National Mortgage News articles from April 2005

National Mortgage News archives from April 2005

Inside Track.
April 4, 2005... OPEN FORUM Greenspan On CRA 4 STREET SMARTS Eyeing Inflation 5 SECURITIZATION Dellibovi Sounds Warning 19 INTERNATIONAL United Arab Emirates' Hot Re Market 22 REFIS DECLINE The percentage of...

Freddie Earnings Fell to $2.8 Billion in '04.
April 4, 2005... MCLEAN, VA -- Freddie Mac's 2004 net income fell 41% from 2003 to $2.8 billion, reflecting a decline in the value of derivative instruments, company executives said in a conference call with investors and analysts. Freddie Mac saw a $4.5...

Fiserv Purchases Del Mar.
April 4, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- In an aggressive move to more closely target the small- to medium-size lender segment, Fiserv has acquired Del Mar Database here. At press time, the price and terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Del Mar president John...

'Bright Line' Concern Seen.
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Opposition to a "bright line" test in a Senate GSE bill appears to be growing among small and midsize mortgage lenders because of fears it could cut off their access to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's automated underwriting systems....

GNMA Issuers (annual issuance volume).
April 4, 2005... ($ in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk GNMA Issuer Location 1 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Des Moines, IA 2 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 3...

Centralizing Loan Control.
April 4, 2005... ORLANDO, FL -- Dorado Corp. chose an exclusive opening-day dinner at the 2005 Mortgage Bankers Association technology conference to unveil its new Enterprise Lending System, which offers centralized viewing and control for any loan in all...

Merrill Lynch Adds Six to Correspondent Lending Group Sales.
April 4, 2005... JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Merrill Lynch Credit Corp., New York, has expanded the Merrill Lynch Correspondent Group here with the hiring of six industry veterans to handle sales. MLCC chairman and chief executive Larry Washington said in the past...

NovaStar Entering Warehouse Business.
April 4, 2005... KANSAS CITY, MO -- NovaStar Financial Inc. here is entering the warehouse lending business, as it sees a need in the marketplace for warehouse credit for subprime originators while at the same time it's creating a tie that will boost its own...

Fannie Mae Updates Condominium Guidelines.
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae said that the update of its condominium guidelines, designed to speed up and facilitate project approval for lenders serving homebuyers purchasing condos including first-time homebuyers seeking affordable financing,...

Freddie Adding Reference REMIC.
April 4, 2005... MCLEAN, VA -- Freddie Mac is launching a new REMIC program that features innovations such as a guaranteed maturity to minimize extension risk in a rising rate environment and electronic trading capability to reduce the disparity between bid and...

U.S. Office's Objection to ABFS Restructuring Officer Withdrawn.
April 4, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- The Office of the United States Trustee has withdrawn its objection for American Business Financial Services Inc. here to retain David Coles of restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal LLC as the chief restructuring officer of the...

The Reverse Course.
April 4, 2005... As the baby boomer cohort starts to retire in ever-escalating waves, there is no way the reverse mortgage is not going to become a popular financing. Trained to refinance equity out of their homes as soon as it becomes available, the...

Empowering Communities.
April 4, 2005... Excerpts of Mr. Greenspan's remarks at the recent 2005 National Community Reinvestment Coalition Conference in Washington are presented as our Open Forum. In a couple of years, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Community...

Decline in Treasury Yield May Signal Ease in Inflation Concerns.
April 4, 2005... The market's perception of inflationary pressures appeared to shift downward slightly at press time last Thursday morning, based on the long-term rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield's fall to about 4.50% from approximately 4.60% the previous...

Modification of 5/1 Regs Puts FHA 'in the Game'.
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Federal Housing Administration lenders have a chance to become real players in the hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage market now that HUD has finally modified its 5/1 hybrid regulation. The Department of Housing and Urban...

At a Glance: Fannie Mae's Price Target.
April 4, 2005... High $100 Low $63 Median $78 Source: Thomson/First Call. Compiled by Yahoo! Finance. Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com...

FNM: Rebound After Tough Mon.
April 4, 2005... NEW YORK -- Last Monday looked to be an ominous day for Fannie Mae's stock. First, Moody's downgraded the company's financial strength rating. Then, after the bell closed, Fannie Mae said that its regulator would delay issuing a capital...

