He's back: Bill Dallas. Mr. Dallas, who founded both First Franklin and Ownit Mortgage is serving as a consultant to CMG Mortgage. First Franklin met its maker after being bought by Merrill Lynch. Ownit failed 18 months ago...
He's back too: Michael Commaroto, the former Deutsche Bank loan trader. He's talking to Leon Black about a deal...
She's back: Amy Brandt, the former WMC Mortgage chief. (See above.) For the full details about Messrs. Dallas and Commaroto see the Monday edition of National Mortgage News. Don't subscribe? Call: (800)221-1809...
According to Bonnie Sinnock, NMN's Wall Street reporter, a top mortgage executive has left Goldman Sachs. (See Monday's NMN.) If you have tips on Wall Street-related mortgage news send Bonnie an email at:
According to Experian Consumer Direct, the average mortgage balance for a consumer with a "severely delinquent" loan was $131,699 at the end of February. A year earlier the figure was $124,465. Also, among all cities, Washington D.C. had the lowest average credit score for those with a severely delinquent mortgage: 583...
Speculators that have been shorting H&R Block's stock take note: WL Ross & Co. LLC has closed on its $1.3 billion purchase of Option One Mortgage Corp., which services about $55 billion in A- to D loans. To get a complete ranking of all subprime servicers email:
If you're looking for a hard money lender here's one firm that we recently heard about: LJL Funding LLC of San Diego. According to company EVP, Jeffrey W. Arnold, "We're a residential hard money wholesale lender operating in the western one-third of the country"...
As the Federal Reserve continues to cut short-term rates (to soothe the pain of the mortgage/housing downturn) there has been a chorus of critics suggesting that the central bank is setting up the economy for more "cheap credit" abuses. They believe cheap credit sparked the current mortgage mess, which is a ridiculous assumption. When the Fed funds rate was 1% subprime mortgage lenders enjoyed extremely wide profit margins because they could borrow money from Wall Street (at say 2% or 3%) and lend it out at 6% or 7%. When the Fed tightened credit by raising short-term rates, profit margins began to dry up. If the Fed funds rate goes back to 1% (for example) does anyone in their right mind really believe that Wall Street and money center banks will immediately reopen the warehouse spigots to non-bank subprime firms? Drop me a line at:
Mortgage Network of Massachusetts says it is the "largest independent mortgage company in the Northeast." It reported record loan volume for the first quarter with originations up 93%...
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 email to:
IMPORTANT SURVEY NOTICE: Ms. Todd and her associate are finalizing all annual surveys for National Mortgage News. We're looking for responses from ALL lenders, servicers and loan brokers. Send her or Sharon Hutcherson an email if you would like to participate. It's FREE publicity for your firm. Her email is (again):
WASHINGTON NEWS: A Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal that could facilitate the restructuring of "underwater" mortgages and prevent one-million foreclosures is getting fairly good reviews from Senate Banking Committee leaders. Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., said the proposal advanced by FDIC chairman Sheila Bair has "a lot of merit" in the way it uses government loans to reduce the size of the mortgage. See Brian Collin's story on NMNOnline:
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 email:
