunset

Alesco Financial Trust, a Philadelphia-based specialty finance real estate investment trust, has agreed to merge with Sunset Financial Resources, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based specialty finance REIT. (Read More)

Tech CU Unveils Custom Home Loans

Technology Credit Union, San Jose, Calif., has announced the introduction of a line of customized home loans and lines of credit for California homebuyers and investors. (Read More)

Saxon Prices Private Note Offering

Saxon Capital Inc., a residential mortgage lending and servicing real estate investment trust based in Glen Allen, Va., has announced the pricing of a private offering of $150 million of senior notes due in 2014. (Read More)

BRT Realty Places Preferred Securities

BRT Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Great Neck, N.Y., has announced the sale of $30 million of trust preferred securities in a private placement. (Read More)

S&P Plans REIT Index Changes

Standard & Poor's has announced plans to replace three real estate investment trusts in the S&P REIT Composite index. (Read More)

Feedback

Calling all loan officers! Please fill out this survey. (Read More)

NetBank Puts Servicing Shop Up for Sale

Atlanta-based NetBank has announced plans to sell its mortgage servicing platform along with most of its mortgage servicing rights on $13 billion of home loans. (Read More)

WaMu Loan Chief Departs for New Century

Tony Meola, the production chief for Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, has resigned from the company, accepting a position with competitor New Century Financial Corp., Irvine, Calif. (Read More)

Wilmington Finance Chief Departs

Jerry Schiano, president and chief executive officer of Wilmington Finance, Plymouth Meeting, Pa., has left the company, industry sources have confirmed to MortgageWire. (Read More)

No-Cost Loans on BoA's Radar Screen

At least one major lender, Bank of America, has a totally no-cost loan on its drawing board, a BoA executive told a gathering of the country's real estate writers in Charlotte, N.C., over the weekend. (Read More)

NAHB Calls Tax Proposals Devastating

The president of the National Association of Home Builders says the housing-related proposals advanced by the President's Commission on Tax Reform would have a devastating impact on homeowners, rural America, and people searching for affordable rental houses. (Read More)

CMBS Overdues Hit 7-Year Low

The delinquency rate on U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities fell to a seven-year low of 0.58% in the first quarter, its lowest level since 1999, according to Standard & Poor's. (Read More)

New MI Up in March

Even though private mortgage insurers wrote over $1 billion less of traditional primary new insurance in March than they did a year earlier, total primary new insurance written increased by nearly $3.8 billion in the same period. (Read More)

COFI Inches Higher

After a huge, nearly 26-basis-point increase in the Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index in February, the index rose a mere 2 bps in March. (Read More)

Harbourton Cites Secondary-Market 'Turmoil'

Harbourton Capital Group Inc., McLean, Va., has reported a net loss of approximately $2.8 million ($0.55 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2005, in part as a result of "turmoil in the secondary market" affecting its wholesale mortgage subsidiary. (Read More)

Midwestern Servicing Portfolio for Sale

The Prestwick Mortgage Group, Alexandria, Va., is brokering the sale of servicing rights on $347 million of home loans largely from Indiana and Ohio. (Read More)

Texas, Ohio Lead U.S. in Foreclosures

Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, and Indiana led the nation in March in residential foreclosures, and recorded some of the fastest monthly growth in foreclosures as well, according to Foreclosure.com, an online listing service based in Boca Raton, Fla. (Read More)

New Acting Director Takes Reins at OFHEO

James B. Lockhart III has assumed his duties as the new acting director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, where he will be responsible for supervising Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Bush Reveals FDIC Nominee

President Bush has announced his intention to nominate former Treasury Department official Sheila Bair to be the new chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (Read More)

Ex-Long Beach CEO Named Clayton Prez

D. Keith Johnson, formerly president and chief executive officer of Long Beach Mortgage, has been named president and chief operating officer of Clayton Holdings Inc., a Shelton, Conn.-based information and analytics company serving lenders, servicers, and the debt markets. (Read More)

Cincy FHLBank Raps Capital Proposal

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati is raising objections to proposed capital changes, contending that they would undermine its financial strength and should be withdrawn. (Read More)

GreenPoint Targets Broker Commercial Lending

Following its February release of e-Point 3.2, GreenPoint Mortgage, Novato, Calif., is poised to launch a commercial lending version that will enable brokers to originate small commercial loans in the $500,000 to $5 million range. (Read More)

Retired Broker Pleads Guilty to Kickback Charge

A retired mortgage broker from New Jersey recently pleaded guilty to taking $2.5 million in illegal kickbacks from securities law firm Milberg Weiss and lying about it, according to Reuters. (Read More)

Freddie: Cash-Out Refi % Hits 16-Year High

In the first quarter, 88% of the homeowners who refinanced their homes got a mortgage at least 5% larger than the original loan, the highest such percentage since the third quarter of 1990, according to Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Pending Home Sales Index Dips

A leading indicator of existing-home sales edged down 1.2% in March, signaling that home sales may slow in the months ahead, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Oakwood MH Classes Downgraded

Eighteen classes of Oakwood Homes Corp. manufactured housing transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Bombardier MH Deals Downgraded

Five classes in four Bombardier Capital Mortgage Securitization Corp. manufactured housing deals have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Signal MH Classes Downgraded

Class A of Signal Securitization Corp. series 1998-2, a manufactured housing transaction, has been downgraded from BBB-minus to BB-minus by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Bristol CDO Classes Downgraded

Class B of notes issued by Bristol CDO I Ltd. has been downgraded from BB to B by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Ocwen MBS Class Downgraded

Class B4-F of Ocwen Residential MBS series 1999-R1 has been downgraded from B3 to Caa2 by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes Saxon MBS Classes

Three subordinate classes from three Saxon Asset Securities Trust transactions have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes Deutsche MBS Class

Class III-M-3 of Deutsche Mortgage Securities Inc. Mortgage Loan Trust Series 2004-1 has been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

AMQ Shuts All Retail Branches, Cuts 3,800 Jobs

Faced with declining production and a changing retail landscape, Ameriquest Mortgage -- once the nation's largest subprime lender -- has closed its entire retail branch network, slashing 3,800 jobs in the process. (Read More)

WaMu Reorganizes Correspondent Biz

Washington Mutual, Seattle, has shuttered its traditional correspondent purchase channel, shifting that business over to its capital markets group, MortgageWire has learned. (Read More)

OFHEO Urged to Get Tough With GSEs

The Consumer Mortgage Coalition is urging the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to get tough with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by clamping down on activities that violate their government charters. (Read More)

Bush Adviser: Housing Market Direction Hazy

What is going on in the housing market is "not all that clear," according to the president's chief economic adviser, who says he believes the economy will be less dependent in the future on high levels of consumer consumption and residential construction for growth. (Read More)

One Health Care REIT Buys Another

Health Care Property Investors, a Long Beach, Calif.-based real estate investment trust, is acquiring CNL Retirement Properties, an Orlando, Fla.-based health care REIT, for about $5.2 billion. (Read More)

Applications Rebound

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 548.6 to 596.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended April 28, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Wachovia Tops JD Power HE Rankings

Wachovia ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction among home equity lenders in the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Home Equity Line/Loan Origination Study, according to the marketing information firm. (Read More)

FHA Call Center Up and Running

The Federal Housing Administration has created a call center to be more responsive to questions and inquiries from mortgage lenders, real estate agents, housing counselors, and nonprofit groups, as well as the public. (Read More)

Fitch Forms CRE CDO Rating Group

Fitch Ratings has announced the formation of a new rating group for U.S. commercial real estate CDOs, which it termed an increasingly popular asset class. (Read More)

Macquarie Names Correspondent Chief

Doug Lee has been named head of correspondent lending at Macquarie Mortgages USA, Memphis. (Read More)

RBS Beefs Up CMBS Trading Desk

Chris Lau and Kin Lee have been named to co-head the commercial mortgage-backed securities secondary trading desk of RBS Greenwich Capital, Greenwich, Conn. (Read More)

Credit Suisse Names RE Director

Credit Suisse, Zurich, has hired Claudio Rudolf as a director in charge of acquisition and sales for its real estate management business. (Read More)

Equity Office Reports 1Q Profits

Equity Office Properties Trust, Chicago, has reported net income of $45.6 million ($0.12 per share) for the first quarter, down from $100.9 million ($0.25 per share) in the first quarter of 2005. (Read More)

Moody's Downgrades Certain MeriStar Ratings

Moody's Investors Service has lowered its senior unsecured debt ratings on the notes of MeriStar Hospitality Operating Partnership LP from B2 to B3. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes MSDW MBS Class

Class B2 of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Capital I Inc. Trust, series 2002-OP1, has been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

REIT Affiliate Closes $150M Facility

Republic Property Trust, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate investment trust, has announced the closing of a $150 million secured revolving credit facility by its operating partnership, Republic Property LP. (Read More)

Full Speed Ahead on Fannie Report?

