Loan Think

Mortgagees will be able to view sponsored originator performance information in Neighborhood Watch. On a monthly basis, FHA will aggregate sponsored originator performance for a rolling two year period. A link to the sponsored originator performance will be added under the Early Warnings menu selection.

THIS JUST IN: A top-ranked residential servicer, whose platform is in located in the middle of the country (that narrows it down), is on the auction block again, or so we hear. But this firm is also hiring some LOs and retail managers, including Orange County, Calif. Sounds confusing, but maybe it's not. For the full story see the Monday paper edition of National Mortgage News.

The nation's foreclosure mess has definitely slowed sales of nonperforming mortgages because investors in these troubled notes are worried about title issues. (We're told that bid prices have skidded a bit and in some cases auctions have been delayed.) But there's an also an emerging school of thought that says banks may actually step up NPL sales because they, increasingly, have the financial strength to whether the hits – foreclosure crisis or not. We're also starting to see some action in the sale of troubled servicing rights. Interactive Mortgage Advisors of Denver is currently peddling a $2.2 billion portfolio of alt-A servicing that has 13.91% in delinquencies, and 17.21% of foreclosures. For more details on the IMA offering see the National Mortgage News website at: www.nationalmortgagenews.com...

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If you're looking for more evidence that well capitalized nonbanks (and REITs) are plotting to make major inroads into mortgage banking in the next few years, look no further than Kislak Mortgage of Florida. The privately held nonbank has just hired former Chase and Aurora Loan Services CEO Tom Wind to manage their growing company.

Mortgage servicers may want to send a bouquet of flowers to Wells Fargo CFO Howard Atkins who — based on his conference call comments this morning — appears to be standing up to the media pack of wolves that has been portraying most mortgage firms as Bozo the Clown when it comes to foreclosures. Atkins told analysts and reporters that the nation's foreclosure mess is "overstated" and "misrepresented."

As I noted over the weekend, there is a group of five Fannie Mae subservicers called the 'Fannie Fabulous Five' who serve as the GSE's 'go-to-guy' when Fannie doesn't like the way one of its customers is handling certain (shall we say) 'high touch product.'

Many small business owners use a credit card opened in the name of their firm to buy things for their company. But a new federal law that regulates rates and fees on consumer credit cards does not cover these cards.

Investors in bank stocks are not happy campers these days. On Monday morning Citigroup reported earnings of $2.2 billion in 3Q. But its stock is up all of 17 cents to $4.12, a not-so-whopping gain of 4%. Of course, Uncle Sam owns Citigroup and seeing that its stock was at just over $3 in the spring, perhaps taxpayers should be rejoicing.

The California 4th District Court of Appeal held that brokers for home sellers have a legal duty to tell buyers about mortgage problems such as a short sale where existing lender may not accept less than what is owed and that might prevent sales from closing. Brokers are "obligated to disclose to the buyers" when there is "a substantial risk that the seller [can] not transfer title free and clear of monetary liens and encumbrances."