Here's how the big layoff went down at Aurora Loan Services last Wednesday: the "suits" atLehman Brothers arrived from New York that morning and the top brass at ALS were all dressed in suits andties. (Normally it's a casual atmosphere at the Denver company.) A source familiar with the matter said 200 workerswere let go. The alt-A giant also plans to wind down its Irvine, Calif., office over the next 90 days, resultingin another 100 or so job losses. Lehman would not comment for the record but a source familiar with the matterconfirmed there were layoffs, blaming the cuts on reduced production volumes in the industry and the "downwardside of the mortgage cycle." (Cuts were also made at Lehman's BNC Mortgage division.) If you need tofind out who the top alt-A lenders are in the U.S. check out the Alternative Products Quarterly Data Report.For subprime lenders, check out the Quarterly Data Report. For more information e-mail
The Mortgage Bankers Association gave its members some really bad news last week. The trade group predictedthat the yield curve -- the difference between short- and long-term rates -- will be relatively flat the next twoyears. That's right -- relatively flat. The forecast comes amid poor earnings reports (because of tight margins)and signs that a handful of midsized firms are heading for the exits. In the year ahead consolidation could eliminatescores of firms (which means less dues-paying MBA members.) Of course, none of this may happen. For the yield curvestory, see the Monday edition of National Mortgage News. Has your subscription lapsed? Call: (800)221-1809...
Also in Monday's NMN check out Ted Cornwell's story on Washington Mutual outsourcing jobsto India...
Now for some good news. We hear that margins in the subprime space are improving. (Not so in the conventionalmarket.) And one publicly traded subprime lender has seen a nice bump up in its stock price recently. The firmis Accredited Home Lenders in San Diego. Its shares trade for $49.36, a point or so below its 52-week high...
Is there life after mortgage banking? Yes there is. One (subprime) executive who exited the business a few yearsback is Marc Turtletaub, former CEO of The Money Store. In 1998 (right before the subprime marketcrashed), First Union Corp. bought TMS for a whopping $2.1 billion. A year or so after the purchase,the bank (with egg on its face) wrote down the value of the company to about zero, making it one of the worst acquisitionsin mortgage history. Mr. Turtletaub left TMS after the sale, never to look back at mortgages again. So what's hedoing now? According to The New York Times, he's producing films. The newspaper reportedthat Mr. Turtletaub ponied up $9 million to finance an independent film called "Little Miss Sunshine"which was featured at the recent Sundance Film Festival. The cast includes Greg Kinnear and SteveCarell. (Mr. Carell also stars in a very strange -- but funny -- sitcom called "The Office"which airs Thursdays at 9:30 p.m.) As for Mr. Turtletaub and his $9 million, you might say the money was courtesyof First Union...
Here's an interesting statistic: About four out of every 10 first-time homebuyers are using no-downpayment mortgageproducts to buy their abodes. The figure is courtesy of the National Association of Realtors and coversrecent first-time homebuyers...
Jumbo lender Thornburg Mortgage said it has doubled the size of its asset-backed commercial paper facilityto $10 billion. Lehman Brothers is the structuring agent and lead dealer on the line...
In case you missed it: American Mortgage Network the San Diego-based wholesaler better known as AmNet,has officially exited the subprime business...
California mortgage banker Metrocities Mortgage LLC and Keller Williams Tri-Valley haveformed Metro East Bay Mortgage, a joint venture, to serve homebuyers in Contra Costa and Alameda counties.The JV is an "affiliated business arrangement"...
COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE NEWS: BB&T Corp. said it will not lend to commercial developers that planto build condominiums, shopping malls and other private projects on land taken from private citizens by governmententities using eminent domain.
WASHINGTON NEWS: The House Financial Services Committee said it will hold an oversight hearingon the "Rudman Report" when the paper is released (which should be any day now). The Rudman Report refersto former Sen. Warren Rudman, who is spearheading an internal investigation into Fannie Mae's accounting$11 billion accounting scandal. Mr. Rudman and his investigators have reviewed two million documents to date. Meanwhile,the Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved a proposal that could allow Fannie to continuelisting on the New York Stock Exchange even though it has not filed any earnings for full-year 2004 and2005.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Washington Mutual has named Steven Stein division executive, retail mortgagelending. Mortgage technology vendor Dynatek has named Todd Luhtanen president. He replaces JackLuhtanen, who will continue on as CEO. GMAC Residential named seven new sales directors and loan officers.The following sales directors (responsible for loan acquisitions) have been hired or promoted: Michael Weaverand Susan Sheffer for the Northeast region, Julia Koski (Northwest) and Scott Bares (Southwest).Warehouse managers hired or promoted include Carolyn Thomas and Kate Walton (Southwest) and KathleenConnor (Northeast). Lime Financial named mortgage industry veteran Chris Berty vice presidentand Southern California regional sales manager.
SURVEY NOTICE: Calling all warehouse lenders including Wall Street "gestation repo" lenders:NMN soon will launch its annual warehouse lending survey. If your firm would like to provide us numbers(and get ranked in the newspaper) send an e-mail to
DATA NOTICE: For a limited period of time NMN is discounting its "Loan Broker Database."The sale price is $350. Order the new one and get the 2006 database (coming out in May) at a discount as well.For details, e-mail