With James Lockhart installed as the new acting director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the agency appears to be working overtime to complete a long-awaited report on OFHEO's investigation into Fannie Mae's $10.8 billion accounting scandal. (Read More)

FBR: Katrina Overdues Declining

Serious delinquencies on nonagency mortgage loans in key areas of Louisiana and Mississippi hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita are declining, according to a Friedman Billings Ramsay report. (Read More)

Rates Hold Steady

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.58% to 6.59% over the seven-day period ended May 4, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Mall REIT Obtains $2.2B Commitment

The Mills Corp., an Arlington, Va.-based owner and operator of entertainment malls, has obtained a $2.23 billion commitment from Goldman Sachs Mortgage Co. (subject to certain contingencies) to boost its liquidity and financial flexibility. (Read More)

Impac Names New COO, CFO

Richard J. Johnson, formerly executive vice president and chief financial officer of Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., has been named EVP and chief operating officer of the Newport Beach, Calif.-based real estate investment trust. (Read More)

Sunset Picks PushMX Productivity Software

Sunset Mortgage Co., Chadds Ford, Pa., has licensed the PushMX productivity software produced by PushMX Software, San Jose Calif. (Read More)

EQR Reports Higher 1Q Profits

Equity Residential, Chicago, has reported net income of $367.72 million ($1.25 per share) for the first quarter, up from $214.014 million ($0.74 per share) for the first quarter of 2005. (Read More)

IndyMac MBS Classes Downgraded

Two certificates from securitizations issued by IndyMac in 2000 and 2001 have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Bleecker Notes Downgraded

Two classes of notes issued by Bleecker Structured Asset Fund Ltd., and supported in part by residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Varick CDO Classes Downgraded

Two classes of notes issued by Varick Structured Asset Fund Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation supported partly by residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes Terwin MBS Class

The rating on class B-1 of the Terwin Mortgage Trust series 2004-EQR1 securitization has been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Mortgage Jobs Inch Downward

Employment in the mortgage industry edged down in March after lenders added 6,500 full-time employees to their payrolls in February. (Read More)

Hundreds Seen Cut at Kirkland, WA's Merit

Merit Financial, Kirkland, Wash., has reportedly laid off 300 workers and is considering filing for bankruptcy protection, according to a report in the Seattle Times. (Read More)

Downpayment Assistance Faces IRS Scrutiny

The Internal Revenue Service is cracking down on non-profit organizations that fund downpayment assistance programs through contributions from sellers and builders and it is threatening to revoke their tax-exempt charitable status. (Read More)

Panel OKs Reg Relief Bill on MSRs

The Senate Banking Committee has approved a regulatory relief bill by a voice vote that removes a "haircut" that banks and thrifts have to take on the value of purchased mortgage servicing rights for capital purposes. (Read More)

Agency MBS Speeds Decline

Prepayment rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities declined by 16% and 15%, respectively, in April, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. (Read More)

ResCap CFO to Lead Warehouse Lending

Residential Capital Corp.'s chief financial officer Davee Olson has accepted a new position leading the company's warehouse lending business. (Read More)

TopLine FCU Developing Mortgage Unit

Mary Wetterlin has been hired as general manager of TopLine Federal Credit Union to develop a first-mortgage division at its Maple Grove, Minn., headquarters. (Read More)

Moody's Downgrades CFSB Deal Class

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the rating of one class of Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp., Commercial Pass-Through Certificates, Series 1999-C1 and upgraded or affirmed other ratings in the transaction. (Read More)

Feedback

Reversing an early favorable trend, responses to our survey question on whether risk-based mortgage insurance premiums should be used to help revitalize the FHA's single-family program opposed the idea by more than 3-to-1. (Read More)

Surprise: Wachovia Buying Golden West

Wachovia Corp. struck a deal over the weekend to buy Golden West Financial Corp. for about $26 billion in cash and stock, placing the combined institution squarely among the top 10 in residential servicing and production. (Read More)

Freddie to Expand Web-Based Offerings

The "new Freddie Mac" says it will be expanding the list of loan products available through its Web-based selling system this summer by adding a number of 40-year fixed-rate mortgages, a score of adjustable loans, and federally insured rural housing loans. (Read More)

Freddie Conforms to Higher Deductibles

Freddie Mac is changing its underwriting requirements to allow for higher homeowners' insurance deductibles. (Read More)

CoreLogic Tool Targets Borrower Fraud

Sacramento, Calif.-based CoreLogic, a provider of mortgage risk assessment and fraud prevention systems, has developed IdentityPro to help clients better manage borrower fraud by modeling borrower transactions and other relevant data to more precisely determine borrower risk. (Read More)

Sollen Links Investors to Pricing Engine

Dallas-based Sollen Technologies, an Internet-based application services provider of product, pricing, and best execution capabilities for the mortgage industry, has announced the completion of phase 1 and phase 2 upgrades to its distributed pricing engine. (Read More)

Fiserv Unit Teams Up With ComplianceEase

Fiserv Lending Solutions - Portfolio Services, Boulder, Colo., and San Francisco-based ComplianceEase have announced an alliance under which FLS-PS will use ComplianceEase's automated compliance system, ComplianceAnalyzer, as the exclusive compliance component of its due-diligence service offering for the capital markets. (Read More)

Group Inks Pact With JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase has entered into an agreement with National People's Action to improve its banking and credit services in minority communities and to assist local NPA organizations in resolving foreclosure issues. (Read More)

NMHC: Rates Hurting Apartment Finance

A steady rise in interest rates has resulted in a "sharp decline in debt financing conditions" for apartment properties, according to the National Multi Housing Council. (Read More)

Wells Warns of Mortgage Data Loss

Wells Fargo is notifying certain of its home mortgage customers and prospective customers that a computer carrying their information has gone missing, and it is encouraging them to take precautionary steps. (Read More)

Prestwick Brokering Servicing Rights Sale

Prestwick Mortgage Group, Alexandria, Va., is brokering the sale of servicing rights on a portfolio of $93 million of Freddie Mac home loans. (Read More)

Moody's Downgrades CenterPoint Debt

The ratings of Chicago-based CenterPoint Properties Trust's senior unsecured debt have been lowered from Baa2 to Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Fannie: New Errors on $28B in Assets

Fannie Mae, which is working through a $10.8 billion earnings restatement scandal, has found yet more accounting errors and will have to repatriate $28.5 billion in assets to its balance sheet. (Read More)

Tick-Tock on GSE Reform

The clock is ticking on legislation to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Mortgage Bankers Association warned Monday at its National Secondary Market Conference in Chicago. (Read More)

Task Force to Mull Loan Risk/Benefit Doc

The next president of the Mortgage Bankers Association is forming a special task force to look into the benefits of a simple, easy-to-understand tool that spells out the strengths and weakness of the loan the borrower has chosen. (Read More)

Thornburg to Launch Wholesale Channel

Thornburg Mortgage, Santa Fe, N.M., is on the verge of rolling out a wholesale channel, according to a Thornburg executive at the MBA National Secondary Market Conference in Chicago. (Read More)

Impac Unveils Market Analysis Tool

Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc, a mortgage real estate investment trust based in Newport Beach, Calif., has launched iMAP (Impac Market Analysis Platform), a Web-based market research tool that provides mortgage brokers and correspondent lenders with analysis of a state or metropolitan market. (Read More)

Visionet Enhances QC, AU Functionality

Visionet Systems, Cranbury, N.J., has announced the launch of version 3.0 of VisiLoanReview, a Web-based program providing electronic quality control reviews and automated underwriting to the investor community. (Read More)

Beanstalk, Interthinx Integrate to Fight Fraud

Interthinx, a Calabasas, Calif.-based provider of automated fraud protection and decision support tools for the mortgage industry, has integrated its DISSCO tool with the Beanstalk Networks' OpenClose MTG platform. (Read More)

Wachovia's Acquisition Policies Lauded

Wachovia Corp., which is buying Golden West Financial Corp., is "very good" at integrating acquisitions, an American Mortgage Network executive told a news conference held by the Mortgage Bankers Association at its secondary mortgage market conference in Chicago. (Read More)

FHLBank Council Urges Revamp of Cap Rule

The Council of Federal Home Loan Banks is urging federal regulators to withdraw a proposed capital rule that it says could have "negative ramifications" for the FHLBanks, their members, and their communities. (Read More)

NAR Sees 7% Mortgage Rate in 3Q

Mortgage rates are rising faster than expected, and the 30-year fixed mortgage rate will likely hit 7% in the third quarter, according to a new forecast by David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

DocuTech, Advantage Form Alliance

DocuTech Corp., an Idaho Falls, Idaho-based provider of compliance services and documentation technology, has announced an alliance with Advantage Credit designed to offer an added layer of security for mortgage closing documents. (Read More)

Mortgage, Call-Capture Firms Join Forces

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., Ocala, Fla., has announced a joint venture with 24/7 Call Capture Inc. that it says will allow loan officers and real estate agents to "capture and control the purchase, builder, and for-sale-by-owner markets." (Read More)

HomeView Names COO

Serene Rosenberg has been named chief operating officer of HomeView Lending Inc., an Orange County, Calif.-based lender serving the nonprime, alternative-A, and option adjustable-rate mortgage markets. (Read More)

Opteum Names SVP/General Counsel

J. Christopher Clifton has been named senior vice president, general counsel, and chief compliance officer of Opteum Inc., a Vero Beach, Fla.-based real estate investment trust. (Read More)

Freddie et al. Join NeighborWorks Coalition

Freddie Mac, American General Financial Services Inc., and ABN Amro Mortgage Group Inc. have joined the coalition headed by the NeighborWorks Center for Foreclosure Solutions to help avert home foreclosures. (Read More)

Snow Downplays ARM Reset Impact

Rising mortgage interest rates are natural at this stage of the economic cycle, and the impact on homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages -- including interest-only and payment-option ARMs -- should be "relatively small," according to Treasury Secretary John Snow. (Read More)

Fannie Moves to Placate Lenders

Fannie Mae is planning a number of changes to its My Community Mortgage suite of loans in an effort to reach deeper into the first-time buyer market -- and placate lenders. (Read More)

Lenders Told to 'Talk the Talk'

Printing mortgage documents in foreign languages isn't enough to reach the growing legions of minority and immigrant homebuyers, according to a Freddie Mac executive. (Read More)

Integration Deemed Key to Mortgage Banking

The mortgage banker of the future will be an organization that is both horizontally and vertically integrated, along the lines of Countrywide Financial Corp., according to Paul Miller, a buy-side equity analyst for the Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group. (Read More)

Survey: Fixed-Rate Loan % Rose in 2nd Half

Fixed-rate products were the most popular products in the second half of 2005, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Originations Survey. (Read More)

MBA Sees Normalizing Market

The mortgage market is normalizing, Mortgage Bankers Association chief economist Doug Duncan says, adding that some markets will see declining home prices but that appreciation will average 6% to 7% nationwide. (Read More)

MI Deduction Still in Play?

