National Mortgage News articles from April 2008

National Mortgage News archives from April 2008

Jumbo Loans Down by Half.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Mortgage lenders funded $57.6 billion worth of jumbo mortgages in the fourth quarter, a 47% decline from the same period a year earlier, according to exclusive survey figures compiled by National Mortgage News. Among the...

Residential Jumbo Lenders In Q4 2007.
April 7, 2008... Jumbo % Market Rk Organization Name Location Q4 07 Q4 06 Change Share 1 Washington MutualSeattle, WA $7,509 $14,774 -49% 13.06% 2 CitiMortgage Inc.O'Fallon, MO $6,802 $9,656 -30% 11.83% 3 Wells Fargo...

UBS Takes Huge B&C Writedown.
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- UBS AG, once a major warehouse lender to the subprime industry, said it will take a $19 billion writedown on its mortgage-related investments in the first quarter, including charges against its structured finance positions. ...

Fed Probe of Jackson?
April 7, 2008... Washington -- Housing secretary Alphonso Jackson is stepping down April 18 after being dogged by allegations of using his office to help friends and Bush administration supporters and recent reports that he is a subject of a federal probe. ...

$4 Billion Hit at DB.
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- Deutsche Bank managing director Michael Commaroto, who has overseen the foreign bank's whole loan trading operation for much of the decade, has left the company, industry sources confirmed to National Mortgage News. A few...

Nat City Looks for Buyer.
April 7, 2008... CLEVELAND -- National City Corp. here is exploring "strategic alternatives," a term which has become a corporate euphemism for the company is up for sale. In its statement, NCC said it would make no further statements until its board has...

At A Glance: National city Mortgage.
April 7, 2008... ($ in millions) Residential servicing at 12-31-07 $187,512 No. of units serviced 1,158,041 Servicing rank 10th 2007 residential fundings $46,350 2007 origination rank...

Triad to Stop New Policies?
April 7, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- Triad Guaranty Corp. here, the smallest of the private mortgage insurers, raised the possibility of the company going into run-off and ceasing writing new mortgage insurance policies. This disclosure came in the company's...

Many Object to Plan for Federal Mortgage Commission.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- State regulation of mortgage bankers and brokers would be rated by a new federal commission that would also set minimum licensing and underwriting standards as part of a larger plan to restructure the U.S. financial regulatory...

Home Equity Overdues Rise.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The number of home-equity loans and lines that were overdue increased sharply late last year, according to the American Bankers Association. And that helped push the overall consumer loan delinquency rate at banks to a high...

U.S. Judge Clears Way for Subpoenas in CFC Case.
April 7, 2008... PITTSBURGH -- A federal judge here has ruled that a bankruptcy trustee can subpoena loan documents from Countrywide Financial Corp. and interview company executives under oath as part of a widening civil case involving the lender/servicer. ...

Open Forum: Sustaining Homeownership.
April 7, 2008... Mr. Kroszner's remarks at the recent National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals Legislative Conference in Washington are presented as our Open Forum. First of two parts. The mortgage market has long been a source of strength...

Editorial: Parallel Lines.(Editorial)
April 7, 2008... The mortgage meltdown of this year and last often has been compared to the thrift crisis of the late 1980s. While there are many differences as well, the biggest similarity is the ultimate cost of the two debacles, hundreds of billions of...

Even as Writedowns Continue Some See It as Time to Buy.
April 7, 2008... Even as multibillion-dollar writedowns continued to slam the market there was some relative good news last week as more players indicated they believe the time to buy mortgage-related assets opportunistically has arrived and Wall Street reports...

Economist: Bottom May Be Two Years Off.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Housing prices may not bottom out until 2010, if then, according to the deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac. Amy Crews Cutts expects prices to fall 11% on a national level, peak-to-trough. So far, however, prices have dipped...

Weak Economy Leaves Some Skimping on Renovations.
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- A weaker economy, declining home prices, tighter credit standards and high energy costs will continue to take a toll on home improvement spending, according to Fitch Ratings, which recently held a conference call to discuss the...

KBW Optimistic On GSE Outlook.
April 7, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Equity analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods financial services unit here have given Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a rare treat these days: an upgrade. Once the darlings of Wall Street, analysts have turned sour on the...

