National Mortgage News articles from December 2008

National Mortgage News archives from December 2008

US Guarantees Citi.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-The government last week came to the rescue of Citigroup - once a major subprime lender and securitizer - by providing loan guarantees on a $306 billion pool of mortgages, $80 billion of which could be...

43,500 Originators Join NMLS.
December 1, 2008... LAS VEGAS-Almost half the country has now signed up for the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. Launched at the first of the year with seven states, the system is now active with 20 state agencies. In January, when Arizona,...

Reverse Servicing 'Red Flags'.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Lew Sichelman LAS VEGAS-Home-equity conversion mortgages, those backwards loans seniors use to turn their homes into cash, are more susceptible to fraud than other types of loans, according to a specialist in reverse mortgage...

Mods Could Pose High Fraud Risk.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Brad Finkelstein LAS VEGAS-Loan modifications might be an area ripe for mortgage fraud, said panelists in a session on risk control at the SourceMedia Mortgage Fraud Conference here. Gary Lacefield, executive vice president,...

NAMB Vows Fight to Kill RESPA Final Rule.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Lew Sichelman LAS VEGAS-The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has vowed to pull out all the stops in an effort to kill the final rule implementing changes in the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. "We are not going...

Obama's Default Plan.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-President-elect Barack Obama is determined to find a way to address the foreclosure crisis as part of an economic recovery and stimulus plan that he wants Congress to pass shortly after he takes office on...

More to Go Underwater?
December 1, 2008... Byline: Ted Cornwell NEW YORK-Concern is growing that despite tighter underwriting standards and the demise of the riskiest loan products, falling home values could put newly originated loans underwater, raising the risk of default. ...

ABS Effort May Fund Non-Agency.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Paul Muolo WASHINGTON-A new effort by the Treasury Department to revive the market for asset-backed securities could include the moribund "non-agency" mortgage sector, the government said. Treasury secretary Henry Paulson...

CTX Embraces Call Center Model.
December 1, 2008... DALLAS-CTX Mortgage here is in the process of closing its remaining retail branches, shifting its originations to a call-center-like production center that caters only to consumers that are buying homes from its parent company, a prominent home...

Data-Vision to Buy POS Vendor NetUpdate.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Anthony Garritano MISHAWAKA, IN-Data-Vision Inc. here has signed a non-binding letter of intent to purchase all or substantially all of the operating assets of NetUpdate Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Most Home Corp. The...

USB Must Use Loan Mods for Downey, PFF.
December 1, 2008... NEWPORT BEACH, CA-U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis will have to use FDIC-sanctioned loan modification programs for troubled mortgages at two thrifts it acquired in late November. One of the thrifts, Downey Savings and Loan here, was a top 40...

Fidelity Drops Plans for LFG.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Brad Finkelstein JACKSONVILLE, FL-Fidelity National Financial Inc. here has terminated its merger agreement with LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va. As a result, Fitch Ratings, Chicago, has downgraded the insurer...

Freddie Purchases Fall to '08 Low.
December 1, 2008... WASHINGTON-Freddie Mac is reducing its delivery fees on jumbo mortgages and also will discontinue purchases of stated-income or "liar loans." Freddie will eliminate the extra delivery fees it has charged on fixed-rate purchases and no...

Borrowers Switching to Fixed-Rate Loans.
December 1, 2008... MCLEAN, VA-Borrowers who refinanced home loans during the third quarter swarmed into the relative safety of fixed-rate mortgages, according to Freddie Mac's quarterly refinancing study. Among prime credit quality borrowers, 94% who...

Genworth Takes$930MM Loan.
December 1, 2008... RICHMOND, VA-Genworth Financial here - which posted a large third-quarter loss - said it has borrowed $930 million of a $1.7 billion credit line. Late last week its share price had fallen below $1 but recovered slightly to $1.50. Among...

Ginnie Revises Re-Pooling Rule.
December 1, 2008... WASHINGTON-Ginnie Mae has tightened its re-pooling requirements and starting Jan. 1 all workouts must be current before the loans can be placed in a Ginnie mortgage-backed security. The secondary market agency for government-backed loans...

HSBC Exits Wholesale.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Bonnie Sinnock DEPEW, NY-HSBC Mortgage Corp. here in an internal memo said it is officially ceasing originations through its wholesale and third party correspondent channels. Three hundred and twenty-five of the corporation's...

