Things are starting to rock and roll in mortgage M&A land, or at least that's what a handful of servicing advisors are predicting, including, MIAC's Dan Thomas and CKI's Chuck Klein. Elsewhere, word on the street is that plenty of small- to medium-sized non-depositories want to sell or find a partner that can help them survive in what could turn out to be a tumultuous 2004. Strangely enough, 2004 could be a $2 trillion year, which would still be the fourth best ever for the industry. Then again, compared to the $3.5 trillion funded in 2003, it certainly won't feel that way. It's assumed that firms that cut costs (people, retail overhead, back office and so on) the fastest, will be the ones that fare the best. Then again, if you cut into the bone you could damage your franchise...
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Say no to the Tony Soprano state: RBS Greenwich Capital said it will not purchase or provide financing for any "high cost" or "covered" loans including manufactured housing and certain refinance loans originated in New Jersey on or after Nov. 27. The reason? You guessed it -- the New Jersey Home Ownership Security Act. RBS says that in 2002 New Jersey accounted for $6.5 billion in subprime loans. According to National Mortgage News' Quarterly Data Report, that gives the Garden State a 2.7% market share. Greenwich says New Jersey ranks ninth in terms of B&C volume...
John Robbins' American Mortgage Network, a wholesale mortgage banker, has secured a $100 million credit facility from GMAC Residential Funding Corp. This firm now has $1.4 billion in warehouse lines. AmNet's other funders include Countrywide, UBS Warburg and J.P. Morgan Chase...
Principal Residential Mortgage is planning a major expansion in the western U.S. It will open new wholesale offices in Portland, Ore., and Phoenix in the first quarter of 2004
In the third quarter, the top five mortgage insurers (ranked by new policies written) were MGIC, PMI, UGI, Radian and GE Capital Mortgage. The ranking, compiled by the Quarterly Data Report, is based on dollar volume, not number of units...
Countrywide Home Loans says it has more than 300 formal business partnerships under its "strategic alliance" umbrella. The company's partners include Realtors, homebuilders and financial services providers, among others...
Homestar Mortgage Services of Paramus, N.J., has opened its first branch in New York -- Long Island to be exact, actually Syosset to be even exacter. It's on the north shore where folks tend to have higher income than those on the south shore...
Currently, around 27% of Fannie Mae 's mortgage portfolio is insured or carries some other type of credit enhancement, such as risk-sharing with mortgage originators...
WASHINGTON NEWS: Rumors were rampant this past week that HUD would finally issue its long-awaited RESPA reg, but that rumor turned to dust by Friday. What's holding up HUD secretary Mel Martinez from getting a reg out? Good question. The hardly loquacious Mr. Martinez, who may run for a Florida Senate seat, continues to avoid talking about RESPA. Fairbanks Capital , the alleged poster boy of predatory servicing, has settled with the Federal Trade Commission and HUD to the tune of $40 million. Fairbanks founder and former CEO Tom Basmajian -- who was fired earlier this year -- is coughing up another $400,000 of his own money.
PEOPLE: Principal Residential has named Katherine Gardner regional vice president for wholesale. She will continue to be based in Boulder, Colo. In addition, the third-party lender named the following regional directors: Tom Malloy (for Denver), Sue Hall , for the company's new Phoenix office, and Tom Tough, for the new Portland office. Homestar Mortgage has named Arthur P. Saitta vice president and area manager of its metro New York division. He will report directly to executive vice president Rick Floyd.
The Treasury Department has named Christopher Smith to serve as chief of staff to Treasury secretary John Snow. The chief of staff is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the agency, and the secretary's office specifically.
WATCH ON THE 10-YEAR: As we went to press, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.24%, compared to 4.45% a week ago.
MORTGAGE DATA: Need reliable research on mortgage loan origination software (LOS) systems, or wholesalers' use of the Internet? Two new National Mortgage News white papers address these important technology topics. For more information contact: Liz Washington (202) 434-0328 or e-mail: Elizabeth.Washington@ThomsonMedia.com. You also may want to check out the new edition of the Quarterly Data Report which has rankings on the top 100 lenders and servicers, including channel breakouts, subprime, and much, much more. For more information contact Deartra Todd at (202) 434-0320 or email: Deartra.Todd@ThomsonMedia.com.
