Originations

Staten Island Bancorp Inc., Staten Island, N.Y., has announced the retention of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to assist in evaluating the company's strategic options, including a possible merger and a possible disposition of a mortgage subsidiary.SIB, the holding company for SI Bank & Trust, said it has also asked Milestone Merchant Partners to evaluate its options regarding the bank's mortgage subsidiary, SIB Mortgage Corp., which operates as Ivy Mortgage.

Don Lampe of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice says his law firm is fielding about a lawsuit a week resulting from the North Carolina predatory lending law.Most of the suits are coming from plaintiffs who allege that lenders made them high-cost loans, which may have been made unwittingly, Mr. Lampe told a Las Vegas conference on predatory lending presented by the American Conference Institute. "It's very, very hard under the North Carolina law to do the math," said Mr. Lampe. "That's because it was the first of its kind and, even as a model, it's nowhere near perfect." Mr. Lampe said, however, that the ability to cure included in the law's flipping provision has been effective in providing an alternative to lawsuits in disputes over refinances.

The median prices of existing homes increased by double-digit percentages on a year-over-year basis in a record number of metropolitan areas in the third quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors.The association's metro area home price report found that 41 of the 124 areas surveyed recorded double-digit annual increases in median resale prices, and only two posted declines. "This breaks a record just set in the second quarter of this year, when 40 metropolitan areas experienced double-digit gains in their median existing-home price," said NAR chief economist David Lereah. "In fact, this is the strongest price increase since publication of our quarterly metro price series began in 1982 and results from historically low inventories of homes available for sale." The top rates of year-over-year hikes in median resale prices were in Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., up 26.5% to $228,900; the Los Angeles area, up 25.4% to $365,300; and Atlantic City, N.J., up 22.6% to $183,500. The NAR can be found online at http://realtor.org.

Apex Mortgage Capital Inc., Los Angeles, has reported a net loss of $81.2 million ($2.72 per share) for the third quarter, compared with net income of $9.5 million ($0.32 per share) a year earlier.The net loss from investment and derivative activities totaled $80.7 million, while the net loss from operations was only $532,000, the real estate investment trust said. "Due to unprecedented interest and prepayment rate volatility during the quarter, management determined that preserving book value was critical in this environment," said Philip A. Barach, Apex's chief executive officer. "In order to reduce volatility of the portfolio, the mix of assets in the portfolio was changed and leverage was reduced." As a result, fixed-rate securities declined from 85.3% of the company's portfolio as of June 30 to 51.1% as of Sept. 30, he said. Apex said a special stockholders' meeting is scheduled for Nov. 21 to vote on a previously announced merger agreement with American Home Mortgage. The REIT can be found online at http://www.apexreit.com.

RBS Greenwich Capital has announced that it will not purchase or provide financing for high-cost, covered, manufactured housing, or certain refinance loans originated in New Jersey on or after Nov. 27 if a pending law takes effect in its current form."Unless the New Jersey Act is amended, this would limit the New Jersey loans that RBS Greenwich purchases and finances to purchase money and rate/term refinance loans that are neither high-cost or covered loans," the company said. RBS Greenwich Capital can be found online at http://www.gcm.com.

An increasing proportion of the demand for Liberty Bonds is coming from those interested in building housing, according to Frances Walton, chief financial officer of the Empire State Development Corp.At their inception, Liberty Bonds were conceived as a way to encourage commercial development in Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. But the demand has come more from those interested in building housing and in developing in other parts of New York City. This change in demand will likely result in an increase in the proportion of Liberty Bond money allotted for housing when a proposal to extend the program is written, the ESDC official told a Nov. 12 roundtable on rebuilding Lower Manhattan sponsored by The Bond Market Association and The Municipal Forum of New York. The program's mandate expires at the end of 2004.