OPEN FORUM: Subprime: Outside the Corral; Mr. Retsinas, director of the joint center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, has contributed an editorial on subprime housing finance. His comments are presented as our Open Forum.(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Nicolas Retsinas, Former Federal Housing Commissioner Beginning in 1933 with deposit insurance, the federal government has corralled banks with regulations and regulators. Today the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the...

PEOPLE.
December 1, 2008... CALIFORNIA Los Angeles-Zetabid said that Christopher Connelly has been appointed senior managing director. Mr. Connelly is responsible for global business development at Zetabid and will be managing relationships with financial...

ResCap Pins Hope on Bank Bid.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Kate Berry, American Banker NEW YORK-The future of Residential Capital LLC may hinge on whether its parent, GMAC LLC, succeeds in converting to a bank holding company. Tom Marano, ResCap's chief executive, said in an interview...

Fed Move May Spur Refis If MBS Boost Lasts.(Street Smarts)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Bonnie Sinnock The Federal Reserve's plan to purchase up to $500 billion of housing-related government-sponsored enterprises' mortgage-backed securities as well as up to $100 billion of their debt could mean a refinancing boom if...

Wells Cutting Jobs from Wholesale.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Paul Muolo SAN FRANCISCO-Wells Fargo & Co., the nation's second largest table-funder, is cutting jobs in its residential wholesale division to reflect what it calls "the reality of the market." The bank, unlike some of its...

Mortgages Trim Bank Earnings.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-Loan performance continued to deteriorate in the third quarter as banks and thrifts added $50 billion to loan-loss reserves for the second consecutive quarter, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance...

EDITORIAL: Throw Away the Key.(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... Put people in jail, is Department of Housing and Urban Development inspector general Kenneth Donohue's prescription to help cut down on mortgage fraud. The feisty government official, speaking at a lively SourceMedia conference on fraud in...

GSEs Suspend Foreclosures.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have suspended all foreclosures and evictions of homeowners during the holiday season while their servicers get up to speed on a new streamlined loan modification program. ...

Trouble with Loan Mods Trouble with Mods.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Kate Berry, American Banker As the mortgage industry begins modifying troubled loans in greater numbers, early rounds of modifications are coming in for bad performance reviews for failing to prevent borrowers from defaulting again....

Dexma Broadens Technology Focus.(Technology)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Anthony Garritano EDINA, MN-Most lenders view technology in silos and apply it to fix isolated problems. However, the Dexma approach offers a broader fix that the vendor hopes will go so far as to restore investor confidence in the...

Wave and Xerox Going Electronic Together.(Technology)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Anthony Garritano LEE, MA-Earlier in the year, Wave Systems here and Xerox Mortgage Services partnered to make it easy for lenders to start with electronic disclosures and move gradually toward full electronic mortgages. Now Wave...

Fundings at 8-Year Low.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Paul Muolo WASHINGTON-Mortgage bankers originated just $333 billion in one-to-four family loans in the third quarter, the industry's worst showing since the fourth quarter of 2000, according to exclusive survey figures compiled by...

Ups, Downs for FHA.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-The Federal Housing Administration just completed one of its best years in terms of loan originations and loan quality, but according to an independent audit, fiscal year 2008 could also be one of FHA's...

New Launch Better Positions Appraisals and Valuations.(Special Report: Appraising & Valuing)
December 8, 2008... Byline: Amilda Dymi Aiming to deliver a full range of integrated services and to further improve operational efficiency, First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., has launched two new business lines. The business information provider...

Exec Evaluates Valuation Code.(Special Report: Appraising & Valuing)
December 8, 2008... Byline: Brad Finkelstein LAS VEGAS-The Home Valuation Code of Conduct is "dangerous" because it drives a wedge between loan brokers and the origination process, an appraisal technology firm executive told attendees at a National...

Similar Sales Offers 'Limited, Summary Appraisal Report'.(Special Report: Appraising & Valuing)(Report)
December 8, 2008... Byline: Bonnie Sinnock Similar Sales Inc., Farmington Hills, Mich., is offering what it describes as a "limited, summary appraisal report" that costs less than a full appraisal but is not based on valuation models. The Similar Sales...

