Over the time span of about a month Bank of America has lost a top residential lending executive (Doug Jones) and its warehouse chief, industry veteran Paul Szymanski. Both were hired away by PennyMac, a tiny (in comparison to B of A, at least) publicly traded REIT. In normal times it would be unheard of to go from a megabank to a small shop but we’re living in anything but normal times. Indeed, the defections tell us a lot about what’s happening at the megabank in regard to its residential business. The rumor mill has been running wild the past three months about B of A and its future in mortgages. Those rumors come from people who claim to be in the know and who have conducted business with the bank. There’s no need to repeat them here, but if you want to know more drop me a line at:
As for PennyMac, its foray into warehouse/correspondent is an interesting development in its own right. Keep in mind that the REIT was launched with the intent of buying delinquent loans on the cheap and curing them. It would appear that perhaps Stan Kurland (PennyMac founder and CEO) may have other thoughts in mind…
And if you’re looking for a ranking of the nation’s top warehousers and correspondent lenders send a note to:
EDITORIAL NOTE: Reporters and copy editors will need to concentrate when it comes to spelling Syzmanski’s name. Hopefully B of A will name a successor with a simple name, something like Hall…
RULES, RULES, RULES: Late this past week HUD finalized its rule implementing the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008. K&L Gates reports that “Since the SAFE Act’s enactment in 2008, and particularly since HUD proposed its SAFE Act Rule in December 2009, the mortgage finance industry and state regulators have been waiting for guidance as to how to interpret and apply many of the SAFE Act’s provisions. HUD's final rule, which will become effective August 29, 2011, provides a few answers, defers some key concerns to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and ushers in some new concepts that will create further ambiguity as to who must be licensed as a mortgage loan originator.” In other words, don’t get out of bed in the morning without consulting your mortgage attorney…
A SIGN OF THE TIMES: Housing permits rose sharply in May in California to their highest level of the year -- but the gain was entirely in the multifamily sector, with single-family production actually falling in the month. (Reporting by NMN’s Lew Sichelman.)
WASHINGTON NEWS: The chief author of legislation to roll back the Comptroller of the Currency’s powers to preempt state consumer protection laws says he doesn’t want a bureaucrat “acting” as the comptroller to approve new rules governing the preemption provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. “I think an acting Comptroller should not set rules of this importance,” said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. “These rules should not be finalized until a permanent head of OCC is in place.” (President Obama has not nominated anyone to be the new comptroller yet and the Senate has been reluctant to confirm his regulatory nominees.) For nearly two decades, OCC expanded its preemptive powers through regulations and the courts to shield national banks from state consumer protections. This allowed national banks to ignore state laws curbing subprime and predatory lending practices in the years leading up to the financial crisis. (Reporting by NMN’s Brian Collins.)
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: PHH Corp. named Glen A. Messina its new chief operating officer. He will oversee, among other things, the operations of PHH Mortgage.
IMPORTANT DATA STUFF: MortgageStats.com has just been updated to include not only full year 2010 figures but first quarter 2011 information as well. MortgageStats boasts the nation’s top 400 lenders and servicers, including hard volume numbers and contact information. It also includes exclusive monthly analysis from me. (You can’t get this information anywhere else.) For more information drop an email to:
KEY CONFERENCE YOU NEED TO ATTEND: In the fall National Mortgage News will host a conference on the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. For more information drop a line to
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THE LAST WORD: What’s the difference between a press release and a statement? Answer: Nothing.
