Short sellers are loading up on mortgage - related stocks. In mid -October, speculators increased their shortpositions against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by 22% and 20%, respectively. Shorts against NewYork Mortgage Trust spiked by 82%. The comparison is to short positions at mid -September...
Meanwhile, it appears that Freddie is loading up on non-agency mortgage-backed bonds these days, including alt-A,subprime, and those new fangled ARMs regulators keep warning about (but don't fully understand themselves becausethey have never made a mortgage in their lives). For the full story, see the Monday edition of National MortgageNews. Don't subscribe? Call: (800) 221-1809...
As for Countrywide Home Loans and those newfangled ARMs, the nation's largest mortgage banker said itsdepository has on its books $22 billion in payment-option ARMs and $14 billion in interest-only loans. A year agoit had invested just $4 billion in PO ARMs and $8 billion in IOs...
Late last week, Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan cautioned against banks getting tooinvolved with PO ARMS and also decried looser standards in commercial real estate lending...
Want to know who the top subprime lenders in the nation are? All of them? Want to know who the top subprimelenders are in each state? It's all in NMN's new HMDA Subprime Database. For more information contact:
Also, if you're looking for a ranking of the nation's top 100 lenders and top 50 subprime funders at midyear,including channel breakdowns (available in a spreadsheet), check out NMN's Mid-Year Data Report.Ask Ms. Todd about that product as well...
Even though mortgage volumes remain decent, "bubble" reports continue. According to a recent reportin the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Sonoma County home prices dipped in September -- the firstdecline in nearly a year. The supply of housing in the county (the heart of Northern California wine country) grewto a three-year high. The newspaper reported that the housing market there has been slowing with homes stayingon the auction block longer...
Thanks to Hurricane Wilma, some 20% to 25% of those planning to attend the annual Mortgage Bankers Associationannual convention in Orlando decided not to go. (Those numbers come to us from people attending the conventionor executives who sent people there.) Whole swaths of West Coast-based mortgage firms decided not to come becauseof the weather. "There was a liability issue, too," said one consultant who was registered but canceledbecause of the weather. MBA grosses $18 million a year from its conferences plus $8.5 million from the annual show.You can bet that the trade group -- and other financial service trade organizations -- will no longer hold bigshows in southern cities during hurricane season...
Wells Fargo of San Francisco has been mentioned as a possible bidder for Midwest mortgage giant/bankFifth Third Bancorp, according to a report in the San Francisco Business Times...
Fieldstone Investment Corp., a publicly traded mortgage REIT based in Maryland, has hired Deloitte& Touche as its auditor. D&T replaces KPMG. Last year, Fannie Mae canned KPMG as its chief accountant...
Residential Capital Corp., which controls GMAC Mortgage and its affiliates, earned $280 millionin the third quarter...
Here's a headline from a presentation on home price bubbles: "House Prices: About to Crash." Thatwas the name of a talk given by Fannie Mae chief economist David Berson. The date of the presentation? Lastweek? Nope. It was given by Mr. Berson in November 2001. I recently found it in a pile of old notes...
WASHINGTON NEWS: The House approved its GSE regulatory reform bill by a 331-90 vote last week after rejectingseveral attempts to impose tighter controls on Fannie and Freddie. The bill -- which the White House hates-- also includes a provision that allows the two mortgage giants to enter the "jumbo" market. What'sthe Senate going to do? For the full story, read Monday's NMN.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: American Brokers Conduit, the wholesale division of American Home Mortgage,named Robin Hawley senior vice president. Ms. Hawley will spearhead strategic initiatives at the lender.The Department of Housing and Urban Development has named Keith E. Gottfried general counsel. LimeFinancial named Vince Calabrese vice president and Southwest regional sales manager. He will be responsiblefor account executives in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
UPCOMING CONFERENCES: If Hurricane Wilma caused you to miss the annual MBA show, try Vegas. Check outthe LoanToolbox and SourceMedia conference on "Business Plan 2006." (SourceMediapublishes NMN.) The meeting will be held Dec. 6-9 in Las Vegas where no hurricanes are expected -- or everstrike. For more information
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