Appraising/Valuing Assets: Carving Out Value.(Special Report: Appraising & Valuing)
December 8, 2008... Determining the value of a home or property, never mind the cash flow of the loan or security it ultimately serves as collateral for, has become challenging in the wake of the recent market crisis. Today's market participants have had to...

NEWS ANALYSIS: The 4.5% Solution?
December 8, 2008... Byline: Paul Muolo WASHINGTON-On the one hand, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (for those who qualify) offered at 4.5% could ignite a mini homebuying boom, which is exactly what the government is hoping for. On the other hand, a...

Capacity May Be a Problem.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Bonnie Sinnock NEW YORK-If government programs aimed at purchasing securitized product as a means of dramatically lowering rates and boosting originations are as successful long term as they were last week, the next challenge those...

Higher Loss Provision Pushes Beverly Hills Bancorp into Red.(Equities)
December 8, 2008... CALABASAS, CA-As a result of a $21.7 million increase in its provision for loan losses, Beverly Hills Bancorp Inc., the parent company of First Bank of Beverly Hills, reported a net loss for the three months ended Sept. 30 of $11.9 million,...

HCM Owners See Bleak Future.(Equities)
December 8, 2008... EDISON, NJ-Despite a "gain" of $34 million in the third quarter, Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings says it does not anticipate being able to remain a going concern on its own. On the bright side, the company said its planned merger with a...

SBT Takes Hit From GSE Debt.(Equities)
December 8, 2008... SIMSBURY, CT-SBT Bancorp, parent of The Simsbury Bank & Trust Co., has joined the list of banks facing red ink because of their investment in the preferred securities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. SBT lost $1.6 million, or $1.80 per share,...

VA Bank Sells Problem Loans.(Equities)
December 8, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Harmon CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA-StellarOne Corp. here reported an additional $1.7 million pretax charge on the recently concluded auction of certain assets that had been reclassified as held for sale in conjunction with the...

Wells Fargo's Stock Offering Sets Record.(Equities)
December 8, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO-It may be the most difficult capital-raising environment in memory for most bankers, but Wells Fargo's recent public offering of new shares set a record as the largest non-initial public offering by a U.S. corporation. Wells...

EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT: STEVE ALONSO.
December 8, 2008... Fifth Third Bank has named Mr. Alonso as executive vice president and head of the company's mortgage and consumer lending lines of business. Mr. Alonso previously was founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Oakstreet Mortgage LLC,...

Cap Deadline Looms for AmTrust.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Katie Kuehner-Hebert, American Banker CLEVELAND-AmTrust Bank here, one of the nation's largest privately held thrifts, finds itself in a tough yet increasingly familiar position: It must raise capital this year or risk seizure by...

Fed Sees Broad CRE Weakness.
December 8, 2008... WASHINGTON-Commercial real estate markets "weakened broadly," according to the Beige Book, which noted that many Federal Reserve district banks reported falling rents and rising vacancy rates. "Leasing activity was down in almost all...

October COFI Rises above 3% Level.
December 8, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO-The Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index rose significantly in the latest reported month to a point above 3%. The COFI index for October is 3.125%, an increase of more than 35 basis points from September's...

Agencies Like CapOne's Acquisition.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Brad Finkelstein MCLEAN, VA-While the primary purpose of the transaction is to build Capital One Financial Corp.'s deposit base in the Washington metropolitan area, the way it is handling the mortgage portion of its proposed...

CRA-Subprime Link Refuted.
December 8, 2008... WASHINGTON-A Federal Reserve Board study discovered that banks and thrifts made only a small percentage of subprime loans in their Community Reinvestment Act assessment areas, refuting critics who claim CRA contributed to the crisis. "Only...

Finance Chair Wants New Rules for MBS.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., believes 2009 will usher in a new era of financial regulation including revised rules for securitizing mortgages. In the wake of the...

Freddie Taps Treasury Cash.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-Freddie Mac has tapped the Treasury Department for a $13.8 billion cash infusion to wipe out a capital deficit - and Fannie Mae could be next in line for government money after it reports fourth-quarter...

HUD Will Buy Second Liens.
December 8, 2008... WASHINGTON-In an attempt to spur usage of its Hope for Homeowners refinancing program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said it will now buy out second-lien holders - likely for pennies on the dollar. The secondary market for...

