National Mortgage News articles from April 2007

National Mortgage News archives from April 2007

Inside Track.
April 2, 2007... EDITORIAL Overdue Adjustment 4 OPEN FORUM Dodd on Mortgage Chaos 4 EQUITIES Loss for Freddie Mac 9 COMMERCIAL MORTGAGES Indy Mac Sets New Niche 10 AFFORDABLE HOUSING High Voter Priority 12 ...

Bear Using AVM on Subprime.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- Before it purchases any new subprime loans, Bear Stearns & Co. is now running all mortgages through an automated valuation model, a process that potentially slows the trade process. Last week, while Bear incorporated AVMs into...

Auction for NCFC Loans.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- As New Century Financial Corp. weighed its bankruptcy options last week, one of its warehouse lenders, Morgan Stanley, held a public auction for $2.48 billion in loans originated by the troubled subprime lender. As National...

Fed Reviews Repayability.
April 2, 2007... Bowing to congressional pressure, the Federal Reserve Board has started to review its authority to incorporate an ability to repay standard into anti-predatory lending regulations that would apply to all mortgage lenders. Such a rule would...

Suitability in House Bill.
April 2, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is drafting a predatory lending bill that will create a "suitability standard" for mortgage lending and a national regulatory system for all loan brokers. Congress must respond to the "emerging...

HSBC May Exit B&C Channel.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- HSBC Mortgage Services of Fort Mill, N.C., is exiting the subprime correspondent channel, National Mortgage News has learned. An HSBC spokeswoman confirmed the move, but noted that another HSBC division, HSBC Corporate,...

Top Online Originators in Q4 2006.
April 2, 2007... (Dollars in Millions) Online Origination Vol. % Rk Organization Name Location Q4 06 Q4 05 Change 1 CitiMortgage, Inc. O'Fallon, MO...

IBM Solidifies Its Mortgage Claim with New Business Subsidiary: 'Lenders need a partner like IBM who can invest to automate the total loan fulfillment supply chain on their behalf.'.
April 2, 2007... ARMONK, NY -- On the heels of its acquisition of Palisades Technology Partners and FileNet last year, IBM has formed a new business unit, which will specialize in mortgage origination services. The new entity dubbed IBM Lender Business...

MortageHub Acquires London Bridge Assets from Fair Isaac.
April 2, 2007... CONSHOHOCKEN, PA -- In an effort to fill out its product base and become a one-stop shop for lending technology, the parent company of MortgageHub, ISGN, has acquired key assets and products associated with Fair Isaac's mortgage banking...

Pa. Bank Hurt By 80/20 EPDs.
April 2, 2007... LANCASTER, PA -- Fulton Financial Corp. here said it will take a $5.5 million pretax charge in the first quarter because of early payment defaults on 80/20 stated-income loans it sold into the secondary market. The publicly traded...

Editorial: Overdue.(Editorial)
April 2, 2007... Countrywide Financial's shocking announcement that 19% of its subprime portfolio is currently overdue made us all too aware that the most recent quarterly delinquency and foreclosure news from the industry wasn't going to be pretty. And it...

Open Forum: Mortgage Market Turmoil: Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd's statement at the beginning of a recent hearing on subprime lending is presented as our Open Forum.
April 2, 2007... You cannot pick up a newspaper lately without seeing another story about the implosion of the subprime mortgage market. The checks and balances that we are told exist in the marketplace, and the oversight that the regulators are supposed to...

Government E-Mortgage Standards Published through MISMO.
April 2, 2007... TAMPA, FL -- Attaining greater mortgage industry adoption of e-mortgage standards for residential lending is a high MISMO priority for 2007. The Mortgage Bankers Association's Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization subsidiary took...

New Site Links Banks to Realty.
April 2, 2007... TAMPA, FL -- After securing agreements with Multiple Listing Services across the nation, Domania founder Steve Kropper is set to launch a new service, Bank on Real Estate, that will give lenders branded websites which navigate to all homes for...

Fieldstone Purchase Price Decreased by 28%, Liquidity Costs Cited.
April 2, 2007... COLUMBIA, MD -- Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC will pay 28% less for Fieldstone Investment Corp. here under a recently disclosed amended purchase agreement. According to a statement released by the two firms, C-BASS...

EverBank Buys Into BNYMC.
April 2, 2007... JACKSONVILLE, FL -- EverBank here has purchased the interest of Bank of New York in BNY Mortgage Co. LLC, Newburgh, N.Y. The company is now a joint venture between EverBank and BNYMC's management team. Terms of the transaction were not...

