Stop the presses! GMAC-owned ditech.com has pulled the plug on its "frustrated banker" TV ads. Gone is the rumpled looking loan officer (loan broker, says some) whose tag line was: "Lost another loan to ditech!" The Internet/call center lender is working on new ads but isn't giving away any story lines. For more details see Monday's National Mortgage News...
Meanwhile, NMN is on the verge of publishing its new 3Q 2006 Quarterly Data Report. In the quarter just four wholesale funders among the top 10 managed to increase production. The four include American Home, CitiMortgage, IndyMac Bancorp and Taylor Bean & Whitaker. To order the QDR e-mail Deartra.Todd@SourceMedia.com...
It seems as though more mortgage-related firms are catching a bad case of the "we can't file our quarterly earnings on time" blues. The latest company to catch the reporting blues is Opteum Inc. of Vero Beach, Fla., a mortgage REIT. Opteum, which is restating its books, anticipates a loss for third quarter and the first nine moths of the year. Other firms that have failed to report on time include Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, a handful of Federal Home Loan Banks and PHH Corp. I'm sure I've missed a few. If so, let me know...
Heading for the exits: Summit Financial Group of West Virginia has announced its intention to sell or terminate "substantially all" business activities of Summit Mortgage, its residential mortgage loan origination unit. The company said it expects Summit Mortgage to cease operations by the end of January...
Good news for the hotel industry (and mortgage firms that fund hotels): Occupancy and rate levels are quickly approaching the industry's mid-1990s peak...
Has the housing market bottomed? No, says Merrill Lynch analyst David Rosenberg. In a research note, Mr. Rosenberg argues the bottom is a "fluid" estimate. He predicts that homebuilder "subcontractor" payrolls will get hammered, and once the numbers wash through federal unemployment figures, it will feel particularly chilly. Keep in mind that quite a few folks working as "subs" have mortgage to pay, too...
WASHINGTON NEWS: The Treasury Department wants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to submit estimates of their borrowing needs for the first quarter as the department tries to exercise its authority over GSE debt issuance. The debt notification requirements have not been finalized yet, a Treasury spokeswoman said. See the story by Brian Collins in Monday's NMN.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Icon Residential Capital of California has hired Laurie Nicoll as its new president and chief executive officer. She joins the firm from Opteum. HomeBanc Corp. has inked a new employment contract with EVP and chief investment officer, John Kubiak. His base pay will be $250,000, plus bonuses and incentives. Impac Mortgage has named Andrew McCormick EVP and CIO.
MORTGAGE MEETINGS: There's still time to sign up for SourceMedia's annual "Secondary Market Conference" Dec. 6 in New York at the Le Parker Meridien Hotel. Among the highlights, M&A veteran Dale Kurland of Classic Strategies will moderate a panel called "Mergers & Acquisitions: Why is Wall Street Buying Mortgage Loan Companies?" There also will be a panel on "New (Exotic) Mortgage Products," plus much more. Hope to see you there. To register, visit http://www.sourcemediaconferences.com/SMC06/ or call (800) 803-3424 or (212) 803-6093.
DATA NEWS: Looking for a great contact directory on mortgage bankers, servicers, brokers and loan officers? What about a database on every multifamily lender in the U.S.? That would be the Mortgage Industry Directory which is available online as well as in print. The MID/eMID also has exclusive rankings on lenders and servicers that you cannot get elsewhere. The online version also provides recent news articles on lenders and servicers ranked in the book. For more information e-mail Rebecca.Keen@SourceMedia.com. That's it for this weekend. Have a great Thanksgiving.
