Loan Think

Now is the time to start doing what is necessary for success.

Social media seems to be the new buzzword for commerce of all varieties these days. Big and small businesses are seeing the power of reaching out virally through social networking platforms. Consumers, especially those in the Gen X and Y sector, are seeking advice and information from these resources before making their purchasing decisions. If you aren't online, in a variety of ways, you may not be considered of value.

Here are a few "housecleaning" items to start the new year. At the top of the list, a correction. I recently reported that New York Community Bank was going to sell a large chunk of the AmTrust servicing portfolio. The portfolio eventually will be sold but the seller won't be NYCB. It will be the FDIC, which kept the receivables and didn't pass them on to NYCB which purchased AmTrust in early December. Sorry about that. And in a related matter, there's some good news for the wholesale/broker community. NYCB recently told our colleague Marc Hochstein of the American Banker that it will "continue to operate" AmTrust's third-party wholesale channel. Of course, this raises a question: If NYCB is keeping AmTrust's wholesale division why didn't it take control of that thrift's servicing portfolio? NYCB has never been a player in single-family lending/servicing. Its forte has been multifamily. Then again, with single-family profit margins on new originations strong, NYCB likes what it sees, at least for now. AmTrust's EVP in charge of mortgage banking is Jon Baymiller. A few years back Mr. Baymiller was promoted to that position when the institution was known as Ohio Savings Bank...

Before we continue our discussion about the books I read, let me go over the four areas you should be looking to cover in your reading:

As many readers of this column know, I try to focus on practical items that affect the "on the street" loan originator who is in the reverse arena. No pie in the sky, no using the readers as guinea pigs for a new untested strategy. With that in mind, I'm throwing out a call to action: What is it that you want to see in this column in 2010? Are you looking for marketing strategies? Have you been relying on direct mail that is just not producing results anymore? Maybe it's a script that needs tweaking. Having trouble with that "kitchen table talk?" Wish you could increase your closing ratio? Perhaps if you are new to the reverse space it's something more basic.

The trend for 2010 is for businesses to be spending more money on their online marketing efforts. That is according to a study reported by The Herman Group, Greensboro, N.C., in its most recent Herman Trend Alert.

FORMER FUGITIVE OUT OF SAN DIEGO ARRESTED AND INDICTED ON MORTGAGE FRAUD CHARGES

In the last edition of this blog I mourned the loss of an electronic mortgage pioneer, AmTrust. As it turns out, that obituary was premature and this mortgage technology editor couldn’t be happier. New information has come to light that will make e-mortgage believers very happy, indeed.

It's the end of the year and what better time to take stock and throw out three "wishes" for 2010. Most of these - as you might expect - are mortgage related. So, here goes:

It's all about making someone pay, isn't it? When Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac get stuck with a delinquent loan they try to force a seller/servicer to repurchase the mortgage. Of course, they have that right, depending on 'reps and warranties,' the underlying contractual terms, and (this is the big one) fraud. As NMN's Brian Collins reported recently, the GSEs are trying to get some of their largest seller/servicers to repurchase millions of dollars in troubled loans. Meanwhile, the lenders try to recoup their losses via claims they put in with mortgage insurance companies. But the MIs -- which have already shelled out billions in claim payments -- aren't rolling over so easily anymore. In a complaint filed in Superior Court of California, Bank of America alleged that MGIC is denying "millions of dollars in valid mortgage insurance claims" the lender has submitted. A spokeswoman for BoA -- the nation's largest funder of residential loans -- would not discuss the situation in depth with our sister publication American Banker. MGIC says in a Securities and Exchange filing that it will "vigorously" defend itself against the BoA lawsuit...