National Mortgage News articles from January 2008

National Mortgage News archives from January 2008

Inside Track.
January 7, 2008... EDITORIAL Long Overdue 4 OPEN FORUM Modifications and Borrower Aid 4 STREET SMART 'Mixed' Start to New Year 5 OUTLOOK 2008 Builders Don't Expect Gains Yet 9 SPECIAL REPORT Technology to Watch 13...

DB Reviewing Its Mortgage Unit.
January 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- Deutsche Bank, a top-ranked issuer of subprime MBS, in the first quarter will conduct a top-to-bottom review of its entire mortgage business, according to officials at the company. A spokeswoman for the bank confirmed that a...

Washington Focusing on Industry.
January 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- A presidential election year does not make the best crucible for legislating, but mixing in a credit crunch with rising mortgage defaults and foreclosures could produce bitter medicine for the mortgage industry. Washington...

RESIDENTIAL JUMBO LENDERS IN Q3 2007.
January 7, 2008... Jumbo % Market Rk Organization Name Q3 07 Q3 06 Change Share 1 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage $14,967 $20,143 -26% 13.34% 2 Washington Mutual $11,365 $12,359 -8% 10.13% 3...

NatCity Exits Wholesale.
January 7, 2008... CLEVELAND -- Stung by the meltdown in the residential loan market, National City Corp. here said it will exit all "broker-based" mortgage lending and shut down its wholesale unit, resulting in layoffs of 900 workers there. An additional...

PHH Calls Off GE Deal.
January 7, 2008... MOUNT LAUREL, NJ -- PHH Corp. the parent of the nations 11th largest residential servicer last week cancelled its sale to General Electric, which had planned to flip the companys mortgage and fleet divisions to The Blackstone Group. Back...

Registry Goes Live.
January 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators launched a Web-based mortgage licensing system on Jan. 2, as promised, with the initial participation of seven states. ...

Centerline Makes Strategic Moves.
January 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- Centerline Holding Co., a New York multifamily lender, has securitized a $2.8 billion affordable housing bond portfolio with Freddie Mac. As well, the company reports a $131 million equity investment commitment from an affiliate of...

Massachusetts AG Finalizes Revision of Broker/Lender Regs.
January 7, 2008... BOSTON -- Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakley filed a final, revised version of the mortgage broker and lender regulations and issued official guidance to the broker and lender community. According to Nanci Weissgold, a partner...

Bank Data Show Home-Equity Loans Hit Hard by Delinquencies.
January 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The delinquency rate on home-equity loan products held by banks rose sharply in the third quarter, and the chief economist of the American Bankers Association believes the trend line may worsen in the fourth quarter. The...

BSRM President Leaves Company: The Executive had previously been with Encore Credit, a Bear unit that was merged with BSRM.
January 7, 2008... IRVINE, CA -- Shabi Asghar, the president of Bear Stearns Residential Mortgage here, has been let go by the company, according to industry officials and one insider at the firm. Late last week, Mr. Asghar could not be reached for comment. A...

Editorial: Long Overdue.(Editorial)
January 7, 2008... Nearly 20% of all subprime adjustable-rate mortgages in the country were overdue as of the end of the third quarter. That's some 600,000 out of three million loans serviced as tallied by the Mortgage Bankers Association. More than 10% of all...

Open Forum: Modifications and Borrower Aid: Excerpts of Mr. Kroszner's recent testimony before the House Financial Services Committee are presented as our Open Forum.
January 7, 2008... In recent years, the subprime market has grown dramatically, enabling more and more borrowers to obtain credit who traditionally would have been unable to access it. Increasing numbers of lenders entered this market, with underwriting...

New Year Gets Underway with 'Mixed Signals': 'The outlook for private nonresidential construction remains healthy' but residential shows 'sharp deterioration.'.
January 7, 2008... The year 2008 got underway with market developments that at press time last Thursday I think were best summarized by Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist, who called them - somewhat optimistically - "mixed signals on the direction of the...

Fitch Lowers B&C Ratings.
January 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- About 280 classes of mortgage-backed securities from more than 20 issuers were recently downgraded by Fitch Ratings as a result of changes to its subprime loss forecasting assumptions. Fitch also affirmed the ratings on classes...

Prepay Speeds Decline in November.
January 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- Prepayment rates for 30-year mortgage loans in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities declined in November by 6% and 8%, respectively, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. The aggregate speed of...

Commercial and Multifamily Debt Exceeds $3 Trillion Threshold.
January 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding was up 2.8% in the third quarter, or $87.7 billion from the previous three month period, reaching $3.22 trillion, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Multifamily...

