It appears that Alan Greenspan's public hand wringing about interest-only loans and payment-option ARMshas all been for naught. According to the new 4Q edition of the Alternative Products Quarterly Data Report,IO and POA volumes were quite strong in the quarter. Lenders funded $218 billion in IOs and $78 billion in POAs.Wells Fargo, Countrywide and EMC Mortgage ranked first, second, and third, respectively, inIO lending. For more information about the AP-QDR e-mail
By the way, Mr. Greenspan who recently retired as Federal Reserve chairman, is getting $8 million forhis memoirs. I look forward to reading the chapter on how (before he joined the Fed) he told S&L felon (beforebecame a felon) Charlie Keating that everything was hunky-dory with Lincoln Savings' "directinvestments." A publisher paying $8 million for a book might be considered "irrational exuberance"indeed
In case you haven't noticed, the yield on the 10-year Treasury is creeping up, up, up. On Monday, the yieldwas at 4.74%. On Friday it closed at 4.75%. With the spring homebuying season just about to start, lenders andRealtors are getting nervous. Rising rates will make those monthly payments more expensive and 80-10-10 structureslikely will suffer which is good news for mortgage insurers. (See Monday's National Mortgage Newsfor more details.) Don't subscribe? Call: (800) 221-1809
The fall elections are eight months away and the Mortgage Bankers Association is cranking out the donationmachine. In total, MorPAC contributed $334,000 to more than 120 different candidates in 2005. (Figures for 2006were not readily available.) One candidate receiving money from MorPAC is Lise Van Susteren, wife of MBAchief Jonathan Kempner. Ms. Van Susteren is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland. One of her donors(not through MBA) is Wendy Raines, wife of former Fannie Mae CEO, Franklin Raines. For more detailssee Monday's NMN
It wasn't a pretty week for publicly traded REIT MortgageIT. Keefe Bruyette downgraded the stockto "market perform" after the company said it would lose money in the first quarter because of its subprimebusiness. Its stock hit a new 52-week low of $8.86 (compared to a high of $20.22). As of mid-February, short sellershad just about doubled their bets against the company
Opteum Inc., a mortgage REIT that is the parent of Opteum Mortgage, saw its stock hit a 52-weeklow on Friday -- $7.76. I wish we could tell you where they rank among lenders but Opteum no longer discloses itsproduction numbers to NMN
WASHINGTON NEWS: Brian Collins reports in Monday's NMN that HUD is still working on itsRESPA proposal but isn't consulting with industry groups as it puts the finishing touches on its work.
A HEARING WORTH WATCHING: On Tuesday, March 14, the Financial Services Committee will hold a hearingon the recently released "Rudman Report" which provides 3,000-plus pages on Fannie Mae's accounting scandal.The chief witness is retired Sen. Warren B. Rudman whose law firm investigated and wrote the tome. We understandthe Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight will release its report on the Fannie Mae scandal inmid-April.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Washington Mutual has named Arlene Hyde director of its home loans wholesalechannel. A 20-year veteran of mortgage banking, she will direct and manage sales and operations functions for thecompany's wholesale channel. The move is part of a realignment of WaMu's distribution channels focused on integratingsales and operations functions into a single-channel structure for retail, wholesale and correspondent.
SURVEY NOTICE: Mortgage bankers and brokers -- NMN is still conducting its annual survey of lenders,servicers and brokers. 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
