Will Congress this year pass legislation to create a tough, new independent regulator to oversee Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHLB System? J.C. Watts, the head of FM Policy Focus (not exactly a friend to the GSEs) thinks it's in the cards and late on Friday Fannie chief Franklin Raines urged Congress to move forward, saying, "We do not see an issue that is not bridgeable." Of course, the "bridge to cross" is this: Fannie, Freddie and their key ally, the National Association of Home Builders, adamantly want program approval to stay at HUD. Is this a "bridgeable" issue? Is this a Golden Gate Bridge issue or a Pulaski Skyway Bridge issue? Time will tell, but if a bill doesn't pass by summer you can call it quits until President Kerry takes off in 2005...
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In other GSE news, Rep. Janice Schakowsky , D-Ill., is considering releasing compensation information on Fannie Mae's top 20 executives, a move that would anger the mortgage giant. A spokesman for Rep. Schakowsky told National Mortgage News that the congresswoman "is closely examining the materials," adding that "she believes it should be made public." Fannie, meanwhile, has hired former Whitewater prosecutor Ken Starr to fight the release of the information. Politics and GSEs can make strange bedfellows. This is the same Ken Starr who went after President Clinton . Mr. Raines was OMB director in the Clinton White House and can take credit for balancing the U.S. budget, an accomplishment that was undone by the current administration...
All those Washington Mutual mortgage employees who were canned by the mega-thrift might find employment over at Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco. Wells last week announced plans to hire over 400 employees in Los Angeles this year. See Monday's NMN as well...
California-based subprime lender Aames Financial Corp . earned $45.8 million for the year just ending. Not bad for a company that isn't listed on any of the major stock exchanges...
As we noted in last week's column, Sandler O'Neill downgraded online lender E-Loan to "sell." It also should be noted that E-Loan spent $9.6 million in marketing in the fourth quarter, down almost 20% from the prior quarter. E-Loan's marketing costs include media advertising, which is the lifeblood of any online firm...
Nonconforming lender First Franklin Financial said it nearly doubled its loan production in 2003, breaking 2002's record of $10.72 billion. Its volume for 2003 was $20.14 billion. The bank-owned First Franklin experienced a 10-month consecutive increase in dollar volume in 2003, achieving its first $2 billion single-month goal in August 2003...
WASHINGTON NEWS: House Financial Services Committee member Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, has introduced H.R. 3755, bipartisan legislation that would eliminate the downpayment requirement for families and individuals who buy homes with FHA-insured mortgages. "The Zero Down Payment Act of 2004" would affect first-time homebuyers. Original co-sponsors of the bill include House Financial Services Committee chairman Michael G. Oxley of Ohio, and several others. Keep in mind that the delinquency rate on FHA loans is 12% and growing.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: American Mortgage Network, a wholesale lender, has launched a subprime initiative and hired Laura J. Swartz as senior vice president in charge of product expansion. The Mortgage Bankers Association named Josh Denney director of government affairs. He will be responsible for lobbying Capitol Hill on commercial real estate finance issues. Mr. Denney joins MBA from the office of Sen. Chuck Hagel.
MORTGAGE NEWS COVERAGE: Here's a headline that caught our attention on Yahoo! last Wednesday: "Fannie Mae Stops Investing in Mortgages." The story came from the Associated Press. Of course if you read the lead you would have learned that Fannie had stopped buying mortgages that force borrowers to surrender their right to sue lenders.
MORTGAGE DATA NOTICE: National Mortgage News has just published the "Transactional Retail Mortgage Website Report." The TRMWR provides detailed information on how lenders can integrate their websites with LOS and back-office systems. It also provides information on what features are offered on "best-of-breed mortgage" websites -- and much, much more. For more information or a sample of this report contact: Elizabeth.Washington
@ThomsonMedia.com or call (202) 434-0328. Also, the residential finance industry funded $3.8 trillion in 2003. For fourth quarter rankings and results (top 100) see the upcoming issue of the Quarterly Data Report. For information contact Deartra Todd at: Deartra.Todd@ThomsonMedia.com.
