National Mortgage News articles from August 2005

National Mortgage News archives from August 2005

Inside Track.
August 1, 2005... OPEN FORUM Greenspan On 'exotic' Loans 4 TECHNOLOGY Proclose Emphasizes Mismo, Mers 14 EQUITIES Regions Plans More Changes. 22 SECURITIZATION RMBS Downgrades Reach A High...

Shelby's Bill Passes Panel.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Senate Banking Committee members are deeply divided over the issue of reducing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolios, but Republicans and Democrats will continue talks, hoping to move a GSE regulatory reform bill to the...

GMAC Hires Chase Executives.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- In an effort to bolster its residential lending business GMAC Mortgage, Horsham, Pa., has hired four new senior executives, three of which are new positions. Among the new hires is Lehman Brothers managing director Tom...

Countrywide Earnings Slip.
August 1, 2005... CALABASAS, CA -- Countrywide Financial Corporation's second quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations, and stiff competition on the pricing of new loans appears to be the main culprit. Countrywide said the margin in earns from...

MISMO Making Progress.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization here has been making inroads for the past six years in standardizing more and more mortgage industry data into user-friendly XML format. MISMO's goal is to standardize...

2Q Fundings Soared.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Despite repeated warnings on interest-only loans from Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and major media coverage of a supposed "housing bubble," residential loan production spiked in the second quarter. According to...

Residential Lenders in Q2 2005 (A Sample).
August 1, 2005... ($ in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Organization Name Location American Home Mortgage Melville, NY Amerifund Lending Group West Lake Villiage, CA Cherry Creek Mortgage Greenwood...

MBS Underwriting Volumes Seen Growing in 2Q.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- The volume of mortgage-backed security deals underwritten in the second quarter totaled $214.47 billion, up from the $201.1 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2004, according to preliminary figures from Thomson Financial, a...

Congressmen Seek More HMDA Data.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Twenty members of the House Financial Services Committee want the Federal Reserve Board to collect more Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. The congressmen (11 Democrats and nine Republicans) sent a letter explaining their...

U.S. Mortgage-Backed Securities.
August 1, 2005... (Lehman Grabs Lead Among MBS Underwriters) (part 1 of 2) 4/1/05 - 6/30/05 Proceeds Market # of Managers ($Mil) Share...

Land of Lincoln Goes Ahead with Law Despite Industry Objections.
August 1, 2005... SPRINGFIELD, IL -- The governor of Illinois has signed into law a house bill strongly opposed by the mortgage industry to establish a predatory lending database pilot program in Cook County. The database will be designed to receive and...

Uncommon Sense.
August 1, 2005... The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee showed some uncommon good sense recently when it struck down deep cuts in fiscal 2006 NAHASDA funding and restored block grants to their FY 2005 levels. Draconian cuts in NAHASDA funding proposed by...

'Exotic' Home Loans a Concern.
August 1, 2005... Mr. Greenspan recently testified before the House Financial Services Committee and presented identical testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. Excerpts of his remarks are presented as our Open Forum. According to estimates prepared...

Flatter Yield Curve May Mean Fewer ARMs, Depending on Market.
August 1, 2005... Average rates continued to rise last week and, with the flatter yield curve seen recently, there have been more reports from some quarters that adjustable-rate mortgage demand has been waning or will diminish. However, rates remain...

Promotion Spotlight: Gerard J. Heinz.
August 1, 2005... Mortgage Cadence Inc., Denver, Colo., has named Gerard J. Heinz its chief operating officer. His primary objective as COO is to support Mortgage Cadence's growth and to lead it into the next stage of maturity as a product. Mr. Heinz will be...

Merger of Big Brokers Enhances Reach of Firm.
August 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE, NC -- The deal between the nation's fourth largest mortgage broker, 1st Metropolitan Mortgage here and the second largest mortgage broker, Olympia Funding, Pleasanton, Calif., gives the acquirer both geographic and product diversity,...

N.E. Realty Firms Combine Forces.
August 1, 2005... WOBURN, MA -- Carlson GMAC Real Estate here has acquired the assets of Edmund G. Woods Co. in a move to provide buyers and sellers with a greater array of services in the Hampden and Hampshire County area. "Adding such an outstanding...