Iowa Bank Sells Title Business.
April 2, 2007... SIOUX CITY, IA -- First Federal Bankshares here, the parent of First Federal Bank, has sold the assets of its title search and abstract business, resulting in a gain of $500,000, the company said. The bank said it was selling the title...

Gramercy Capital Corp. Sets Up CMBS Business: 'This is the right time in the company's evolution to launch a real estate debt securities platform.'.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- Gramercy Capital Corp. has set up a real estate securities business that will focus on the acquisition, trading and financing of commercial mortgage-backed securities and other real estate-related securities, expecting this will be...

Stadium Drops Ameriquest Name.
April 2, 2007... ARLINGTON, TX -- The Texas Rangers Baseball Club has removed the Ameriquest name from its major league stadium, cutting short - by 27 years - a $75 million sponsorship agreement. A spokesman for Orange, Calif.-based Ameriquest Mortgage told...

CFC Exec Exiting Home Depot Board.
April 2, 2007... ATLANTA -- Countrywide Financial Corp. chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo will not stand for re-election as a director to Home Depot Inc. here, the nation's largest home improvement retailer. According to a Home Depot filing with the Securities...

Freddie Mac Posts Fourth Quarter Loss on Derivative Declines.(Financial report)
April 2, 2007... MCLEAN, VA -- Mortgage secondary market giant Freddie Mac lost $480 million on a GAAP basis in the fourth quarter as declines in the market value of derivatives and the company's credit guarantee portfolio offset interest income and...

IndyMac Unit Targets Small Balance Loan Niche.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- Yet another company has identified the small-balance commercial real estate loan niche as a "sweet spot" in the market that affords opportunity. IndyMac's newly set up Irvine, Calif.-based commercial real estate lending...

'CRE Investment Hit Record High'.
April 2, 2007... WASHINGTON -- A record $342.1 billion was invested in commercial real estate property in 2006, excluding transactions valued below the $5 million threshold, up from $276 billion in 2005 (not including hotel properties), according to the...

Roundup: EverBank Acquires ALG.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- EverBank, Jacksonville, Fla., has acquired Apartment Lending Group, a California-based company, with a view to expanding its small-balance commercial real estate lending capabilities. The acquisition is expected to add over $1...

Poll: Affordable Housing Is a High Voter Priority.
April 2, 2007... WASHINGTON -- A new poll finds affordable housing has long been a priority for most Americans who state a candidate's approach to housing is a primary criteria they intend to use when casting 2008 presidential election ballots. A...

Roundup: 'ABCP's B&C Exposure Down, But Still Relatively High'.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- Subprime-related mortgage exposure for U.S. asset-backed commercial paper programs fell sharply in the fourth quarter, though it remained high by historical standards, according to Fitch Ratings. The rating agency said ABCP...

New century Classes reviewed.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- Five certificates from New Century Home Equity Loan Trust series 2006-S1 have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The affected certificates are classes M4, M5, M6, M7 and M8. The negative...

Fremont certificates Eyed.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- Four certificates from Fremont Home Loan Trust series 2006-B have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The affected securities are classes SL-M7, SL-M8, SL-M9 and SL-B1. The negative rating...

MASTR TRANCHES downgraded.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- Three tranches from two deals issued by MASTR Second Lien Trust have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service, and one tranche has been placed under review for possible downgrade. The downgrades were as follows: series...

GSAMP certificate ratings slip.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- Six certificates from three GSAMP Trust deals issued in 2006 have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. The downgrades were as follows: series 2006-S1, class B-2, from Ba2 to Caa2; series 2006-S2, class B-2, from Ba2 to...

ACE certificates scrutinized.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- Four certificates from Ace Securities Corp. Home Equity Loan Trust have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The affected securities are classes M8, M9A, M9B and B1. Moody's attributed the...

Origen Chooses Thunderhead to Streamline Communications.
April 2, 2007... SOUTHFIELD, MI -- Origen Financial, a national provider of manufactured housing loans, has picked the Thunderhead multichannel enterprise communication platform to automate, streamline and control loan product documentation. A major...

ObjectBuilders Touts eResolve.
April 2, 2007... PHILADELPHIA -- ObjectBuilders here expects its eResolve product to offer a significant advance in business-user configurability. eResolve is a Web-enabled repository for data, images, or documents related to a loan file with customizable...

GSE Reform Bill Passes Panel: Rep. Bachus tried to direct the AH funds away from the state housing authorities.
April 2, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The House Financial Services Committee has approved by a 45-19 vote a GSE bill that allows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to maintain sizeable investment portfolios, but imposes higher regulatory costs on the two mortgage giants along...

Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms.
April 2, 2007... B&C Stock Price Index: 114.4 Change: -8.8 Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 3/18/2007 Wkly.% Chg. % Chg. P/E Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 7.26 11.27 9.09 -6% 25.21% 7.01 HSBC Holding (HBC) ...

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
April 2, 2007... MIEC Index: 116.7 Change: -8.2 Company 3/18/2007 3/11/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 25.10 24.75 1%...

FHA Reform Bill Reintroduced.
April 2, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., has introduced a bill to modernize the FHA single-family program so it can remain viable and serve more subprime borrowers. The Federal Housing Administration reform bill (H.R. 1752) is the same...

Lawsuit Filed by Alleged Victims of New York Mortgage Fraud.
April 2, 2007... MINEOLA, NY -- A $100 million lawsuit has been filed in New York State Supreme Court in Nassau County here against some of the top mortgage lenders on behalf of a few dozen Long Island homeowners who say they are victims of a mortgage scam. ...

FHFB Finalizes New Process: The Finance Board dropped a requirement that the FHLBanks submit two candidates for each vacancy.
April 2, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Housing Finance Board finalized a new appointment process last week that allows the Federal Home Loan Banks to nominate their independent directors and submit those candidates for regulatory approval. Previously,...

Layoffs Coming at Merrill's First Franklin: A spokesman for Merrill declined to offer an estimate on the number of jobs that might be cut but noted that no account executives will be let go.
April 2, 2007... SAN JOSE, CA -- Merrill Lynch-owned First Franklin Financial Corp. here is in the process of consolidating some of its back-office operations, a move that is expected to result in layoffs. A spokesman for Merrill declined to offer an estimate...

People.
April 2, 2007... ARIZONA Scottsdale-Clear Choice Financial has hired Gene O'Bryan as chief operating officer. Most recently, Mr. O'Bryan performed the roles of COO, CIO and president correspondent lending for Aegis Mortgage Corp. He also...

Analyst: Housing Not a 'Contagion'.
April 2, 2007... NEW YORK -- While slowing housing starts have contributed to a global sell-off in stocks, S&P said the recent drop in equity prices is not a harbinger of a bear market. Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at S&P's equity research...

OceanFirst Finds No Fraud: Company leaders said the Columbia Home subsidiary failed to report a rise in early payment defaults.
April 2, 2007... TOMS RIVER, NJ -- While internal controls broke down and the company had an unpleasant surprise over loan repurchases, there was no fraud found in its investigation of activities in its mortgage unit, OceanFirst Financial Corp. executives told...

Inside Track.
April 9, 2007... EDITORIAL New Players 4 OPEN FORUM Pollock's Solution 4 STREET SMARTS Optimism on Issues? 5 TECHNOLOGY Martopia Website 6 AFFORDABLE HOUSING Ginnie Mae MF 8 HOME BUILDERS KB Earnings...

Bankrupt New Century Selling Servicing.
April 9, 2007... IRVINE, CA -- The much-anticipated bankruptcy of New Century Financial Corp., one of the industry's biggest nonprime lenders, became official last week as the company filed for Chapter 11 protection while unveiling a plan to manage its demise...

Top Subprime Gainers in Q4 06.
April 9, 2007... (Dollars in Millions) Subprime Volume Percent Market Rk Organization Name Q4 06 Q4 05 Change Share 1 Mortgage Lenders Network (E) (BK $2,000 $1,433 40%...

Halt on Foreclosures Asked.
April 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Civil rights groups are calling for an immediate six-month moratorium on foreclosures so borrowers with subprime hybrid mortgages can transition into more affordable loan products. Disproportionate shares of subprime...

Technology to Cut Buybacks.
April 9, 2007... BOCA RATON, FL -- As investors tighten their demands in light of the subprime fallout, technology is available to marry the documents with the data to ensure investor acceptance of the security and lessen buyback situations. Most recently,...

Housing Discrimination: Record for Complaints.
April 9, 2007... New data are adding to concerns that race and disability discrimination in housing continues to challenge the industry. A total of 10,328 housing discrimination complaints were filed during the year, the highest number ever, according to the...

Europe Waits On B&C.
April 9, 2007... NEW YORK -- Recent "subprime" mortgage securitization woes in the U.S. are being taken note of in Europe and may have the potential to slow efforts to develop lower-tier credit markets there. But, so far, it does not appear to have affected...

Subprime Woes Will Hurt Sales.
April 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The contraction of subprime lending and tighter underwriting could reduce new and existing home sales by up to 3% over the next two years, according to new projections by economists at the National Association of Realtors. "I...