WKFS Creates Loan-Mod Program.
January 7, 2008... MINNEAPOLIS -- Wolters Kluwer Financial Services is offering to help mortgage servicers modify the loans of distressed subprime borrowers who face onerous rate resets. WKFS, a provider of compliance, content and technology solutions to the...

Online Finance Guidance Is Offered in Spanish.
January 7, 2008... SILVER SPRING, MD -- The National Foundation for Credit Counseling here has launched TermineConSuDeuda.org, a Spanish-language version of its DebtAdvice.org website. The new site responded to findings by a 2007 NFCC financial literacy...

Evest Launches New Fund for Distressed Debt.
January 7, 2008... STAMFORD, CT -- Evest Capital here, an acquisition and advisory company specializing in the structured finance industry, is raising funds to invest in subperforming mortgage assets. Evest Capital and an affiliate, EvestMAC, closed a new...

Builders Don't Expect to See Gains in Home Prices before 2009: A 'progressive meltdown' in the residential mortgage market added to the severity of the downturn in the housing sector.
January 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The downturn in home values will likely persist through next year, though signs of stabilization are emerging, according to the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders. NAHB chief economist David Seiders...

Economist: Damage Mostly Done, But Recovery Is Uncertain.
January 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- Although the chief economist at Standard & Poor's doesn't see the housing sector reaching bottom for 12 more months or so, he still gave a surprisingly upbeat forecast while keynoting SourceMedia's Mortgage Outlook 2008 Conference...

Analysts Turn Bearish on Prospects for Title Insurance Industry: 'Fortunately, industry participants took advantage of the prosperous years between 2002 and 2005 to strengthen balance sheets.'.
January 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- A pair of analyst reports paint a dark picture for the title insurance industry in 2008. This line of business will not show significant improvement in its results until 2009 at the earliest, a report from Fitch Ratings, New...

CRE ConditionsMay Deteriorate.
January 7, 2008... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings expects that 2008 will be an inflection point for U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities, with loan defaults increasing over 50% even though real estate fundamentals continue strong. This could even go up more...

Outlook for Financial Services: It's 'Not as Bad as You Think'.
January 7, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- A report from a Jefferies & Co. Inc. office here acknowledges that credit and liquidity issues are likely to continue to weigh on financial stocks next year, but they believe many types of loans "will perform better than...

Stretching Every Dollar.
January 7, 2008... According to Credit Suisse, residential loan volume will fall to $1.8 trillion this year. To put this into perspective, that would equal a 25% decline from 2007, provided total volume comes in at $2.4 trillion as expected. Compared to 2006,...

2008 to Be the Year of the Easy Mortgage.
January 7, 2008... Steve Mase, president of origination vendor Dexma, told our sister publication Mortgage Technology that the industry will adopt the electronic mortgage when people stop calling it the electronic mortgage. What every lender is essentially...

Adapting to New Product Sets Easily.
January 7, 2008... COSTA MESA, CA -- Like several of their customers, origination technology providers have had to put aside most of their past efforts in the snake-bit nonconforming sector and accommodate different product sets. That effort will likely...

Using the Internet to Sell REO.
January 7, 2008... TAMPA, FL -- As the foreclosure rate increases, lenders will be looking to get rid of these properties as quickly as possible. As a result, several new Web players have entered the market looking to turn REO auctions into something similar to...

Making the Loan Origination System Work for the Lender.
January 7, 2008... As lenders look to be more agile and respond quickly to the market, old loan origination systems may not cut it. New LOS strategies will become important in 2008 as some look for an all-in-one application and others look to integrate...

Tech M&As to Be Hot and Heavy in 2008: 'I see three or four major origination trades in 2008. The level of M&A activity in 2008 will certainly outpace 2007.'.(Company overview)
January 7, 2008... AUSTIN, TX -- As the market corrects, several vendors will be hurt. Usually six to 12 months after lenders starting falling away impacted vendors followed as evidenced by Portellus and ARC Systems closing. However, others like NetUpdate will...

Tech to Rescue Wholesale.
January 7, 2008... Many lenders have shed their wholesale channel in favor of retail. Of late, lenders like SCME Mortgage Bankers, HSBC Holdings, Nationstar Mortgage, ResMAE and others are focusing more on retail. So, what will revitalize wholesale? Several point...

The Benefits of Embracing Data Over Forms.
January 7, 2008... In total, 85% of 20 respondents to our sister publication, the electronic Mortgage Technology Newsletter, believe embracing data over forms is very important. As the industry looks to cut cost and gain efficiency, embracing clean data from...

