THIS JUST IN: PNC Financial Services is fielding phone calls on the availability of the warehouse lending division of National City. (PNC - which has never been crazy about the mortgage business - inherited it when it acquired the Cleveland-based bank late last year.) It's hard to say if a deal will be struck but some sources close to the situation are optimistic that a home might be found for the unit. The full story is in the Monday paper edition of National Mortgage News. Don't subscribe? Call 800-221-1809...
Also in that issue is a story about Fannie Mae (sort of) making another run at mortgage insurance. But this time it's entirely altruistic. Really, that's what a PR lady there told me. I'm paraphrasing, of course. Many moons ago Fannie tried to get into the MI business - back when it was big and powerful and seemed to have the bull by the horns. But that was then...
I keep glancing at the Congressional Research Service's summary of the various options for Fannie and Freddie. It's a nicely written summary, one that points out that the GSEs are paying Uncle Sam a 10% dividend on their preferred stock - which is a sweet deal...
If you weren't planning to attend the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association next week, perhaps you should - if you can. (No, I'm not getting paid to write this.) Never before has the future of mortgage banking been so cloudy. And that, of course, is an understatement. Investment banker Larry Charbonneau told me recently that every lender he has spoken with this year is making money. Profit margins are strong. But that's now. What about next year? What will happen if the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit isn't extended. What if rates rise? What if the national unemployment rate doesn't improve much? The next 24 months will determine the future of this industry. We hope that you continue reading the updates that the NMN staff brings you but it never hurts to get out and hear what your industry leaders are saying...
Who says lenders think there's no future in wholesaling? This past week Long Island-based Lend America said it hopes its new wholesale lending platform will be accepting its first loan in mid-October. The company said the channel would have 25 geographically focused teams as part of its centralized operations...
It's finally out - the Federal Reserve's Home Mortgage Disclosure Act database which has lending volumes on 8,000 firms including sales to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The entire database is free when you order NMN's new MortgageStats.com product. (You also get access to our Quarterly Data Report.) For information e-mail
I have fallen victim to Internet trendiness. Those who know me will tell you this: Paul is usually the second-to-last guy to pick up a new technology (though I immediately did recognize the productivity gains reporters/editors could gain from using Google, e-mail and various search engines). Any way, you can now
WASHINGTON NEWS: Are bank loan officers getting a free ride on licensing requirements? The SAFE Act is putting nondepository mortgage lenders at a disadvantage to banks when it comes to hiring new loan officers, so says Scott Stern, chief executive of mortgage cooperative Lenders One. For the full scoop see Brian Collins' story on the NMN website:
QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Last week I asked wholesale AEs, retail loan officers and loan brokers if they were seeing many consumers buy down the rate on their mortgage by paying more points. Most answered "no" and "very few." So much for that question. Here's a new one: Will FHA's market share ever top 50%? Drop me a line at
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: GMAC has named Steve Abreu the new president of its mortgage operations, working out of the company's Fort Washington, Pa., office. His most recent position was president and chief executive of GreenPoint Mortgage Funding of California.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE WASHINGTON OFFICE OF NATIONAL MORTGAGE NEWS: We've moved to Northern Virginia which means there are new telephone numbers for our staff. Executive editor Paul Muolo can be reached at 571-403-3851, bureau chief Brian Collins at 571-403-3837, Andras Malatinszky, director of online products at 571-403-3862, and Deartra Todd, data collection and sales at 571-403-3859. The mailing address is 4401 Wilson Blvd./Suite 910, Arlington, VA 22203.
DATA NOTICE No. 1: Just a reminder but the new Mortgagestats.com data product is ready. M-Stats (which you can subscribe to) is Web-based and incorporates both the Quarterly Data Report and our annual Mortgage Industry Directory. Among other things, it has annual rankings on the top 400 lenders and servicers, including breakdowns on retail, wholesale, and correspondent - and news archives. There's contact info too - and plenty of data on servicing. And here's the best part: you get quarterly updates. To see a sample send an e-mail to
DATA NOTICE No. 2: Even though we have just launched our new MortgageStats.com product you can still subscribe to the Quarterly Data Report, a spreadsheet product that provides readers with quarterly rankings on the nation's top lenders and servicers. There's also a companion product called the "Alt-QDR" which provides rankings on second liens, jumbos and much more. Again, shoot an e-mail to
UPCOMING IMPORTANT INDUSTRY MEETINGS: As already noted, the MBA is holding its annual convention next week in San Diego. In November NMN and SourceMedia will be holding a loan modification show in Dallas. For more details e-mail