Wholesale Exit Hurts Bank's EPS.
August 1, 2005... COSTA MESA, CA -- As a result of its decision to exit the wholesale mortgage lending business, Pacific Mercantile Bancorp here said discontinued operations for the company had a loss of $133,000 or $0.01 per share for the period that ended June...

Freddie Purchases Down Slightly But Still Strong.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Freddie Mac acquired $47.95 billion in mortgages during June, a 10% decline from the same month last year. During the first six months of 2005 the mortgage giant purchased $258 billion in product, a 3% decline compared to the...

Freddie Mac Holdings/Purchases 2005-2004.
August 1, 2005... ($ in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Year/ Total Retained PCs Held in Port. Growth Month Portfolio Portfolio Rate(1) Jan '04 $640,660 $388,471 12.50% Feb $638,034...

AFL-CIO, Chicago Ally in AH Effort.
August 1, 2005... CHICAGO -- AFL-CIO and the City of Chicago have launched a $750 million initiative designed to generate affordable housing and boost economic development in the area over the next five years. The new "Chicago Community Investment Plan" will...

Final GSE Rule on Fraud Issued.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has issued a final rule requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to promptly report incidents of possible mortgage fraud to the regulator. Once Fannie or Freddie identifies...

'Home Possible' Adds 5/1 ARMs.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Freddie Mac has added a 5/1 hybrid ARM to its suite of low-downpayment mortgage products called "Home Possible" that are designed for low- and moderate-income borrowers. The secondary market company also announced that it has...

TransUnion Buys So. Cal. Firm.
August 1, 2005... CHICAGO -- TransUnion Settlement Solutions, a unit of TransUnion here, has acquired Diversified Holdings Corp., a Southern California-based firm whose subsidiaries include a title insurance underwriter, Diversified Title Insurance Co. The...

Median Price of a California Home Rises 16% from Year Earlier.
August 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES, CA -- According to the California Association of Realtors, the median price of an existing home in California in June increased to $542,720, up 16% from the $468,050 median for June 2004 and sales increased 3.6% compared with the...

MI Product Lowers Payment.
August 1, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- Losing market share because of such things as piggyback loans has forced the mortgage insurance companies to become innovative in terms of new product offerings. Such is the case at Radian Guaranty Inc. here, which has...

Lender Acquires Title Insurer.
August 1, 2005... HALFMOON, NY -- MEM Financial Solutions, a mortgage originator headquartered here, has acquired a title company, Land Research Solutions Inc., Clifton Park, N.Y. The predecessor company to Land Research Solutions, known as Integrity Title Co.,...

ProClose Puts Emphasis on MISMO Compliance, MERS Adoption.
August 1, 2005... MCLEAN, VA -- ProClose MBS is trying to push the electronic mortgage ball further by endorsing MISMO and ZMRS by creating MISMO interfaces and allowing users to do a direct connect to MERS. "We have an alpha front-end test to process docs...

MortgageHub Set to Dispel Small Firm Reputation.
August 1, 2005... CONSHOCKEN, PA -- The pioneer of Web services, MortgageHub here is taking serious steps to penetrate the midtier market, grow its product offering and dispel the notion that it's a small shop. "We are focusing on getting in the midtier...

Empower to Add Compliance Tool.
August 1, 2005... JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Empower, an LOS that is part of the Fidelity Information Services division of Fidelity National Financial, and ComplianceEase, a division of LogicEase Solutions Inc., a provider of regulatory compliance and risk management...

Economist Expects to See Continuing Strength in Home Prices.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- With the pace of existing home sales hitting a record in June, economists at Cantor Fitzgerald say the stage is set for home prices to continue rising. In a Cantor Viewpoint article, the investment banking firm noted that the...

Moody's Affirms Block Financial.
August 1, 2005... KANSAS CITY -- After displaying franchise strength, profitability and cash generation capacity of its parent company's Tax Services business, Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the ratings of Block Financial Corp. and has assessed that its...

Regions Plans More Changes to Mortgage Unit.
August 1, 2005... BIRMINHAM, AL -- Regions Financial Corp. reported earnings that were 3.5% higher than in the fourth quarter despite taking a big impairment allowance against its mortgage servicing portfolio and expressing disappointment in its conforming...