Fannie Plans 'Several Hundred' Layoffs.
April 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae is planning to reduce its workforce by several hundred full-time employees as part of an effort to cut operating expenses by $200 million in 2007. "While determinations are still being made as we undertake this...

Congress Divided on Merits of Risk-Based Pricing for the FHA.
April 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Democrats and Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee have introduced competing bills to reform the Federal Housing Administration single-family program and they differ mainly on the pricing of mortgage insurance...

Demand High for 'Green Homes'.
April 9, 2007... ST. LOUIS -- A new homebuyer survey finds a high rate of customer satisfaction among those who have purchased green homes, and that 63% of buyers are motivated by the lower operating and maintenance costs that come with energy- and...

FHLBanks Earn $2.6 Billion.
April 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The 12 Federal Home Loan Banks reported combined 2006 earnings of $2.6 billion, up 3.4% from the previous year, as member borrowings were sluggish. The FHLBanks' profitability largely depends on member borrowings but advances...

CIT Creates Health Care REIT.
April 9, 2007... NEW YORK -- CIT Group is coming out with an initial public offering of common shares on Care Investment Trust, a real estate investment trust that will invest in health care-related mortgage debt and real estate. CIT Group has filed a...

Editorial: A Door Opens.(Editorial)
April 9, 2007... It happens every real estate cycle. As firms exit (or are pushed out of) the mortgage business, new ones enter (or re-enter). A sterling example of this happened at the Mortgage Bankers Association's recent technology conference in Tampa,...

Open Forum: Subprime Lending Problems: Mr. Pollock's recent testimony on subprime and predatory lending before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions is presented as our Open Forum.
April 9, 2007... As we all know, the great house price inflation of the past several years has topped out, and the unsustainable expansion of subprime mortgage credit which accompanied it has shifted distinctly into reverse. As many people have pointed out, the...

New Issues May Be Better But Seasoned Ones Still Face a Hurdle.
April 9, 2007... Although the market has remained challenging in the so-called subprime niche, there has been an increasing talk heard among market participants indicating that they are getting a handle on things and are more optimistic that loan underwriting...

Martopia Retools Website for New Image Campaign: 'We want to be viewed as a thought leader and not just a company that wants to sell a product.'.
April 9, 2007... CHICAGO -- Martopia wants to position itself more as a thought leader and less of a marketing or CRM company. To this end, the company has launched new features on its website (www.martopia.com) to provide an online resource for companies...

Old Republic Expands Northern CA Presence with North State Deal.
April 9, 2007... OAKLAND, CA -- Old Republic Title Holding Co. increased its presence in Northern California with the acquisition of North State Title Co., formerly a locally owned, independent company offering title insurance and related escrow services to...

Massachusetts Home Sales Fall.
April 9, 2007... BOSTON -- Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts declined in February compared to year-before numbers, but healthy sales in January helped the year-to-date increase compared to 2006, according to a report released by The Warren Group....

Ginnie Mae's Multifamily Growth Adds to Affordable Housing Stock.
April 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Marking 13 years of continuous growth, Ginnie Mae said its Multifamily Mortgage-Backed Securities program increased by 7.4% in fiscal year 2006, from $35.3 billion to $37.8 billion. Ginnie Mae president Robert M. Couch...

Foundation Aids Reset Borrowers.
April 9, 2007... SANTA ANA, CA -- Created to assist Americans who did not benefit from the "unprecedented boom in homeownership and home values in recent years," the First American Homeownership Foundation said this year it will focus on the needs of homeowners...

Newcastle Investment Seizes Opportunity to Buy Subprime Loans.
April 9, 2007... NEW YORK -- Newcastle Investment Corp. has agreed to purchase about 7,300 subprime residential mortgages worth about $1.7 billion that have recently closed or are expected to close by mid-April, pending due diligence that may result in a change...

Investors Question Rising Credit Scores.
April 9, 2007... NEW YORK -- A number of securitization market participants have noted a rise in credit scores among poorly performing loans backing deals that Fitch Ratings here and score provider Fair Isaac & Co., San Francisco, say reflects misunderstanding...

Spring Melting Means Homeowners Face Higher Risk of Flooding.
April 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Warmer temperatures signal the arrival of spring but also contribute to snow melts and the risk of flooding in certain parts of the country. That means there is no better time for consumers to assess whether they are adequately...

Construction Dips In 1st Half of '07: Consumption of cement, a building activity indicator, has increased 18% since 2003.
April 9, 2007... SKOKIE, IL -- The ongoing correction in residential construction is expected to drag down overall 2007 construction activity, according to a recent forecast from the Portland Cement Association, which says despite a record 18% growth since...

