THIS JUST IN: The head of whole loan trading at one Wall Street firm/bank departed this past week. His deputy left in late January. To find out which firm and who, read the Monday edition of National Mortgage News. Don't subscribe? Call: (800) 221-1809...
Just how bad is the Florida residential loan market? One broker told us this past week that he worked on 10 loan packages during March. "One of them closed," he said. He complained that the documentation wholesalers now require is tremendous but admits "the world has changed." If you would like to tell us about conditions in your loan market drop me a line at
Jumbo loan production fell by 50% in the fourth quarter, according to the brand-new edition of the Quarterly Data Report and its affiliate the Alternative Products QDR. According to the new QDR, quite a few firms are doing a booming business in FHA-backed loans. Among the top gainers: Flagstar Bank, Chase Home Finance and Taylor Bean Whitaker. To see the report, send an e-mail to
We understand that Greenwich Capital and other firms that have been providing warehouse financing to "scratch and dent" loan investors are tightening up their margin requirements. Meanwhile, Greenwich structured products chief Joe Walsh recently left the firm as did several other top officials there. Greenwich is owned by Royal Bank of Scotland. As one source noted, "Greenwich is in disarray. Everyone is now reporting to Scotland. Their top guy quit and went to Fortress. Apparently, they had Thornburg, Pelaton and some other high-profile debt problems." Greenwich's PR man could not be reached for comment. Greenwich, of course, was a huge securitizer for Ameriquest Mortgage, which is now out of business...
According to published reports, National City Corp. and Key Corp. are talking merger. A little more than a year ago NatCity made $1.2 billion by selling First Franklin (a Bill Dallas creation) to Merrill Lynch. Apparently, it wasn't enough to save the bank...
It had to happen sooner or later. Donald Trump's "university" is now offering courses to teach investors how to profit from the nation's housing debacle. The Donald -- who closed his ill-fated mortgage brokerage firm this past summer -- is holding seminars in several cities to teach the ins and outs of buying and profiting from foreclosed homes. In the Washington metro area Mr. Trump's instructors are offering seminars from April 5 to 8. Of course, since Trump University doesn't actually have a real campus in Washington he's holding "classes" in local hotels. I would assume that when the road show hits the New Jersey area they will be held in his casinos there...
CTX Mortgage is being sued by two lenders that have accused the homebuilder-owned firm of unfair business practices. One of the trials, which involves allegations made by Charter Oak Lending Group of Fairfield, Conn., starts next week...
We understand that Stan Kurland's new Penny Mac outfit is busily recruiting for senior staffers and is paying some pretty hefty salaries in the process. (Backed by Black Rock Financial, Penny Mac is an investor in delinquent and underperforming loans.) According to one source, a former Fremont General Corp. subprime executive was hired with a starting salary north of $300,000. You'd figure with all those unemployed mortgage executives out there, Mr. Kurland would be in a "buyer's market" for talent...
WASHINGTON NEWS: Late last week elected officials in Washington were debating legislation to help ease the housing crisis -- including huge tax breaks for the homebuilding industry, which would be allowed to write off past losses against future income. The "carry forward" incentive was used during the S&L crisis to entice investors to buy failed thrifts and fix them up. For complete coverage check the National Mortgage News website (www.nationalmortgagenews.com) and read Brian Collins stories in our newspaper and online. To contract Brian send an e-mail to
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Primary Residential Mortgage has hired Greg Frost as its vice president of national training. Mr. Frost will retain his position managing Frost Mortgage Banking Group, a division of PRMI.
LOAN OFFICER SURVEY NOTICE: National Mortgage News has launched its new 2008 Loan Officer Survey. To participate (it's free) just visit
MUST-ATTEND MORTGAGE MEETINGS: SourceMedia will hold its second annual Mortgage Servicing Conference at the Westin Park Hotel in Dallas on April 17 and 18. The keynote speaker is Paul Bennett, chief economist for the New York Stock Exchange. For more information visit
DATA NOTICE: The Mortgage Industry Directory and the online version of the book are still available. (Mention this notice and receive a free Quarterly Data Report.) Besides listing detailed information on the top 400 lenders and 300 servicers in the U.S., the MID ranks the nation's top funders of commercial mortgages. There's also information on loan brokers. The book has valuable contact information on the top executives and department heads at each firm. For more information e-mail