Conditions Demand Pricing Automation.
January 7, 2008... Who has the time to manually price a loan? Even though the industry has moved back to a more conforming product mix, there are still hundreds upon thousands of different products on the market. Not to mention the fact that they're constantly...

Tackling the Problem of Mortgage Fraud With Technology.
January 7, 2008... Desperate times sometimes make individuals do desperate things. As the industry corrects, instances of fraud are expected to increase as more companies get squeezed. So, making fraud detection easier through technology is expected to be a big...

DC Policymakers Eyeing Solutions.
January 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The creation of a three-year government program to purchase defaulted mortgages could help stabilize falling house prices and prevent foreclosures according to a resident scholar at a conservative think tank here. Alex Pollock of...

Freddie Mac Forecasts $2.3 Trillion.
January 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Even though the mortgage business is in the tank - especially the subprime sector - Freddie Mac believes lenders will produce close to $2.3 trillion in new loans this year, the most optimistic forecast made to date. The GSE...

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
January 7, 2008... MIEC INDEX: 55.3 Change: -2.5 Company 1/3/2008 12/27/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio Astoria Federal (AF) 22.70 24.02 -5% 22.47 30.56...

Mortgage Debt Relief Passes.
January 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- In a flurry of legislative activity, Congress completed action on a mortgage debt tax relief bill and an extension of the federal government's terrorism insurance program before adjourning for the year. Passage of the...

People.
January 7, 2008... CALIFORNIA Calabasas-Countrywide has named Tom Fiddler and John Manglardi as executive vice presidents of sales growth and development. Mr. Manglardi has more than 20 years of mortgage industry experience. He most recently served...

REITs Trail Other Equity Indices: 'Following seven consecutive years of outperforming the border equity market, U.S. REIT returns suffered in 2007.'.
January 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The U.S. real estate investment trust sector turned in a negative total return of 17.83 for 2007, trailing other major equity indices, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts reports. The return is based on...

Giving Loan Originators an MLS: 'We have deployed technology and an enterprise level service in a RESPA-compliant way to mine customer bases.'.
January 7, 2008... LEXINGTON, MA -- Many experts in the mortgage business agree that in this day and age loan officers need to market to Realtors to help source business. In fact, said industry veteran Steve Kropper, Realtors control approximately 70% of...

An Industry in Crisis.
January 14, 2008... * CFC sale rumors after NPLs soar * FBNA auctioning huge NPL pool * Hope Now loan mods for 'A' paper? * Fed prepared to cut rates * Baltimore accuses Wells Fargo * Foreclosure scams on the rise (c) 2008 National...

30% Drop for ABS.
January 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- Asset-backed securities dropped 30% during 2007, while mortgage-backed securities underwriting volume in the United States totaled $922.11 billion in 2007, down about 12% from the $1.05 trillion recorded in 2006, according to...

U.S. Asset-Backed Securities.
January 14, 2008... Citi Retains No. 1 ABS Ranking 1/1/2007-12/31/2007 1/1/2006-12/31/2006 Proceeds* Market Proceeds* Market Book Runners (US$Mil) Rank Share (US$Mil) Rank Share Citi...

Bear's Cayne Exits Top Job.
January 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- Bear Stearns, stung by an array of bad moves it made in subprime mortgages, said James Cayne, its long-time chairman and chief executive, would relinquish the CEO title but remain with the firm. Bear's board immediately named...

Fed Will Bolster Housing.
January 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke said he is prepared to cut interest rates some more to cushion the economy and offset continuing problems in the housing and credit markets. The Fed has already cut the fed funds...

Change of Control for CFC?
January 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Bank of America is reportedly talking to Countrywide Financial Corp. about a business combination of some type, including what one investment banking source described as a "nontraditional change of control," National Mortgage News...

Weakness Extends to CRE Sector.
January 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- Five of seven commercial property types tracked by Moody's Investors Service had lower scores in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to the third quarter, showing some signs of softening in commercial real estate markets. The...

30-Year FRM Now Under 6%.
January 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Long-term mortgage rates dropped below the psychologically important 6% mark last week, according to Freddie Mac. And recent economic news suggests that lower rates may stick around for a while. Last Thursday, Federal Reserve...

Countrywide & BoA's Mortgage OPS.
January 14, 2008... ($ in Millions) Originations: Company 3Q Residential Production Market Name Originations Rank Share Countrywide $94,631 1 15.65% Bank of America $48,659 4 8.05% Combined ...

