THIS JUST IN: It appears that steel magnate Wilbur Ross is still moving ahead with his plan to purchase the subprime servicing assets of Option One Mortgage Corp. For full details see Monday's National Mortgage News. Don't subscribe? Call: 800-221-1809...
Also, former First Franklin and Ownit chief Bill Dallas may be working on a new mortgage project. Bill did not return our phone call last week...
We understand that things are not going well at Greenwich Capital in Connecticut. One investment banker who visited Greenwich recently described the atmosphere in Connecticut as "a lot of traders sitting around gabbing" and "people going home early." Greenwich has not responded to telephone calls from NMN. It is owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, which took a huge subprime writedown last week...
Meanwhile, mortgage news is breaking all around. If you have a tip that you would like to share with our reporters and editors (on a confidential basis or otherwise) of National Mortgage News send them to:
A few weeks ago I mentioned the word "capitulation" in regard to the mortgage crisis. When we see signs of capitulation (as in, folks are throwing in the towel), then and only then will this crisis be heading toward conclusion (or at least the start of it). Last week we saw one such sign. His name is David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, who always has something nice to say about the housing market even when things are really bad. But not last week. At Thursday morning's NAHB forecast conference he said he has "penciled in" a recession for this year. He more or less admitted that housing has cratered but he did find one bright spot: Mississippi where building activity is on the rise. Then again, he noted that the only reason construction is up in Ole Miss is because of rebuilding activity in a post-Katrina world. When David says the fat lady has sung, it's a Pavarotti-like event...
NMN's Annual Data Report is finally ready. This Excel spreadsheet product ranks the nation's top 100 lenders and servicers in 2007 and much more. To order a copy send an e-mail to
At the same NAHB conference, economist Nariman Behravesh of Global Insight noted that the current mess is unlike the S&L crisis because no banks have closed. The well-respected Mr. Behravesh, obviously, is not including non-depositories and loan brokerage firms of which 2,000 have likely closed. NMN is currently conducting research in this area. That's our early tally...
Countrywide Financial Corp. is getting pro-active on shedding its REO (real estate-owned). The lender has set up a website where investors can shop for homes on the cheap:
For the 800th time reporters asked and Bank of America confirmed it is still buying Countrywide...
Well, at least someone in the business is earning money. Hudson City Bancorp of Paramus, N.J., posted net income of $88.7 million in the first quarter, a 25% jump from the year ago period. This should stop all those wisecracks about Joisey. Got that?...
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"This settlement is not acknowledgement of wrongdoing on my part, because I did not break any laws or rules while I was leading Fannie Mae. At most, this is an agreement to disagree." -- former chairman and CEO Franklin Raines who agreed to cough up $20 million-plus to OFHEO...
WASHINGTON NEWS: The House Financial Services Committee has approved by voice vote a bill that would shield mortgage servicers from investor lawsuits so they can modify loans and help more troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure. The bill (H.R. 5579), sponsored by Reps. Michael Castle, R-Del., and Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., would create a safe harbor for servicers who carefully consider loss mitigation options and decide to modify a mortgage. See Brian Collins story in NMN or e-mail him at Brian.Collins@SourceMedia.com...
LOAN OFFICER SURVEY NOTICE: National Mortgage News has launched its new 2008 Loan Officer Survey. To participate (it's free) just 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
