Loan Think

There is still no word yet on the sale of $12 billion of jumbo servicing rights that belonged to the now-defunct Thornburg Mortgage of Santa Fe. We're assured the deal is coming. Then again, Thornburg (a nonbank) is in bankruptcy and one can never tell what a judge will do. Even though Thornburg went bust earlier this year, its credit quality was decent -- at least that's what its former CEO Larry Goldstone used to say. Then again, the 'Great Recession' has hurt all Americans, even jumbo borrowers. We keep hearing tales about jumbo lenders that are more than willing to extended credit on $750,000-plus homes but want the consumer to have at least 12 months of monthly payments to be held in reserve -- in a "lock box." Anyway, in Monday's National Mortgage News we're publishing an update on the state of jumbo lending in the U.S. The issue will be distributed at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association in San Diego...

This week I received a call from my uncle:

THIS JUST IN: Freddie Mac late Friday announced its warehouse lending pilot program and it's pretty much what we expected. Also, Fannie Mae is working on a similar pilot. But will any of this make a difference in the devastated warehouse niche? For the full analysis see the Monday print edition of National Mortgage News. Don't subscribe? Call: 800-221-1809. Meanwhile, the pilot will be "topic A" at the upcoming warehouse lenders' forum. This private little powwow is being held in San Diego at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association...

We're beginning to hear some talk that certain lenders are getting "aggressive" when it comes to jumbo lending. Of course, the "new" aggressive means they are willing to originate jumbo and "super" jumbo loans as long as the customer puts 20% down. All new production (as you may've guessed) is being housed on the balance sheet of the originating bank or thrift. (I've also heard talk that a certain hedge fund soon might be jumping into this market as a portfolio lender.) And who are the nation's top jumbo funders? According to the Alternative Products Quarterly Data Report, Bank of America led the market in the first-half with $20 billion in fundings. For the full ranking email: Deartra.Todd@SourceMedia.com...

With all of the bad news going on all around us I thought it might be a good idea to share some funny things with you. Of course there is also a marketing lesson.

After several months of talks with their regulator and customers (and plenty of rumors), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are coming to the rescue of non-bank mortgage firms that need warehouse credit. An announcement is expected any minute. As long as a lender has a commitment to purchase a newly originated loan from a GSE the capital charge against an outstanding line of credit should not be a problem -- or so we are told. For the full story (with all the details) see the National Mortgage News website shortly. Meanwhile, NMN reporter Bradley Finkelstein is about to report on former Cityscape Mortgage chief Bob Grosser joining a luxury lender...

Seems like more often than not, the stories you see in the media about reverse mortgages are, well, less than complimentary. Let's face it they are down right ugly. Seniors are cautioned to be extra careful and our segment of the industry is labeled as the next subprime crisis. Gimme a break.

The 96th Annual Mortgage Bankers Convention in San Diego is quickly approaching. As both lenders and vendors seek to maximize their return on investment from trade shows, they may want to turn to social media technology. Social media technology uses the Internet and Web-based tools to encourage and facilitate online communication and social interaction.

Mortgage vulture funds that have been buying non-performing residential loans the past year may soon have a new problem to deal with -- portfolio run-off. According to one active bidder -- who refuses to overpay for NPLs -- "not a whole lot is trading out there right now." As already reported by National Mortgage News, banks that own large (and small) NPL portfolios increasingly seem reluctant to sell their damaged goods these days. However, there is hope that come year-end some banks and Wall Street firms might grin-and-bear it and finally unload some of their "toxic" assets to clean the slate for next year. Meanwhile, we understand that DebtX is instituting a new policy in regard to "vetting fees" for certain bidders. See the exclusive on the NMN website later today...

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