KBW Launches Mortgage Index.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, an investment banking and brokerage firm specializing in the financial services sector, launched two new indexes measuring the U.S. regional banking and mortgage finance sectors. KBW also said that options...

CSC Will Create Mortgage REIT.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- GSC partners, a private investment firm specializing in credit-based alternative investment strategies, has formed GSC Capital Group, a real estate investment trust. The new REIT will invest in real estate securities, whole loan...

Bank Earnings Still Strong Despite Pressure on Interest Margins.
August 1, 2005... MINNEAPOLIS -- The earnings of the nation's largest banks continued to post strong gains in the second quarter, despite the challenges of declining net interest margins, according to analysts at Piper Jaffray. Earnings per share grew by 9%...

ThinkEquity Sees Opportunity in PR.
August 1, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- ThinkEquity Partners, an investment firm here, has added eight financial institutions based in Puerto Rico to its coverage list. The banks include Doral Financial, Eurobancshares, First BanCorp., Oriental Financial Group,...

JER Stock Deal Raises $213MM.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- JER Investors has priced its initial public offering of common stock at $47.75 per share. The company has agreed to sell 12 million shares and an additional 223,399 shares are being sold by selling stockholders. The company...

UFMC Posts Lower EPS on MSR Hit, Tighter Warehouse Spread.
August 1, 2005... OAK BROOK, IL -- United Financial Mortgage Corp. saw its earnings per share fall compared to a year earlier despite posting higher revenue. The company operates on a fiscal year that ends in April and recently posted annual results. United...

New Century Joins Russell 1000 Index.
August 1, 2005... IRVINE, CA -- New Century Financial Corp., which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NEW, has been added to the Russell 1000 index. New Century, a real estate investment trust and parent of one of the nation's largest...

Roundup: Residential MBS Downgrades Reach a New Record High.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Downgrades on U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities deals reached a record high of 45 in the second quarter, although rating performance overall remained strong, according to Standard & Poor's. The downgrades were offset...

Insurance Hurts CMBS Deal.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class E of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc. variable-rate mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-FL-A, has been downgraded from Aa1 to Aa2 by Moody's Investors Service. Class E remains on review for further...

CMBS Deal Downgraded.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class B-6 of DLJ Commercial Mortgage Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-CKP1, has been downgraded from B-plus to B by Fitch Ratings. Fitch also upgraded one class in the transaction and affirmed...

ABF HE Deal Downgraded.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Five classes from three Asset Backed Funding Corp. home equity loan asset-backed certificate transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: ABFC series 2001-AQ1, class M-2, from BBB to BB,...

HE Securities See Losses.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Eight classes from three Conseco/Green Tree home-equity and home improvement loan deals have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: Green Tree Home Equity 1999-D, class B1, from BBB to BB-plus; Conseco...

Fannie Mae Finances $11.8 Billion of Apartments.
August 1, 2005... KOHLER, WI -- During the first half of 2005 Fannie Mae dedicated a considerable amount of its resources to financing affordable housing options while focusing on strengthening its multifamily rental housing offering. "As Fannie Mae works...

Roundup: Refinancing Poses Challenge for Canadian CMBS Loans.
August 1, 2005... TORONTO -- The Canadian commercial mortgage-backed securities market has flourished over the past number of years but may face challenges ahead, according to a recent report by Standard & Poor's office here. "Investors have enjoyed the...

Mexico expects More MBS.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Residential mortgage-backed securities issuance by Mexico's Sofoles and Infonavit are expected to increase going forward but may face some hurdles to overcome, according to a recent report by Standard & Poor's here. RMBS "face...

German Bonds Go International.
August 1, 2005... BERLIN -- Mortgage assets in the United States, Canada and Japan became eligible for inclusion in German covered bond pools for the first time on July 19 when that country's new Pfandbriefe Act officially went into effect. The enactment...

Apartment and Retail Property Types Outperform Other Sectors.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Multifamily and retail properties, both consumer-oriented commercial property sectors, continue to perform well, while office, industrial and hotel sectors continued at the same level of performance as the last period, Moody's...

CMBS Issuance May Hit New Peak.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Issuance of commercial mortgage-backed securities could set a new record this year, according to Standard & Poor's. As of July, issuance of the securities was going strong, which S&P credits to low interest rates, high liquidity...