Fannie Releases Series of New and Revised Appraisal Forms.
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae has issued a series of 11 new or revised appraisal and appraisal review forms. These forms were initially unveiled last November as part of a test period and subject to a comment period that ended on Dec. 15. ...

Home Coverage Addresses ID Theft.
April 4, 2005... NOVATO, CA -- Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. here will provide identity theft restoration services as part of Prestige Home Premier with Added Measure homeowners insurance coverage. There is no additional cost and no deductible associated with...

Crescent and MRG Use Tech to Create New ARM.
April 4, 2005... ATLANTA -- Crescent Mortgage here and MRG Document Technologies, Dallas, have come together to provide customized loan closing documents for closed-end, second-lien, adjustable-rate mortgages. In 2004, Crescent started to actively look for...

ALTA: Last Year Was 2nd Best.
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The title insurance business is extremely dependent upon the mortgage originations market in terms of how successful financially it is for a given year. Last year is considered to be the second-best year ever for mortgage...

Lightbody Leaves Morgan Stanley.
April 4, 2005... NEW YORK -- Co-head of correspondent conduit sales at Morgan Stanley, Randy Lightbody, has left the Wall Street firm, according to an e-mail message from an address that his voicemail at the company referred callers to. Other executive...

SL Green to Buy One Mad. Ave.
April 4, 2005... NEW YORK -- SL Green Realty Corp. is acquiring One Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan for $918 million from Metropolitan Life Insurance. The property consists of two buildings totaling 1.4 million square feet, the real estate investment...

Dividends: Hanover Affirms Policy.
April 4, 2005... EDISON, NJ -- Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings has affirmed its dividend policy with respect to common stock for 2005. As a real estate investment trust, Hanover is required to pay dividends equal to at least 90% of its REIT taxable...

Redwood Raises Dividend.
April 4, 2005... MILL VALLEY, CA -- Redwood Trust, a real estate investment trust, has raised its common stock dividend from $0.67 per share to $0.70 per share. The dividend is payable April 21 to shareholders of record on March 31. George Bull, chairman...

Farm Debt Exceeds $200 Billion.
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Last year, agricultural debt outstanding surpassed $200 billion, with banks accounting for 40% of the total. That helped fuel an increase in employment at farm banks, according to the American Bankers Association. Full-time...

'E.T., Get Loan,' Company Says.
April 4, 2005... HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA -- According to economists, new Americans are supposed to be the drivers of new loan production for the rest of this decade. However, there is one mortgage company looking to reward someone for helping it originate the...

Executive Urges Reform of National Flood Insurance Program.
April 4, 2005... WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- Dan Freudenthal, president of Flood Zone Correction here, is calling for changes to the National Flood Insurance Program. Mr. Freudenthal, in a recent company news release, said that the NFIP continues to fail flood...

Interface Helps CUNA Service Loans.
April 4, 2005... SOLON, OH -- A custom interface developed by Loan Protector Insurance Services here, an outsource provider of insurance tracking and verification programs, with the Fidelity Mortgage Servicing Package is helping CUNA Mutual Mortgage Corp. more...

LSB Earnings Rose Due to Measures that Offset Dwindling Refis.
April 4, 2005... LAFAYETTE, IN -- LSB Financial Corp., the parent company of Lafayette Savings Bank, reported net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2004 of $3.3 million, up $315,000, or 10.7% over net income, for 2003. Randolph Williams, LSB president and...

New Order Value Rises at Builder.
April 4, 2005... RESTON, VA -- Comstock Homebuilding Companies Inc., which builds and markets a variety of new homes and condos in the Greater Washington, D.C., market, reported its contract value of new orders for the year ended Dec. 31, 2004 was $241 million...

An Automation Efficiency Promise Fulfilled?
April 4, 2005... SEATTLE -- While many long for the day when technology will put an end to the need for staffing up for a refinance boom and massive firings when the market turns back to purchases, Boeing Employees' Credit Union here has actually achieved this...

Hovnanian Buys Builders to Bolster Orlando, Chicago Stakes.
April 4, 2005... RED BANK, NJ -- Builder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. here has acquired the assets of two privately held companies, Cambridge Homes and Town & Country Homes, in order to better position itself in the Orlando, Fla., and Chicago markets. ...