Tax writers did not include a mortgage insurance deduction in a $70 billion tax cut bill that Congress is expected to pass this week, but the MI deduction is still in play, sources have told MortgageWire. (Read More)

VirPack Enhances Loan Delivery to GMAC-RFC

Vienna, Va.-based VirPack has announced the enhancement of its VirPack Direct electronic-image loan delivery system to support correspondent delivery to Minneapolis-based GMAC Residential Funding Corp. (Read More)

Applications Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 596.8 to 562.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Moody's: Canadian Retail RE Falls Short

Canada's commercial real estate property sectors have continued to fare better than their U.S. counterparts with one exception, according to a new Moody's Investors Service report. (Read More)

Glimcher Names EVP/CFO

Mark E. Yale has been named executive vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer of Glimcher Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Columbus, Ohio. (Read More)

MortgageBrokers.com OKs Forward Stock Split

MortgageBrokers.com Holdings Inc., Toronto, has announced the approval by its board of directors of a 4-for-1 forward split of its common shares. (Read More)

Long Beach ABS Classes Downgraded

Five classes from three deals issued by Long Beach Mortgage Co. have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service, and seven classes from three other deals have been placed under review for possible downgrade. (Read More)

IO Risk-Layering Concerns Overblown?

Regulatory concerns about risk layering on interest-only mortgages may be overblown, according to an analysis of subprime IO adjustable-rate mortgages by Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. (Read More)

Panelists Tout LIHTCs for Gulf Coast

Over 20 years after its inception, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program has proven to be one of the most effective ways to finance affordable housing and will continue to be a viable tool, especially in the Gulf Coast areas affected by hurricanes, according to panelists at the 2006 Credit Bond Financing for Affordable Housing Conference in Chicago. (Read More)

Fed Hikes Target Funds Rate 25bps

The Federal Open Market Committee has raised its target for the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 5% and issued an accompanying statement indicating that it "sees growth as likely to moderate to a more sustainable pace, partly reflecting a gradual cooling of the housing market." (Read More)

Rates Mixed

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.59% to 6.58% over the seven-day period ended May 11, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Mortgage Vet Launches Consulting Firm

With 17 years of mortgage technology experience to his credit, Jordan Brown has formed MarketWise Advisors, a consulting firm based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (Read More)

MERS Unveils E-Delivery Service

MERS has announced the launch of a new service to transport electronic documents from one party to the next. (Read More)

Advectis Enhances E-Doc Transfer

Advectis Inc., Alpharetta, Ga., has announced the release of enhanced capabilities for electronic document transfer and investor delivery in its BlitzDocs Collaboration Suite. (Read More)

Overture Upgrades AUS Offering

Overture Technologies has upgraded its Mozart AUS with the release of version 4.0 at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Secondary Market Conference and Expo. (Read More)

Middle Class 'Drowning in Debt'?

Middle-class families are "drowning in debt" because of the increasing costs of housing, education, and cars, according a new report by the Center for American Progress. (Read More)

New Foreclosures Hit 10-Year High in MA

New foreclosures in Massachusetts hit their highest level in 10 years in March, according to ForeclosuresMass, Framingham, Mass. (Read More)

Farmer Mac Reports 1Q Profits

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, has reported net income of $5.0 million ($0.44 per share) for the first quarter, compared with $4.9 million ($0.42 per share) for the first quarter of 2005. (Read More)

Hanover Capital Incurs Loss

Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings Inc., a New York-based real estate investment trust, has reported a net loss of $700,000 ($0.08 per share) for the first quarter, compared with net income of $1.4 million ($0.16 per share) a year earlier. (Read More)

Stewart of CO Targets Hispanics

Stewart Title of Colorado has announced the opening of its first full-service office in the Denver metropolitan area aimed specifically at helping Hispanics buy and sell homes. (Read More)

BioMed Realty Prices Stock Offering

BioMed Realty Trust Inc., San Diego, has priced a public offering of 9.075 million shares of common stock at $28.65 per share. (Read More)

Aames-Backed Classes Downgraded

Eight tranches in six securitizations backed by Aames collateral (and issued by Aames or Morgan Stanley) have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service, and two others have been placed on review for possible downgrade. (Read More)

Mark-Up Near for FHA Reform Bill?

Leaders of the House Financial Services Committee are working toward a mark-up of a Federal Housing Administration reform bill by the end of this month, possibly May 24, sources say. (Read More)

Silver Hill, NetBank Form CRE Alliance

Silver Hill Financial LLC, a Miami-based real estate lender, has announced an alliance with NetBank Inc., an Atlanta-based online lender, to enable the latter to offer commercial real estate loans to its small-business customers. (Read More)

TBMA: Issuance of Mortgage Debt Up in 1Q

Despite rising interest rates, mortgage-related debt issuance increased 13.9% in the first quarter compared with the level recorded in the first quarter of 2005, according to The Bond Market Association. (Read More)

ECC Reports 1Q Loss

ECC Capital Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Irvine, Calif., has reported a net loss of $6.4 million ($0.06 per share) in the first quarter, a big improvement from the fourth-quarter results of the troubled mortgage REIT but a bigger loss than it recorded a year earlier. (Read More)

Oakland Bank Launches CRE Program

Community Bank of the Bay, Oakland, Calif., has launched a new commercial real estate lending program and appointed Thomas Mitchell to head it up. (Read More)

REIT Names Prez/COO

Julian E. "Jay" Whitehurst has been named president and chief operating officer of National Retail Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Orlando, Fla. (Read More)

Zacks.com Touting 3 REITs

Zacks.com, the online unit of Zacks Investment Research Inc., Chicago, is featuring a trio of mortgage real estate investment trusts in its Growth and Income Profit Track. (Read More)

ResCap Issues 1st Euro Debt

Residential Capital Corp. has launched its first debt issuance in the European market. (Read More)

Gramercy Cap Prices Stock Offering

Gramercy Capital Corp., a New York-based investor in and originator of commercial mortgage-related loans and securities, has priced a public offering of 2.25 million shares of common stock. (Read More)

Feedback

Early responses to our latest survey question favor the view that reducing Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolios would make the GSEs healthier and much less risky. (Read More)

Top FHLB-Des Moines Member Cut Sales

The troubled Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines revealed in a securities filing that its largest member, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A, reduced its borrowings and cut its mortgage sales to the FHLBank in recent years. (Read More)

National Metro Median Price Rises 10.3%

The national median price of single-family homes in metropolitan areas rose to $217,900 in the first quarter, up 10.3% from the first quarter of last year, according to a new report by the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Starting a New Popular Servicing Unit

Popular Financial Holdings Inc. has created a new mortgage servicing subsidiary called Popular Mortgage Servicing Inc. (Read More)

Tew to Add Staff at Fifth Third

Fifth Third Bancorp has hired James "Jim" Tew to lead an expansion of its mortgage unit. (Read More)

Bond Group Hires New MBS Advisor

The Bond Market Association has appointed Robbin Conner as its new staff advisor to the association's mortgage-backed securities and securitized products division. (Read More)

Mortgage Unit Seen as a Bear for Block

Kansas City, Mo.-based H&R Block has been named Zacks Equity Research's "Bear of the Day" for May 15, citing challenges in the company's mortgage and tax units. (Read More)

Mindbox Hits Bulls-Eye with AI

Citing artificial intelligence as the differentiator, United Mortgage Lenders, Boca Raton, Fla., has chosen MindBox's ARTOptimize product suite for its Bulls-Eye point-of-sale decisioning system. (Read More)

REIT Index to Add Cap Lease Funding

Capital Lease Funding Inc., a New York-based real estate investment trust, has announced that its stock will be added to the MSCI US REIT Index (formerly the Morgan Stanley REIT Index) after the close of business May 31. (Read More)

Single-Family Starts Drop 5.6%

Single-family housing starts fell 5.6% in April and a monthly survey showed builders are taking an increasingly negative view of market conditions. (Read More)

OFHEO’s Fannie Report Release Set

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has set the morning of May 23 for the release of its long awaited report on Fannie Mae's $10.8 billion accounting scandal. (Read More)

OFHEO Enables GSE Fraud Reporting

The door is now open for the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to report incidents of mortgage fraud discovered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies. (Read More)

Florida Now Leads in Loan Fraud

Florida has replaced Georgia as the hottest spot in the country for mortgage fraud, according to the latest figures from the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. (Read More)

Standing Room Only Seen at Fraud Conference

Based on the overwhelming response to its first full-blown conference on loan fraud, the Mortgage Bankers Association is considering adding a second event later this year. (Read More)