REIT Transactions.
August 1, 2005... * New Plan Excel Realty Trust is selling 69 retail properties totaling 10.4 million square feet for about $968 million, including $40 million in equity, to Galileo America LLC, a joint venture between CBL & Associates and Galileo America, Inc....

Commercial Transactions.
August 1, 2005... * Ashford Hospitality Trust has closed a $5.6 million interest-only mezzanine loan, at LIBOR plus 9.50%, on a 322-room San Antonio hotel property. * Capital Trust is making an offering of about $317 million in collateralized debt...

Fast Growing CCBI Has Strong 2Q.
August 1, 2005... IRVINE, CA -- Commercial Capital Bancorp Inc. here, a fast-growing, commercial mortgage lender, funded and purchased $625 million worth of loans in the second quarter, a 34% increase from the same period last year. CCBI's production in the...

Vornado Realty Trust Joins S&P 500 Index.
August 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Vornado Realty Trust, an office real estate investment trust based here, is going to be added to the S&P 500, the financial information services company reports. Vornado will replace SunGard Data Systems on the index "after the...

People.
August 1, 2005... ARIZONA Scottsdale-April Buchter has joined First National Bank of Arizona as a correspondent account executive covering the South Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky markets. Previously with Countrywide...

FHLBs: $2 Billion Under MPF in 2Q.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Home Loan Banks funded only $2 billion in originations under the mortgage partnership finance program in the second quarter, raising questions about its future prospects. The Chicago FHLBank reported last week that...

HUD Bill Spotlights Problems with FHA.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A Senate committee has approved a HUD appropriations bill, which is sharply critical of the Federal Housing Administration single-family program "FHA is clearly becoming a lender of last resort, taking on the most risky...

Texas Voters to Consider Reverse Mortgage Lines.
August 1, 2005... AUSTIN, TX -- Scott Norman, president of the Texas Association of Reverse Mortgage Lenders, is spearheading a campaign effort to support a proposed reverse mortgage constitutional amendment. If reverse mortgage lines of credit are approved...

The Shelby GSE Bill: The Highlights.
August 1, 2005... Portfolio Limits: Fannie and Freddie could no longer hold mortgage-backed securities in portfolio strictly for investment or arbitrage purposes. The bill allows the GSEs to hold whole loans and MBS necessary for their securitization and...

HUD Secretary Warns on RESPA.
August 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The nation's housing secretary last week cautioned participants in its public RESPA forums that although the government values their input, "This is not negotiated rule making." Speaking at the second of three Washington...

Inside Track.
August 8, 2005... Editorial Keeping Up 4 Open Forum Treasury On Tria 4 Nonprime Mortgages Economic Drivers 8 Equities Earnings Results 10 People 23 Hot Stat...

VC Money Returns to Industry.
August 8, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- The venture capitalists are back, and they are looking hard at the mortgage and real estate sectors. "This is a great time to be an entrepreneur in real estate and mortgage," Mark Sherman, a partner in Battery Ventures,...

60% of GMACCH Sold.
August 8, 2005... DETROIT -- General Motors Acceptance Corp. is selling a 60% stake in its commercial mortgage subsidiary GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. to a group of private equity investors for an undisclosed amount. The investors are Kohlberg Kravis...

Residential IO Lenders Ranked by # of Loans.
August 8, 2005... (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 GreenPoint Mortgage Funding Novato, CA 2 Aurora Loan Services, Inc. Aurora, CO 3 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage San Francisco, CA 4...

Senate Confirms New Regulators.
August 8, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Senate confirmed a new crop of federal bank and thrift regulators, along with key Treasury Department policy makers, before leaving town for an August recess. The Senate's action makes John Dugan the new Comptroller of...

WaMu Is Not Sweating Deal.
August 8, 2005... SEATTLE -- Washington Mutual here is apparently not concerned that an announcement by Putnam Investments, Boston, could undo its proposed acquisition of Providian Financial Corp., San Francisco. Putnam Investments, which has the right to...