NAR: Vacancies in Main Real Estate Sectors Likely to Decline.
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Vacancy rates in all the four major commercial property types are likely to decline this year as the commercial real estate market improves, according to the National Association of Realtors. David Lereah, the association's...

Wells Opening Irvine, CA Office.
April 4, 2005... IRVINE, CA -- Wells Fargo is opening a commercial mortgage finance office here, with a view to expanding its commercial real estate lending and investment business in Southern California. Rich Hubbard will manage the new office, Wells Fargo...

DelliBovi Sounds Warning on Securitization.
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Legislative efforts to get the Federal Home Loan Banks involved in mortgage securitization has the potential to "destroy" the FHLBanks, according to a FHLBank president. FHLBank of New York president Alfred DelliBovi is...

Roundup: S&P Downgrades Some Manufactured Housing MBS.
April 4, 2005... NEW YORK -- The ratings on 19 classes in five manufactured housing transactions from four issuers have been lowered by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. The downgrades from IndyMac Manufactured Housing Contract Pass-Thru Trust 1998-2...

Moody's Lowers Some MH Ratings.
April 4, 2005... NEW YORK -- Three subordinate certificates from two Access Financial manufactured housing securitizations have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Services. The downgrades were as follows: Access Financial Manufactured Housing Contract...

COMM DEAL Class downgraded.
April 4, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class M-PS of COMM 2001-FL4 commercial mortgage pass-through certificates has been downgraded from B3 to Caa1 by Moody's Investors Service. In addition, Moody's affirmed the ratings on three other classes in the transaction....

Three MS CMBS class ratings slip.
April 4, 2005... NEW YORK -- Three classes of Morgan Stanley Capital 1 Inc. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-FNV1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: class L, from B-minus to CCC; class M, from...

Fitch Lowers CWMBS Class Rating.
April 4, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class B3 of CWMBS (Countrywide Home Loans Inc.) mortgage pass-through certificates series 2001-3 (Alt 2001-2) has been downgraded from B to CCC by Fitch Ratings. The rating agency also removed class B4 of CWMBS series 2003-41...

AmeriDream Founds Group for Homeowners.
April 4, 2005... GAITHERSBURG, MD -- AmeriDream Inc. said the foundation of the Association for Homeowners Across America, a "first-of-its-kind nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization," will provide homeowners and homebuyers with a one-stop resource for...

Survey Tallies Views on Obstacles.
April 4, 2005... HORSHAM, PA -- When deciding to buy a house, today's customers face a variety of obstacles both real and perceived. And finding the right affordable house, financial security, the ability to save for a downpayment and financial education appear...

Higher Costs for CA Minorities Seen.
April 4, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- Mortgage loans to African-American and Hispanic borrowers in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego and Fresno cost "more than 2.5 times as much as most other bank customers," according to a California Reinvestment...

Alabama Gets Housing Funds.
April 4, 2005... TUSCALOOSA, AL -- To help increase the supply of affordable rental housing in rural Alabama, especially in the Black Belt region, the Alabama Council for Affordable and Rural Housing has secured a $40 million Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fund...

UAE Goes USA One Better When It Comes to Real Estate.
April 4, 2005... CANNES, France -- With the war in Iraq and nuclear issues with Iran, it's easy to think the entire Middle East is in turmoil. But that's far from the case, at least when it comes to real estate. Industry and government officials from...

Poste from the Palais: Snapshots from MIPIM.
April 4, 2005... CANNES, France-Real estate has a language all its own. But they speak a different tongue entirely across the pond. Over here, it's not even "real estate," it's property. And it's a "scheme," not a development or project. Call it that in...

Japan Quake Effect On CMBS 'Limited'.
April 4, 2005... TOKYO -- The earthquake that recently struck the northern Kyushu region of Japan has had only a limited direct impact on Japanese commercial mortgage-backed security transactions and real estate investment trusts, Moody's Investors Service...

Linsure Eyes Bulgaria Opportunity.
April 4, 2005... HOUSTON -- Linsure Holdings Inc. here has made plans to apply for a primary banking license in Bulgaria, a country it said has a growing economy conducive to a business focused on providing homeowner mortgages. The company, which plans to...

French Government Prices 50-Year Bond.
April 4, 2005... PARIS -- France's Treasury here has priced a first-ever 50-year bond offering. The Treasury reported that it set the bond's price at 95.632, three basis points above the 30-year bond, yielding 4.21%. Lead managers for the transaction...

