THIS JUST IN: I'm starting to hear anecdotal stories about certain mid-sized nonbanks that are targeting (or soon will) high performance loan officers working for some of the nation's mega banks, including Bank of America Home Loans, and Wells Fargo & Co. It could be bluster, but one West Coast manager said word is beginning to leak out to some of the healthier nonbanks (yes, they're out there) that certain LOs are not happy with their present compensation. "And it's not just about money," this one source said. "It's how long it takes to get loans processed. It's driving some of these guys crazy." If you have any intel on this drop me a line at: Paul.Muolo@SourceMedia.com. Feel free to comment on-the-record or off...
We also understand that a few more firms are entering the mortgage space to help lenders fight buyback requests. Requests to repurchase troubled loans come from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but also large correspondent originators such as Bank of America. One consultant said BoA, of late, has been extremely tough on buybacks. As we noted in past NMN stories, buybacks requests come on nonperforming loans (but of course) but also performing mortgages...
The most underserved mortgage market in the nation is (hands down) the one that caters to self employed consumers. If you have any horror stories to tell about qualified customers where you couldn't get a deal done drop me a line...
In Monday's edition of National Mortgage News we take a close look at the subservicing industry and how some start-up firms are struggling. At least one company has closed its doors and another may shortly. If you don't subscribe call: (800)221-1809...
According to the 1Q edition of the Quarterly Data Report, just three residential funders among the top 20 showed an increase in originations. One was Hudson City Bancorp of New Jersey. To order the QDR send an email to:
File this under I told you so: with the stock market tanking in 2Q it was no surprise that trading profits at some mega banks (like BoA) took it on the chin. As Sandler O'Neill analyst Jeff Harte noted in his research note: "Trading was well below our already reduced estimate. Trading revenues in the investment bank totaled $3.2B vs. our $4.3B estimate, representing what we found to be a surprisingly large 55% sequential decline." As I recall, one reason Ken Lewis wanted to buy Merrill Lynch was because of its premier retail stock brokerage operation. And one reason he bought Countrywide was its premier origination operation but as we noted on our website news report early Friday, BoA's mortgage results were lacking...
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: Now that Goldman Sachs settled its subprime CDO case with the Securities and Exchange Commission, will Angelo Mozilo be the next to settle? Mozilo, accused of insider trading a year ago, is spending a lot of time with his lawyers these days, or so we hear...
THE NEW LOOK OF THE NMN WEBSITE: Some of you may've noticed that the look of the National Mortgage News website changed Thursday night. We had a snafu or two and we're working on opening up the news hole even more. One major change is that we'll post breaking news throughout the day so you'll need to check back often (or just keep the site up all day). So far, readers writing in love the new look, including one who identified himself as Angelo Mozillo. Of course, it must be a hoax because the real Angelo Mozilo spells his name with one 1.
POLITICAL STUFF: The U.S. voter is angry and unemployed and come fall, the Democrats could lose the House and Senate, but likely will hold onto at least one chamber. A new poll being conducted by NMN found that 72% of mortgage bankers believe Republicans in power would be better for their business. I would like at least one Tea Party candidate to win a governorship so we can see how they do managing a state economy (and so I can say to my Tea Party friend in Arkansas, 'Good day, to you, Sir!') The poll is on the NMN website. Press reports this past week indicate that U.S. companies are sitting on at least $1 trillion in cash and don't want to spend it by hiring people. Is this a payback for how poorly the business community has been treated by the Obama White House? Feel free to comment at the end of this column.
DATA STUFF: As I noted recently, the 1Q edition of the Quarterly Data Report is now out. (We are now busy working on the 2Q edition.) The QDR provides industry-wide composite data on loan production and servicing and specific figures on the top 100, including delinquencies. A new feature for the QDR is our ranking of the nation's top FHA lenders. If you're looking for jumbo production numbers try the Alternative Products Quarterly Data Report. For more info on both drop an email to:
OUR RESEARCH REVEALS: The top wholesale funder in the first quarter was Wells Fargo. Provident Funding of California was a very close second. All the wholesale rankings are in our Quarterly Data Report product. Email:
FINAL SURVEY NOTICE: We're wrapping up our annual lending and servicing survey. NMN is still looking for information on active lenders and servicers, regardless of size or charter. If you would like to complete a simple one-page survey drop a line to:
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THE LAST WORD: "Only an expert can design a bailout/ And only an expert can expect a bailout" -- Laurie Anderson (from her new LP, 'Homeland'
