Is consolidation about to sweep the subprime mortgage sector? Who knows but that didn't stop a group of panelistsat an MBA conference from voicing their opinions. Saxon Mortgage chief Mike Sawyer believes thatthe key to consolidation is "access to capital." Without naming names, he noted that "several largeplatforms" are on the auction block. "Some are public and some are not," he said. Some panelistsnoted that wholesalers are once again paying high prices for subprime product. "When the yield curve changes,"cautioned Mr. Sawyer, "you will see a lot of bleeding." According to the Mortgage Industry Directory,here's a list of the top five subprime lenders seven years ago: Ford Consumer Finance; The Money Store;Beneficial Finance; United Companies; TransAmerica Financial Services. None are stillaround, either having been sold or having went BK...
The MBA conference on subprime lending was held in Washington this past week. There was a good crowd on hand,including several investment bankers, and quite a few firms from Canada. Goldman Sachs & Co., whichhas brokered some of the largest 'A' paper deals in history, sent Debbie Brown to the meeting. Ms. Brownis a vice president of Goldman Sachs. Unlike many a Wall Street firm, Goldman has avoided the subprime productionmarket. Maybe this white-shoed investment banker is about to rub elbows with the less-fortunate borrowers of theworld...
NetBank, which owns mortgage wholesaler RBMG, had pre-tax income of $26 million from its primemortgage unit in the first quarter. Its non conforming unit earned another $4 million. At the end of March thelender had a mortgage pipeline of $4.7 billion...
Loan brokers and correspondents take note: On Friday Wells Fargo Home Mortgage said the CaliforniaDepartment of Corporations revoked its mortgage licenses in the state. But the lender claims the move willnot affect its customers or the company's ability to continue providing full service to its California mortgageloan customers. Wells mortgage chief Pete Wissinger said: "We want to be clear it makes no differenceto our customers whether we have or don't have California mortgage licenses because we are a subsidiary of a nationalbank operating under a charter issued by the federal government, not by state government." Wells has beendoing business in California -- the largest mortgage market in the U.S. -- for 151 years...
This past Wednesday Countrywide Financial announced better than expected earnings. Its stock ended theday up $5.41, reaching a new 52-week high of $67.83...
The Utah Association of Mortgage Brokers has become the 46th state affiliate of the NationalAssociation of Mortgage Brokers. The state associations widen NAMB's grassroots efforts with politicians andregulators...
According to Mortgage Strategy magazine (The National Mortgage News of the U.K.,)home and property values are booming in Wales, the home of poet Dylan Thomas. Two hot niches there include"holiday" homes, and the "buy-to-let" market...
WASHINGTON NEWS: Will the Internal Revenue Service have to give back taxes paid to the U.S.Treasury by MCI, Enron and other now-defunct firms? Maybe. The Wall Street Journalpublished a story on Friday, noting that some of these bankrupt firms want back the taxes they paid on inflatedearnings. Keep in mind that from 1999 to 2001 quite a few publicly-traded subprime mortgage firms went bust, severalof which over-inflated their earnings using "gain-on-sale" accounting. Three-such firms include Cityscape,FirstPlus, and United Companies. Will this legal principle apply to these firms as well? Making thisargument reminds us of the story about the little boy who killed his parents. He asked the court for mercy becausehe was now an orphan.
PEOPLE: Andy Pollock has been promoted to president and chief operating officer of subprime giantFirst Franklin. Faith Schwartz recently left Freddie Mac to become senior vice president of alternativemarkets for Option One, a subsidiary of H&R Block. Late last week Countrywide announced the promotionof seven key executives to enhanced roles within its "managing directorate." Those promoted include DavidSambol, Anne McCallion, Tom Boone and four others.
CORRECTION: CMG Mortgage president Chris George has been named the 2003-2004 legislativevice chairman for the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. (Last weekend we reported that he was thechair.) Neill E. Fendly wrote to us, noting that he will remain as the legislative chairman for 2003-2004.
ALL MORTGAGE BANKERS TAKE NOTE ONCE AGAIN: National Mortgage News is wrapping up its full-year2002 lending/servicing survey. Mortgage funders of all sizes are invited to participate. The information will appearin the Mortgage Industry Directory which is the "Who's Who" of mortgage banking. If you need asurvey, email:
