Countrywide Financial can no longer resist the cost savings of putting call center workers in India. Even though company chairman Angelo Mozilo last year had said he would not put mortgage call center workers overseas, last week he said that competitive pressures forced the company to do so. But he said Countrywide would not close call centers in the U.S. He noted that Countrywide would shift some of its U.K. jobs to India. He also had some interesting things to say about the cost of doing business in California. (See National Mortgage News issue of Feb. 16 for full details.) Meanwhile, Countrywide, whose stock has been on fire for a good year, has been downgraded by Wachovia Securities to "underperform" from market perform. But other brokerage houses continue to be quite bullish on the company...
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The bulk servicing market appears to be heating up. Several brokerage firms are working on deals and have packages that bid in the next week or so. Firms with offerings in the works include Cohane Rafferty, Interactive Mortgage Advisors, MIAC, Matrix and Phoenix Capital. One brokerage source said Matrix is working on a $1.6 billion bulk deal, but late last week company officials could not be reached for comment...
Ailing subprime lender American Business Financial Services has hired industry veteran Peter J. Levasseur to be executive vice president of its Upland Mortgage Brokerage Services affiliate. Mr. Levasseur will be responsible for helping guide Upland's expansion in California. ABFS, which is trading for less than $4 a share, reported a net loss of $24.8 million ($8.35 a share) for the quarter ending Dec. 31...
Thanks to Fannie Mae's announcement on Tuesday that it wound acquire low downpayment manufactured housing loans, at least three manufacturers of these unit types saw their share price go through the roof: Champion Enterprises (up 31%), Fleetwood Enterprises (up 15%) and Cavalier Homes (up 19%). Fannie, of course, owns or guarantees mortgages backed by manufactured housing loans...
We understand GreenPoint Financial of New York, a top 20 ranked mortgage banker, is indeed in play, or at least has its ears open. Its investment banker is Lehman Brothers, sources said. But one question regarding a potential sale is its mortgage company. Will it be included in a potential sale or spun-off? Stay tuned...
Fidelity National Financial, the largest U.S. title insurer, has agreed to buy Aurum Technology for $305 million to increase its business with community banks and credit unions...
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers said the Vermont Association of Mortgage Brokers (VTAMB) has joined NAMB as its newest state affiliate. If Howard Dean gets elected president, would this give some "juice" to the VTAMB? Then again, candidate Dean is circling the drain...
'JACKO' AND MORTGAGES: Whichever mortgage lender (or lenders?) that holds the lien (or liens?) on Michael Jackson's 2,700-acre Neverland Ranch should brace themselves. According to a report in The New York Times this past week, the pop singer, who is facing child molestation charges, is near insolvency and may be looking to reorganize his debts. We assume Mr. Jackson has a jumbo loan (or loans) on Neverland. Certainly the mortgage would not be a Fannie/Freddie credit...
WASHINGTON NEWS: Look for a Fannie/Freddie regulatory bill to be marked up by the Senate in March. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said at a banking committee hearing on Tuesday that he is considering introducing legislation to create a regulator for Fannie and Freddie with a board that would include the secretaries of the Treasury and Department of Housing and Urban Development and the chairmen of the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The White House wants the new regulator to be under Treasury. Meanwhile, one issue that has not been discussed much is the public interest directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank system. If the White House is going to eliminate political appointees to Fannie and Freddie's boards, then why not jettison the public interest directors at the FHLBs?
PRESIDENTIAL COVERAGE 2004: The Labor Department reported first-time claims for jobless benefits last week rose unexpectedly by 6,000 to 363,000. This isn't good news for President Bush's re-election effort, but a lot can happen in eight months. Already, the Drudge Report is raising personal issues surrounding candidate Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. If you're interested, feel free to visit that website.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Central Pacific Mortgage, one of the nation's first net branch providers, has hired Kevin Sexton as executive vice president of production. Mr. Sexton joins the company GE Mortgage Insurance Co ., where he served as vice president and director of national accounts. ResMAE Financial has elected Robert E. Dean and Richard A. Mirro as independent members to its board of directors. ResMAE was founded by industry vets Jack Mayesh, Ed Resendez and Bill Komperda.
MORTGAGE MEETINGS: The National Association of Mortgage Brokers will hold its annual legislative and regulatory conference from March 22 to 24 in Washington, D.C. The meeting will focus on such issues as RESPA reform and fair lending. Speakers include Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., Rep. Robert W. Ney, R-Ohio, and Rep. Donald A. Manzullo, R-Ill, chairman of the small business committee.
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.
