A top-ranked subprime lender is among the finalists for Irwin Mortgage of Indiana, the nation's 35thlargest home funder. To find out which B&C giant it is, read the Monday edition of National MortgageNews. Don't subscribe? Call: 800 221-1809
It's finally ready -- the 4Q edition of NMN's Quarterly Data Report, which ranks the nation'stop 100 lenders and top 50 subprime funders (and much more). Which top 30 ranked firm was the fastest growing inthe fourth quarter? That would be MortgageIT of New York (up 111%), with American Home of Long Islanda close second at 101%. The QDR also reveals that delinquencies are on the rise. For more information e-mail
It's finally out -- the long-awaited "Rudman Report" which (from my reading) absolves Fannie Mae'sboard of all wrongdoing and pins the $11 billion accounting scandal (we, of course, don't know the real size yet)on former executives Franklin Raines, Timothy Howard and Leanne Spencer. Sen. Rudman'sinvestigators appear to have bought the argument from the directors that they were in the dark about the mess becausethey were being led astray by the alleged wrongdoers. (Question: Who hired Rudman? Answer: the board.) It's toobad that Sen. Rudman didn't analyze the cozy relationship that some of the directors had with Mr. Raines. (PerhapsOFHEO will set the record straight?) One area Rudman looked into was the interference that Fannie's legalcounsel (inside and outside) ran for management against OFHEO. (Remember how cocky Mr. Raines was in the fall of2004, a few months before OFHEO forced the board to can him?) This was what Mr. Rudman (a lawyer) and his authorshad to say about Fannie's lawyers: "We have not seen any evidence that would call into question the good faithof the company's lawyers." The report does note, however, that "management and the lawyers were wrong."As FM Policy Focus executive director Mike House put it: "It is inconceivable that a fraud ofthis magnitude, so amply documented in this 2,700-page report, went completely undetected" by the GSE's regulator,and its board
Lester Dominick, president of MortgageFlex, told us last week that the REO (real estate-owned)tsunami should hit later this year or early next. He expects the first bloodletting will occur in investor properties."They're going to get creamed," he predicted. He expects the Miami and Las Vegas markets could sufferthe most. MortgageFlex, by the way, an LOS provider, is jumping into the servicing technology arena and alreadyhas two clients signed up
More bad news for ECC Capital Corp., the parent of subprime lender Encore Credit. Its stock reachedyet another 52-week low on Friday, trading as low as $1.83. Earlier this year it trimmed 440 jobs
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has inked a "memorandum of understanding" withthe National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals to broaden and diversify NAMB's membershipand its outreach to the Hispanic community. "We must take active steps to encourage Hispanic homeownershipin our country," said NAMB president Jim Nabors.
WASHINGTON NEWS: NMN's Brian Collins reports that key Fannie Mae ally the, NationalAssociation of Home Builders, sees nothing in the Rudman Report that would justify placing portfolio limitson the two government-sponsored enterprises. NAHB executive vice president and chief executive Jerry Howardsaid the report's findings do not give the Bush administration and Senate Banking Committee chairmanRichard Shelby, R-Ala., the boost they need to secure passage of a Senate GSE bill with portfolio limits."The report does not help them," he said. "We are calling with renewed vigor for enactment of theHouse-passed bill," Mr. Howard said. The House passed the GSE bill last fall by a 331-90 vote. The administrationand Sen. Shelby claim the House bill is weak because it does not give the GSE's new regulator a directive to limittheir massive portfolios.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Fieldstone Investment Corp. has named Nayan Kisnadwala EVP/chief financialofficer. According to the lender, Mr. Kisnadwala will earn $395,000 and will be eligible for an annual bonus ofup to 175% of his salary. Metrocities Mortgage has named Dean Purpura senior loan consultant, WesternNew York.
SURVEY NOTICE: Mortgage bankers and brokers -- NMN is gearing up for its annual production survey.If your firm wants to be ranked send an e-mail to
DATA NOTICE: For a limited period of time NMN is offering discounts if you purchase the MortgageIndustry Directory along with the Quarterly Data Report. For more details, e-mail
