The Special Holiday Edition:
Guess who packed his bags and has left HUD? Sources told us late on Friday that HUD chief of staff Frank R. Jimenz has left the building and it has something to do with the Christmas "present" that former HUD secretary and Florida GOP Senate hopeful Mel Martinez was working on, namely RESPA reform. (Mr. Jimenz's departure came some time this past week.) On Wednesday new and "acting" HUD secretary Alphonso Jackson -- much to the dismay of the mortgage and Realtor industries -- shipped a final RESPA rule over to the Office of Management and Budget. The only problem is that no one -- as of this writing -- has a real clue what effect it will have on mortgage bankers and brokers but early predictions about what was sent to OMB do not bode well. Time will tell. One big question: Will Realtors be allowed to package settlement services and get paid, a kick-back, er, I mean, referral fee for it? Of course, there's a lot of hand wringing going on over a final rule that no one outside of HUD (and now OMB) has read...
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Meanwhile, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., says he is "disappointed" that HUD disregarded his advice and decided to move ahead with a final RESPA rule. "While Sen. Shelby supports the underlying goals of HUD's efforts, he continues to firmly believe that HUD should issue a revised proposed rule and a new economic study that allows for public comments on HUD's rule," committee spokesman Andrew Gray said...
What's the National Association of Mortgage Brokers take on HUD's "December Surprise"? The trade group said: "Given the significant number of concerns about the proposed rule that were raised and documented in Congressional hearings, NAMB is disappointed that we were not given an opportunity to review and comment on subsequent changes to the controversial proposal. HUD's decision to move to a final rule without public comment may call into question the integrity of the process"...
Fannie Mae chairman and CEO Franklin Raines this past week carried out a preemptive strike on GSE critics. During a "policy" speech at George Washington University he referenced George Bailey, the fictional hero of the Christmastime movie, " It's a Wonderful Life." But let's pause for a second. Would the Bailey Building & Loan (a mortgage lender no doubt) qualify as a Fannie Mae seller/servicer? Indeed, George has a good reputation but what about Uncle Billy? His record keeping habits, in theory, wouldn't pass muster at Fannie. And would the BB&L sell to Fannie in the first place? From what we can tell, the BB&L was a portfolio lender. And would the BB&L have survived the S&L crisis or would one of George's kids gambled the thrift's future on some wild and crazy development projects like Charlie Keating did with his "family" institution, Lincoln Savings. Mr. Raines didn't really get into specifics on the BB&L but instead made it clear that messing with Fannie's charter is tantamount to messing with the notion of homeownership...
Fidelity Information Services has renewed its agreement to provide U.S. Bank Home Mortgage , a division of U.S. Bank and the nation's 16th largest mortgage servicer, with software and services to support the bank's portfolio of more than 475,000 mortgage loans....
Fieldstone Investment Corp., a Maryland-based mortgage banker, has priced a $703 million public offering of 47.1 million shares of common stock at $15 per share. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., the Arlington, Va.-based exclusive placement agent for the offering, said the net proceeds to Fieldstone will be approximately $657.4 million...
Good news for future mortgage bankers of the world: the Earth's population is expected to grow to 8.9 billion by 2050 which means housing starts should remain strong the next 47 years. Much of the growth, though, will come in the third world, which means these new potential home owners might wind up being "low/mod" credits. The population numbers are courtesy of the United Nations...
Countrywide Financial's stock split 4 for 3 this past week...
WASHINGTON NEWS: In case you missed it, President Bush signed "The American Dream Downpayment Act" into law. Applauding Congress for authorizing the annual $200 million downpayment assistance program, Bush and HUD acting secretary Alphonso Jackson said the initiative will also help meet the Administration's "Homeownership Challenge" to increase minority homeownership by 5.5 million families by the end of the decade.
WATCH ON THE 10-YEAR: At one point on Thursday the yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.14%. On Friday the yield fell further to 4.13%. Quick, hire back all those fired processors and underwriters.
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING: Next week is a short one for the industry because of the Christmas Holiday. We're conducting an informal survey on what you think the top three mortgage stories were in 2003. Just send a quick note to me at: Paul.Muolo@ThomsonMedia.com. Thanks for your time and effort and have a safe holiday season.
