Short sellers are increasing their bets against American Home Mortgage Holdings Inc., a Long-Island-basedindependent retail lender. At mid-November (the most recent figures available) speculators had sold short 1.19million shares in American Home, a 33% increase over 30 days. On Friday, American's shares were selling for about$12.70 a share, compared to a 52-week high of $22 and a low of $4. Mortgage stocks tend to do better during a recessionbecause rates usually stay low. Do speculators see an end to the recession which means higher rates?
Talking about higher rates, one mortgage official told National Mortgage News that FreddieMac's recent announcement that it will not strike any new guarantee fee deals of less than 16 basis pointsin 2002 (with some exceptions) could mean higher rates still. "An increase in g-fees for some lenders willbe passed on to consumers in the form of higher rates," said the official, requesting anonymity...
Through November Freddie Mac and its chief competitor, Fannie Mae, have bought a staggering $1.006 trillionin loans, or an estimated 56% of all residential loans originated this year, according to figures compiled by theQuarterly Data Report. (The market share figure includes both conventional and non-conforming loans.)
Crime don't pay: Michael G. Graham, the former chief of Keystone Mortgage was sentenced to 12and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to bank fraud and money laundering charges. KM was a subsidiaryof the now defunct First National Bank of Keystone, Pa. Federal regulators closed the $1.1 billion assetbank on September 1, 1999 after finding that the bank was fraudulently carrying $515 million in loans on its books.KM was a high flying high LTV and Title One lender...
G.E. Capital Corp., the financial services unit of its better known light bulb producing parent, is shedding3,000 jobs, but none of them will affect its mortgage insurance unit, G.E. Capital Mortgage Insurance inRaleigh, N.C .