Zillow: High-End Hurt the Most.
April 7, 2008... SEATTLE -- While overall, high-priced homes have seen their values fall by a larger percentage than lower-valued homes, that's not the case in all markets, according to a recent analysis of home value trends by Zillow.com. The online real...

$11 Billion Issue Is One of Canada's Largest Mortgage Deals.
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- A sale of government-backed Canadian mortgage bonds that appears to be one of the biggest debt offerings of its kind closed March 26, according to White & Case LLP, a legal adviser involved in the sale. The transaction was C$11...

EC Is Skeptical On U.K. Bailout.
April 7, 2008... BRUSSELS -- The European Commission here has launched an investigation into the United Kingdom aid package for mortgage bank Northern Rock PLC, Newcastle upon Tyne. "The commission needs to open a formal investigation into U.K. measures to...

Arbor Commercial Funds $9 Million in Three Loans.
April 7, 2008... UNIONDALE, NY -- Arbor Commercial Funding LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage LLC, has funded three loans for various properties around the country for more than $9 million. Arbor funded a $4 million loan under the...

Capmark Finances Apartment, Commercial Properties.
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- Capmark Finance Inc. has brokered and originated several commercial and multifamily real estate deals over the country. Recently, the company originated $185 million in 4.78% fixed-rate, permanent financing for the acquisition...

FB&M Funds Two Loans.
April 7, 2008... FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- Commercial mortgage banker Florida Bond & Mortgage Inc. recently arranged two permanent, first-mortgage loans in Florida totaling $5.3 million. Florida Bond & Mortgage arranged a $3.2 million permanent,...

Wachovia, Wells and BoA Top Commercial List.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Wachovia, Wells Fargo and Bank of America were the top commercial/multifamily originators in 2007, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual commercial/multifamily originations rankings. Other originators in the...

CRE Refi RiskRemains Low.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The commercial and multifamily mortgage market faces limited exposure to refinance risks stemming from the current credit crunch, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Research DataNote. The report notes that relatively...

Mercantile Funds$20.5M of Loans.
April 7, 2008... ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL -- Mercantile Commercial Capital LLC, which specializes in Small Business Administration 504 loans, closed on eight commercial property loans for projects that total more than $20.5 million in January and February. ...

Roundup: MGIC Raises Nearly $1 Billion of Debt and Equity.
April 7, 2008... MILWAUKEE -- MGIC Investment Corp. here made gross proceeds of $948 million on its simultaneous sales of equity and debt. The equity offering of slightly fewer than 43 million shares brought in nearly $483 million of gross proceeds. The...

Luminent To Exit Reit Status.
April 7, 2008... PHILADELPHIA -- Luminent Mortgage Capital here, which lost $721 million, or -$16.21 per share, in 2007, is asking its shareholders to approve converting from a real estate investment trust to publicly traded partnership. The PTP, it said,...

Impac Settles Repurchase Claims.
April 7, 2008... IRVINE, CA -- Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., a real estate investment trust here, said it has settled a majority of its outstanding repurchase claims. Joseph Tomkinson, chairman and chief executive of Impac, said, "This is a big step...

WaMu Challenged On Directors.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The CtW Investment Group, which is affiliated with a federation of unions known as Change to Win, is urging Washington Mutual shareholders to oppose the re-election of directors Mary Pugh and James Stever. WaMu officially will...

Alexandria Sells Preferred.
April 7, 2008... PASADENA, CA -- Underwriters of Alexandria Real Estate Equities' recent preferred stock offering have exercised their overallotment option to purchase an additional 1.2 million shares. The 7% Series D Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock...

Senate Closer to FHA Compromise.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Senate leaders ended a deadlock over housing legislation and agreed to move forward on a bipartisan foreclosure prevention bill last week. The Federal Housing Administration modernization bill is the keystone of the...

HCM Needs Capital Infusion.
April 7, 2008... EDISON, NJ -- Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings, an "A" paper mortgage investing REIT, lost $37.7 million in the fourth quarter and signaled that it may not continue as a going concern unless it receives a capital infusion. It blamed its...

Plan Offered to Protect Minority Borrowers.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Alarmed that the housing downturn is having a disproportionate impact on minorities of all shades, groups of Hispanic, Asian and African-American real estate professionals have put forth a five-point action to protect people of...