Bankers Say FCS Is Encroaching on Their Turf: 'Farm Credit wishes to become a corporate lender to big business and to finance suburban housing.'.
April 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Once again, a debate about farm policy pits rural commercial bankers up against the government-sponsored, cooperatively owned Farm Credit System. In recent congressional testimony, the American Bankers Association accused the...

Promotion Spotlight: Ron Litt.
April 9, 2007... Mr. Litt has been appointed president of Market Kinetix LLC, Houston. He previously acted as product spokesperson for Market Kinetix and prior to that was the president of Advantage Credit. (c) 2007 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia,...

Consolidator of Brokers Buys SB Financial.
April 9, 2007... DENVER -- W.J. Bradley Co. Merchant Partners LLC, a consolidator of mortgage brokers and small to midsized mortgage bankers here, is acquiring SB Financial Inc., a Los Angeles broker. Terms of the deal were not announced. This is the 10th...

Iberiabank Claims Low B&C Exposure.
April 9, 2007... LAFAYETTE, LA -- Iberiabank Corp. here said its believes its risk exposure to subprime mortgage loans written by its three subsidiaries is extremely low. Its subsidiary, Iberiabank, originated $9.1 million of loans that were brokered to...

Industry Downsizing Creates Attractive Hiring Opportunities.
April 9, 2007... CHARLOTTE, NC -- With the large number of mortgage companies being sold or shutting their doors, there are originators, some together with their whole teams, looking for new places to work. And according to some of the firms that are doing...

KB's Revenue Drops by 19%.(Financial report)
April 9, 2007... LOS ANGELES -- KB Home reported consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2007 ended Feb. 28, which totaled $1.77 billion, down 19% from $2.19 billion in the same quarter of 2006, reflecting a 16% decrease in unit deliveries and a 5%...

Martha Stewart Teams Up with Builder in L.A.
April 9, 2007... LOS ANGELES -- KB Home and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia will build their first community in Los Angeles County, "KB Home Terreno Vista: Homes created with Martha Stewart." The latest neighborhood in their collaboration, Terreno Vista, is...

AHM Defends Credit Risk Profile: American Home said pay-option ARMS account for 23.5% of its loans and MBS in portfolio.
April 9, 2007... MELVILLE, NY -- American Home Mortgage Investment, apparently stung by the widespread sell-off in nonprime mortgage stocks following the bankruptcy of some lenders, has sought to reassure the market by releasing data about the loan products and...

Impac Mortgage to Pay Dividend.
April 9, 2007... IRVINE, CA -- Impac Mortgage Holdings here will pay a $0.10 per-share dividend on April 17 to shareholders of record as of April 9. As a REIT, Impac is required to distribute 90% of its taxable income for the calendar year. Impac also...

Zacks Sours on IndyMac and Other Lenders.
April 9, 2007... CHICAGO -- Zacks.com here, a division of Zacks Investment Research, isn't persuaded that the downturn in specialty finance stocks is over. In fact, despite the sell-off of IndyMac's shares in recent months, Zacks.com still ranks the firm...

BFC Went into Red in '06.
April 9, 2007... FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- BFC Financial Corp. said its net loss allocable to common stock for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006 was $3 million, compared with net income allocable to common stock of $12 million for 2005. BFC's results for the...

Roundup: Some Citi Alt-A Bonds See Higher than Expected Losses.
April 9, 2007... NEW YORK -- Four classes from four Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust transactions have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. The affected classes were as follows: class III-B5 of series 2005-5; class 2-B5 of series 2006-AR5; class...

Defeasance Adds L.A. Presence.
April 9, 2007... CHARLOTTE, NC -- Commercial Defeasance, a company that helps manage the process of defeasing commercial mortgage-backed securities loans, is opening a new office in Los Angeles. The company reports that Matt Rothman, vice president of sales,...

GMAC Senior Living Downgrade.
April 9, 2007... NEW YORK -- Class M of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1998-C1, has been downgraded from CCC to C and assigned a distressed recovery rating of DR6 by Fitch Ratings. Class L of the...

Long Beach Deal on Review.
April 9, 2007... NEW YORK -- Classes M-7, B-1 and B-2 from Long Beach Mortgage Loan Trust series 2006-A have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The negative rating actions were attributed to credit enhancement levels...

Merrill Classes on Review.
April 9, 2007... NEW YORK -- Two subordinated certificates from Merrill Lynch Mortgage Investors Trust series 2004-SL1 and 2004-SL2 have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The affected securities are class B-3 of...