This just in: we understand that two broker-dealers are taking a close look at Option One Mortgage Corp.OOMC is owned by tax giant H&R Block. Meanwhile, Millennium Funding Group of Vancouver, Wash.,is about to be sold
Will the last subprime lender left in the industry (that's not owned by a Wall Street firm) please turn offthe lights? In case you didn't see the reports on National Mortgage News Online, American Bankerand Dow Jones, Ameriquest Mortgage is on the auction block. Investment bankers say the company'swholesale affiliate, Argent Mortgage, is also up for grabs. For the full story see the Monday edition ofNational Mortgage News. Don't subscribe? Call: (800) 221-1809
Meanwhile, at least one analyst is taking a ho-hum approach to Ameriquest news. RBS Greenwich Capital'sPeter DiMartino says in a research note the news is a "nonevent" for the ABS market...
According to the new 3Q issue of the Quarterly Data Report, loan production fell 11% in the third quarter.And according to the Alternative Products Quarterly Data Report, jumbo loan production fell 21%. To orderthe two reports e-mail
Skadden Arps attorney Andrew L. Sandler predicted this past week that over the next three to sixmonths federal regulators will hit certain lenders with consent degrees or litigation tied to loan pricing. "Eachagency has active investigations on pricing differences" on loans made to minorities," he said
HUD's office of inspector general recently found that Mortgage Amenities of Rhode Island did notcomply with certain requirements concerning the origination and servicing of FHA-insured loans
Goldman Sachs has initiated coverage of Washington Mutual, giving the nation's largest thrifta "neutral" rating. According to the 3Q QDR, WaMu ranks third among all residential funders
Former Dime Savings Bank chief Richard D. Parsons may throw his hat into the ring when New Yorkpicks a new mayor in 2009. Dime merged out of existence a few years back. Mr. Parsons currently serves as chairmanand CEO of Time Warner
And yet more bad news for housing: Construction activity in October skidded by the largest amount since therecession of 2001 as home building dropped for a record seventh consecutive month. The Commerce Departmentreported that building activity dropped 1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.18 trillion in October followinga 0.8% decline in September
WASHINGTON NEWS: The presumptive (next) chairman of the House Financial Services Committee wantsto restructure a Federal Housing Administration reform bill so that riskier borrowers don't have to payhigher mortgage insurance payments. NMN's Brian Collins reports that Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass-- expected to chair the panel in the next session -- is working on a bill that raises the FHA loan limit to themedian house price in high-cost areas and allows the FHA to serve riskier subprime borrowers.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Kenney Hayes has been named chief operating officer of Mortgage Banking ServicesDirect, a management consulting company specializing in mortgage banking, broker licensing and lending-relatedtechnology. Nara Bancorp of California has named Min Kim president and chief executive officer. Ms.Kim has served as acting president of Nara since March of 2006.
MORTGAGE MEETINGS: You have about three days left to sign up for SourceMedia's annual "SecondaryMarket Conference" Dec. 6 in New York at the Le Parker Meridien Hotel. I will be hosting a panel on"Exotic Mortgages" and there will a terrific panel on "Mergers & Acquisitions: Why is Wall StreetBuying Mortgage Loan Companies?" Hope to see you there. To register,
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 Directorywhich is available online as well as in print. The MID/eMID also has exclusive rankings on lenders and servicersthat you cannot get elsewhere. The online version also provides recent news articles on lenders and servicers rankedin the book. For more information e-mail