New Fraud Risk Mitigation Tool Launched

Digital Risk, a risk mitigation company providing tools designed to limit financial services firms’ exposure to fraud, has introduced "Risk IQ," a verification product that provides a "360-degree" risk assessment of mortgage transactions. (Read More)

Flood Bill Mark-Up May Be Imminent

Senate Banking Committee leaders are working on a flood insurance reform bill and committee chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., wants to mark up a bill before Memorial Day. (Read More)

Middle-Class Debt-Income Ratio Seen Rising

Middle-class debt has exceeded income for the first time in the history of a Federal Reserve survey that measures it, according to a new report. (Read More)

PHH to Delay 1Q Financials

PHH Corp. has said it expects to miss its deadline to file first quarter 2006 financials and its extended deadline to file its annual report for 2005 because an audit of certain financial statements "was and is ongoing." (Read More)

FHLB-Topeka Releases 1st SEC-Filed Earnings

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka saw earnings of $135.8 million for 2005, up 45% from the previous year, in filing its first audited financial statement with Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

Warehouse/Correspondent Program Started

Madison Equity Corp., Gibbsboro, N.J., has created a warehouse/correspondent lending program aimed at purchasing lower credit quality loans from small mortgage bankers. (Read More)

Moody’s Reviewing Some DLJ Certificates

Moody's Investors Service has placed on review for possible downgrade three certificates from two transactions issued by DLJ Mortgage Acceptance Corp. (Read More)

Delta Funding Deal Class Faces Review

Moody's Investors Service has placed under review for possible downgrade the class B-1F certificates issued from Delta Funding Home Equity Loan Trust 1997-3. (Read More)

Freddie Prices Reference REMIC Class

Freddie Mac has priced Reference REMIC R007’s $2.0 billion, 5.875% Guaranteed Maturity Class AC (CUSIP 31396NPF7) at 99.92968750 to yield 5.8992%, or 90 basis points over the interpolated Treasury curve. (Read More)

Mortgage Law Pending in Turkey

New legislation in Turkey is expected to pass in mid-2006 and create a fully functioning mortgage market in that country, according to a recent report from Research and Markets. (Read More)

Trade Groups Push for FHA Reform

Ten housing trade groups are urging members of Congress to co-sponsor and support a bill to reform and modernize the Federal Housing Administration single-family program. (Read More)

Applications Increase

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 562.1 to 588.0 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 12, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Ivanhoe Appoints Retail SVP

Ivanhoe Mortgage, a division of Central Pacific Mortgage, has named Robert Brown as senior vice president of retail production. (Read More)

Salomon MBS Certificate Downgraded

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded one certificate from one transaction issued by Salomon Brothers Mortgage Securities VII Inc. Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates in 2001. (Read More)

Commercial Mortgage Asset Trust Ratings Shift

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the ratings of two classes of Commercial Mortgage Asset Trust, Series 1999-C2 and upgraded the ratings of four classes in that deal. (Read More)

Bernanke: Housing Market Is Cooling

Speaking at a Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago annual meeting, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said it "seems pretty clear" that housing markets are cooling. (Read More)

Long-Term Mortgage Rates Drift Up

The average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose to 6.60% with an average of .5 points for the week of May 18, according to Freddie Mac. (Read More)

FHA May Update Automated Underwriting Engine

The Federal Housing Administration is working on the first update of its automated underwriting scorecard, TOTAL, since it was introduced in 2004, according to a report by congressional auditors. (Read More)

Asian American Homeownership Rises

Asian Americans have achieved the fastest increase in home ownership among minority groups since 2000, and this trend is likely to continue, according to a study by the Asian Real Estate Association of America. (Read More)

Mortgage Stocks Swept Up in Sell-Off

The stocks of mortgage-related companies joined the rest of the market in a broad sell-off on Wednesday, May 17. (Read More)

Fitch Changes Some COMM Ratings

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the long-term credit rating and distressed recovery rating of one class in COMM's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-C1 while upgrading or affirming the ratings of other classes in the deal. (Read More)

Chase Gets Top Servicer Rating

Moody's Investors Service has affirmed its highest servicer quality rating for Chase Home Finance as a primary servicer of prime and subprime residential mortgage loans. (Read More)

Aztec Foreclosure Joins LOGS Network

LOGS Network, Northbrook, Ill., has extended full membership to Aztec Foreclosure Corporation, Phoenix, a trustee doing business in California and Nevada. (Read More)

It's Official: Deutsche Buys CA B&C Lender

Deutsche Bank has agreed to purchase nonconforming lender Chapel Funding Corp., Lake Forest, Calif., for an undisclosed sum. (Read More)

President Proposes FHA Reform Boost

A Federal Housing Administration reform package proposed by the Bush administration could increase FHA single-family originations by 100,000 loans a year, according to FHA commissioner Brian Montgomery. (Read More)

Markup In Predatory Bill Expected

There might be a markup of a predatory lending bill in the House of Representatives next week, said Jeffrey Zeltzer, president of the National Home Equity Mortgage Association. (Read More)

Attorney Warns of More Litigation

The first lesson from the Ameriquest Mortgage settlement the subprime industry needs to heed is to "get your hard hats on because there will be more of these things." (Read More)

B&C Firms Face Secondary Sales Challenge

Companies that need to sell loans at premiums higher than 102 in order to have enough income will not survive in the new subprime mortgage business, said Brad Bradley, keynote speaker at the SourceMedia Subprime Symposium in Las Vegas. (Read More)

Greenspan: Boom Is Over

The housing boom is over but the exit from it will be a matter of regional price declines rather than the bursting of a national bubble, former Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan said at a dinner celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Bond Market Association, according to Yahoo! News reports. (Read More)

ResCap Pays Off GM Debt Early

Residential Capital Corp., Minneapolis, said it has repaid all domestic and international inter-company borrowings from its parent company, General Motors Acceptance Corp. (Read More)

Thrift Originations Decline in Q1

Thrift originations of single-family loans fell 13% in the first quarter even though thrift institutions increased their market share to 26%, up 2 percentage points from the fourth quarter. (Read More)

Securities Law Firm Indicted

The high-profile securities law firm of Milberg Weiss, and two of its top attorneys were indicted on Thursday on charges of conspiracy, money laundering and racketeering, following a six-year investigation regarding whether the law firm made illegal payments to clients who agreed to act as plaintiffs in the firm's lawsuits against publicly traded companies (Read More)

Partnership Improves Credit Scoring Process

SharperLending LLC, a provider of a Web-based platform that enables lenders to order, store and manage products and services from multiple vendors at a single point of entry headquartered in Spokane, Wash., has partnered with CreditXpert Inc. to offer its users Credit Assure, a loan closing software tool that automatically pre-scans credit files and identifies opportunities to raise credit scores based on credit data accuracy and credit management. (Read More)

Feedback

We've seen a reversal from last week with responses to our latest survey question now no longer favoring the view that reducing Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolios would make the GSEs healthier and much less risky. (Read More)

Fannie Audit Director Leaves Post

The Fannie Mae director in charge of the GSE's audit committee has stepped down from that position on the eve of a regulatory report on the mortgage giant's $10.8 billion accounting scandal. (Read More)

Snow Calls For GSE Portfolio Limits

The government-sponsored entities pose a potential risk to the financial markets and they need a regulator that has the authority to limit their entry into new products and see that their portfolios are not larger than necessary to make a secondary market, according to John Snow, the Secretary of the Treasury. (Read More)

Subprime Seen as Commoditized

Subprime lending has become a "commoditized" business with reduced margins and companies have to reduce their cost structure to survive, according to Steven Nadon, the president of H&R Block Mortgage Co. (Read More)

Who Will Be Hurt Most in a Down Market?

Thinly-capitalized companies that became aggregators during the "heady days of the cycle" are among those that likely will be challenged by the market environment ahead, a speaker said during a question and answer session at a Bear Stearns conference in New York. (Read More)

Fitch Changes RMBS AVM Policies

The use of automated valuation models to assess the value of a home may no longer result in property value penalties, according to a new criteria report by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Boykin to Sell for $416 Million

An affiliate of a partnership between Westmont Hospitality Group and a subsidiary of Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, plan to acquire U.S. hotel real estate investment trust Boykin Lodging Co. in a cash transaction valued at $416 million, including debt. (Read More)

OFHEO Nails Fannie For Bonus Manipulation

In a new damning report released this morning the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight slammed Fannie Mae for manipulating accounting rules to trigger millions of dollars in bonuses for senior executives from 1998 to 2004. (Read More)

Fannie Settling With OFHEO & SEC for $400 MM

Fannie Mae has agreed to pay $400 million in civil penalties to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to settle allegations of wrongdoing in connection with its $10.8 billion accounting scandal. (Read More)

OFHEO: Mudd Did Not Follow Through

An explosive new report on Fannie Mae's accounting scandal charges that current president and chief executive Daniel Mudd did not follow through on allegations that he was hearing that indicated that the GSE had similar accounting problems to its sister company Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Capital Surplus Looks Like Long-Term Requirement

The OFHEO report on Fannie Mae's accounting woes recommends that Fannie Mae "must maintain a capital surplus" until the OFHEO director determines that a change in the surplus requirement is warranted. (Read More)

Government Properties Trust For Sale?

