A top-10 mortgage banker is apparently on the auction block. To find out which one, read the Monday, Dec. 8 edition of National Mortgage News ...
Processing Content
Alphonso Jackson's star is on the rise. When HUD secretary Mel Martinez announces his candidacy for a Florida Senate seat this week (at the earliest), the White House is expected to nominate Mr. Jackson, who serves as deputy secretary, to be the new head of HUD. The White House wants the Florida Senate seat so badly that it is trying to figure out a way to convince Rep. Katherine Harris, also a Republican, from running as well. President Bush, of course, is indebted (politically) to Ms. Harris. But the GOP feels Mr. Martinez, a moderate GOPer, has a better chance of winning the race than Ms. Harris. The seat is being vacated by the retiring Bob Graham, a popular Democrat...
By the way, with Mr. Martinez leaving HUD, mortgage lenders can sleep easy at night knowing that RESPA reform is dead -- for now...
Will Countrywide -- which has avoided large M&A deals like the plague -- finally spend some money on someone? Countrywide senior managing director Eric Sieracki told investors this past week that the company may consider buying loan servicing portfolios and loan production platforms as the refinancing boom slows down. Mr. Sieracki said, "There probably will be some disadvantaged servicers out there looking to unload servicing." Read Monday's NMN for full details..
Meanwhile, Countrywide Bank has opened two new financial centers in Texas -- one in Fort Worth and one in Plano....
Conventional production could fall dramatically next year, but what about subprime? RBSGC's Peter DiMartino believes mortgage-related ABS securitization volume in 2004 "will nearly maintain its current issuance pace. In our view, the strengths of the sector outweigh potential weaknesses that could pressure volumes downward. We anticipate that HEL ABS volume will be virtually flat next year (+/-5%). This estimate refutes some others that claim precipitous reductions in HEL ABS volume"...
In other subprime-related news: Jefferies & Co. has downgraded New Century Financial to a "hold." Subprime lender NovaStar Financial of Kansas City, Mo., split two-for-one before the bell on Tuesday...
National City, a major player in mortgage banking, said it intends (within two years) to more than double its branch presence in the Chicago area. The Cleveland-based company also said it has, this quarter, laid off at least 1,000 of 1,800 temporary employees it hired for its mortgage origination business. It said it expects to let the remainder go by the end of March. Merry Christmas...
Michael Emmanuel and Adam Karp have launched a new servicing company named Universal Servicing Inc . The company, with headquarters based in Newington, Conn., is going after the customer service and collections functions of prime and subprime lenders...
A majority of Americans (roughly 68%) still pay their bills every month by writing paper checks and mailing them, according to a new study done by the Check Payment System Association. The trade group says a 2002 Federal Reserve study supports its findings. Monthly bills, of course, include mortgages...
The Hulce Companies of Naples, Fla., is celebrating its first anniversary. Included in the growing Hulce empire is Hulce Mortgage, which operates in Colorado and Michigan as well as Florida...
Sick of hearing about the latest Michael Jackson scandal? You are not alone, but there is a mortgage angle: Mr. Jackson owns a 2,600-acre ranch and "playground" known as Neverland. If he runs into financial trouble will the lender/servicer on the property begin to sweat? According to the Times of London, earlier this year, Jackson tried to sell the ranch for $22.5 million but withdrew it from the market when Realtors said it would fetch only $ 13.5 million. He bought the ranch for $28 million in 1988. In other words, it doesn't sound as though this is a "cash-out refi" candidate. Ouch...
WASHINGTON NEWS: Sources say U.S. trade representative Robert Zoellick is not on the "short list" for the Freddie Mac CEO job. For full details see Monday's NMN. Mr. Zoellick is close to key Freddie director George Gould. Freddie will make its CEO pick official by Dec. 31. Or will it surprise everyone at its Dec. 15 annual holiday press luncheon? Stay tuned.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Randy Pool has been named executive vice president of Argent Mortgage Co. Lime Financial Services has hired Shane O'Dell as a senior vice president and regional manager. O'Dell will have responsibility for sales efforts in Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah.
MORTGAGE DATA:Need reliable research on mortgage loan origination software 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 3Q issue of the Quarterly Data Report, which ranks the top 100 lenders and servicers every quarter with breakouts on prime, subprime, production channels, servicing and much more. For more information contact Deartra Todd at (202) 434-0320 or email: Deartra.Todd@ThomsonMedia.com.
