This past week rumors were floating around that PennyMac might be working on a securitization, perhaps monetizing some of the nonperforming product it's been selectively purchasing over the past year. Several weeks back, Arch Bay Capital pulled off a deal, but supposedly didn't make much money on it. (Time will tell.) I could not nail down the securitization rumors but I did unearth a PennyMac auction (private) of roughly $98 million in loans. Executives that play in the NPL space believe that if home prices really have firmed up (have they?) we might be seeing more sales by firms (like PennyMac) that bought on the cheap last year. If you hear of any more NPL sales drop me a line at
Just when we thought the jumbo market might revive, the stock market tanks. OK, so the stock market hasn't totally tanked but investors certainly aren't feeling good about the recent carnage. If "rich folks" were planning to sell their recent gains only to see those gains quickly evaporate then maybe the "jumbo revival" we've been hearing about will have to wait further. Then again, maybe it's all these rich folks who have been selling, causing the recent downdraft. Or not. Europe is looking dicey and one of the greatest fears is that U.S. economic gains will reverse course. Let's hope not...
I'm thinking of launching a "Hey, We're Back" club. This would entail a website, perhaps, of names and faces of industry veterans (executives only, sorry) who left the business over the past decade or so, only to return. Why would they return? Answer: Because they got bored with retirement; they ran of money; or they realized that the only thing they are good at is, well, running a mortgage company. And let's face it: if you can't make money with today's fat yield curve then you never will. National Mortgage News recently published "We're Back" stories on Bob Howard and Jay Kislak (the dad, not the son). As we noted a few weeks ago, supposedly one of Angelo Mozilo's sons is running a small hard-money lender in Southern California somewhere...
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Ocwen is buying the old Money Store servicing operation in Northern California. Actually, it's buying HomEq from Barclays. Same thing, really. In case you're wondering, Marc Turtletaub is long gone from any old TMS units...
By now we've been bombarded, rightfully so, by media stories on the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. However, I've yet to see any stories about how this environmental calamity will affect real estate values in the region. If you see any stories send them by way or if you have an opinion post them at the end of this column...
Deutsche Bank on the U.S. jobs market: "We are becoming increasingly confident that the labor market tide is turning, although it will probably take at least a couple of strong employment reports to convince policymakers that this will not be another 'jobless recovery.' While jobless claims are exhibiting a less forceful recovery than we would like to see given our near and medium term payroll/unemployment rate projections, the substantial recovery in withholding tax receipts provides an important piece of evidence that our labor forecasts are on target."
JPMorgan Chase will close its credit card center in Frederick, Md., by the end of the year, eliminating 600 jobs in the area. This isn't really a mortgage story but I've driven by the office park that the JPM unit operates in. CitiMortgage once had a mortgage processing unit in the same subdivision. The Citi unit was once part of the old First Nationwide Mortgage...
Some of you recently asked me if NMN has detailed market share data on lenders and servicers. The answer is yes. It's contained in our Quarterly Data Report product. For more info drop an e-mail to
THIS COULD BE INTERESTING: Warren Buffett is set to appear before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission next week. Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway is Moody's largest shareholder. During the subprime boom of 2003 to 2007 Moody's and all its compatriots in the world of rating agencies (as we all know) never met a subprime bond they didn't like. It's all in that book, "Chain of Blame, How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis" which I promised never to promote in this column again.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: Ray Johnson has departed as the top public relations contact for PennyMac. Corridor Mortgage of Maryland said Sara Lenes, president and owner of Mortgage Associates of Columbia, Md., has joined the firm, bringing along with her a group of loan officers. Corridor also named Tom Hollerbach senior vice president of production.
DATA STUFF: The brand-new edition of NMN's Annual Data Report is out. In the ADR you can find rankings on the top 100 lenders and servicers in 2009 with complete breakdowns on production channels and subservicing and subprime servicing. To order the ADR drop a line to
SURVEY NOTICE No. 1: Our annual "Top Producer Survey" (a k a LO survey) is still available at
SURVEY NOTICE No. 2: It's survey time once again for sellers and servicers. Look for our annual survey in your computer mailbox or e-mail
I'm on Twitter. On occasion I reveal stories that are just about to break on the NMN website. Or I complain about the sometimes-lousy New York Mets, the awful Orioles and my hopes for the New York "Football" Giants.
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: World Cup soccer starts soon. This could be the Euro zone's last chance. Go Messi (Argentina)! Wait. Does the U.S. have a team?