Citi Revamps Mortgage Business.
January 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- Citigroup here is conducting a reorganization of its mortgage lending business that will bring CitiMortgage and Citi Residential Lending under one umbrella. Citi Residential Lending is the new name of the businesses Citigroup...

IMA Brokers $621 Million of MSRs.
January 14, 2008... DENVER -- Interactive Mortgage Advisors here is selling a $621 million package of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bulk servicing rights for an undisclosed client. The bid deadline on the portfolio is Jan. 17. The receivables (5,022 loans in total)...

They'll Take Manhattan.
January 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- Home prices may be plummeting in much of the country, but not in the heart of New York, according to local real estate firms. A quarterly report from Prudential Douglas Elliman found that Manhattan apartment prices are...

Relief Needed on Prime ARMs?
January 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Treasury secretary Henry Paulson hinted last week that the "teaser-freezer" program for subprime borrowers may need to be expanded to prime borrowers who are facing problems making payments on their adjustable-rate mortgages. ...

WKFS Acquires Stewart's Flood Determination Unit.
January 14, 2008... MINNEAPOLIS -- As larger vendors look for good acquisition targets to either expand their technology offering or absorb a competitor to increase their market share, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has signed an agreement to acquire...

Administration Eyes GSEs for Housing Boost: 'I am looking forward to working with Congress to help us through this period of correction in the housing market.".
January 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is exhibiting a new interest in passing GSE regulatory reform legislation along with a temporary increase in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's loan limit as they look for ways to stabilize the housing market....

Editorial: New Low for New Homes.(Editorial)
January 14, 2008... The numbers are awful. One big firm just posted a $647 million loss for the year, while another national company lost nearly $800 million for the third quarter alone. No, we're not talking about subprime originators. The nation's...

Open Formum: Hope for Borrowers in Trouble: Mr Paulson's prepared remarks before the Housing Townhall Meeting at the East Orange Community Center in Orlando, Fla., last month are presented as our Open Forum.
January 14, 2008... After years of unsustainable home price appreciation and an abundant supply of easy credit, the U.S. housing market is experiencing an inevitable downturn. Here in Orlando, house prices increased by an average of over 15% a year from 2001 to...

Rates, Yields Hit Multiyear Lows as the 'R' Word Comes Up.
January 14, 2008... Long-term mortgage rates and a benchmark bond yield plummeted to multiyear lows and refinancing hit a four-week high last week following market developments that some on Wall Street said show the U.S. is entering a recession. The average...

B&C Woes Fueling Litigation.
January 14, 2008... PALO ALTO, CA -- The subprime mortgage lending crisis is one of the drivers of the increase in securities fraud class action litigation filings in 2007, a report from Stanford Law School here and Cornerstone Research, Boston, shows. There...

NFCC Warns Consumers on Scams.
January 14, 2008... SILVER SPRING, MD -- If there were ever an example of kicking a guy when he's down, preying upon a homeowner who fears foreclosure rises to the top of the list. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling here is cautioning consumers to...

Study: Prices Fall in 21 States.
January 14, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Yet another index of housing price trends finds that home values are deteriorating across much of the country. First American LoanPerformance's Home Price Index found that prices continue to fall in key markets....

Foreclosure Fallout Is Threat.
January 14, 2008... DETRIOT -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently unveiled an economic impact report on the foreclosure crisis that forecasts sharp losses in the growth of gross domestic product and projects economic output losses for 361 metro areas, referred...

Roundup: Fitch Downgrades Securities after Revising Model.
January 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- Thirty-eight classes of mortgage-backed securities from two issuers were downgraded by Fitch Ratings on Dec. 28 as a result of changes to its subprime loss forecasting assumptions. Fitch also affirmed the ratings on classes with...

Rating Agency Expects More CMBS Defaults.
January 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings is raising subordination levels on commercial mortgage-backed securities, based on the credit rating agency's view that commercial mortgage loan defaults are likely to rise. The New York credit rating agency...

Industrial REIT Forms Venture with CA Teachers Pension Fund: The arrangement between First Indutrial Real Estate and CalSTRs 'recycles capital back into the venture as properties are sold.'.
January 14, 2008... CHICAGO -- First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. here and the California State Teachers' Retirement System, Sacramento, Calif., have formed FirstCal Industrial Europe LLC, a real estate investment joint venture. The JV is expected to focus on...

Cato: Zoning Makes Housing Unaffordable: The Study urges local governments and planning agencies to make more land available for housing development.
January 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- As the nationwide debate focuses on how to tackle the subprime adversity, mortgage industry insiders are also talking about the need to address lack of affordable housing, which underlies the current crisis representing another...

