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Conference Calendar

Conference Calendar

March 21 - 23
14th Annual National Collections & Credit Risk Conference
SourceMedia Conferences
InterContinental Miami
Miami, FL
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April 8 - 9
4th Annual Mortgage Servicing Conference
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Westin Galleria
Dallas, TX
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April 8 - 9
4th Annual Mortgage Servicing Conference
SourceMedia Conferences
Westin Galleria
Dallas, TX
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Blog of the Week

Join the Discussion!

Each week we will feature a mortgage blog from one of our writers on various topics of interest. To add your two cents, click on the link below, scroll down to the bottom of the blog, type into the comments box, and click submit.

Keeping it Short - Mark Fogarty discusses short sales in his latest On the Road Again blog post.

Click here to read the details.

Lead Story

5% Risk Retention Rule May Be a Boon to REITs

By Paul Muolo

Paul Muolo

While nonbank mortgage lenders fret that MBS "risk retention" language in Sen. Christopher Dodd's new bill could hammer their industry even more, forcing smaller players to sell out to the mega banks, there are new concerns that maybe, for once, the "big boys" could actually suffer a bit.

And not only will the mega banks suffer, but it appears that real estate investment trusts that are itching to enter the jumbo securitization market could be a major beneficiary.

The issues, for sure, are complicated. For now, it's a given that MBS collateralized by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA/VA loans will be exempt from a 5% risk retention requirement -- or at least that's what the industry is betting on. "A carveout of some type, granting an exemption will probably happen," said Anne Canfield, executive director of the Consumer Mortgage Coalition, a trade group, that despite its name, actually represents some of the nation's largest banks.

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Daily Briefing for March 19, 2010

HUD Deluged with Questions on GFE and Transfer Tax

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is getting deluged with many questions from mortgage bankers regarding the new good-faith estimate form, in particular the treatment of the real estate transfer tax, according to a top official at the agency. Read more...

Fannie as Bearish as MBA on Production Forecast

The first two months of the year have been weak in terms of loan applications and a new forecast from Fannie Mae suggests that 2010 will result in just $1.32 trillion in residential loans being funded this year. Read more...

Shelby Adamant on CFPB Being Under a Bank Regulator

A federal consumer protection bureau should be under the oversight of banking regulators and coordinate its activities with those regulators, according to Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. Read more...

FHA Originations Dip 10% in Month

Mortgage bankers originated $26.9 billion of Federal Housing Administration-backed single-family loans in January, a 10% decline from the previous month, according to a new government report. Read more...

Loan Mods Could Get Complicated in California

Even as the federal government prods the mortgage industry to avoid foreclosures through loan modifications and short sales, California may soon let such help become costlier for borrowers. Read more...

Wells Jumps on Second Lien Mod Program

Wells Fargo & Co. became the second mortgage servicer to agree to a government plan to modify the second liens of borrowers who have received a modification of their first mortgage. Read more...

First American Releases New Fraud Figures

Nationwide, one in every 200 funded residential loans is fraudulent, according to new figures released by First American CoreLogic. Read more...

Judge Dismisses Subprime Suit Against CIBC

A federal judge has dismissed a shareholder lawsuit against Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and four executives for allegedly misleading investors about the bank's exposure to securities backed by subprime mortgages. Read more...

HPI Index Shows Narrowing Annual Price Decline

Home price declines will continue into the spring before beginning to stabilize and then recover modestly in the remainder of the year, according to the January Loan Performance Home Price Index from First American CoreLogic. Read more...

Freddie Offering Multifamily MBS

Freddie Mac is coming to market with a $1.1 billion MBS backed by multifamily loans. Read more...

Average 30-Year FRM Rates Hardly Budge

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose slightly in the most recent week while shorter-term rates were mixed, according to Freddie Mac's primary market survey. Read more...

Editor's Choice

HVCC Hasn’t Caused Lenders to Look to Technology

The Home Valuation Code of Conduct was devised to curd appraisal fraud. Has it worked? Some say yes and others say no. What is not debatable is that an overwhelming majority of respondents to this publication—80% in total—say lenders are not using technology to the fullest to comply with HVCC.
Click here to read the details.

Other Voices

This story is from our sister publication, American Banker

Collection, Credit Issues Spur Lawsuits

By Darren Waggoner, Collectionscreditrisk.com , American Banker

Lawsuits filed in federal courts involving collection and credit issues surged in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 as more Americans struggled with foreclosures and consumer debt.

The fiscal 2009 numbers released this week by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts showed that suits filed by individuals or state regulators under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, and Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, had climbed 53% from the year earlier, to 6,463.

Read more...

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