Two more nonconforming mortgage companies are on the auction block. For the full story read the Monday, Aug.21 edition of National Mortgage News. Don't subscribe? Telephone: (800) 221-1809...
In case you haven't noticed, Wall Street firms have been gobbling up residential mortgage banking companiesleft and right lately. Until recently, most investment banking firms focused on correspondent mortgage purchasesthrough their conduits, but all that's changing. Now, there's talk in some sectors that the Street wants to funddirectly to Joe and Mary Sixpack, which will put them in competition with the same lenders they're buying productfrom. What possibly are those wild and crazy Ivy Leaguers thinking? Not even the GSEs would pull a stunt like that!
A prediction: there will be no GSE bill this year. None. And if the Democrats take the House you can kiss thewhole thing goodbye, which means the folks at FM Policy Focus can keep their jobs. One colleague quippedto me that some GSE lobbyists are already doing a victory dance in the end zone...
Investors are starting to eye the default management services market. With an anticipated boom in defaults,some buyers are hoping to get in on the ground floor. Two former Goldman Sachs executives have raised $50million to buy DFM companies. See Monday's NMN as well...
We're also hearing that the Cambridge Group of London is hunting for a U.S.-based specialty servicerof residential loans. Cambridge Group is part of hedge fund manager Cambridge Place Investment Management LLP...
Two decent-sized subprime lenders -- both based in Southern California -- are expected to announce layoffs inthe next week or so...
Are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac toying with the idea of chucking their government charters? Notthat we've heard, but a new research report by RBS Greenwich managing director Margaret Kerins addressesthe issue. She concludes the chance of a charter toss is "remote"...
Super-jumbo lenders take note: Life-style guru (and former inmate) Martha Stewart is selling herhome in Westport, Conn. The asking price is $8.9 million. The home has been on the market two months. So far, therehave been no bids...
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage has inked a deal to originate private-label loans for A.G. Edwards &Sons...
Roth Capital recently downgraded subprime lender Accredited Home Lenders to "hold" froma "buy." Accredited is trading at about $35 compared to a 52-week high of $60...
Bronx native Angelo Mozilo and Brooklyn native Lewis Ranieri are scheduled to speak at the fallconstruction forecast conference sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders. Mr. Mozilo is chairmanand CEO of Countrywide Home Loans. Mr. Ranieri, former vice chairman of Salomon Brothers, is creditedwith being one of the inventors of the mortgage-backed security.
WASHINGTON NEWS: Commercial banks expect to see a deterioration in the performance of interest-only andpayment-option mortgages over the next 12 months. A new Federal Reserve Board survey shows that 30% of banksexpect the performance of these "nontraditional" or "exotic" mortgages to slip over the comingyear. See Brian Collins' story in Monday's NMN.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Treasury Department undersecretary Randal Quarles, the Bush administration'spoint man on GSE reform, will return to the private sector after Congress adjourns for the year. Jackson Coseyhas joined the consumer lending group of Citigroup. Mr. Cosey will be in charge of strategic markets. Hejoins Citigroup from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage where he held the position of SVP of emerging markets.
DATA NEWS: National Mortgage News recently updated its Mortgage Broker Databaseproduct which tracks the nation's top loan brokerage firms, including top producers at those shops. For more infoe-mail