Government Properties Trust, an Omaha, Neb.-based real estate investment trust, is considering a possible sale of the company. (Read More)

Nonprofits Oppose IRS Ruling

An alliance of nonprofits that provide downpayment assistance have urged Treasury Secretary John W. Snow to suspend IRS Revenue Ruling 2006-27 and create an opportunity for public comment on the impact the ruling will have on low-to-moderate income homebuyers, the housing industry, and the national economy. (Read More)

Fannie Must Freeze Portfolio Size

Fannie Mae has to "freeze" the size of its giant mortgage portfolio at $727 billion under an agreement with the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and the limit could be in place for several years, according to the regulator. (Read More)

Will Fannie CEO Mudd Step Down?

A day after the government lambasted Fannie Mae for accounting fraud some industry participants -- publicly and privately -- are wondering whether current CEO Daniel Mudd will soon step down. (Read More)

Investors Shrug It Off

The OFHEO report may have slammed Fannie Mae's management, but Wall Street seems to view it as water under the bridge. (Read More)

Ex-Fannie CEO Denies Charges in Scandal

Former Fannie Mae chairman and CEO Franklin Raines has denied all wrongdoing in regard to allegations that he may have played a role in manipulating accounting rules at the mortgage giant. (Read More)

NovaStar Acquires nBank's Warehouse Unit

NovaStar Capital Inc., Roswell, Ga., the warehouse lending unit of NovaStar Financial Inc., Kansas City, Mo., has purchased the warehouse customer relationships of nBank NA, Commerce, Ga. (Read More)

Title Companies Settle with Spitzer

The nation's two largest title insurance companies have come to a settlement agreement with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. (Read More)

New Home Sales Rise in April

New home sales rose 4.9% in April after a 12% rebound in March despite rising mortgage rates and the perception of a slowdown in the housing market. (Read More)

New FBI Database to Prevent Flipping

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is building a database to get a better handle on property flipping, which comprises a majority of mortgage fraud cases currently under investigation. (Read More)

FTC Conference Speakers Weigh in on Exotic Products

Sharply divergent views of so-called exotic mortgages were presented at a Federal Trade Commission conference today to assist the consumer watchdog agency in understanding interest-only, option-arm and 40- and 50-year loans. (Read More)

Resales Rebound Ends

Existing-home sales slipped 2% in April after a two-month rebound as annual price appreciation on single-family homes fell below 5%, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Read More)

Panel to Call Mudd, Raines on Fraud Issue

The Senate Banking Committee is planning to call Fannie Mae's current chief executive officer, Daniel Mudd, and former chairman and CEO Franklin Raines to testify on regulators' findings that the GSE engaged in fraudulent financial reporting while its executives reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses. (Read More)

House Panel Passes FHA Reform Bill

The House Financial Services Committee has approved a Federal Housing Administration modernization bill by a voice vote that could make FHA single-family loans more attractive for low- and moderate-income homebuyers and help the faltering federal mortgage insurance program regain market share. (Read More)

Accredited to Acquire Aames

Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., a San Diego-based originator of nonprime residential mortgage loans, and Aames Investment Corp., a Los Angeles-based nonprime lender, have announced an agreement whereby Accredited will acquire Aames in a transaction valued at approximately $340 million. (Read More)

Regions, AmSouth to Merge

Regions Financial Corp., Birmingham, Ala., the parent company of Regions Mortgage, and AmSouth Bancorporation, Birmingham, have announced a merger agreement that they said will create one of the top 10 bank holding companies in the United States. (Read More)

Fixed Rates Inch Higher

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.60% to 6.62% over the seven-day period ended May 25, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

AmeriVest Stockholders OK Liquidation

AmeriVest Properties Inc., a Denver-based real estate investment trust, has announced stockholder approval of a plan of liquidation that had been approved on Feb. 9 by the company's board of directors. (Read More)

Ace ABS Classes Downgraded

Three classes of Ace Securities Corp.'s asset backed pass-through certificates, series 2004-HE1, have been downgraded and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

NYLIM CDO Classes Downgraded

Three classes of notes issued by NYLIM Stratford CDO 2001-1 Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation partly composed of commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes Bear Stearns MBS Class

Class M of Bear Stearns Asset Backed Securities Inc. series 2003-ABF1 has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes ABFS MBS Class

Class M of American Business Financial Services Mortgage Loan Trust series 2003-2 has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

American General Shuttering Channel?

American General Financial Services, Evansville, Ind., has reportedly closed its correspondent loan channel, according to an executive who has done business with the company. (Read More)

Mudd Won't Head Fannie Employee Review

Fannie Mae chief executive officer Daniel Mudd will not spearhead the company's review of employees who may have been involved in its $10.8 billion accounting scandal. (Read More)

House Panel Probing LandAmerica

The House Financial Services Committee is pursuing allegations that the LandAmerica Financial Group might have used "indirect threats or pressure" to influence settlement negotiations with Colorado insurance regulators. (Read More)

Senate Panel OKs Flood Bill

The Senate Banking Committee has approved a flood insurance reform bill that would phase out subsidized premiums for second homes, commercial properties, and properties that repeatedly suffer major flood damage. (Read More)

Freddie to Post Financials Tuesday

Freddie Mac has announced that it will release quarterly and year-end financial results for 2005 after the stock market closes on Tuesday, May 30. (Read More)

People's Switching Charters

People's Mutual Holdings and its subsidiary People's Bank, both of Bridgeport, Conn., plan to switch from their respective state charters to become a federally chartered mutual holding company and a federal savings bank, respectively. (Read More)

School Starts Tuesday at Argent U.

On Tuesday, May 30, Argent Mortgage Co. LLC will launch Argent University to help its approved brokers "enhance their professional skills and build their businesses." (Read More)

PMI Seeks to Enter Canadian Market

PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Walnut Creek, Calif., has filed an application with Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to be allowed to sell mortgage insurance in that country. (Read More)

AllRegs Names SVP

Dan Thoms has been named senior vice president for sales and strategic initiatives at AllRegs, an Eagan, Minn.-based online publisher of reference information for the residential mortgage lending industry. (Read More)

First Franklin MBS Classes Downgraded

Three certificates from First Franklin Mortgage Loan Trust series 2002-FF2 have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Bear Stearns CMBS Classes Downgraded

Three classes of Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc., commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1998-C1, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

CMAC CMBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes of Commercial Mortgage Acceptance Corp. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1998-C1, have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Resource Cap Issues $25M in Trust Securities

Resource Capital Corp., a Philadelphia-based real estate investment trust, has announced the issuance of $25 million of trust preferred securities through a wholly owned subsidiary. (Read More)

Feedback

Responses to our survey question are running neck and neck on whether reducing Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolios would make the GSEs healthier and less risky. (Read More)

Street Vet Tapped to Head Treasury

President Bush has nominated Wall Street veteran Henry Paulson to be his new Treasury secretary and take over for Secretary John Snow, who submitted his resignation Monday morning. (Read More)

Synergy Shutting Down Net Branch Ops

Synergy Mortgage is discontinuing what is left of its net branch operation as of June 1, according to Joe L. Williams, chairman, chief executive, and president of the company's parent bank, Synergy Bank. (Read More)

Congress Passes VA Hybrid Fix

Congress has passed a veterans' benefits bill that includes a fix for VA hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages and opens the door for their inclusion in Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities. (Read More)

Sunbelt Trio Leads the Way in New Housing

Three states -- Florida, Texas, and California -- were responsible for nearly a third of all the new dwellings built in 2005, according to the California Building Industry Association. (Read More)

Doral Names New Prez/COO

Glen Wakeman, a 20-year veteran of General Electric Co., has been named president and chief operating officer of Doral Financial Corp., San Juan, the largest residential mortgage lender in Puerto Rico. (Read More)

Next Month Deemed Crucial for UK Disclosure

The next month of preparation for home information packs, a pending United Kingdom disclosure requirement, will be crucial in terms of whether their implementation next year is a success, according to a new report by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. (Read More)

Moody's Downgrades ACE HEL Classes

Six certificates from two ACE Securities Corp. Home Equity Loan Trust subprime mortgage deals have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Fitch Downgrades Conseco HEL Classes

Five classes from five Conseco/Green Tree home equity loan deals have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Argent HEL Issues Downgraded

Three classes of Argent Securities Inc.'s ARSI series 2004-PW1 home equity issue have been downgraded and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Fitch Downgrades Ameriquest HEL Classes

Two classes from two Ameriquest Mortgage Securities Inc. home equity issues have been downgraded and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

First Union HEL Class Downgraded

Class B of First Union Home Equity Loan mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1997-3, has been downgraded from B to CCC by Fitch Ratings and assigned a Distressed Recovery rating of DR2. (Read More)

ASC CMBS Classes Off Watchlist

Three classes of Asset Securitization Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1997-D5, have been removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Freddie's Net Income Dived in '05

Freddie Mac has reported that its net income fell 27% to $2.1 billion last year, from $2.9 billion in 2004, primarily because of $600 million in costs associated with settling securities litigation, charges related to Hurricane Katrina, and certain accounting changes. (Read More)

Syron: OFHEO May Limit Portfolio

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight could impose portfolio limits on Freddie Mac, the company's chairman has warned investors, potentially placing Freddie in the same boat as Fannie Mae until it improves its internal controls and financial reporting systems. (Read More)

Recovery Passes by Freddie's Stock

Most mortgage stocks, along with the rest of the market, took a hit Tuesday as renewed inflation fears put downward pressure on stocks, but Wednesday morning brought a recovery for most mortgage stocks that passed by Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Clinton Unveils New FHA Bill

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y, has introduced another Federal Housing Administration reform bill to enable the FHA to offer zero-downpayment loans, pay its staff better, and increase its investment in technology. (Read More)

