Is Maryland's most prosperous county looking to ban mortgage brokers? According to the Maryland MortgageBrokers Association, Montgomery County is considering legislation that would -- among other things -- prohibitmortgage professionals from making loans that include the financing of single-premium credit life insurance;provide for upfront points, fees or prepayment penalties; and provide compensation paid directly or indirectlyto a mortgage broker from any source. The trade group believes the law would, more or less, put an end to mortgagebrokering in the county. MMBA is urging its members to write the Montgomery County Council. Here's a tip: MontgomeryCounty executive Douglas Duncan (not to be confused with the mortgage economist of the same name), a Democrat,is running for governor next year. Recently Maryland passed a law prohibiting an individual from acting as a mortgageoriginator (broker or banker) unless he/she has a license or a valid exemption. See Monday's edition of NationalMortgage News for more details. Don't subscribe? Call: (800) 221-1809
Sources say the Department of Housing and Urban Development is sitting on two reports that deal withthe business operations of Fannie Mae. The first report is a review of Fannie's "partnership offices"which -- until recently -- were well known for the "photo ops" they held with politicians who later didtheir political bidding. The other is a report on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's "black boxes" orautomated underwriting systems
Mortgage workout specialists start your engines. According to Greenwich Capital, there is "evidencethat personal bankruptcy filings are spiking upward at an unprecedented rate." Greenwich thinks the Septembernumbers will show the highest number of personal bankruptcy filings measured in any one-month period
On Wednesday Freddie Mac said that it would buy back up to $2 billion worth of common stock, sending its shareprice up more than 5% at one point during the day. Interesting fact: On Wednesday Fannie had a "market cap"of $40.47 billion. Freddie's market cap was $40.01 billion. Why is this interesting? Fannie has on-balance sheetassets of $768 billion compared to $677 billion for Freddie
What does the average loan officer make in New Jersey make? According to National Mortgage News'brand-new "Loan Officer Compensation and Production Report," the average wage is $132,697.To order the entire report, which has information on 1,000 Los, e-mail
Raymond James & Associates has initiated coverage of IndyMac Bancorp, calling it an "emergingleader in the mortgage space." RJA has given IndyMac its "outperform-2" rating, setting a $50 pricetarget. Last week the stock was trading at $37. According to the Quarterly Data Report, IndyMac is one ofthe fastest growing residential lenders in the U.S. For more info on the QDR e-mail
The Washington Baseball Club -- of which former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines is a partner-- finally updated its website regarding Mr. Raines' status at Fannie. He is now listed as the "retired"chairman and CEO of Fannie. Not too long ago if you had visited the website you would think he was still in chargeat the GSE. (The board forced him out last December.) Washington commercial real estate/mortgage mogul Joe Robertsis also a partner of the WBC, which is one of 10 or so bidders for the Washington Nationals baseball team
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Armed with new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act results, the Federal Reserveand other financial services regulators are reviewing the lending practices of about 200 lenders to see ifthey are charging minorities higher loan rates. In a recent report the Fed notes that these lenders "exhibiteda statistically significant difference in the incidence of higher priced loans" made to African-Americansand Hispanics (as compared to whites)
More than 30% of all lenders believe they need only Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's technology to deliver loans,according to Jeff Lebowitz, president of MORTECH
Jumbo lender Thornburg Mortgage recently completed a private placement of $140 million worth of unsecuredjunior subordinated notes due in 2035. The instruments carry a yield of 7.40% per year -- but the investor doesnot receive his/her money until October 2015 (if I understand the press release correctly.) After 2015 the yieldon the notes changes to LIBOR plus 2.65%. That payment comes due on Oct. 30, 2035. Thornburg, though, has an optionto redeem the debt at par, in whole or in part, beginning in October 2010
UPCOMING CONFERENCES: Worried about next year already? Check out the LoanToolbox and SourceMediaconference on "Business Plan 2006." (SourceMedia publishes NMN.) The meeting will be heldDec. 6-9 in Las Vegas. For more information
FIVE YEARS AGO: National Mortgage News reported about a coming shakeout in mortgage Internetportals. (Remember those?) NMN quoted Contour Software president Scott Cooley, saying, "There'sgoing to be a blood bath six months from now." The verdict? Scott was right on the money.
WASHINGTON NEWS: The Federal Housing Administration's inability to predict single-family claimsand prepayments makes it difficult to estimate the "long-term viability" of the FHA insurance fund, accordingto a newly issued Government Accountability Office report. The GAO says FHA models have underestimated loanperformance by more than $1 billion in fiscal years 2002, 2003 and 2004. (See Brian Collin's story in Monday'sNMN.)
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Mortgage Industry Advisory Co. has named Robert W. Lee senior vice presidentof its capital markets group. Mr. Lee joins MIAC after a seven-year stint at Lehman Brothers. Subservicinggiant Cenlar has named Robin Brodsky vice president of its customer service call center. GeorgeDeehan, president of Sunset Financial Resources of Florida, has been named to the additional post ofCEO.
DATA NOTICE: Don't forget the brand-new "eMortgage Industry Directory" is now available.This online, Web-friendly product features three modules -- one each for lenders, servicers and commercial mortgagebankers. Key features include rankings and profiles on the top 400 firms plus an exclusive ranking of the nation'stop loan brokers and loan officers. For more information contact
