The negative publicity machine regarding subprime loan pricing (thanks to new HMDA disclosures) is crankingup -- and the data has not even been released yet. Here's just a tease of what lenders (and reporters) are goingto have to deal with, courtesy of a Good Friday press release from the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation:"New data on home mortgage lending practices to be made public March 31 are expected to shed light in darkcorners, revealing a disturbing increase in loans with very high interest rates being sold to low-income and minorityconsumers." Will the new pricing info (which we all must first request from lenders) contain FICO scores,LTVs or the wealth of the borrower? Answer: No. Are there dirt-bag lenders and brokers out there, taking advantageof minorities, the elderly, and folks who are just plain old ignorant? You bet...
Is former Republican Sen. Phil "I'm praying on it" Gramm a candidate for the FannieMae CEO job? A recent report by Bloomberg News said that he was. (The report sparked a few laughs and howlsfrom certain mortgage executives we spoke with.) But as it turns out, according to one of our sources close tothe GSEs, it appears that Mr. Gramm himself is floating his own name. (Remember when Chicago FHLB presidentAlex Pollock floated his own name for the Freddie Mac job?) Does Mr. Gramm have a shot at landingthe job, given his past negative views on the GSEs? Answer: you must be kidding. By the way, there's a veteranmortgage journalist/editor we know (initials PM) whose name has just been floated for the job...
It appears that Morgan Stanley is losing the head of its mortgage conduit, Randy Lightbody. SeeBonnie Sinnock's report in the April edition of Origination News. And in Monday's edition ofNational Mortgage News, a story about J.P. Morgan Chase exploring the idea of starting a newnonconforming conduit. Don't subscribe to NMN? Call: (800) 221-1809...
On Tuesday the Federal Reserve (as anticipated) hiked short-term rates 25 basis points to 2.75%, continuingits effort to curb unwanted inflation. Well, guess what? Thanks to all the Fed rate hikes, there will soon be awhole lot of inflation in a consumer's monthly mortgage payment. Or maybe Alan Greenspan hasn't thoughtof that or perhaps (as we noted in a past column) the central banker is trying to cool "irrational exuberance"in the housing market. Recent press reports indicate that some housing markets (San Francisco for instance) havebecome so expensive that it's now much cheaper to rent than to own...
Greenwich Capital's Steve Stanley on the Fed's move: "I would imagine that many in the markets willbegin to price in higher odds of a 50 bp move in the coming months, especially if we get an upside surprise onthe CPI. However, we still look for 25 bp moves at every meeting this year. No 50 bp moves. No pauses"...
Don't politicians ever learn? The cover-up is always worse than the crime -- whether it's Watergate or HillaryClinton suddenly finding those subpoenaed Whitewater documents in that little White House side room. This timearound it's appears that former Federal Housing Finance Board chairman John Korsmo is headed to theBig House for lying to Congress and an IG. Any day now he will officially enter a guilty plea. His crime? Lendinghis name to a political fund-raiser and then providing contact info on FHLB presidents he oversees to the campaignof fellow North Dakotan Rick Clayburgh? No. He is copping a plea for lying to investigators. What did helie about? Well, apparently the list of FHLB presidents was given to the Clayburgh campaign (who held the fund-raiser)by his wife. Did his wife do anything wrong? No. Where did she get the list from? Hubby. He e-mailed it to her-- to her home computer. Then he lied about the whole thing. Now, there's a thing called the Internet. If onlyMrs. Korsmo had Googled "FHLB presidents" she could have gotten all that contact info herself and herhusband wouldn't be looking at pulling a Martha Stewart. (Chances are Mr. Korsmo will not do any real time.)...
HSBC Bank USA, a top-ranked mortgage lender, has announced the opening of a West Coast headquarters officein downtown Los Angeles with a staff that includes a mortgage specialist...
At a recent investors conference Washington Mutual said that in an effort to "right size" itsmortgage company it had let go of 8,000 workers in 2004...
Fidelity National Financial has unveiled the addition of online bidding capabilities to BuyBankHomes.com,a FNF Web portal dedicated to marketing properties that have completed the foreclosure process. The new functionalityprovides buyers and investors with a means of placing online bids on foreclosed properties that will be presentedat live onsite auctions...
MasterCraft Builders, a homebuilder based in Kenosha, Wis., has formed Signature Banc, a full-servicemortgage company. The bank will offer loans requiring only interest payments during construction, with rates lockedfor up to 18 months...
James K. Glassman, writing for the Scripps Howard News Service, noted recently in an opinion piece,"My own view is that, while more regulatory scrutiny of the already-chastened GSEs is probably needed, alterationsthat would change the system are not. Don't toss these productive babies ... out with the bath water." A fewyears back Mr. Glassman wrote a book saying the Dow Jones Industrial Average was undervalued and shouldreally be at 36,000...
WASHINGTON NEWS: The top national bank supervisor is raising concerns about "hot" mortgageproducts, such as interest-only loans, at a time when the housing market may be shifting. For borrowers who arepushing the envelope to qualify for a mortgage, interest-only loans are a "risky proposition," said actingComptroller of the Currency Julie Williams.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Interactive Mortgage Advisors, and Bob Dowell, formerly of PhoenixAnalytic Services, have joined together to form the new entity Interactive Mortgage Analytics. The newunit is offering analytic services to the mortgage industry with an emphasis on the servicing asset. Freddie Machas named Joseph A. Rossi senior vice president, securities and treasury operations, a new position. Hejoins Freddie from Mellon Financial where he served as senior vice president, executive director and chiefoperations officer for global securities services.
BROKER PUBLICATIONS YOU NEED TO READ: NMN's Broker magazine (soon to be renamedBrokerUniverse) and Origination News.
SURVEY REMINDER: Lenders and servicers don't forget to fill out our annual survey. Respondents will receiveFREE our daily mortgage news briefing (which is called, of course, Daily Briefing) plus will be ranked inNMN, the Mortgage Industry Directory and other publications. To view the survey
DATA NOTICE: NMN has just published its Annual Data Report, which provides rankings onthe top 100 prime and subprime lenders and servicers -- plus channel breakdowns -- and much more. Also available:NMN's new Alternative Products Quarterly Data Report or AP-QDR, which has rankings on thetop interest-only, alt-A and jumbo lenders. For more info about these products contact
@SourceMedia.com
@SourceMedia.com
