National Mortgage News articles from July 2006

National Mortgage News archives from July 2006

Inside Track.
July 10, 2006... EDITORIAL Going Up the Credit Ladder 4 OPEN FORUM Lockhart of OFHEO 4 STREET SMARTS Striking a Balance 5 TECHNOLOGY Vendor Alliances Important 14 WHOLESALE LENDING ...

Top 40 Firms Buying, Selling.
July 10, 2006... VERO BEACH, FL -- Top 40 mortgage banker Opteum Inc. here has agreed to purchase Aclarian Mortgage, Lakewood Ranch, Fla., for an undisclosed amount. And a second top 40 lender, Irwin Mortgage, is just on the brink of being sold. ...

Top Subprime Servicers at 3/31/06.
July 10, 2006... Dollars in Millions) Total Servicing Vol. Percent Market Rk Organization Name 3/31/06 3/31/05 Change Share 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. $117,847 $98,212 ...

Indy Cancels Freedom IPO.
July 10, 2006... PASADENA, CA -- Instead of doing an initial public offering for 20% of its ownership stake of Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp., IndyMac Bancorp Inc. here will be buying the 6.25% of shares it does not own of the reverse mortgage lender,...

MBS Volumes Rise by 10%.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- The volume of mortgage-backed security deals in the second quarter totaled $268.94 billion, up from the $234.34 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2005, according to preliminary figures from Thomson Financial. Royal Bank...

U.S. Mortgage-Backed Securities: RBS Grabs Top Spot Among MBS Underwriters.
July 10, 2006... 4/1/06-6/30/06 4/1/05-6/30/05 Proceeds Market # of Proceeds Market # of Book Runner ($Mil) Share Issues ($Mil) Share Issues Royal Bank of Scotland Group...

$1.5T ARMs To Reset Soon.
July 10, 2006... CHICAGO -- The director of research for Zacks.com says the rising rate environment poses a potentially big threat to housing markets and companies with exposure to home values, especially as adjustable-rate mortgages originated in recent years...

Ginnie Head Will Back FHA Reform.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Robert Couch plans to use his new post as Ginnie Mae president to be an advocate for Federal Housing Administration reform legislation currently pending in Congress. "FHA is our biggest partner," Mr. Couch said in an...

Investment Banker Becomes Latest Fannie Mae Director to Depart.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae director Donald Marron has resigned from the GSE's board, effective July 31, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Marron is the third board member to announce his resignation since...

Trio of Clients Key to Freddie.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Three seller/servicers accounted for almost half of all mortgages sold to Freddie Mac last year, according to the GSE's annual report. Freddie Mac did not name the three mortgage bankers in the report and a spokesman declined...

Bush Administration Pressures Congress to Pass FHA Reforms.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee are being heavily lobbied by the Bush administration and housing groups to include key Federal Housing Administration reforms in a HUD appropriations bill. A...

Editorial: Moving On Up.(Editorial)
July 10, 2006... We've seen plenty of A paper lenders, worried about tight margins and decreasing volumes, working their way down the credit scale to get into the subprime business. Now, apparently, some of the subprime companies are going in the opposite...

Open Forum: Fannie Violated Public Trust.
July 10, 2006... Mr. Lockhart's recent testimony before the House Subcommittee on Government-Sponsored Enterprises is presented as our Open Forum. As a government-sponsored enterprise, Fannie Mae has a special position among American corporations and an...

Striking a Balance Between Market, Fed and Economists' Views.
July 10, 2006... The last 25 basis point Federal Open Market Committee move highlighted a schism between immediate market reaction and some economists' opinions that is worth thinking about when sizing up market psychology and business strategies. The Fed...

SunTrust Executive Says FHA Program Is Getting More User Friendly.
July 10, 2006... For anyone who has ever been told by their real estate agent - or anyone else, for that matter - that government-backed mortgages are too much trouble, Martha Simmons has one word: poppycock. That might have been the case a few years ago....

