Paul Muolo

National Creditors Connections Inc., Lake Forest, Calif., is in a hiring mode, tripling its loss mitigation staff to 65 full-timers since January.

MGIC Investment Corp., the nation's largest mortgage insurer, posted a net loss of $165 million in the third quarter while revenue and new policies written continued to slide amid a depressed housing market.

Not only are lenders 'dinging' consumers with all sorts of 'loan level price adjustments' but it appears a somewhat quiet problem is affecting the nation's megabanks: their inability to close loans quickly. A retail loan officer for a top five lender told me this week that he has one refinancing deal that has been in the works since May.

Residential delinquencies fell to 8.09% in September, a slight decline from the prior month but an almost 13% improvement from the same month a year ago, according to new "First Look" figures compiled by Lender Processing Services.

As I write this the Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing on the pros and cons of Uncle Sam subsidizing 30-year fixed rate mortgages, which is right up there with Mom, apple pies and Chevrolets in terms of sacredness. But to read Sen. Richard Shelby's opening remarks regarding the hearing you might gather that this Republican from Alabama is not a big fan of the product.

Wells Fargo & Co. has been the market leader in residential fundings for two years now -- but never before has it opened up such a wide lead over its two closest competitors, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.

Not too long ago I was talking with one mortgage industry veteran who confessed to me that he was renting a home in Florida and absolutely loved it. The rent was quite reasonable and if something went wrong with the mechanics he just called the landlord.

U.S. Bancorp, a top ranked player in residential mortgages, reported $17.2 billion of originations in the third quarter, more than double its home funding production in the prior period.

Morgan Stanley & Co. last week took a final round of bids on its residential servicing division, Saxon Mortgage, Ft. Worth, Texas, which holds $28 billion of contracts on its books, according to investment banking officials familiar with the situation.

Clayton Holdings, Shelton, Conn., Tuesday announced the formation of a new securitization group to aid the industry in what it hopes will be a revival of the private label MBS market.

Are loan brokers being recruited by some of their wholesalers to become retail loan officers? The answer to that question is yes. We all know someone (or quite a few someones) who have thrown in the broker towel because it's easier to work for a bank with money.

The Collingwood Group, an advisory firm based in Washington, has added yet another industry veteran to its staff – Ray Romano, a former senior vice president of credit risk for Freddie Mac.

Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Denver, is auctioning off a $57 million portfolio of bulk servicing rights for an undisclosed seller.

When it comes to mortgage banking, Bank of America hasn't had a good month. Over the past few weeks it has suspended cash-out refis on government loans, announced that the sale of its correspondent division had fallen through and lost one of its top retail loan officers to a competitor.

Essent, the privately held 'new' player in the mortgage insurance space, has yet to give out any volume numbers on its new policies written, but from what we're hearing the firm is making its presence known.

Now that Bank of America has signaled its intention to exit the correspondent lending arena, speculation is centering on the next mortgage shoe to drop at the company: warehouse credit and whether it might have a successor of sorts.

This past Thursday we got to spend some time on the phone with Bank of America’s top consumer sales executive for mortgages, Matthew J. Vernon, who has a message for the industry: B of A is committed to retail lending—and retaining its top LOs. Vernon said the bank also is actively recruiting LOs from other shops. (And as well all know, B of A has lost a few top producers itself). For the full story see the Monday edition of National Mortgage News. Don’t subscribe? Call 800-221-1809…

The news that insurance company MetLife is giving up on mortgage banking is not something the industry likes to hear. What makes it so odd is that MetLife has only been in the business for three years and has no “legacy” issues to speak of.

Over the past month two mortgage insurance firms have halted the writing of new coverage because of a lack of capital. Add that to the continued liquidation of another troubled insurer, Triad Guaranty, and you can boldly state that 38% of the MI industry is toast.

Three years after making a big splash in mortgages and then growing its business to become the 12th largest in the U.S., insurance conglomerate MetLife is now throwing in the towel on residential finance.