Origination

Federal Housing Administration is moving ahead with the implementation of its appraisal reforms after making accommodations for mortgage brokers to secure a case number. The new FHA rules are designed to shield appraisers from loan officer and mortgage broker pressure by prohibiting these parties from selecting appraisers. Starting Feb. 15, brokers can secure a case number for FHA loans online without inputting appraiser information. Previously, a broker or LO had to input appraiser information to get a case number assignment from the agency's 'FHA Connection' website. FHA delayed the original Jan. 1 effective date to address mortgage broker concerns. Under the new regime, the FHA-approved lender can input the appraiser information when the appraisal is completed. This approach preserves the mortgage broker's ability to get FHA case numbers and shop loans to several wholesalers. The new appraisal rules still require changes for brokers and LOs but "they made it as easy as possible," said mortgage consultant Brian Chapelle of Potomac Partners, Washington.

Guardian Solutions, a commercial loan modification firm based in Clearwater, Fla., will donate 10% of its profits to various charities that help families in need in the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince and the surrounding area. "The situation in Haiti is one that just can't be ignored. While there is nothing we can do for those that lost their lives, we can help those that managed to survive. We're in the business of helping people with their commercial property troubles, so helping people with more dire problems was not a difficult choice for us," said Jeramie P. Concklin, chief executive of Guardian Solutions. The company has also partially funded a team of volunteers that is going to Haiti next week to help rebuild a school.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was back below 5% during the week ended Feb. 11, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. At 4.97%, "interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are below 5% for a third week this year," said Freddie Mac's chief economist Frank Nothaft. This is down from 5.01% the previous week and from 5.16% last year. The average weekly rates for all other loans types commonly tracked by Freddie Mac also were down from the previous week, with the exception of one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages. The one-year Treasury ARM rate rose to 4.33% during the week from 4.22% the previous week, but was down from 4.94% a year ago. The five-year Treasury hybrid ARM rate was 4.19%, down from 4.27% the previous week and 5.23% a year ago. The 15-year FRM rate was 4.34%, down from 4.40% the previous week and 5.23% a year ago. Average points were 0.7 for 30-year FRMs and 0.6 for the other three types of mortgages.

Treasury Department and bank supervisors must undertake a coordinated effort to address a developing commercial real estate "crisis" that could be very damaging to the economy, according to a Congressional panel that oversees the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Nearly half of the $1.4 trillion in commercial real estate loans that need to be refinanced between 2010 and 2014 are under water and this could lead to a "significant wave of CRE defaults" and "prolong an already painful recession" the Congressional Oversight Panel says in a new 190-page report. CRE losses at banks could range as high as $200 billion to $300 billion with small and mid-sized banks facing the greatest exposure to write-downs and losses, the report warns. The banking regulators are encouraging banks to refinance CRE loans if the borrowers have the capacity to make the payments on the restructured loan. This policy allows banks to avoid writedowns of problematic loans for now but its success depends on a quick recovery of the overall economy. "Lenders obviously like" this policy, the COP report says. But investors looking to buy distressed properties warn it will push losses into the future and slow the recovery of the CRE market. "It is critical that bank supervisors fully recognized and are publicly clear about the potential for a CRE crisis and are quick to force loss recognition where necessary," the COP report says.

Mortgage lender Embrace Home Loans, Newport, R.I., replaced its annual sales meeting this year with a Haiti benefit, according to the company. The company said its fundraising auction brought in $20,000 for a group called Partners with Haiti that supports Haitian orphanages. Employees donated items to the auction that included the use of a Florida vacation house for a week and use of an RV for a week, as well as sports and concert tickets. The Port-Au-Prince area of Haiti was devastated by a Jan. 12 earthquake.

NetMore, a mortgage banking firm based in Walla Walla, Wash., has hired Comergence Compliance Monitoring as a third-party due diligence provider to keep an eye on its correspondent lenders. CCM will manage all reviews and monitor third-party originators that source loans to the company. CCM is based in Orange, Calif. NetMore, a nonbank, said it is "committed to working with the highest quality mortgage brokers in the industry in a 'friction free' manner."

Residential mortgage lender Platinum Home Mortgage Corp. has appointed a senior executive vice president for the company's "Midwest expansion" division. Don Grudzinski, who previously was vice president of production at Platinum Home Mortgage, has been named to the post. In his new position, Mr. Grudzinski will be responsible for both residential originations and operations. He has more than two decades of experience in mortgage sales.

Flagstar Bancorp Inc., which controls one of the nation's largest wholesale lenders, came up nearly $200 million shy of its capital-raising goal in a rights offering that expired earlier in the week. The company is also in the process of trying to sell a $10 billion package of mostly Fannie Mae servicing rights. In an interview with American Banker, Flagstar CEO Joseph Campanelli acknowledged that the rights offering did not bring in as much capital as Flagstar desired. But he said the total was still in line with the capital level targeted in its business plan. The $300.6 million raised, he said, "brings us north of 8% capital, which we believe is a good, solid number." As part of a plan to diversify its portfolio this year, Mr. Campanelli noted recently that Flagstar would seek to broaden its revenue stream with ventures outside its national mortgage banking model. According to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and its Quarterly Data Report affiliate, Flagstar ranks eighth among residential wholesale funders with a quarterly run-rate just shy of $3 billion. Flagstar is also an active warehouse lender. In the fourth quarter it lost $72 million, an improvement over its third quarter loss of $298 million. Its shares continue to trade for less than $1 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Since it introduced its Clarity Commitment document in April 2009, Bank of America, Charlotte, N.C., has issued more than 1 million of them to its mortgage customers. Potential homebuyers receive a Clarity Commitment with their welcome package and again with their closing documents. The Clarity Commitment provides basic information on terms such as interest rates, monthly payments and closing costs. "Customers told us they wanted transparency and 'no surprises' in the lending process, and the Clarity Commitment answers that need — helping potential homeowners clearly understand the key terms and conditions of their mortgage agreement prior to closing a loan," said Barbara Desoer, president of Bank of America Home Loans. The Clarity Commitment is now available for most B of A home loan products, including home equity loans, reverse mortgages, and most recently, permanent mortgage modifications under the government's Home Affordable Modification Program.

Agency mortgage-backed securities investor Annaly Capital Management Inc. has priced a public offering of $500 million in an aggregate principal amount of its 4% convertible senior notes due 2015 and plans to use the proceeds, in part, to buy MBS for its investment portfolio. The company said it would also use the proceeds for general corporate purchases. It estimated net proceeds of about $485 million after deducting underwriting discounts and expected offering expenses. The offering is slated to close Friday. Interest on the notes is set to be paid semi-annually at a rate of 4% per year with the notes maturing on Feb. 15, 2015 unless they are repurchased or converted earlier. The notes will be convertible into shares of Annaly's common stock at an initial conversion rate of roughly 46.6 shares per $1,000 principal amount of notes. This is equal to about $21.46 per share of common stock, subject to adjustment in certain circumstances. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is the sole underwriter for the offering.