Loan Think

The goals of any marketing campaign include keeping the company's name out in front of the public as well as giving the public a reason to come into the company's offices. A British bank and mortgage lender may have found an offbeat way to achieve both of those.

The National Association of Realtors wants to make it very clear: if it weren't for stingy mortgage bankers and certain appraisers, home sales would be better.

There's been occasional chatter among bottom feeders that Fannie Mae is contemplating selling nonperforming loans in the secondary market. Why sell an NPL instead of real estate? Mortgage professionals can answer that question themselves. Meanwhile, Fannie supposedly has a bulk REO package out for bid. An investor who viewed the offering circular (online, that is) said one segment on properties in the Indiana market has been labeled "Basketball"…

ILLINOIS BONDING REQUIREMENTS increase effective Dec. 31. The rate is $25,000 to $150,000 depending on the total loan officer volume. (I hope you have a lot of volume)Surety Bond Volume Requirements:

THIS JUST IN: Not only does IBM plan on making a huge splash in the mortgage servicing business by amassing MSRs and subservicing contracts, but the technology giant recently hired a business manager to help it find deals. On Thursday, National Mortgage News broke a story on its website about IBM taking over MSRs for JPMorgan Chase. We're working on a large feature about the MSR issue which will appear in the paper version of NMN. Don't subscribe? Call: (800)221-1809…

As I noted in a recent column, the residential servicing business is about to get a lot more interesting — especially in the wake of Basel III deciding that mortgage servicing rights can only count for 10% of capital. (Regulators are allowing for a multi-year phase-in period.)

The mail bag is getting full from all the angry comments I received regarding the Federal Reserve rule designed to control loan broker and LO compensation. Here's an interesting note from 'Larry in Illinois' who writes, "It's outrageous that the government can restrict compensation paid to loan officers. The amount of time and work required to move the borrower from application to closing is extensive. The loan officer isn't compensated unless the loan closes. If we had the same lobbyist that the National Rifle Association has, this bill would have never passed or would be overturned. I think the NAMB should contact the NRA for advice and get this Todd bill overturned." In my recent column on the issue I also forgot to mention that the Fed's point man on LO compensation, Paul Mondor, used to work at the Mortgage Bankers Association...

I know that may sound like a strange title but stay with me, OK? This morning like every morning I looked at my horoscope in the paper. By the way I am a Virgo. Today’s reads “Multi- tasking is the only way you can be sure of accomplishing your goals.”

When it comes to the stock market, a day is just a snapshot, but what a snapshot it can be. On Tuesday morning stocks were down by almost 200 points, but the bigger concern is the rising yield on the 10-year Treasury bond: 2.94% as I write this. As we all know, mortgages are priced off the 10-year government bond, which means the robust refi business could get nicked a bit.

For all of the effort put on brand development, marketing and advertising, it still comes down spending money on employee development in the area of customer service to be successful in sales, according to a report from the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement.