This just in: more heads are expected to roll at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. But before we get to that, consider this: On his last official day as president of the FHLB-Chicago, the FederalHousing Finance Board slapped Alex Pollock's GSE with a supervisory agreement ordering it to slow thegrowth of his baby, the mortgage partnership finance (MPF) program. Could there be a connection between Mr. Pollock'sretirement and the supervisory agreement? Industry sources say senior management at the FHLB is quite upset withthe FHFB's order that the GSE hire an outside consultant to review management's performance, especially in regardto operations and risk assessment. One source close to the FHLB said, "A lot of the top guys there may bereleased. They are not stupid people but they just didn't have the controls in place." The question nowbecomes: How hard is the FHFB looking at MPF-like programs at the other FHLBs? Stay tuned...
As we went to press on Friday, the yield on the 10-year had fallen to 4.45%. The reason? A weak job picture sent stocks reeling as investors bolted for bonds. If the job picture continues to worsen,perhaps the Federal Reserve won't be hiking rates at a "measured" pace after all. Maybe therewill be no more hikes this summer...
Former Bear Stearns senior managing director Dale Kurland has formed a new advisoryfirm, Classic Strategies Group. The M&A group has office space on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Ms.Kurland said she is looking for a strong "number two" to help run the business...
Subprime lender Aames Financial of Los Angeles has a price-to-earnings ratio of just2.9 times. The company recently declared a cash dividend on certain classes of its preferred stock...
Genworth Financial, the parent of GE Mortgage Insurance, expects to report secondquarter earnings and year-to-date financial results on July 9 prior to the market's opening...
The nation's fifth-largest servicer of subprime home loans, the troubled Fairbanks CapitalCorp., Salt Lake City, has changed its name to Select Portfolio Servicing...
On July 1 Citigroup completed its purchase of mortgage banker Principal FinancialGroup. The insurance company-owned MB sold fetched $1.27 billion in cash...
WASHINGTON NEWS: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson hasextended the comment period on the new housing goals proposed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Thenew regulations would significantly raise the targeted lending requirements for the nation's two largest mortgagefinance companies. HUD estimates that over the next four years an additional one million low-and moderate-incomefamilies would be served as a result of the new goals. Also, the National Association of Mortgage Brokershas signed a letter expressing support for proposed legislation making private and federal mortgage insurance deductiblefor homeowners earning less than $100,000 annually. The Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Associationof Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, and other groups also signed the letter requesting House Ways andMeans chair William Thomas (R-CA) and ranking member Charles Rangel (D-NY) support the legislation'spassage.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Bank of America has named Steve Ozonian national homeownershipservices executive. BoA hopes to capitalize on Mr. Ozonian's status as a real estate industry insider to drivelong-term growth in its consumer real estate business. Mr. Ozonian joins BoA from RE/MAX International.He also served as president and chief executive officer of REALTOR.com. Master Financial has namedSammy Long business development manager. Delta Financial has named William Walter seniorvice president and assistant CFO, and Richard Schneider vice president of corporate tax. Both men came toDelta from New York Community Bank, formerly Roslyn Savings Bank, where they held similar positions.
MORTGAGE DATA/RESEARCH NOTICE: Want to know who the top 50 subprime lenders are inthe nation, and how much the industry has funded the past 12 quarters? Read the Quarterly Data Report.For more info contact:
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