FDIC Readies for Bank Failures.
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is re-staffing its resolution and receivership division as it prepares for an increase in bank failures and the retirement of its veteran bank closers. "We are taking the prudent steps that...

Chicago FHLB's Earnings Decline.(Financial report)
April 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago posted a 50% drop in earnings in 2007 and the troubled bank expects to report a loss in the first quarter. Earnings fell from $192 million in 2006 to $98 million in 2007 as the bank's...

German Bank Takes Mortgage Hit.
April 7, 2008... MUNICH, Germany -- Bayerische Landesbank here has taken 4.3 billion euros ($6.7 billion) of writedowns between mid-2007 and the end of March 2008 on a portfolio that includes billions of dollars in U.S. subprime residential mortgage-backed...

Roundup: Moody's Reviews MBS Rules.
April 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- Moody's Investors Service is seeking market comment on five proposed enhancements to the securitization process for U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities. The specific enhancements are stronger representations and...

People.
April 7, 2008... CALIFORNIA San Diego-Del Mar DataTrac Inc. said that Gregg Holsapple has been named vice president of product and technology. Mr. Holsapple has more than 11 years of mortgage industry product management and development experience. ...

Fremont Gets FDIC Rebuke.
April 7, 2008... BREA, CA -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sent Fremont General Corp., and its subsidiary Fremont General Credit Corp., a supervisory prompt corrective action directive ordering it to recapitalize Fremont Investment & Loan by May 26....

Shearson Hires Restructuring Chief.
April 7, 2008... LAS VEGAS -- Shearson Financial Network Inc. here has hired Harry R. Kraatz as its chief restructuring officer. Shearson, which had been a mortgage banker that aggregated smaller companies under its banner, had been operating as a mortgage...

WaMu Joins Rush from Wholesale.
April 14, 2008... SEATTLE -- With last week's announcement that Washington Mutual will exit the wholesale lending arena, loan brokers nationwide were left wondering who's next? In the fourth quarter, WaMu ranked third nationwide among wholesale originators,...

1st Quarter MBS, ABS Evaporate.
April 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- The volume of mortgage-backed security deals totaled $60.96 billion in the first quarter, down dramatically - nearly 78% - from $273.88 billion in the first quarter of 2007, according to Thomson Financial. Asset-backed securities...

U.S. Assets-Backed Securities.
April 14, 2008... JPMorgan Leads League in ABS Totals 1/1/2008 -3/31/2008 1/1/2007 -3/31/2007 Proceeds* Market # of Proceeds* Market # of Book Runners (US$Mil) Share Issues (US$Mil) Share...

Wells Fargo Touts E-Biz.
April 14, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Wells Fargo, the second largest residential originator, has moved forward in a big way with its electronic strategy, now stating that it is open for business to accept e-signed 1003 and upfront disclosures from correspondents....

100 Layoffs At Bayview.
April 14, 2008... CORAL GABLES, FL -- Bayview Financial of Florida - a "scratch and dent" and small balance commercial lender - has laid off more than 100 workers at two affiliates, Silver Hill Financial and InterBay Funding, industry executives told National...

Future Will Be Going in Reverse.
April 14, 2008... PHILADELPHIA -- Recent negative press aside, the reverse mortgage business has a bright future, according to several participants at the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association's Eastern Regional Meeting here last week. "This is a...

Top Residential Servicers At 12/31/07.
April 14, 2008... Servicing Volume % Market Mkt Shr Rk Organization Name 12/31/07 12/31/06 Change Share % pt. +/- 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. $1,476,203 $1,298,394 14% 16.04% +0.92% 2 Wells Fargo & Co. $1,473,178...

Dodd Says Foreclosure Prevention Bill Is Not a Bailout.
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., last week defended his "draft" legislation to curtail foreclosures and restore liquidity to the nation's mortgage markets, maintaining the measure is not a bailout but rather a way to prevent more...

FHA Expands Refi Program.
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Housing Administration has expanded its FHA Secure program so that delinquent borrowers with underwater mortgages can refinance into an FHA-insured mortgage. Distressed homeowners with three late payments over the...

