To all the dedicated readers of this column, it was nice serving you these past few years. Come Aug. 2 if those clowns in Congress (on both sides the aisle and in the White House) can’t reach a budget deal this is what will happen: the stock market will tank by 30%, and the yield on the 10-year will spike to say 6% (for starters) and then to 10% within a week if no deal is afoot. As for the unemployment rate, I’ll be out of a job and so will quite a few of our readers. My guess is unemployment will hit 20% within 30 days. Think I’m overreacting? Maybe. If the nation can’t pay its bills because it can no longer borrow money it will then have to make a choice: stopping paying certain bills, but pay others. Will it choose to let Granny’s Social Security payment lapse and pay its bondholders over in China? My guess is yes. But even if the “game” reaches that stage our lenders (China, and other foreign and domestic investors) will want more money for its risk. And then our national debt will balloon even more. As for why the GOP is adamant against no new taxes (or reducing current tax breaks), it speaks to a wholesale takeover of the party by the lunatic fringe. Even Ronald Reagan raised taxes. The days of the Rockefeller Republicans of New York State have long since past. Teddy Roosevelt wouldn’t recognize his own party anymore. As for the Democrats, the future liabilities of the health care bill are a ticking time bomb. (Our elected officials should’ve passed a health care bill modeled on the FHA program, a very profitable program I might add.) Have a different opinion than me? Don’t send me an email. My delete key is warming up…
What’s this I hear about California mortgage banker Glenn Stearns holding a fund-raiser for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney? I’m told there were some fancy dinners held recently in Orange County…
As for Stearns Lending, the privately held firm ranks 32nd nationwide among all mortgage funders, according to the Quarterly Data Report, a National Mortgage News publication. Want a copy of our top 100 rankings? Send an email to
So, why is the unemployment so high? Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said it best on Friday when he predicted the nation's jobless picture will improve significantly once residential housing construction rebounds. And that will happen as soon as the Baltimore Orioles win the World Series. Let’s face it: without Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage liquidity will dry up and rates will spike. Think I’m dreaming? Don’t send me an email on that one either…
But wait, not everyone is cutting jobs. TD Bank is hiring loan officers, and 3 Point Asset Management of Orange County hopes to quadruple its workforce to 100 full-timers by yearend. As for NPL investor, Arch Bay…
Rumor has it that jumbo portfolio lender Union Bank of San Francisco is looking at buying Regions Financial. One source told National Mortgage News that a top residential official recently departed from Regions. That report is unconfirmed, though…
I was just thinking: with PennyMac having such big plans in correspondent and warehouse lending, who might be its warehouse lender? Any insight, drop me a line at
WASHINGTON NEWS: As federal agencies work on creating a new servicing fee structure, the Mortgage Bankers Association is recommending they consider a reserve account that would be used to pay the higher costs of servicing delinquent loans. Under MBA's reserve account proposal, the new servicing fee would be 20 to 25 basis points. An additional five basis points would be collected from the homeowner's payments and set aside in a trust account. (Reporting by NMN’s Brian Collins.)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Mega mortgage lender Wells Fargo agreed to pay $125 million to settle civil accusations by investors that the bank misled them about the risks of MBS it sold. The plaintiffs in the class action include the General Retirement System of Detroit, New Orleans Employees' Retirement System and other public pensions. The proposed settlement was filed in federal court in San Jose, Calif.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Walker & Dunlop hired Douglas Taylor as its senior vice president of multifamily. Taylor will be based in Irvine, Calif., and will focus on multifamily loan originations utilizing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD financing. (Note: NMN and its website has more multifamily and commercial news than any other website. If you need to reach commercial/MF clients through advertising send an email to
IMPORTANT DATA STUFF: MortgageStats.com has just been updated to include not only full-year 2010 figures but first 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
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: Sources tell us that representatives from Bank of America and Wells Fargo were in Washington this week to talk to the Department of the Justice (and others) about the AG settlement. Of course, the AG settlement involves the states, but my guess is that DOJ has a vested interest as well. Supposedly, reps from JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup were in town as well. I hope they all get a chance to visit the Folk Life Festival on the National Mall. Have a good weekend.
