Loan Think

So your underwriter wants to work from home? Beyond the concerns most employers would typically have, financial services firms must carefully consider the security of private customer financial data before deciding whether, how and which employees can work remotely.

Most of use would agree that mortgage business is tough these days. Guidelines tightening, rules changing, compliance issues, companies downsizing. There can be a crisis on every turn and plenty to worry about on a daily basis. In fact, you could let the stress of the business overwhelm you to the point that it affects your health, and ultimately even the number of your days.

Perhaps, banks that have been exiting the residential finance space will look really stupid if housing and mortgages recover. Figures released Thursday suggest that delinquencies are falling but a huge overhang of foreclosures is on the way. Corporate earnings are at record levels, employment is rising, and just maybe, maybe housing is on the mend. But a huge stumbling block remains: ultra tight underwriting standards.

Taking a trip? Most prudent travelers create some sort of plan before venturing on any type of journey. Where to begin the trip, what items to pack and what markers you'll encounter to aid in getting to your destination are just a few of the details to be addressed.

Last summer when MetLife revealed that it would sell its "forward" mortgage business the company did something smart for its workers: it paid for its loan officers to take classes and obtain their state licenses.

Last week I wrote about the need for marketing to connect with the consumer on an emotional level. This is especially true if the product you are selling is or nearly is a commodity.

Boxing reminds me a lot of today's lenders. Most lenders get into the ring every day, fighting until someone drops. The reason however is not to win a match, but to prevent a repurchase.

Politicians - including those in the White House - continue to jawbone about how the private sector needs to step up and create a whole new securitization market that some day will replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This effort - supposedly - starts with the safest non GSE product out there: jumbo loans where well-heeled borrowers put down (say) 10% and are so filthy rich that their chance of default is next to nil.

I've lived (and originated loans) in three states over the last 10 years and an interesting thing happen one day. I got a call on my home phone from an old client. This was a client I had helped a numbers of years earlier, in another state.

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a "Blueprint for an America Built to Last," calling for, among other things, action to help responsible borrowers and support a housing market recovery.