Principal Residential Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, has announced what it termed a major expansion in the Western states with the planned opening of new wholesale offices in Portland, Ore., and Phoenix in the first quarter of 2004.Katherine Gardner, formerly the Denver regional director for principal's wholesale channel, has been named regional vice president for wholesale and will continue to be based in Boulder, Colo. In addition, the following staff members have been named regional directors: Tom Malloy, replacing Ms. Gardner in the Denver post; Sue Hall, for the new Phoenix office; and Tom Tough, for the new Portland office. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.principal.com.

San Antonio-based USAA has topped the J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction rankings for the largest national mortgage lenders.J.D. Power said USAA, which specializes in lending to military personnel, scored higher than the other 30 lenders in its 2004 Home Mortgage Study in each of the four factors that affect satisfaction: day-to-day administration of the account; billing and payment process; customer-initiated contact experience; and the loan origination process. J.D. Power also reported that customer satisfaction with home mortgage lenders in general had risen for the second year in a row. "There is a move to centralize the day-to-day servicing of mortgages," said Jeremy Bowler, director of the finance and insurance practice at J.D. Power. "The challenge lenders face is to deliver the same quality of customer care and still remain economically competitive. USAA has done an exemplary job of delivering personalized service to its members." It was the second consecutive year that USAA topped the J.D. Power rankings. The other lenders ranking in the top five in overall satisfaction were: Branch Banking & Trust, SunTrust, Countrywide Home Loans, and Wells Fargo. J.D. Power can be found online at http://www.jdpower.com.

Total existing-home sales -- including condominiums and co-operatives -- zoomed past the old record in the third quarter, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.40 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.The record resales rate was 18.7% higher than the 6.23 million rate recorded a year earlier. Resales rose in all 48 states for which complete data were available (plus the District of Columbia), and in 43 of those states and the district the sales were up by double-digit rates from the levels of a year earlier, the NAR reported. David Lereah, the NAR's chief economist, said it was the first time in 20 years that all available states reported sales increases. The previous record, a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.70 million resales, was set in the first quarter of 2003. The biggest year-over-year gains were recorded in Nevada, where the resale rate was up 37.6%; Washington, up 36.7%; and Arizona, up 29.4%. The NAR can be found on the Internet at http://realtor.org.

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell to 626.0 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Nov. 7 from 685.2 the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 9.8% on the week and down 38.1% from a year earlier. The Purchase Index fell from 404.3 to 375.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index declined from 2319.4 to 2084.2. Refinancings represented 50.9% of total applications, down from 51.1% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 26.6%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 5.85% to 5.94%, and points (including the origination fee) fell from 1.47 to 1.39 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.03% for the week ending Nov. 14 from 5.98% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.32% to 5.39%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages climbed from 3.73% to 3.76%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 points for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.7 points for ARMs. "Mortgage rates remained fairly stable this week as the financial markets tried to discern just how quickly the economy is growing and how sustainable that growth will be," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Speculation that the [Federal Reserve Board] will not raise interest rates anytime soon should help restrain any upward pressure on mortgage rates. ARM rates in particular will continue to be very attractive to some homeowners and homebuyers." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.94% and 5.32%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.09%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Criimi Mae Inc., Rockville, Md., has reported a net loss of $7.4 million ($0.49 per share) for the third quarter, compared with a net loss of $25.1 million ($1.80 per share) a year earlier.The results include $4.7 million of impairment charges on subordinated commercial mortgage-backed securities, the real estate investment trust said. "The credit performance of the mortgage loans underlying Criimi Mae's CMBS continues to be impacted by the lagging weakness in the hotel, retail, and certain other commercial property sectors contributing to the company's recognition of impairment during the second and third quarters of this year," said Barry Blattman, chairman and chief executive officer of the REIT. "However, a 16% decrease in the total specially serviced loans since the second quarter is a positive development for Criimi Mae." Criimi Mae's website address is http://www.criimimaeinc.com.

Class G of GS Mortgage Securities Corp. II's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1998-GL II, has been downgraded from B to B-minus by Fitch Ratings.The ratings on eight other classes in the deal were affirmed. Fitch attributed the downgrade to the decline in the performance of a loan secured by the Marriott Desert Springs hotel. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Aimbridge Home Loans, Denver, has introduced a subprime mortgage program that it says allows credit unions to service a wider range of loans while reducing the risk associated with subprime lending.Under the program, a hyperlink is integrated into a credit union's existing website, allowing members to complete a loan application via a secure online connection, Aimbridge said. The company then runs a report to determine the applicant's credit score and borrower profile. "The risk associated with servicing subprime loans often forced credit unions to deny their members' applications," said Aimbridge president Keith Brown. ".... This subprime mortgage program allows credit unions to service all ranges of loans, with little to no risk involved." The company can be found online at http://www.aimbridge.com.

GMAC Mortgage, Horsham, Pa., has announced the launch of a new program under which it partners with builders to provide loans for buyers of newly constructed homes.Participating builders reserve money for the mortgages of their clients, and can then offer a maximum interest rate and point cap for up to one year, removing some of the risk that customers face when building a home. The company touted the prospects of its new product, citing what it described as a successful pilot program started in mid-October. GMAC Mortgage can be found online at http://www.gmacmortgage.com.

Silverado Financial Inc., Campbell, Calif., has announced an agreement to acquire San Francisco Funding Inc., a mortgage bank based in San Diego.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Silverado projected that the acquisition would produce up to $400 million in loan volume and $6 million in gross revenue for the current year. As part of the deal, the company will purchase $15 million in warehouse lines and licenses to operate in eight Western states. "This acquisition represents a key component of our future business mix and will immediately make Silverado a full-fledged mortgage bank," said John Hartman, Silverado's president and chief executive officer. "Management will now pursue acquisitions of mortgage brokerage operations to provide greater distribution of our lending products." In April, Silverado (formerly Rhombic Corp.) announced the adoption of a new business model focused on the acquisition of established, profitable mortgage brokerage and banking operations in Northern California.

Greg Sayegh has been promoted to senior vice president of national retail lending at Washington Mutual Inc., the Seattle-based WaMu has announced.The announcement of the promotion came at the annual meeting of the National Association of Realtors. Mr. Sayegh was most recently the company's area sales manager for the Southwest. He previously served as senior vice president and director of wholesale lending at American Savings Bank, which was acquired by WaMu in 1996. The company can be found online at http://www.wamu.com.

Ed Fritsch, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Highwoods Properties Inc., has been named president as part a management shuffle at the Raleigh, N.C.-based real estate investment trust.In addition, Carman Liuzzo has been promoted from vice president and chief financial officer to the newly created post of vice president of investments and strategic analysis, the REIT said. The vacated CFO post will be filled by Terry Stevens, now the executive vice president and CFO of Crown American Realty Trust, after the completion of a proposed merger of Crown American and the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust. Mr. Fritsch, a member of the Highwoods board of directors, joined the company in 1982. He will retain the title of COO and will be responsible for the REIT's day-to-day operations. As president, he replaces Ron Gibson, who will retain the post of chief executive officer. Highwoods can be found on the Web at http://www.highwoods.com.

Winston Hotels, Raleigh, N.C., has formed Winston Finance, a subsidiary that will be responsible for the hotel real estate investment trust's subordinated financing program.The REIT has also promoted Joseph V. Green to president. Mr. Green, who will also continue to serve as chief financial officer, has 25 years of experience in the hospitality sector, Winston said. "Winston Hotels is poised to respond to the economic recovery," Mr. Green said. "With our recent follow-on stock offering we have the flexibility and funding to proactively expand our business." The REIT also announced the promotion of Kenneth R. Crockett to chief operating officer. He will also be a managing director of Winston Finance.

Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Milwaukee, has entered into an agreement with the Independent Community Bankers of America to offer a group of products and services to the trade group.As part of the agreement, ICBA members can take part in a captive reinsurance program with MGIC. Other services to be offered include contract underwriting, homebuyer education, training seminars, and a customer retention program. ICBA chairman C. R. Cloutier said the captive "builds on the strengths of ICBA's member banks -- a focus on quality borrowers combined with geographic dispersion. The earnings potential of the group captive will encourage member banks to expand their mortgage lending activities."