Genworth Aussie Unit to Buy Vero MI

The Australian mortgage insurance subsidiary of Genworth Financial, Richmond, Va., has agreed to acquire Vero Lenders Mortgage Insurance Ltd., Sydney, Australia, in a deal valued at US$165 million. (Read More)

Applications Decline

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 552.6 to 541.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 26, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Dallas FHLBank Reports 1Q Earnings

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas has reported a decline in assets but still posted earnings of $27.6 million in the first quarter, up 6.2% from those of a year earlier. (Read More)

Seattle FHLBank Completes SEC Registration

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle says it has completed the Securities and Exchange Commission registration process, and it has filed first-quarter financial results with the SEC. (Read More)

First BanCorp Cites $2.4B Doral Payment

First BanCorp, San Juan, Puerto Rico, has reported a cash payment of approximately $2.4 billion from Doral Financial Corp. to First BanCorp's subsidiary FirstBank, "substantially reducing" the balance of approximately $2.9 billion in mortgage-related commercial loans outstanding to Doral. (Read More)

$262M MSR Portfolio Up for Bid

A portfolio of servicing rights on $262 million of Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae loans is being offered for sale by Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Denver. (Read More)

Ohio Servicing Portfolio for Sale

The Prestwick Mortgage Group, Alexandria, Va., is brokering the sale of servicing rights on a $46 million portfolio of loans backed by Ohio homes. (Read More)

Fitch: CMBS Lead Surge in Upgrades

The number of rating upgrades in the first quarter for U.S. structured finance transactions was nearly triple that of a year earlier, with commercial mortgage-backed securities leading the way, according to Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes SASCO HEL Classes

Twenty-five subordinate certificates from 12 subprime home equity loan transactions issued by Structured Asset Securities Corp.'s Amortizing Residential Collateral Trusts have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

REIT Announces Stock Offering

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust, Rockville, Md., has announced a public offering of 2.6 million shares of its common stock. (Read More)

FHA: Zero-Down Needed to Fill DPA 'Void'

FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery maintains that a recent IRS revenue ruling that downpayment assistance providers are not nonprofit corporations will give a shot in the arm to efforts to revamp the government's oldest housing program. (Read More)

FHA Eyes Premium Calculator

Even though the first major overhaul of the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance program in a decade has a long way to go in a short time, the agency is already thinking about how to implement the proposed changes, officials said Tuesday. (Read More)

VA 'Ready to Act' on Hybrid ARMs

Legislation awaiting the president's signature would give the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs the authority to change the VA's hybrid ARM program so that it conforms to the industry norm. (Read More)

'GUS' About to Make Debut

The USDA's Rural Development Service plans to begin testing GUS, its automated underwriting system, with seven lenders in August. (Read More)

Rates Rise; ARMs Hit 5-Year High

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.62% to 6.67% over the seven-day period ended June 1, and the one-year ARM rate hit its highest level in nearly five years, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Applications Dive for Private MIs

The number of applications received by private mortgage insurers in April slipped below the total received in February, normally one of the worst months of the year. (Read More)

COFI's Upward March Continues

The Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index continued its upward march in April, rising 13 basis points. (Read More)

Campus Apts Forms Student Housing JV

Campus Apartments, a Philadelphia-based student housing investor, has entered into a joint venture to invest as much as $1 billion in student housing with the real estate investment arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., according to the company. (Read More)

eLynx Helps Boost Ditech E-Sign Conversion

Cincinnati-based eLynx Ltd. has helped Ditech.com, Costa Mesa, Calif., achieve a 35% borrower conversion from paper to e-signed disclosures in May, according to eLynx. (Read More)

Doc Systems Names Chief Design Exec

Pamela C. Milano has been named chief product design executive for LoanMagic, the mortgage loan presentation and management program of Document Systems Inc., Carson, Calif. (Read More)

Post Prices $150M Note Offering

Post Apartment Homes LP, Atlanta, has priced a $150 million public offering of senior unsecured notes due 2013. (Read More)

Ashford Added to MSCI REIT Index

Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc., a Dallas-based real estate investment trust, has been added to the MSCI US REIT Index, according to the REIT. (Read More)

Mortgage Jobs Fall

Employment in the mortgage industry fell in April for the second month in a row. (Read More)

Study: Higher-Priced Mortgages Rose 172%

Higher-priced home purchase loans rose 172% last year among the 10 leading national mortgage lenders, according to a study of federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data by Traiger & Hinckley LLP, a New York-based law firm. (Read More)

Southcoast to Buy Charles Towne Mortgage

Southcoast Financial Corp., Mt. Pleasant, S.C., has announced an agreement to acquire the assets of Charles Towne Mortgage Corp., Charleston, S.C. (Read More)

TotalMove Launches New CRM System

TotalMove Inc., a national consumer real estate and moving services company based in Shelton, Conn., has launched a new proprietary customer relationship management system. (Read More)

E*Trade, NeighborWorks Launch Website

E*Trade Financial Corp., New York, and NeighborWorks America, Washington, D.C., have announced the launch of the "Keys to My Home" website, which offers bilingual, user-friendly information about preparing for and maintaining homeownership. (Read More)

Capmark Names Prez/CEO

Capmark Financial Group, Horsham, Pa., has appointed William F. Aldinger III president and chief executive officer of the company. (Read More)

Firm's London Office Enters RE Finance

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP has expanded its London affiliate, Katten Muchin Rosenman Cornish LLP, to include a real estate finance practice that focuses on the structured financing of commercial real estate in Europe. (Read More)

Freddie Sets Meeting, Declares Dividends

Freddie Mac's board of directors has set Sept. 8 as the date of the company's annual stockholders' meeting and announced a dividend of $0.47 per share on the corporation's voting common stock for the second quarter, the same as in the first quarter. (Read More)

Camden Prices Stock Offering

Camden Property Trust, a Houston-based real estate investment trust, has priced a public offering of 3.6 million common shares at $71.25 per share. (Read More)

Feedback

Looking for lenders who will lend to borrowers with FICO scores under 500? (Read More)

Freddie: Home Price Rises Slowing

Home prices increased at an annualized rate of 8.7% nationwide in the first quarter, down from a revised rate of 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index released by Freddie Mac. (Read More)

Brookfield, Blackstone Buying Trizec

Brookfield Properties Corp., together with the Blackstone Group, is acquiring Trizec Properties, Chicago, and Toronto-based Trizec Canada in a transaction valued at US$8.9 billion. (Read More)

SwiftView, Netupdate Join Forces

SwiftView Inc., Portland, Ore., and Netupdate Inc., Bellevue, Wash., have partnered to enable borrowers to use SwiftView's SwiftSend InBound service to send documents to lenders electronically. (Read More)

Ellie Mae Touts Encompass Enhancements

Dublin, Calif.-based Ellie Mae has launched a new edition of its mortgage automation system, Encompass Professional Edition, geared toward giving mortgage brokers more marketing functionality. (Read More)

REIT Announces Exec Shuffle

Fred Kennon will retire June 30 as chief financial officer of Entertainment Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Kansas City, Mo., and Gregory K. Silvers has been named to the additional post of chief operating officer of the REIT. (Read More)

Lodging REIT Names SVP

William M. Wagner has been named senior vice president and chief accounting officer of Sunshine Hotel Investors Inc., a real estate investment trust based in San Clemente, Calif. (Read More)

Habitat Goes Live for Home Builders Blitz

Web cameras in four locations across the country will capture the construction of entire homes in just one week during Habitat for Humanity's Home Builders Blitz, June 5-9. (Read More)

Deutsche Bank, Pinnacle Form Mortgage JV

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., New York, has announced a joint venture with Pinnacle Financial Corp., an Orlando, Fla.-based mortgage lender, to form Pinnacle Commercial Mortgage LLC. (Read More)

'Earn the Right to Cross-Sell'

If you measure agent performance in a call center by the average time it takes to handle an inbound call, you are making a big mistake, Wells Fargo's Gary Class told attendees June 5 at the SourceMedia Business Intelligence Forum in San Francisco. (Read More)

LoanCity Unveils Take 5ive Option ARM

LoanCity, a wholesale lender based in San Jose, Calif., has unveiled the Take 5ive Option ARM, which it says combines the most attractive features of a payment-option adjustable-rate mortgage with the interest rate stability of a 5/1 hybrid ARM. (Read More)

ABC Names Wholesale Chief

Al Crisanty has been promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president and national production manager of American Brokers Conduit, the wholesale division of American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., a mortgage real estate investment trust based in Melville, N.Y. (Read More)

Metrocities Names SVP

Virginia Martinez has been named senior vice president for the Southern California region of Metrocities Mortgage LLC, a residential mortgage lender based in Sherman Oaks, Calif. (Read More)

Issuance of REIT Securities, CMBS Passes $1T

The issuance of real estate investment trust and commercial mortgage-backed securities has surpassed the $1 trillion mark, according to data compiled by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts and the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association. (Read More)

AMB Boosts Credit Line

AMB Property Corp., San Francisco, has announced an early renewal of its unsecured revolving line of credit and an increase in the credit line from $500 million to $550 million. (Read More)

Pol Accuses Fannie Ex-Chief of Perjury

The chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee with oversight of government-sponsored enterprises has accused former Fannie Mae chief executive Franklin Raines of perjuring himself before Congress. (Read More)

GSE Problems Far From Over

It could be "several years" before the scandal-wracked government-chartered housing enterprises are out of the woods, their safety-and-soundness regulator has told Congress. (Read More)

