THIS JUST IN: Bank of America is contemplating ending its warehouse unit's “early purchase program” by yearend, according to one source familiar with the matter. If so, that means nonbanks that originate mortgages in the primary market with B of A warehouse money and then sell that production to its correspondent group (through a captive arrangement) could be out of luck. Then again, we understand that plenty of warehouse lenders are lining up to crib the bank's warehouse clients which total about 160. Stay tuned…
This past week we reported that Nationstar Mortgage is taking a look at B of A's correspondent unit. It sounds a bit screwy since NSM is owned by a publicly traded fund whose stock price is about $3 a share. When asked where NSM might get the money to fund such a huge operation, one investment banker told us: “Wall Street”…
Does Federal Housing Finance Agency director “Quiet” Ed DeMarco have a number on his back? Does the White House want him out because he's standing in the way of a massive program to refi $2 trillion in loans? Is he also standing in the way of a GSE “Rent to Own” program? The FHFA chief, a career regulator, doesn't exactly have a working relationship with this columnist. And supposedly he took some heat from parts of the Obama administration for suing the 17 gentlemanly investment banking firms that sold subprime garbage (OK, at the time of issuance it was AAA-rated, but so, too, was the U.S. government at one time) to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Let me state for the record: If DeMarco had let the statute of limitations lapse and failed to sue the 17 firms someone in Congress would've hauled him up to Capitol Hill to ask why. Then again, maybe not. The House majority is so pro-business that they probably wouldn't have bothered. Anyway, the FHFA is going after the D&O money. Don't know what D&O stands for? Read the Monday paper version of National Mortgage News. Don't subscribe? Call 800-221-1809…
Meanwhile, one source who does legal work for the GSEs told us that several of the defendants in the FHFA case had tolling agreements in place…
As we noted in our Web story, the FHFA sued many executives who signed the shelf registration forms on the bonds Fannie and Freddie bought. But why weren't the subprime MBS salesmen and traders sued? Many of those traders are named in the book, “Chain of Blame, How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis.” Sorry, I couldn't help plugging the book one last time…
Caliber Funding of Texas is looking to hire loan officers. Meanwhile, business is booming at CMG Mortgage of San Ramon, Calif., but CEO Chris George told us that he's not ready to hire, and instead is offering current staffers plenty of overtime. George's two biggest concerns related to hiring include the QRM test (unsettled at this point) and the cost of providing health insurance to his workers…
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Jeff Horwitz, a reporter for our sister publication American Banker, had an interesting story this past week. Here's just a taste: Many of the country's largest banks received $6 billion in kickbacks from mortgage insurers over the course of a decade, according to a previously undisclosed investigation by the inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The allegations, since referred to the Department of Justice, stem from lenders' demand that insurers cut them in on the lucrative business of insuring the mortgages they produced during the housing boom. In exchange for the their business, companies such as Citigroup, Wells Fargo, SunTrust Banks and Countrywide allegedly required reinsurance partnerships on generous terms that violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, a 1974 law prohibiting abusive home sales practices. During a two-day presentation in the summer of 2009, HUD's team presented DOJ attorneys with a thick binder of evidence that major banks had engineered a decade-long kickback scheme, people familiar with the investigation say…
Here's a pop quiz: Which part of the housing industry has been quietly violating RESPA for years? Know the answer? Drop me a line at
PUT IT ON THE CALENDAR: Bank of America will report third-quarter results (not necessarily earnings) on Oct. 18. Chances are much will be revealed about its mortgage wind-down…
WASHINGTON NEWS: The Senate Banking Committee this past week approved a bipartisan bill to reform the National Flood Insurance Program, extending it out for five more years. The legislation phases out subsidized insurance rates for second and vacation homes over four years. (Reporting by NMN's Brian Collins.)
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Stephen Ledbetter is departing Ginnie Mae for the FDIC. At GNMA he serves as vice president of MBS. Former Mortgage Bankers Association chief executive John Courson has joined Treliant Risk Advisors as a senior advisor. Treliant is a consulting, compliance and strategic advisory firm. And Tom Cronin has unretired, accepting a post with The Collingwood Group…
MUST ATTEND MORTGAGE CONFERENCES: On Sept. 19-20 NMN and SourceMedia will hold its Mortgage Regulatory Forum show at the Washington Marriott in the nation's capital. Speakers include OCC chief John Walsh, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and some congressman from Massachusetts whose last name is Frank. More info visit
IMPORTANT DATA STUFF: MortgageStats.com is alive and well. This exclusive only data website has been updated to include not only full year 2010 figures but first- and second-quarter 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
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THE LAST WORD: Never Forget.
