THIS JUST IN: Who says everyone in government hates brokers and would like to see the industry run out of town on a rail? (TARP overseer Betsy Warren doesn't count.) Late Friday, the Federal Housing Administration extended the deadline for brokerage firms to submit their audited financials until April 30. This means they won't have to shell out upwards of $15,000 (for the pricey accounting firms) to get an audit. FHA is working on a final rule that will effectively take them out of the broker approval process. It will then be up to wholesalers to police their brokers. Now, some you are probably thinking this: "My wholesaler is going to require an audit and it's going to cost me anyway." Good point. The update, written by
Meanwhile, we've just learned that a trade group chief is working on a 'Recovery Fund' concept that, if adopted, might convince regulators to toss the Home Valuation Code of Conduct silliness overboard. We shall see. More on this story next week...
Each quarter, readers wait anxiously for the final NMN rankings to see which firms are on top in lending and servicing. Well, NMN's Quarterly Data Report is out and the numbers are in: the industry funded just under $399 billion of home loans in 4Q. Most of the top 20 funders had strong gains, except for one firm: CitiMortgage. To see a sample of the QDR drop an email to:
Private label securitizations are mostly a pipe dream these days but one boutique investment banking house is working on a jumbo transaction. The details are still fuzzy and you can bet that some lenders are waiting anxiously. If a conduit gets off the ground it could open up more lending to jumbo borrowers, helping revive the high-end market. The full story is in the Monday print edition of NMN. Don't subscribe? Call: (800)221-1809...
It's always possible that PennyMac might consider jumbos for its new conduit. Look for some news from Stan Kurland's shop by midyear...
Actually, there have been a few "one-off" private label deals and several "re-securitizations" according to NMN's Wall Street reporter Bonnie Sinnock. We just learned that Morgan Stanley was the buyer on the recent Arch Bay deal...
File this under "Uh, Duh" (a phrase my 10-year old likes to use on occasion.) The Washington Post reported on Friday that Rep. Barney Frank (the powerful chairman of the House Financial Services Committee) told a bunch of reporters that, "People who own Fannie and Freddie debt are not in the same legal position as [those who own] Treasury bonds, and I don't want them to be." Yeah, so what. Let's make things clear: Uncle Sam will make good on their bonds, even though the guarantee still is (technically) "implicit" rather than "explicit." As I've noted before Uncle Sam does not want to be legally liable for (as a technical matter) Fannie and Freddie because that means $5.2 trillion in GSE guarantees get placed on the books of the taxpayers. The Obama White House (as most of you know) has punted on the issue of the future of the GSEs until next year. If you're a mortgage lobbyist, come on down to Gucci Gulch. There's going to plenty to talk about the next two years. And bring the American Express card. Congressmen and their staffs love to be taken out to dinner and drink. If the Republicans get control of the House in the fall you'll be buying plenty of steak dinners. If the Democrats hang on, you'll be eating in macrobiotic vegetarian diners, unless they're Blue Dog Democrats. (My apologies to all readers who want me to refrain from making political comments)...
Speaking of Washington, Lender Processing Services, a technology and service provider to mortgage bankers has opened a D.C. office. LPS said it has "significant contractual relationships with a number of federal agencies"...
SURVEY NOTICE: It's survey time once again. In a week or so NMN will send out its annual lending and servicing survey but currently we're asking loan officers (retail and brokers) to fill out a special questionnaire tailor-fitted to them. We are giving away complimentary subscriptions to Origination News to those who provide their 2009 origination volume. Please visit:
Also, the paperback version of "Chain of Blame, How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis" is out. It has new information and details on Countrywide, the mortgage cartel, and TBTF, among other matters. Sadly, my co-author has left journalism for (yikes) the world of public relations...
Who says the commercial RE market is dead in Florida? This past week Garrison Developer Group of Florida said it had commenced construction on "The Preserve at Alafia," a 351-unit waterfront luxury apartment project. It's located on the Alafia River in Tampa's Hillsborough County, 10 minutes from downtown Tampa. Some of you might be wondering, "Can I short the thing?"...
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Deutsche Bank Securities has named Wall Street veteran Steve Abrahams as its new chief of securitization/MBS research. Retiring from DB is research guru Karen Weaver, one of the first analysts to predict the housing and mortgage bubbles. Meanwhile, Stephen Staid has joined Saxon Mortgage Services as executive vice president of customer relationship management. First American CoreLogic has named Susan Allen vice president, strategic relationships. She reports to Ben Graboske, senior vice president and chief technology officer.
DATA NOTICE: National Mortgage News has all different data sets available for purchase including rankings and contact lists on the nation's top lenders and servicers. Send your requests for information to:
THE LAST WORD: If Jeff Bridges doesn't get a best actor Oscar for "Crazy Heart" something is wrong. Of course, I said the same thing about Roddy McDowell several years ago concerning "Planet of the Apes."