Fidelity Nears 50% of Market.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Ted Cornwell JACKSONVILLE, FL-The bankruptcy filing by LandAmerica Financial Group just before Thanksgiving paved the way for Fidelity National Financial Corp. to surpass First American as the nation's largest provider of title...

Mortgage Fraud Jumps 45%.
December 8, 2008... WASHINGTON-Reported incidents of mortgage fraud in the U.S. increased by 45% on fewer loan applications in the second quarter of 2008 from a year ago, according to a new report released by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. Key...

Mortgage Insurance Volume Drops.
December 8, 2008... WASHINGTON-For the third consecutive month, the amount of primary new insurance written by members of the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America hit a new low. The $7.7 billion written in October ($0 from the bulk channel for the second time...

Firm Helps Track O.C. Foreclosures.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Harmon SANTA ANA, CA-As Orange County foreclosure activity reaches record levels, Orange County Register Communications and Foreclosure Trackers Inc. are providing a new service at OCRegister.com/realestate to obtain the...

TARP Money to Prevent Foreclosure?
December 8, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-President-elect Barack Obama has signaled his support for using some of the $700 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds for foreclosure prevention. "We've got to start helping homeowners, in a...

Ocwen Seeks Bank Charter.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Kate Berry, American Banker NEW YORK-Nearly four years after turning in its thrift charter, Ocwen Financial Corp. has reconsidered the merits of federal regulation and has applied to convert to a bank holding company and buy a tiny...

OPEN FORUM: Progress on the Financial Crisis.
December 8, 2008... Today we continue to work through a severe financial crisis. While we are making progress, the journey ahead will continue to be a difficult one. But I have confidence that we are pursuing the right strategy to stabilize the financial system...

Week Suggests Mortgage Securitization Plays a Crucial Role.(Street Smarts)
December 8, 2008... Byline: Bonnie Sinnock One of the questions that had emerged during the current crisis has been how much we need securitization and last week it seemed clear that it is crucial. A report by four international trade groups last week...

Thornburg Has 4 to 5 Months.
December 8, 2008... SANTA FE, NM-Thornburg Mortgage here, once a top-ranked jumbo lender, said it has "four to five months" to find alternative financing for its $21 billion portfolio. In a recent interview with National Mortgage News, CEO Larry Goldstone...

EDITORIAL: Forgotten Values.(Editorial)
December 8, 2008... The slow but inevitable vanishing of "the greatest generation" of Americans to ever live prompts a realization that the financial services sector, including many in the mortgage business, has forgotten some essential values it should quickly...

Subprime Crisis More Aptly Called a 'Securitization Crisis'.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Harmon NEW YORK-The financial landscape has changed dramatically in the last several months. What has happened in the mortgage market has had a ripple effect on the world economy, and the subprime meltdown is at the core...

Thrift Volume Drops by Half.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-Federally chartered thrifts originated $66 billion in one-to-four family loans in the third quarter, down nearly 50% from a year ago, according to an Office of Thrift Supervision report that excludes...

Loan Mods Challenged.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-A major loan modification program involving 400,000 Countrywide mortgages is being challenged by an investment fund manager who wants to ensure mortgage-backed securities investors aren't ignored and stuck...

Subprime Overdues Hit 33%.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Paul Muolo WASHINGTON-The national subprime delinquency rate climbed to a record 33.88% at the end of September, a 60% increase over the past 12 months, according to exclusive survey figures compiled by National Mortgage News. ...

Eyeing State/Federal Aid for MF.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Amilda Dymi NEW YORK-Experts expect to see a stronger focus on levering federal and state financing towards multifamily rental housing as a way to ease the crisis and fulfill affordable housing demand. "We would expect to see a...

Apollo Bidding On Indy Loans?
December 15, 2008... WASHINGTON-Apollo Management, an investment fund controlled by Leon Black, has made a bid on roughly $8 billion in whole loans owned by IndyMac Bank, Pasadena, Calif., according to a source familiar with the matter. The status of the bid...

Reserves Help FAC.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Brad Finkelstein SANTA ANA, CA-Times are challenging, not only for The First American Corp. here but also the entire industry. Yet executives at the firm, in an interview with National Mortgage News, said it started building its...

EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT.
December 15, 2008... Mr. Johnson, president of Clayton Holdings, Shelton, Conn., a contract underwriting firm that did mortgage review work for Wall Street, is leaving the company at year's end. He has been employed by Clayton for three years but will stay on as...

Realigning Stewart's Title Subs.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Brad Finkelstein HOUSTON-The title insurance subsidiaries of Stewart Information Services Corp. here have been aligned into a customer-segment-oriented organizational structure which the company claims will allow it to better meet...

GSE Buybacks $1.5B?
December 15, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins & Paul Muolo WASHINGTON-Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are projected to force their seller/servicers to buy back up to $1.5 billion in whole loans in 2009 because of misrepresentations or fraud, according to their...

Refi Seen as Sign Of Confidence.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Harmon CHICAGO-Affiliates of Golub & Co. here have refinanced the mortgage on 22 West Washington with ING Real Estate Finance U.S. Michael Newman, Golub & Co. president and chief executive officer, said this activity...

Weingarten Realty Investors Forms Joint Venture with Hines.
December 15, 2008... Byline: James Comtois HOUSTON-Weingarten Realty Investors and Hines Real Estate Investment Trust have formed a joint venture transaction in which a subsidiary of Hines REIT will acquire a 70% interest in a WRI portfolio of 12 high-volume...

Correction.(Correction notice)
December 15, 2008... The name of Kelly Purcell, executive vice president of the e-signature division of Wave Systems, was misspelled in a photo caption in the Dec. 1 issue.

Durbin Backs Cramdowns.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-The Senate's second most powerful member is continuing to drum up support for legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages on primary residences, slamming the Mortgage Bankers...

Plan Could Boost Industry Stocks.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Ted Cornwell NEW YORK-Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods say that a proposal recently floated by the Treasury Department to stimulate housing markets would likely benefit the stock prices of mortgage- and housing-related firms....

Thornburg Trading on OTC Market.
December 15, 2008... SANTA FE, NM-Thornburg Mortgage's stock is now trading via the "pink sheets" over-the-counter stock quotation system, a centralized quotation service that collects and publishes market maker quotes for OTC securities. Thornburg's new ticker...

AmEx to Stick With IndyMac.
December 15, 2008... NEW YORK-American Express Co. is continuing to handle credit-card-based mortgage payments for customers of IndyMac Bank and the program will not be affected by AmEx's licensing as a bank holding company, according to a spokeswoman. AmEx...

Beazer Sees Higher Cancel Rate.
December 15, 2008... ATLANTA-In its preliminary fourth-quarter data, Beazer Homes USA Inc. said home closings totaled 2,441, a 38.2% decline from the same period in 2007. For the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, the homebuilder said its cancellation rate of...

CS Report Sees 8.1 Million Foreclosures over Next Four Years.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Paul Muolo WASHINGTON-Mortgage bankers will foreclose on 8.1 million homes over the next four years, representing 16% of all outstanding residential loans in the U.S., according to a new report issued by Credit Suisse. Back in...

FHLBs Earn 30% Less.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins WASHINGTON-The 12 Federal Home Loan Banks saw combined earnings of $506 million in the third quarter, down 30% from the same period a year ago, due mainly to charge-offs on private-label mortgage-backed securities and...

Eyeing a GMACFS BK Implication.
December 15, 2008... NEW YORK-If GMAC Financial Services is forced into bankruptcy - a distant, but approaching possibility - almost $400 billion in mortgage servicing rights controlled by the company would need to find a new home. But where? As one investment...

IMS Launches ADAM, a New Loss Mitigation Division.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Amilda Dymi HOUSTON-Keeping in tune with demand, Integrated Mortgage Solutions has launched Asset Disposition and Management Services, a new division created to further expand its ability to serve as a one-stop-shop loss mitigation...

OPEN FORUM: CRA and the Mortgage Crisis.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Randall Kroszner, Governor, Federal Reserve Excerpts of Mr. Kroszner's remarks at the Confronting Concentrated Poverty Policy Forum, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington are presented as our Open Forum. ...

PEOPLE.
December 15, 2008... CALIFORNIA Irvine-Ameripath Mortgage Corp. has named Samantha Manfer director of business development. Prior to joining AMC, Ms. Manfer was the sales director with Provident Bank, and served seven years as business director for...