Growing Potential.
January 14, 2008... It seems everyone wants something more from the Federal Housing Administration these days. Mortgage market participants and consumers on the origination side of the business want it to fill the void left by the subprime market's...

AllRegs Offers FHA Class: The class, which will meet once a week for four weeks via conference call and WebEx presentation, gets underway on Feb. 6.
January 14, 2008... AllRegs, an information provider for the mortgage lending industry based in Eagan, Minn., is offering a new comprehensive online course to provide lenders with the underwriting knowledge necessary to originate Federal Housing Administration...

Determining FHA Secure Eligibility.
January 14, 2008... SAN MATEO, CA -- Determining eligibility for the Federal Housing Administration's new FHA Secure program can be challenging given the "extensive criteria" set by the FHA, according to Andrew Housser, co-chief executive officer of Bills.com...

Broadcasting FHA Programs: Complementing Land America's television outreach are two toll-free phone numbers referencing two types of FHA loans.
January 14, 2008... Lend America, Melville, New York, is known for its 30-minute television spots focused on Federal Housing Administration programs, its latest being a series entitled "Mortgage Rescue." The company primarily has been a direct-to-consumer...

Subprime's End Bodes Well for FHA: The reverse mortgage market, which the FHA serves through its HECM product, is considered particularly promising.
January 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- The subprime market implosion and the resultant credit crunch have led to a "flight to quality" and more traditional product sources such as the FHA after years of loose underwriting and creative innovation in mortgage financing...

Baltimore Sues Wells Fargo: The city's mayor says bank targeted African-American neighborhoods for 'abusive subprime lending.'.
January 14, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The city of Baltimore has filed a fair lending lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank NA, claiming its "irresponsible" subprime lending practices have led to high foreclose rates in minority neighborhoods and cost the city millions of...

Webster to Take $40MM Provision.
January 14, 2008... WATERBURY, CT -- Webster Financial Corp. here will take a $40 million special provision in the fourth quarter for its discontinued indirect residential construction and home-equity loan portfolios and an additional $3.5 million charge to cover...

Countrywide's Delinquencies and Foreclosures Hit New Highs.
January 14, 2008... ($ in Millions) Data Point 4Q 2007 4Q 2006 % Change Res. Loans serviced $ 1,476,203 $1,298,394 14% Units serviced 9,034,763 8,198,873 11% Delinquency ratio (UPB) 7.20% ...

Franklin Credit Management Faces Possible Stock Delisting: Franklin is trying to retool its business with an emphasis on providing third party services pertaining to subprime portfolios.
January 14, 2008... JERSEY CITY, NJ -- Franklin Credit Management has been notified by the Nasdaq composite index that its common shares have fallen below the minimum market capitalization level of $5 million required for listing. The company noted that if the...

E*Trade Sells $3B More Bonds.
January 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- E*Trade Financial - which is undergoing a wrenching restructuring - said it has sold an additional $3 billion worth of bonds, including MBS and municipals. The bank/online brokerage firm said it took a $5 million loss on the...

FNBA May Auction $650 Million.
January 14, 2008... TEMPE, AZ -- First National Bank of Arizona - once a top-ranked alt-A wholesaler - is contemplating selling $650 million worth of subperforming and nonperforming residential loans, according to executives who play in that market. The...

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
January 14, 2008... MIEC INDEX: 50.8 Change:-4.5 Company 1/10/2008 1/3/2008 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio Astoria Federal (AF) 21.89 22.73 -4% 20.96 30.56...

Publicly Traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms.
January 14, 2008... MIEC INDEX: 80.6 Change: -1.8 Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 1/10/2008 Wkly.% Chg. % Chg. P/E Ratio HSBC Holding (HBC) 79.55 99.52 80.81 -2% 1.58% n/a IMPAC Mortgage Holdings (IMH) 0.20 9.11 0.84...

People.
January 14, 2008... CALIFORNIA Los Angeles-Colony Capital LLC said that Richard D. Nanula has joined the firm as a principal. He will take on a senior role in all firm activities worldwide, with a special focus on existing and future operating company...

Lehman: MIs Need Reserves.
January 14, 2008... NEW YORK -- A trio of reports from Lehman Brothers on the three largest publicly traded mortgage insurers all had a common theme: an expectation that those firms will need to build reserves. In his report on MGIC Investment Corp., analyst...

Wall Street Losses Widen.
January 21, 2008... Merrill Lynch last week took a $9.8 billion loss for the fourth quarter and a $7.8 billion net loss for all of 2007 due primarily to an $11.5 billion U.S. mortgage-related writedown in the last three months of the year that produced close to...