OFHEO Chief Lockhart Frontrunner for HUD Job?
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- James Lockhart, the federal regulator whose chief responsibility is overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is the leading candidate to become the next housing secretary, according to Washington sources. The White House has...

Editorial: Numbers Game.(Editorial)
April 14, 2008... There are a lot of numbers being thrown around currently about the size and scope of the mortgage industry disaster (no need not to call it by its real name). But not all numbers are bad, even the negative ones. Yes, the recent widely...

Open Forum: Sustaining Homeownership.
April 14, 2008... Mr. Kroszner's remarks at the recent National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals Legislative Conference in Washington are presented as our Open Forum. Second of two parts. Our proposed regulations would be more robust and...

Some Improvement Seen But Challenges Continue.
April 14, 2008... Parts of the mortgage-related market have done better since its mid-March woes but events up through press time last week suggested the market overall continues to be challenged, the credit crunch is still claiming victims globally. More...

GGP to Raise $822 Million of Capital.
April 14, 2008... CHICAGO -- General Growth Properties is in a deal to raise $821.9 million from a common stock offering. The company said the proceeds will be used to pay down its revolving debt facility and for "general corporate purposes." The offering...

HomeBanc Resurrected.
April 14, 2008... TAMPA, FL -- The HomeBanc name is being revived, as CNBS Financial Group Inc. here has acquired the rights to the moniker from the now-defunct Atlanta-based mortgage company. The original HomeBanc was reacquired by its then-management team...

Condo Index Falls Sharply.
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Multifamily Condo Market Index ended 2007 on a low note, with the component of the index tracking builder confidence in current conditions standing at 18.8, down nearly 11 points from the same time a year ago, according to the...

Arbor Finances Apartments.
April 14, 2008... UNIONDALE, NY -- Commercial Funding LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage LLC here, recently funded a $2 million loan under the Fannie Mae DUS 3MaxExpress program to refinance a 36-unit complex known as Sherwood Commons in...

Capital Trust Offers 4M Shares.
April 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- Capital Trust, a finance and investment management company chaired by Samuel Zell, will offer four million Class A common shares with Morgan Stanley & Co. acting as sole underwriter. Capital Trust expected that the offering...

Refinancing Is Boost to Origination Business.
April 14, 2008... SUN PRAIRIE, WI -- While the mortgage industry might not be experiencing a typical refinance boom right now, according to some industry sources, including an originator based here, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp., refinancings are driving...

Multiple Counting May Cloud Picture of Foreclosure Activity.
April 14, 2008... BOCA RATON, FL -- There is a discrepancy with much of the foreclosure data being published, according to Brad Geisen, founder and chief executive officer of foreclosure.com here, which stopped posting its data a year ago. This discrepancy...

Reverse Servicer Plans to Expand into Originations.
April 14, 2008... PHILADELPHIA -- Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Spring, Texas, has come of age just as the leading edge of the 80-million-member baby-boom generation enters their twilight years. A startup just one year ago, the multifaceted company has built a...

PropertyMaps and RealtyTrac Expand Offering.
April 14, 2008... SARASOTA, FL -- New homes, resale properties and now even houses in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure are available for searching on PropertyMaps.com. PropertyMaps.com, which conducts online real estate searches, partnered with RealtyTrac, an...

FTC Reassures On FDCPA Rule.
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission has made public a rare advisory opinion on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in response to three specific questions presented by USFN, a national network of attorneys and trustee companies...

New Home Sales Continue to Plummet as Demand Softens.
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Sales of new single-family homes fell by 1.8% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 units, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. This sales pace was down nearly 30% from a year earlier and down by 58%...

HUD Disciplines Fleetwood Homes.
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development has taken action against a major builder of manufactured homes by requiring it to recertify its Woodland, Calif., plant. In a settlement, Fleetwood Homes of California has agreed...

NPAs Rise Again at Downey.
April 14, 2008... NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- California thrift Downey Financial Corp. said its nonperforming assets increased to 10.93% at the end of February, an 89% spike over a three-month period. Downey holds $13.4 billion in assets on its balance sheet. In a...

Fannie Puts FICO Floor at 580.
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae continues to tighten its underwriting standards and this time the changes will fall heaviest on borrowers with blemished credit who are seeking to refinance out of subprime mortgages. A new seller guide issued last...