Refis Down, Cash-Outs Up.
August 8, 2005... MCLEAN, VA -- Waiting for refinance business to pick up may require more coffee, as total applications for the loans become more sluggish, according to Freddie Mac. During the second quarter, refinance applications fell to 42%, a 3% drop...

Did Credit Suisse First Boston Get Cold Feet?
August 8, 2005... NEW YORK -- While not exactly getting jilted at the altar, Select Portfolio Servicing was still waiting last week to find out if Credit Suisse First Boston would be its knight in shining armor. Amid speculation that CSFB's deal to buy...

At a Glance.
August 8, 2005... Wall Street Firms with B&C Servicing Affiliates Firm Servicing Platform Citigroup CitiFinancial Lehman Bros. Aurora Loan Services Wachovia Homeq Servicing C-BASS Litton...

FAREIS Shares Data with Source One.
August 8, 2005... DALLAS -- First American Real Estate Information Services Inc. here has completed a deal to share its data with broker price opinion giant Source One Services. As a part of the technology sharing deal, First American will integrate its...

$325MM Set Aside for ACC Settlements.
August 8, 2005... ORANGE, Calif. -- ACC Capital Holdings Corp. says it has set aside $325 million to settle claims stemming from the residential lending practices of Ameriquest Mortgage, its retail subprime affiliate. In the statement, ACC - parent of both...

Ocwen Sees Lower Profit.
August 8, 2005... W. PALM BEACH, FL -- Ocwen Financial Corp. here has reported a 67% drop in second quarter profits due to increased expenses and lower property intake under a Department of Veterans Affairs property management contract. The servicing...

Old Republic Faces Tough Title Market.
August 8, 2005... CHICAGO -- Old Republic International Corp. here said its title insurance business "turned in somewhat poorer results than anticipated at the beginning of the year." The statement was in ORI's second quarter earnings release. Pretax operating...

Editorial: Keeping Up.
August 8, 2005... The subprime mortgage niche remains the hottest category in the business, and it behooves everyone in the industry to keep up with its evolution. Whether it's loan products being introduced or changing at the speed of light (interest-only,...

Open Forum: TRIA's Time Has Passed.
August 8, 2005... Secretary Snow recently testified before the House Financial Services Committee on the Terrorism Risk Reinsurance Program. Excerpts of his remarks are presented as our Open Forum. As you know, President Bush signed TRIA into law in November...

Home Builders Continue to See Strong Demand.
August 8, 2005... WASHINGTON -- While mortgage rates have risen slightly in recent weeks, the National Association of Home Builders here says financing conditions remain favorable and demand still outpaces the supply of new homes in many markets. According...

Maine Requires Data Notification.
August 8, 2005... AUGUSTA -- A new law has been created in Maine, which requires that businesses owning or licensing electronic data containing personal information must notify individuals if it is obtained by an unauthorized person or breached. This...

First American Bucks 2nd Q Trend.
August 8, 2005... NEW YORK -- The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., came through the second quarter having improved on its year-to-year earnings, something two of its competitors in the nationwide title underwriting business were unable to do. In...

Half of All Take-Backs in Six States.
August 8, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- Six states account for more than half the nation's foreclosures, according to an Irvine, Calif.-based company which claims the largest national database of troubled properties. Texas, Florida, California, Georgia, Ohio and...

CRL Says New Laws Cost $1 Per Loan.
August 8, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Rejecting claims that strong state predatory lending laws reduce the availability of credit, the Center for Responsible Lending has estimated that the cost of complying with state predatory lending laws is about $1 per mortgage...

Expect to See More Lawsuits.
August 8, 2005... NEW YORK -- One Washington attorney predicts more cases of alleged kickbacks through reinsurance arrangements with several large homebuilders will be brought around the country, following the $37.8-million settlement with a trio of the nation's...

Ameriquest Owner Next Ambassador to the Netherlands?
August 8, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Ameriquest Capital Corp. owner Roland Arnall is being considered for the ambassadorship to the Netherlands, according to combined news reports, and industry sources. A spokesman for the nonconforming loan giant told National...

CMG Rolls Out Early Pay Tool.
August 8, 2005... SAN RAMON, CA -- While most lenders, it seems, are concentrating on funding low payment, interest-only loans CMG Mortgage Services here has rolled out a new product that helps the consumer pay off his mortgage early. The mortgage, called...