THIS JUST IN: It looks as though the bank-owned Irwin Mortgage -- a top 40 ranked lender and servicer-- will be sold to a mortgage firm that isn't exactly a household name. We caution, however, that the deal is notyet closed. To find out who the leading bidder is, read the Monday edition of National Mortgage News.Don't subscribe or you let your subscription lapse? Call:(800) 221-1809
The brand-new Mortgage Industry Directory is almost ready. The book -- which features rankingson the nation's top 400 lenders, top 100 subprime funders and much, much more -- should be out in mid-July. (TheMID is 1,000 pages long.) It also features important analysis on what's head in terms of production (especiallysubprime) for the rest of the year. One key finding from the new MID: Washington Mutual is now thetop warehouse lender in the U.S. To pre-order the MID call: Rebecca Keen (212) 803-8766 or DeloresStokes (212) 803-8775
In the early spring of 2005, when Fannie Mae's board was searching for a successor to recently oustedchairman and CEO Franklin Raines, they were considering Daniel Mudd who, as chief operating officer,also worked under Mr. Raines in the GSE's "office of the chairman." (The board, of course, was -- andstill is -- stacked with cronies of Mr. Raines.) Mortgage executives close to Fannie Mae (these executives sellloans to the GSE) told us at the time that Mr. Mudd had initially been approached about the job but had passedon it. Somewhere along the line he changed his mind. We mention this anecdote because after certain senators rakedMr. Mudd over the coals this past week., he must surely be wondering why he accepted the position. Mr. Mudd and(former) and current directors are being sued by Fannie's shareholders who charge that their independence as directorswas compromised because they were (my paraphrasing) making so much money off the company they were blinded to theaccounting shenanigans. There are several board members still around from the Raines era, including current chairmanStephen Ashley. The big question many are asking is why hasn't the Office of Federal Housing EnterpriseOversight or Fannie's shareholders risen up to can the Raines' cronies. Stay tuned
Meanwhile, it could be just a matter of time before New York Stock Exchange delists Fannie's stock.Late last week Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox suggested the NYSEshould put a time limit on Fannie's "exemption" from being delisted
Within a month or so subprime wholesale MILA Inc. of Washington State will launch a menu of conformingproducts that utilize mortgage insurance. With the introduction of prime products, MILA plans to expand into 22additional states over the course of 2006, having just launched into Florida last month. MILA is a Freddie Mac-approvedseller/servicer
Is former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan working as a mortgage banker? No, but LotusFinancial of Florida is using Mr. Greenspan's image on a broadcast fax it recently sent to potential mortgagecustomers. According to the company's flyer, mortgage rates are "expected to increase" and "nowmay be your last chance to refinance." Mr. Greenspan's image is in the upper right hand corner of Lotus Financial'sfax broadcast. When one of our reporters called Lotus to inquire about the broadcast fax they tried to sell hera loan
WASHINGTON NEWS: The Bush administration is threatening to control Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac'sdebt issuance -- indirectly limiting their portfolio growth -- if Congress does not pass strong GSE regulatoryreform legislation. The Treasury has maintained for some time that it has the legal authority to regulatethe two government-sponsored enterprises' issuance of corporate debt, which is mainly used to finance their portfolios.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: NCB FSB, a subsidiary of National Cooperative Bank, has named JeffTerra vice president of portfolio review and credit compliance in the bank's Washington headquarters.
MORTGAGE DATA & RESEARCH: NMN's "Annual Data Report" is still available.If you want detailed rankings on the nation's top 100 lenders in 2005 including breakouts on channels, servicing,plus subprime e-mail