Taiwan's 1st REIT makes Debut.
April 4, 2005... TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The first-ever real estate investment trust in Taiwan is making its debut, according to a recent report by Moody's Investors Service's office here. Moody's has assigned its national scale long-term issuer rating of A2.tw...

People.
April 4, 2005... CALIFORNIA Irvine-Option One Mortgage Corp. has named Fred Grant as Western regional sales manager for bulk acquisitions. In this role, Mr. Grant will manage relationships with customers in Arizona, Nevada, California, Washington,...

Freddie Intent on Growing Portfolio.
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Freddie Mac is moving ahead with plans to grow its $664.5 billion mortgage portfolio even thought the Bush administration and a key congressman want to limit its growth. Treasury secretary John Snow told reporters last week...

Montgomery Tapped For FHA Position?
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has discussed with White House staffer Brian Montgomery the post of Federal Housing Administration commissioner, according to sources. However, it appears that Mr. Montgomery, who works in the office of...

ABA Farm Debt Over $200 Billion in 2004.
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Last year, agricultural debt outstanding surpassed $200 billion, with banks accounting for 40% of the total. That helped fuel an increase in employment at farm banks, according to the American Bankers Association. Full-time...

Accounting Jobs Grow Among FIRE Businesses.
April 4, 2005... MENLO PARK, CA -- A corporate survey of chief financial officers finds that the job market looks bright in the finance, insurance and real estate industry. The so-called FIRE sector was the strongest among the eight sectors identified in...

Appraisal Pressure Issues Raised.
April 4, 2005... NEW YORK -- The issue of appraisers being pressured by other origination process participants has been brought to the forefront through a section of the proposed Ney-Kanjorski bill after the issue had been boiling under the surface for a number...

Publicly-traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms.
April 4, 2005... B&C Stock Price Index: 216.9 Change: 6.4 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 3/31/2005 Aames (AIC) 2.05 12.00 8.26 American Business Fin. (ABFIQ) ...

Anti-Appraisal Fraud Available.
April 4, 2005... NEW YORK -- There are some products in the marketplace that their backers say can help to cut down on the instances of appraisal fraud. Appraisal Management Co. has come out with Gold Seal Standard. Chief operating officer Patrick C....

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
April 4, 2005... MIEC Index: 161.6 Change: -0.4 (part 1 of 2) Company 3/24/2005 3/31/2005 Wkly. % Chg. Astoria Federal (AF) 25.06 ...

E-Disclosures Represent Progress.
April 4, 2005... ORLANDO, FL -- While the days of an investor accepting a SMART Doc and a full electronic closing environment are not quite there yet, electronic disclosures are paving the way. Panelists on the future of e-disclosures at the MBA National...

Inside Track.
April 11, 2005... EDITORIAL Crawl, Walk, Run 4 OPEN FORUM OCC On Credit Risk 4 STREET SMARTS Rates Dip Below 6% 5 COMMERCIAL MORTGAGES Volumes Up For 2004 7 AFFORDABLE HOUSING ...

'Limit GSE Mortgage Portfolios'.
April 11, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration expects a new GSE regulator to reduce Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolios to a level that still provides enough support for their secondary market activities and housing mission. Treasury...

Subprime Retail Vol. Leaders in 2004.
April 11, 2005... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Ameriquest Mortgage Corp. (E) Orange, CA 2 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage San Francisco, CA 3 CitiFinancial ...

FHLB Has Big Mismatch.
April 11, 2005... SEATTLE -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, at year-end, had a $260 million "unrealized loss" on its balance sheet, according to company records. If the losses - which are tied to mortgages and other assets - are realized, it would...

Falcon Leaving in May.
April 11, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Armando Falcon Jr., the regulator who cracked down on accounting shenanigans at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said that he will step down as director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight on May 20. Stephen A....

Ranieri, Partners Circle GMACCM.
April 11, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Lewis S. Ranieri, the "father" of the mortgage-backed security, and partners that include Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs, have been granted exclusive negotiating rights to buy a majority stake in GMAC Commercial...

GMAC Commercial at a Glance.
April 11, 2005... ($ in Millions) PRODUCTION: '04 Quarter Com. Fundings Rank Q4 $7,149 1 Q3 $4,997 1 Q2 $6,622 1 Q1 $3,758 1...