Curing Loans: Where's The Doctor?
April 14, 2008... The bad news has been piling up for the mortgage industry. Delinquencies in the fourth quarter of 2007 were nearing 6%, putting the overall delinquency rate at its highest level in more than two decades. Foreclosure starts and foreclosure...

Countrywide Vets Choose to Build Servicer from Scratch.
April 14, 2008... When Countrywide's former president Stanford Kurland decided to get into the business of buying and resolving troubled mortgage loans, he and his team of colleagues looked into buying an existing loan servicing platform to manage the company's...

Oxford Buying $2.7M Portfolio.
April 14, 2008... HOUSTON -- Oxford Funding Corp. has purchased a portfolio of loans from a lender in bankruptcy with a principal balance of $2.7 million. Oxford said the loans were purchased at a price equal to about 30% of the value of the collateral. Ron...

Offshore Fund Eyes U.S. Loans.
April 14, 2008... Nonperforming U.S. mortgages have reached the point in the cycle where they are cheap enough to buy, according to at least one asset manager here that has started two offshore investment funds to do this. "We think it's the opportune time,"...

New Servicer Focuses on High-Risk Segment.
April 14, 2008... PLANO, TX -- Strategic Recovery Group, a national mortgage asset recovery company, is launching a special servicing unit to meet the growing needs of lenders and investors in distressed debt. The servicing unit, to be known as Acqura Loan...

Radian Offers Claims Advance.
April 14, 2008... PHILADELPHIA -- The current economic environment has created a significant number of loan defaults and loan servicers are currently attempting to manage these cases by providing more options to help people remain in their homes. As part of...

Fannie Aids 110,000 Loans.
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Noting that 1.5 million U.S. homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, Fannie Mae says it either refinanced or worked out a delinquency for 110,000 subprime mortgage borrowers last year. Nearly 68,000 of those...

Is Consumer Debt at Risk?
April 14, 2008... ST. LOUIS -- A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis suggests that today's credit problems affecting the mortgage sector may spread to other consumer debt categories. According to the St. Louis Fed study, the percentage of...

Freddie Puts Pressure on MI Firms.
April 14, 2008... MCLEAN, VA -- Freddie Mac has ordered three more private mortgage insurers to come up with remediation plans following a downgrade by Standard & Poor's. S&P downgraded the financial strength ratings on the mortgage insurance subsidiaries...

Franklin Posts Loss, Extends Lending Pact.(Financial report)
April 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- Franklin Credit Management Corp. lost $8.6 million last year, or $1.90 per share. The company cited the "rapid and substantial" deterioration in the housing and subprime mortgage markets as key factors in reducing the performance of...

Veto Threat Looms over Rescue Bill.
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has stiffened its resolve to block almost any legislation dealing directly with the housing crisis, including a bipartisan foreclosure prevention bill that cleared the Senate last week by an 84-12 vote. ...

Fed's Proposed Disclosures for Compensation Irk Broker Group.
April 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve Board's prescription for dealing with yield-spread premiums is drawing fire from mortgage brokers and mixed reviews from lenders and consumer groups. The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is urging...

Roundup: Fitch Downgrades More B&C.
April 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- Over 200 additional classes of subprime mortgage pass-through certificates were recently downgraded by Fitch Ratings as a result of changes to its subprime loss forecasting assumptions. Fitch also placed 24 classes of subprime...

Fidelity Southern Sees Earnings Under Stress.
April 14, 2008... ATLANTA -- Fidelity Southern Corp. here said earnings for the fourth quarter remained under increasing pressure. Management reported the provision for loan losses will be about $3.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to $2.8...

People.
April 14, 2008... ARIZONA Phoenix-Johnson Capital, a commercial real estate investment banking firm, promoted Keaton Merrell to senior vice president. In his new position, he will be responsible for originating debt and equity for a wide range of real...

IndyMac Securitizes Jumbo, Alt-A.
April 14, 2008... PASADENA, CA -- IndyMac Bank has traded $335 million of prime jumbo and alternative-A credit hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages in a private-label securitization slated to settle on April 15, according to its corporate blog, the IMB Report. ...