Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Mel Martinez has cancelled his speech at the upcoming annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association . The reason? To attend the Pope John Paul's 25th anniversary. OK, I'll buy that...
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Well-known industry veteran Dave Matthews is out as president of RBC Mortgage of Chicago. And the fast growing RBC is not saying a word about why Mr. Matthews departed other than the usual he left "to pursue other interests." About a week ago, Matthews gave a half-hour interview to National Mortgage News and was bullish about the firm's future. Three years back, RBC hired Matthews and Pedestal executive Terry Rowland to manage the company's growth. Several months back, Mr. Rowland, president of national sales, was transferred to North Carolina to manage regional sales for the bank's imprint...
This past week the news gods once again shone their light on reporters who cover the mortgage industry. As recently retired Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy would say, "Here's the happy recap": The House Financial Services Committee scheduled a markup for Wednesday Oct. 8 on legislation to restructure the regulatory apparatus of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Late Wednesday night, the markup was scrapped after the Bush administration said the bill is not tough enough. What happened? If you hear Fannie's critics tell it, the mortgage giant blanketed Capitol Hill with lobbyists and made it clear to elected officials it did not want "program approval" over at Treasury. (Rumor has it that some smart Capitol Hill residents were doing a brisk business in renting out their parking spaces to Fannie's people.) To boot, Fannie's lobbyists were floating amendment language that would hammer the mortgage insurance industry. Also, two Federal Home Loans Banks reported unexpected losses. And if that wasn't enough, Rep. Richard Baker , R-La., who has oversight authority over the GSEs, slammed the two publicly for "obstructionism" and "mendacity" by lobbying against a key provision of the bill. Needless to say, Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, wasn't happy. And he wasn't the only one. Will the industry see a bill? As Brooklyn Dodger fans used to say: We'll get 'em next year...
In an editorial on Wednesday The Wall Street Journal referred to Fannie and Freddie as "government-sponsored hedge funds." Most hedge funds that I know of aren't publicly traded, though some have been know to short mortgage stocks...
I'm getting tired of writing this but the stock price of Countrywide Financial, once again, reached a new 52-week high last week. However take note: company insiders keep unloading shares. Recently, chief operating officer Stan Kurland sold 7,000 shares, while Tom Boone let loose 24,000. Does this mean the stock has peaked? Not necessarily...
Washington Mutual will release its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, Oct. 21, following the close of the market. A few weeks back the company said it would lose money on loans sales in the quarter. It also canned the head of its mortgage division...
MORTGAGE INSURANCE NEWS: GE Mortgage Insurance is changing the way it offers deep cede captive reinsurance coverage. The company is continuing to offer 25% excess loss coverage but is rolling out a new product called "30% Loss Ratio." The European subsidiary of PMI Group has acquired the U.K. lenders' mortgage insurance business of British insurer Royal & Sun Alliance . Also: Mortgage insurers, MGIC, PMI and Radian have all been trading up close to their 52-week highs of late.
WASHINGTON NEWS: Expected soon is the final version of the "Doty Report," Freddie Mac's in-house probe of its earnings restatement scandal. Meanwhile, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has issued a "request for proposal" for services related to its (previously announced) review of accounting policies and practices at Fannie Mae. The RFP, posted for public review on the www.fedbizopps.gov website, seeks an accounting firm to supplement OFHEO's expertise in planning and completing the review. The Federal Interagency Task Force on Fair Lending has published a new brochure that alerts consumers to potential borrowing pitfalls, including high-cost home loans, and provides tips for getting the best financing possible. The brochure is called "Putting Your Home on the Loan Line is Risky Business" and warns that regardless of whether a home equity loan is for a home repair, bill consolidation, or another purpose, it's important for consumers to shop around.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Lime Financial Services of Oregon has named Mike Parthasarathy to the newly created position of executive vice president. (A few weeks back, Lime hired former investment banker Zan Hamilton as its CEO.) Washington Mutual executive Deanna Oppenheimer who two weeks ago was put in charge of mortgage banking at the mega-thrift is on the cover of the new issue of U.S. Banker magazine. The Financial Services Roundtable has hired Paul Leonard to be director of government affairs of its housing policy council. Mr. Leonard joins the Roundtable from the office of Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del., where he was chief of staff. GMAC Mortgage has named Michael Squillante vice president of customer operations and Frank Madden director of quality assurance. Both appointments are in the company's national loan administration division.
WATCH ON THE 10-YEAR: As we went to press the yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.25% -- a slight increase from a week ago.
MORTGAGE DATA: National Mortgage News has just published a special white paper on "Ten Mortgage Firms to Watch," which analyzes 10 (mostly) privately-held mortgage firms that could be movers and shakers in the year ahead. The white paper is available to purchasers of the "eMortgage Industry Directory." For more information contact: Deartra.Todd@ThomsonMedia.com.