ABFS Shutting Down Business.
April 11, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- American Business Financial Services Inc. here is closing its doors, its chief restructuring officer said. The company's Texas office was closed on April 1, with the offices in California and Maryland shut on April 4....

MI Firms See Drop In Default Volume.
April 11, 2005... WASHINGTON -- For the first time in almost a year, mortgage insurance cures outpaced new defaults in February, a signal that residential credit quality may be improving. The Mortgage Insurance Companies of America reported that 38,421 new...

Promotion Spotlight: Stuart D. Marvin.
April 11, 2005... Mr. Marvin has been hired by Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., San Diego, as its executive vice president. He will be in charge of finance, capital markets and corporate communications. Most recently, Mr. Marvin was president-corporate...

Groups Make Hay of HMDA Data.
April 11, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Consumer advocates are already finding the new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act pricing data useful in pointing out that mortgage lenders are more likely to make high-cost subprime loans to minorities than whites. Consumer groups...

Freddie Mac to Finally Publish E-Mortgage Specs.
April 11, 2005... MCLEAN, VA -- Freddie Mac has been criticized for not being a leader in the effort to move the industry toward a complete electronic mortgage. Fannie Mae said last year that they were up and ready to accept e-notes through the MERS eRegistry,...

Commercial Federal Sells Servicing, TPO.
April 11, 2005... OMAHA, NE -- Commercial Federal Corp. here has agreed to sell $10 billion in servicing rights and its correspondent lending division to Wells Fargo Bank for an undisclosed sum. The company will continue to fund residential loans through its...

Crawl, Walk, Run.
April 11, 2005... The adoption of the e-mortgage will look something like the adoption of electronic ticketing for airline flights. Think it up, roll it out, then offer incentives for using it. Crawl, walk, run. That was the metaphor used by Rachael...

Low Docs, No Docs and IO Loans.
April 11, 2005... Ms. Williams recently addressed the BAI National Loan Review Conference in New Orleans. Excerpts of her remarks are presented as our Open Forum. In the first mortgage market, interest-only, no-doc or low-doc, and teaser-rate loans have...

Eyeing Rates, Prepayments and Loan Product Diversification.
April 11, 2005... The average 30-year mortgage rate as tracked by Freddie Mac was back below 6% and the rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield at press time last Thursday morning was about back where it was before hints of inflationary concern seen in the Fed's...

RESPA Enforcement 'Misguided'?
April 11, 2005... WASHINGTON -- With more than 60 investigations into alleged illegal kickbacks in the works, assistant secretary John Weicher of the Department of Housing and Urban Development said last week that enforcement of the Real Estate Settlement...

March Prepay Surge Called a Warning.
April 11, 2005... NEW YORK -- Prepayment rates for 30-year Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities rose sharply in March, sending "a warning shot to mortgage investors," according to Bear Stearns & Co. Fannie Mae speeds rose from a constant...

Selected 30-Year Fixed-Rate Prepayments.
April 11, 2005... (For March Period) Cpn Year WAC Fctr Mar '05 Feb '05 Fannie Mae 6.00 2004 6.43 .836 30.8 22.4 Fannie Mae 6.00 2003 6.48 .516 35.1 27.7 Fannie Mae ...

Fleetwood Looking to Exit MH Sales and Financing.
April 11, 2005... RIVERSIDE, CA -- Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. here, a producer of manufactured homes and recreational vehicles, is selling its manufactured housing financial services business, HomeOne Credit Corp. It is also looking to exit the retail...

Study: APR Lower On Brokers' Loans.
April 11, 2005... WASHINGTON -- In a paper presented at a Federal Reserve Bank conference, Gregory Elliehausen of the Georgetown University Credit Research Center said consumers pay a lower annual percentage rate on average when using a mortgage broker instead...

First American Buys LoanPerformance.
April 11, 2005... SANTA ANA, CA -- Financial services data giant First American Corp. here has agreed to buy LoanPerformance for an undisclosed amount. Based in San Francisco, LoanPerformance is best known in the residential finance industry for its database...

Capital Still Flowing for CRE.
April 11, 2005... WASHINGTON -- As investors continued to zero in on real estate opportunities, record levels of capital flowed into the commercial and multifamily mortgage markets for 2004. Commercial and multifamily mortgages outstanding rose to $2.29...