NHEMA: State 'Predatory' Laws Hurt Consumers

The patchwork of state anti-predatory-lending laws often prevents consumers, especially those traditionally underserved by financial institutions, from obtaining affordable home equity loans, according to the Washington counsel for the National Home Equity Mortgage Association. (Read More)

Applications Fall

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 541.9 to 534.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended June 2, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Ex-Employees Sue WaMu Over Wages

Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, is being sued in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., by three former employees alleging that the mortgage banker violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying them the minimum wage and overtime. (Read More)

Agency MBS Speeds Rise

Prepayment rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities increased by a constant prepayment rate of 1.2 in May, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. (Read More)

Dexma Earns MISMO OK for Credit, AUS

Minneapolis-based Dexma has earned MXCompliance certification for credit request and automated underwriting services for its Web-based platforms. (Read More)

Cenlar Names Prez/COO

Gregory S. Tornquist has been named president and chief operating officer of Cenlar FSB, a Ewing, N.J.-based savings bank specializing in subservicing mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes Bear ARM Classes

Classes B-2 and B-3 of Bear Stearns ARM Trust series 2001-4 have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Arbor Completes Private Placement

Arbor Realty Trust Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Uniondale, N.Y., has announced the completion of the sale of $15 million of trust preferred securities in a private placement. (Read More)

Fitch: AIMCO Outlook Stable

Citing a strong recent performance in same-store net operating income, Fitch Ratings has revised its rating outlook for Apartment Investment and Management Co. from Negative to Stable. (Read More)

Wells Bank to Buy Reilly Mortgage

Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco, has announced an agreement under which Wells Fargo Bank NA will acquire the assets of Reilly Mortgage Group, a privately owned multifamily real estate finance firm based in McLean, Va. (Read More)

Indecomm Buys Mortgage Dynamics

Indecomm Global Services has signed an agreement to acquire McLean, Va.-based Mortgage Dynamics Inc., a mortgage banking management consulting and outsource services firm. (Read More)

FirstService Buys Majority Stake in Cohen

FirstService Corp., a Toronto-based property services firm, has acquired a majority stake in Cohen Financial, Chicago, for an undisclosed amount. (Read More)

Rates Decline

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.67% to 6.62% over the seven-day period ended June 8, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Block Reports FY06 Earnings

H&R Block Inc., Kansas City, Mo., has reported earnings of $490.4 million ($1.49 per share) for its fiscal year ended April 30, down from $623.9 million ($1.88 per share) for the prior year. (Read More)

PreQualPal Automates Broker Loan Searches

A new player has entered the ring to vie with Calyx, Ellie Mae, Lenders Insight, LION, and others to serve brokers by automating loan qualification and lender referral. (Read More)

MILA Launches Online Web Training

MILA, Mountlake Terrace, Wash., is introducing daily online Web training for its proprietary decisioning and loan management technology, AccessPoint. (Read More)

ASF Names Duo to Head RMBS Subforum

The American Securitization Forum has named two newly elected executives to head its residential mortgage-backed securities subforum. (Read More)

Alliance Bancorp Names Prez

Lisa A. Duehring has been named president of Alliance Bancorp, a conduit, wholesale lender, and securitizer of residential mortgage-backed securities based in Brisbane, Calif. (Read More)

Homeownership Foundation Names Prez

Colleen Hernandez has been named president and executive director of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, Minneapolis, effective July 5. (Read More)

First Guardian to Slash Authorized Shares

First Guardian Financial Corp., a New York-based provider of commercial real estate financing, has reported the adoption of a board resolution to reduce the company's authorized shares of common stock by 320 million shares. (Read More)

REIT Index to Include S. African RE Firms

The Dow Jones Wilshire Global Real Estate Investment Trust Index has announced plans to include eligible real estate companies based in South Africa for the first time. (Read More)

REIT Cites Amex Warning

Capital Alliance Income Ltd., a residential mortgage real estate investment trust based in San Francisco, has reported receiving notification from the American Stock Exchange that it is not in compliance with Amex's continued listing standards. (Read More)

Moody's Eyes Merrill CMBS Classes

Three classes of Merrill Lynch Mortgage Investors Inc. Office Portfolio Trust commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2001-HRPT, have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Fitch Eyes BALL CMBS Class

Class K of Banc of America Large Loans Inc.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2004-BBA4, has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Mortgage Market Not Catering to Latinos?

"The structure of today's mortgage market does not serve Latinos well," a housing policy analyst for the National Council of La Raza told a Federal Reserve Board hearing June 9. (Read More)

Coalition Cites 'Problematic Brokers'

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is "extremely troubled" about the mortgage originations market and "problematic brokers," NCRC executive vice president David Berenbaum testified at the Fed hearing in Philadelphia. (Read More)

10-Year Trading Below 5%

The long-term rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield has begun to trade more frequently below 5%. (Read More)

RAIT Acquiring Taberna

RAIT Investment Trust, a Philadelphia-based commercial real estate lender, is acquiring Taberna Realty Finance Trust, a private Philadelphia CRE lender, for 0.5389 of a RAIT share per Taberna common share. (Read More)

G&L Realty to Dissolve

G&L Realty Corp., Beverly Hills, Calif., has announced the redemption of its preferred stock and the filing of articles of dissolution with the state of Maryland. (Read More)

Wells to Roll Out 'Steps to Success'

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa,, has announced that it will roll out by year-end a three-part program to help improve the financial well-being of customers who close on a new nonprime home mortgage loan. (Read More)

Last FHLBank Files With SEC

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh has filed a Form 10 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which means all 12 FHLBanks have now published current financial statements, according to the FHLBank System's Office of Finance. (Read More)

Euro Bank Raises Rates

The European Central Bank has raised rates 25 basis points. (Read More)

RAMP ABS Class Downgraded

Class M-3 of RAMP mortgage asset-backed pass-through certificates, series 2003-RP1, has been downgraded from BB to CCC and assigned a Distressed Recovery rating of DR3 by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Feedback

How is "payment shock" calculated? (Read More)

Opteum Buys Baytree Assets

Opteum Financial Services LLC, a mortgage lender based in Paramus, N.J., has announced the acquisition of certain assets of Baytree Lending Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Baytree National Bank and Trust Co. based in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. (Read More)

NCC Expands Central American Housing Biz

National City Corp. has received approval from the Overseas Private Investment Corp. for securing a $350 million lending facility to expand international housing loan business in signatory countries of the Central American-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement. (Read More)

Blackstone Closes RE 'Opportunity' Fund

The Blackstone Group, a New York-based private investment fund, has closed a real estate opportunity fund with total commitments of $5.25 billion, according to Blackstone. (Read More)

Morgan Credit Hires Wholesale Execs

Wes Iseley and Arvin Wijay have been hired by Morgan Stanley Credit Corp. in Orange County, Calif., to help build "a world-class wholesale [mortgage] lending platform," according to Morgan Stanley. (Read More)

Earnings Jumped for Pittsburgh FHLBank

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh reported a 61% jump in earnings in 2005 and a 22% increase in advances in filing its first annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More)

Fitch: CMBS Defaults Fell in '05

Defaults on loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities declined last year for the second year in a row, according to an annual study by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Foreclosures Reported Rising Fast in S. Florida

Foreclosures have been rising sharply in South Florida since January, with Broward County topping the list with a 50% increase, according to Default Research Inc., a foreclosure research company based in Mt. Pleasant, Pa. (Read More)

Lehman CMBS Classes Downgraded

Two classes from Lehman Brothers floating-rate commercial mortgage trust 2002-LLF C3 have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

CSFB MH Classes Downgraded

Two certificates from CSFB manufactured housing pass-through certificates series 2002-MH3 have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. (Read More)

Birch CDO Class Downgraded

Class B-1 of Birch Real Estate CDO I Ltd./Birch Real Estate CDO I Corp., a collateralized debt obligation consisting mainly of residential mortgage-backed securities, has been downgraded from BBB to BB by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Treasury Eyes GSE Debt Approval Process

The Treasury Department has served notice that its automatic approvals of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's debt issuance is now under review in light of the accounting scandals at the two GSEs and continued weaknesses in their accounting systems, risk management practices, and internal controls. (Read More)

Bernanke Touts Disclosures for IO, Option ARMs

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke says good disclosures on interest-only and payment-option ARMs are "very important" and should adequately address the risks associated with these nontraditional adjustable-rate mortgages. (Read More)

LandAm Buys Servicing Tech Provider

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va., has announced the acquisition of MSTD Inc., a Baltimore-based provider of Web-based technology to the mortgage servicing industry. (Read More)

S&P: Reverse Deals 'Ripe to Explode'

Only a handful of reverse-mortgage securitizations have been done so far, but conditions are "ripe for the market to explode," according to a new report from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. (Read More)

Fitch Warns on Windstorm Insurance

The values of U.S. commercial real estate properties in coastal areas may suffer -- and affect commercial mortgage-backed securities -- as insurance companies reduce loss exposure to hurricane-prone areas, according to Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Bear Stearns Names CMBS Research Chief

Marielle Jan de Beur has been named to head global commercial mortgage-backed securities research at Bear, Stearns & Co., New York. (Read More)

Zacks Tags Block 'Bear of the Day'

Zacks Equity Research, Chicago, has made H&R Block its "Bear of the Day" -- a stock expected to underperform the markets over the next three to six months -- for June 13. (Read More)

Fannie Prices Benchmark Notes

Fannie Mae has priced $4 billion of 5.250% two-year Benchmark Notes and $3 billion of 5.375% 10-year Benchmark Notes. (Read More)

NovaStar Subs Close $1.2B Deal

NovaStar Financial Inc., a residential mortgage lender and portfolio investor based in Kansas City, Mo., has announced that its subsidiaries NovaStar Certificates Financing Corp. and NovaStar Mortgage Inc. recently securitized $1.2 billion of nonconforming mortgage assets. (Read More)

REIT Prices Note Offering

Hospitality Properties Trust, Newton, Mass., has priced an offering of $275 million of 6.30% senior unsecured notes due 2016. (Read More)

Pru CBO Classes Downgraded

Four classes of notes issued by Prudential Structured Finance CBO I, which are supported in part by residential mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

HUD to Review GSE Nonmortgage Holdings

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is launching a review of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's investment portfolios to see if the GSEs' nonmortgage investments are consistent with their housing mission. (Read More)

Panel OKs OFHEO, Ginnie, FDIC Nominees

The Senate Banking Committee has unanimously approved the president's nominees to head the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Ginnie Mae, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (Read More)

Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 534.4 to 571.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended June 9, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

2006 -- Record Year for ID Theft?

Today there are far more identities of U.S. residents on record than there are actual residents -- and the bad news is that 2006 is likely to be the worst year ever for identity theft, according to a company called Edentify. (Read More)

DeepGreen Introduces 30-Year HEL Direct

DeepGreen Financial, Cleveland, has announced the introduction of a 30-year fixed-rate home equity loan that is being offered direct to consumers. (Read More)

Fidelity Launches eRelease Payload

Fidelity National Information Services Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has announced the launch of eRelease Payload, an automated utility designed exclusively for the company's mortgage servicing package clients. (Read More)

Longview Fibre Move Augurs REIT Conversion

Longview Fibre Co., a Longview, Wash.-based timberlands owner and specialty paper manufacturer, has announced a special cash-and-stock distribution to its common shareholders in connection with a plan to convert to a real estate investment trust. (Read More)

Habitat KC, NovaStar Unveil Pilot

Habitat for Humanity Kansas City and NovaStar Financial Inc., Kansas City, Mo., have announced a pilot program under which NovaStar's mortgage servicing group is contributing personnel and systems to service mortgages owned by Habitat. (Read More)

SEC: Limit Fannie's Delisting Exemption

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox says the New York Stock Exchange should put a time limit on Fannie Mae's exemption from having its stock delisted because he doesn't want the GSE's exemption to become permanent. (Read More)

CharterMac Buys ARCap Investors

CharterMac, a New York-based commercial real estate lender, is acquiring ARCap Investors, Dallas, in a transaction that increases its exposure to the commercial mortgage-backed securities sector. (Read More)

Union Challenges Countrywide's Exec Comp

A stockholder proposal critical of Countrywide's executive compensation policies received a surprisingly strong 43% support at Countrywide Financial Corp.'s annual meeting June 14. (Read More)

House OKs Supplemental CDBG Funds

The House has approved a $94.5 billion supplemental appropriations bill that also provides $4.2 billion in additional Community Development Block Grants for Louisiana to help rebuild homes severely damaged in hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (Read More)

Would Loss of QSPEs Be 'Catastrophic'?

The loss of qualifying special-purpose entity status would have a potentially "catastrophic" impact on the commercial mortgage securitization business, according to Rick Jones, a lawyer with Dechert LLP, an international law firm. (Read More)

Rates Inch Up

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.62% to 6.63% over the seven-day period ended June 15, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. (Read More)

Fed: Housing Markets Still Cooling

Housing markets continued to cool over the past two months and demand for mortgage loans has slowed, according to the newly released Beige Book by the Federal Reserve Board. (Read More)

LoanPerformance Appoints COO

Dan Berman has been named chief operating officer of LoanPerformance, a San Francisco-based provider of residential mortgage data and analytics. (Read More)

Dividend Capital Names COO, CFO

John Biallas has been appointed chief operating officer of Dividend Capital Total Realty Trust, a Denver-based real estate investment trust, and Jim Giuliano has been named to replace him as chief financial officer and treasurer. (Read More)

MBA: Commercial/MF Debt Passes $2.7T

Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose 2.9% to surpass $2.7 trillion in the first quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

OFHEO Weak in GSE Portfolio Battle?

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is continuing to press Freddie Mac to limit the growth of its $723.8 billion portfolio, but director James Lockhart says he is negotiating from a "relatively weak" position because of his agency's limited powers. (Read More)

Senate Confirms 3 Nominees

The Senate has confirmed the president's picks to head the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Ginnie Mae, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (Read More)

Trade Groups Rebel Against Cap Rule

The Federal Housing Finance Board should withdraw a proposed rule that would require the Federal Home Loan Banks to increase retained earnings and buy back excess stock, according to six financial services trade groups. (Read More)

Global Inflation Deemed Still a Concern

A relative decline in inflation over the past few decades appears to be behind the "conundrum" of lower long-term rates and flatter yield curves seen around the world, but that doesn't make global inflation any less of a concern today, according to Federal Reserve Governor Randall S. Kroszner. (Read More)

Study: Housing Creates 487K Jobs in CA

Homebuilding contributes nearly $68 billion a year to California's economy and creates nearly 487,000 jobs, according to a study released on the eve of the industry's largest regional convention in San Francisco. (Read More)

Fitch: CMBS Delinquencies Decline

Delinquencies on commercial mortgage-backed securities resumed their downward trend in May, falling three basis points to 0.66%, according to a Fitch Ratings loan delinquency index. (Read More)

$50M MSR Portfolio for Sale

Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Denver, is brokering the sale of servicing rights on a $50 million portfolio of home loans. (Read More)

REIT Prices Stock Offering

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, a real estate investment trust based in Pasadena, Calif., has priced a follow-on public offering of 3.3 million shares of common stock at $84 per share. (Read More)

Phoenix CDO Classes Downgraded

Two classes of notes issued by Phoenix CDO II Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation that includes mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

Feedback

A recent Grapevine posting headed "Let's talk ethics..." had drawn more than 170 responses as of midday Friday. (Read More)

Home Loan Delinquency Rate Drops

The percentage of home loans that are past due or in foreclosure showed widespread improvement in the first quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. (Read More)

States Eyeing Products, Fed Proposal

State regulators are working on underwriting guidance for interest-only and payment-option mortgages and they are soliciting comments on a federal proposal from state-licensed mortgage lenders and brokers. (Read More)

FHA Seeks to Offer LIBOR ARMs

The Federal Housing Administration wants to offer a LIBOR-rate ARM product to catch up with market trends and to increase demand for FHA adjustable-rate mortgages and hybrids. (Read More)

10-Year Yield Back Above 5%

The long-term rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield has been trading in a higher range above 5% once again. (Read More)

B&C REIT Cuts Dividend Guidance

Fieldstone Investment Corp., a Columbia, Md.-based real estate investment trust whose primary subsidiary originates subprime mortgage loans, has cut its 2006 dividend guidance for 2006. (Read More)

Single-Family Starts Rise

Single-family housing starts unexpectedly rose 2.1% in May even though builders are taking an increasingly negative view of market conditions. (Read More)

Talent Bill May Spur Senate on FHA

Senator Jim Talent, R-Mo., has introduced a Federal Housing Administration reform bill -- boosting chances the Senate will take some action this year on the reform measure that has the backing of the Bush administration. (Read More)

Supreme Court to Eye OCC Preemption

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to review the Comptroller of the Currency's preemption regulations that shield the mortgage subsidiaries of national banks from state regulation and consumer protection laws. (Read More)

'Risks Differ in 30+ Amortizations'

Mortgage products with amortization terms of more than 30 years present "markedly" different risk profiles for different product types, according to a recent study by Fitch Ratings. (Read More)

New Tech to Aid Brokers/Wholesalers

Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Martopia has partnered with RGC Communications to offer a new online service that helps wholesale lenders assist their brokers with marketing efforts. (Read More)

U.S./Euro MBS Pricing Service Launched

Standard & Poor's has started a Web-based service that provides day-end pricing for international, fixed income securities, among them European and U.S. commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities. (Read More)

House Okays Key FHA Reforms

The House has passed key Federal Housing Administration reforms advocated by the Bush administration as part of a HUD appropriations bill that is now pending in the Senate. (Read More)

Applications Dip

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 571.9 to 567.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended June 16, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Read More)

Alterian, Intellidyn Form Partnership

Leveraging the powerful Alterian Engine and database, Alterian has announced a partnership with the Intellidyn marketing firm to offer mortgage industry customers a "hands-on" analytics platform that lets them manage marketing campaigns onsite. (Read More)

Freddie Names Market Risk SVP

Manoj Singh has been named senior vice president of market risk oversight at Freddie Mac. (Read More)

InSouth Funding Names CEO, COO

Helena Dabrowski has been named chief executive officer of InSouth Funding Inc., a Naples, Fla.-based subsidiary of InSouth Bank that specializes in providing warehouse lines for mortgage bankers. (Read More)

Finance Network Names SVP

Laura Sparks has been named senior vice president of financial services at The Opportunity Finance Network, a Philadelphia-based national network of financial institutions that is planning to launch a residential mortgage platform. (Read More)

FirstAm to Offer Title Insurance in Poland

Poland is the newest market in which The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., will offer title insurance. (Read More)

FHLBanks Price $3B Global Bond

The Federal Home Loan Banks have priced a $3 billion, 5.375%, three-year global bond due July 17, 2009. (Read More)

Fannie Prices