What We're Hearing

There's at least one detail about BB&T staying in the warehouse lending business that readers might want to know: for new nonbank customers the bank is limiting its lines to mortgage lenders that are located in its "footprint." That would be the mid-Atlantic and selected other states, which means if you're a nonbank based in California you might be out of luck. As you might recall, this past summer BB&T took over the warehouse platform of Colonial Bank when that institution failed. The North Carolina-based BB&T was already in the warehouse space. In other warehouse news, we continue to hear scattered reports that the "credit crunch" facing nonbanks is beginning to thaw somewhat but the industry is hardly popping champagne. Meanwhile, in other news, Lend America executive Michael Ashley told Newsday last night that his firm's problems with the FHA stem from an employee in the Inspector General's office at the Department of Housing and Urban Development having a "vendetta" against him. He declined to name the employee. Lend America is a nonbank that depends on warehouse lines of credit. It ranks 18th nationwide in terms of GNMA issuance, according to the Quarterly Data Report...