Loan Think

In case you're wondering Aurora Loan Services is still open for business, or so says its website. As you might recall, ALS was ultimately owned by the new bankrupt Lehman Brothers. But, as a technical matter, ALS (a subprime/alt-A servicer) was/is a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers Bank and not a part of the Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. bankruptcy filing. ALS stopped funded loans well over a year ago but remains as a servicer with a portfolio of roughly $100 billion. Its executives aren't exactly a talkative bunch. As for its future…

When M&A specialist Jordan Brown at MarketWise Advisors told me that we were going to experience the heaviest tech M&A spree ever, he wasn’t kidding. In just the last month there have been three high-profile mortgage technology vendors getting acquired or acquiring others. The goal seems to be who can be more end-to-end as compared to the next guy. With assets cheap it makes sense to buy, but I wonder if the goal of offering an end-to-end technology can ever be fulfilled.

With JPMorgan's recent announcement that it would exit the wholesale channel, rumors have spread concerning which firm might bolt next. Sources tell us that Flagstar Bancorp is committed to the channel, as is Taylor, Bean & Whitaker. One former wholesale executive told us recently that "a couple small, well-run privates are swamped" with applications. Stay tuned…

The mortgage landscape is rapidly changing before our eyes. There is a new administration, increases in regulations and significant layoffs during these tough economic times. Both lenders and vendors are challenged to develop innovative solutions to address these issues head on. In developing these innovative solutions, lenders and vendors may have addressed their specific product and service offerings, but are they positioned for success?

Now that Treasury is once again considering buying troubled mortgages (and placing them in a government controlled "bad bank)some 'scratch and dent' investors are wondering whether such a move will deter banks, thrifts, and investment banking firms from selling their non-performing and sub-performing portfolios. When the TARP plan was first being put together this fall some sellers put their auctions on-hold waiting to see what price the Treasury would establish for non-performing product...

I read with great interest over the weekend an article in the New York Times. It appears the middle class in China, especially those that are educated, are "shocked that prosperity is not guaranteed." I think a few of us in the United States have the same lack of respect for history.

Body language expert Carol Kinsey Goman knows that nonverbal signals play a key role in helping people form quick impressions. "Our ability to instantly read body language is one of our basic survival instincts and can be traced back to primeval origins. But, as innate as this ability may be, not all of our first impressions are accurate," she said.

Consultant Marsha Egan has written a new book calling for people to shed the dead weight from their e-mail inbox and take control of their personal and professional productivity. She declared the second annual "Clean Out Your Inbox Week" for the last week of January. During this week, companies and organizations are encouraged to implement best practices for e-mail use in an effort to boost productivity.

In these times when companies are making staff reductions, leaders have to make their employees understand that they are more than an equation on a balance sheet, according to an expert on leadership.

Greenwich Capital, a unit of Royal Bank of Scotland, is peddling a $90 million portfolio of mostly performing loans, according to one investor. He said that early on Greenwich was asking 80 cents on the dollar for the portfolio. Its asking price has since fallen to about 50 cents. Meanwhile RBS is (more or less) owned by the British government. Earlier this past week the U.K. central bank agreed to buy 50 billion pounds ($73 billion) of assets from RBS. Greenwich now employs a bunch of traders who used to work for Bear Stearns. And it was Greenwich that provided warehouse financing and securitized subprime mortgages for both Ameriquest and Argent Mortgage, two now-defunct subprime lenders controlled by the late Roland Arnall…