THIS JUST IN: The Mortgage Bankers Association has formed a new task force to address concerns about a possible bust in the warehouse lending arena. (In case you're wondering, there are still plenty of non-banks left that need financing for their pipelines, 90% of which include loans backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA.) The trade group wants a pow-wow with the Treasury Department on the issue, especially with a refi boom on the horizon. For the full story, complete with details, see the Monday edition of National Mortgage News. Don't subscribe? Call (800) 221-1809...
Prodovis of Arlington, Texas, a specialty servicer that works on loan modifications, is about to land a big contract. The company, which has 34 full-time workers, isn't giving out details, at least not yet. Stay tuned...
We understand that a top political appointee in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's policy, research and development unit is angling for a "career" job there that would allow this person to stay on and not depart along with all the rest of the Bush appointees. Some career staffers at HUD are hopping mad. One source familiar with the matter said this person is "burrowing in" and could wind up with a government salary of $172,000. The PD&R is considered HUD's think tank...
It looks as though Fortes Financial is no more. The non-depository mortgage banker was started more than a year ago by industry veteran Peter J. Levasseur who once worked for one of Lehman Brothers' subprime divisions...
About 20% of mortgages originated in the third quarter were sourced through loan brokers, an all-time low, according to figures compiled by the Quarterly Data Report. Are brokers facing extinction? Drop me an e-mail at
As the weekend approached the White House was ready to hand a lifeline to the U.S. auto industry, preventing (more than likely) two bankruptcies and thousands upon thousands of more layoffs. You can assume, for argument's sake, that 60% of auto employees have mortgages. Now for a legal question: Can the Treasury Department use funds allocated under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act to bail out the U.S. auto industry? Answer: yes. The bill is so vaguely worded that it can use the money for just about anything. But there's a catch. How much of the first $350 billion allocated is left? Treasury cannot tap the other $350 billion without Congressional approval. But there is one way Treasury can raise money without going to Capitol Hill. It can sell some of the preferred stock it owns in the 80 or so banks it funded. Of course, it may be at fire-sale prices, but what the heck. In case you missed it, late Thursday Republicans nixed an auto bailout plan, increasing the likelihood that General Motors and Chrysler might have to file for bankruptcy protection. Republicans also killed the original bailout effort this fall, telling the world they didn't want to spend $700 billion to bail out Wall Street millionaires. Only after the stock market crashed - and voters saw their 401(k)s tank - did they change their tune. Now, Republicans are getting tough with rank and file autoworkers about how much they make. It would appear that after eight years of rolling over to help the Bush White House the GOP is beginning, once again, to act like fiscal conservatives. Of course, you can bet that rank and file autoworkers will remember the GOP's actions come Election Day 2010...
In a sign that Americans' spending habits are shifting, their household debt fell for the first time ever, as their net worth declined by the largest amount on record based on data going back to 1951, according to the Federal Reserve's just-released flow of funds report. Consumer debt fell an annualized $30 billion, or 0.8%, in the third quarter to $13.91 trillion...
It's official: we're in a recession. How do I know? It's not because some economic forecasting group told me. I just received my annual Christmas shipment of Fairytale Brownies from the public relations company of Campbell-Lewis Communications, which specializes in financial services and other businesses. The brownie shipment was about half the size of years past. Bill: send the other half! As for John Lewis, the Lewis of Campbell-Lewis, he left the mortgage industry about three years ago, right before it hit the skids. Nice timing John...
WASHINGTON NEWS: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's ability to purchase loans from lenders is being hampered by private mortgage insurance companies - so says the GSE's regulator. The mortgage insurers have tighter standards than Fannie and Freddie, particularly in distressed housing markets. "If someone wants more than an 80% LTV mortgage they have to go FHA," Federal Housing Finance Agency director James Lockhart told NMN bureau chief Brian Collins. Mr. Lockhart added, "That's why the Federal Housing Administration's loan volume is increasing so dramatically."
DATA NOTICE: With the mortgage industry in the throes of a historical correction you need up-to-date data on which firms are left standing. You need hard numbers on their servicing and production volumes, including executive names and telephone numbers. All of this is contained in the Mortgage Industry Directory and the Web version of the production, the eMID. Buy the book and receive a free Quarterly Data Report. For more information e-mail