Bill May Raise Flood Premiums.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The House has passed a flood insurance reform bill by a 416-4 vote that phases out subsidized premiums on vacation/second homes and commercial properties - impacting an estimated 450,000 properties. In phasing out the...

Origen Receives Servicer Rating.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Origen Financial, a real estate investment trust that originates and services manufactured housing loans, said its servicing subsidiary has received a servicer quality rating of "SQ2-minus," or "above average," from Moody's...

Roundup: Private Mortgage Insurance Makes Comeback in May.
July 10, 2006... Private MI Rebounds The dollar volume of new primary mortgage insurance written rebounded in May from the dismal numbers recorded in April, according to data collected by the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America. During the month, the...

Roundup: Latest Fannie Mae REMIC Deal Raises 2 Billion Dollars.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae has priced a $2.0 billion REMIC guaranteed maturity class with a class coupon of 6.000% and a final maturity date of June 25, 2016 at 99.5781. The transaction (CUSIP 31395NPD3), Benchmark REMIC Trust 2006-1, class...

Monthly Freddie Updates.
July 10, 2006... McLEAN, VA -- Freddie Mac in August plans to begin providing monthly updates of the loan level disclosures it has been providing for single-family mortgage participation certificate securities issued after Dec. 1, 2005. Freddie began...

Freddie Prices Sub Debt.
July 10, 2006... McLEAN, VA -- Freddie Mac has priced $1.25 billion of a 10-year bullet subordinated debt security due on June 27, 2016 at 99.303 to yield 5.843%, or 63.5 basis points over the on-the-run 5.125% 10-year Treasury security due on May 15, 2016. ...

Goldman Deal Off Watch List.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Classes IB-4 and IB-5 from Goldman Sachs Mortgage Securities Corp. series 2002-3F have been removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. Fitch affirmed the ratings on the two classes and on four other classes from the...

GSAMP Deal Downgraded.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Two tranches of GSAMP Trust 2004-SEA2 have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service and two other tranches have been placed on review for possible downgrade. Class B-1 of the transaction was downgraded from Baa3 to Ba3 and...

Moody's Downgrades CSFB Tranche.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Moody's Investors Service has downgraded one subordinated tranche from a mortgage-backed securitization issued by Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp. in 2001. The downgrade of class M-2 of series 2001-HE25 from...

Accredited Does $1.4B MBS Deal.
July 10, 2006... SAN DIEGO -- Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., a national nonprime mortgage lender based here, has closed a $1.40 billion securitization containing approximately $1.05 billion of first-lien and second-lien residential mortgages through its...

Annaly Closes Its First CDO.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Annaly Mortgage Management Inc. subsidiary FIDAC's first collateralized debt obligation, Harp High Grade CDO I Ltd., has closed, according to the company. The $1 billion multi-tranche CDO invests in a high-grade portfolio of...

Debt Collection Industry Recoups $39 Billion for Creditors in 2005.
July 10, 2006... MINNEAPOLIS -- The third-party customer debt collection industry returned $39 billion to various businesses in 2005, generating a positive effect to the larger U.S. economy, according to a recent study. This first-of-its-kind study,...

Fitch Upgrades NovaStar Rating.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has upgraded NovaStar Mortgage's servicer rating for subprime loans one notch to 'RPS2-minus'. Fitch cited NovaStar's ability to service, collect and liquidate subprime loan product as well as the company's...

Fiserv Stresses Importance of Vendor Alliances.
July 10, 2006... BROOKFIELD, WI -- Often times during vendor selection, the user chooses the vendor and then upper management disengages and lower executives are held responsible for failed implementations. Thinking of the vendor-user relationship as a...

PushMX Makes Installation of Technology Easier.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- While the tone of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers annual convention here wasn't all doom and gloom, there was a lot of concern expressed about the market downturn and using technology as a differentiator. To allow...

ABC 'Power' ARMs Offer Security and Options.
July 10, 2006... MELVILLE, NY -- Following growth stimulated by innovative products strategy, publicly held mortgage real estate investment trust, American Brokers Conduit, a wholesale division of American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. added new adjustable...

Accredited Starts Aames Integration with Focus on Wholesale Unit.
July 10, 2006... SAN DIEGO -- Prior to the consummation of its full take over of Aames Investment Corp., Los Angeles, Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. here will be taking over Aames' wholesale lending platform in stages. The transition started on June...

Opteum Does $492 Million ARM Deal.
July 10, 2006... VERO BEACH, FL -- Opteum Financial Services LLC has completed a securitization of approximately $491.5 million aggregate principal amount of adjustable-rate mortgages. Citigroup underwrote the transaction, which is the 13th for OFS. Seven...

Congress Ready to Challenge FHFB on Proposed Capital Rule.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Key leaders on the House Financial Services Committee have put the Federal Housing Finance Board on notice that they are going to have to answer to Congress before moving ahead with a proposed capital rule. Committee chairman...

HUD Makes Grants For Public Housing.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development granted $2.2 billion in federal funding to large-scale improvements to public housing developments. The funds will be invested through 3,145 public housing development agencies...

eCopy Helps Lenders Tame Paper with New Scanning Suite.
July 10, 2006... NASHUA, NH -- Mortgage lenders that find themselves having to transmit paper-based information more than once to satisfy the requirements of different end users may have a remedy, as eCopy Inc. unveiled the newest version of its document...

TransUnion Creates Rent History Database.
July 10, 2006... CHICAGO -- TransUnion here said it will gather rental payment history information to help credit grantors, including mortgage originators, make more informed risk, fraud and identity management, collections and marketing decisions. It is...

Homecomings Introduces New Pre-Qualification Tool for Brokers.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- Homecomings Financial, a unit of GMAC-RFC, Minneapolis, has rolled out some innovations in both technology and product, including a new pre-qualification tool. In an interview conducted during the National Association of...

Ellie Mae Joins Compliance Pact.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- Ellie Mae has partnered with ComplianceEase to ensure that brokers are passing along quality loans. In an innovative move both providers are making the technology free of charge. Brokers can submit their loans through ePASS...

Dinham Sees Need for Continuity at NAMB in '06.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- If there is a theme to Harry Dinham's term as the new president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, it is continuity. Elected here at NAMB's annual convention last week, the 39-year mortgage industry veteran...

Fraud Database Seeks to 'Red Flag' Problem Brokers.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- There's a new cop on the beat in the war against mortgage fraud. Introduced formally here last month at the National Association of Mortgage Broker's annual convention, the Coalition Against Broker Fraud has created a...

Coalition Founder Admits Past Errors.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- As part of a press conference at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers Annual Convention here, the co-founder of the Coalition Against Broker Fraud, Mitch Freifeld, came clean about his criminal past and acknowledged that...

Nabors Challenges Advocates to Walk in Brokers' Shoes.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- In an emotional finale to his run as president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, the normally affable Jim Nabors challenged consumer interests to join him or any other loan officer for week as they work not just...

DeLoach Takes Top Post at NAMB.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- Roy DeLoach has been tapped by the National Association of Mortgage Brokers as its new chief executive. Mr. DeLoach, who most recently served as chief financial officer and senior vice president for government affairs for...

NAMB Revises Its Ethics Code.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has updated its Code of Ethics and Best Business Practices statement to condemn the use of pressure tactics between mortgage brokers and other service providers. The appraisal...

History Suggests 2008 May Harbor Resurgence in Loan Volume.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- If history is any gauge, mortgage originations could take off again in 2008, according to Countrywide Home Loan's chief economist. Noting that loan production has broken higher every five years since the mid-1990s,...

Carteret Urges Branch Ethics.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- The head of Carteret Mortgage told attendees at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers convention that in net branching, "doing the right thing in the long run will make you more money." Eric Weinstein said companies...

Ethics Debate Has Brokers Balancing Sales with Consumer Interests.
July 10, 2006... Drips with sarcasm: Let's talk ethics. In an earlier post, someone wanted to compare FHA to subprime. There are some assumptions in my post, but it will set the stage. Does a broker have a responsibility to tell a potential customer (a...

Rising Rates Spark Adjustments in Loan Programs.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- With the rise in mortgage rates making it more difficult for lower-income families to buy a home, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reshaping their affordable loan programs to make it easier for borrowers qualify and for lenders to...

Roundup: Analysts Expect Some Positive Second Quarter Results: Evidence Suggests Strong 2Q.
July 10, 2006... CHICAGO -- Early indications are that the second quarter could be a strong one for public company earnings, according to Zacks Equity. Dirk Van Dijk, head of research at Zacks, wrote in a recent report that strong fiscal earnings from...

U.S. Bancorp Upgraded.
July 10, 2006... ST. LOUIS -- Analysts at A.G. Edwards recently upgraded their recommendation on U.S. Bancorp's stock to "buy," citing an attractive valuation and strong fundamentals. The recommendation, officially "buy" for aggressive investors, includes...

Fannie Adjusts Preferred Stock.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae has scheduled a dividend rate adjustment for its Variable Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock Series O. The new rate will be 7.555% per annum. The new rate for Series O Preferred Stock is the sum of the 10-year...

Hanover in $200M Loan Agreement.
July 10, 2006... EDISON, NJ -- Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings has reached a deal with an investor to finance the purchase of some $200 million of mortgage loans. Hanover and its subsidiaries entered into a master repurchase agreement with Deutsche...

Growing CDO Market Creates Opportunities for Real Estate Lenders.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Growth in the collateralized debt obligation area is likely to attract new entrants to the market and also present opportunities for servicers and originators. Brian DiDonato, president, Capmark Investments, expects that a...

Wachovia Certificates on Review.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Five classes of Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2004-WHALE 4, have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The affected securities...

Lereah Sees Solid Fundamentals for Commercial Real Estate.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- A healthy demand for space is boosting commercial real estate markets, aiding solid fundamentals and strong investment activity, according to the National Association of Realtors. David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, sees...

Jordan to Get Mortgage Default Insurer.
July 10, 2006... OTTAWA -- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. here and the United Arab Investors Group of Companies plan to create a new mortgage default insurance company in Jordan. CMHC said it has obtained a $1.8 million contract to provide "technical...

Bear Names Three Execs.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Bear Stearns International Ltd. has appointed three New York executives to senior posts within its international mortgage operation. The London-based arm of the U.S. Wall Street firm has appointed Fred Khedouri as head of...

Archstone Buys German Company.
July 10, 2006... DENVER -- Archstone BV, a subsidiary of the Denver-based apartment company Archstone-Smith here, has agreed to acquire German residential property company Deutsche WohnAnlage GmbH for approximately $649 million. The acquisition is aimed at...

Fannie and Freddie 'Purchases' Off.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are continuing to lose market share in the loan purchase business, but it appears their decline is stabilizing. According to figures compiled by National Mortgage News, the two had a combined...

FHA Defies IRS Opinion on Gifts.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Despite an adverse IRS revenue ruling, the Federal Housing Administration is continuing to accept loans in which cash-strapped buyers receive donations from downpayment assistance providers that are funded by sellers. In...

People.
July 10, 2006... CALIFORNIA Burbank-First Security Lending said that Ju Kim, a five-year veteran of the mortgage industry, has been named chief operating officer. Ms. Kim's experience in the mortgage industry ranges from product development, to...

Prices Paid for POAs 'Strong'.
July 10, 2006... ARLINGTON, VA -- Due to "strong demand," the secondary market for payment-option ARMs is quite strong right now, according to a new research report issued by Friedman Billings Ramsey. FBR says investors are paying prices of 103 to 104.5 for...

Publicly Traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms.
July 10, 2006... B&C Stock Price Index: 218.3 Change: -0.7 Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 7/6/2006 Wkly.% Chg. %Chg. From P/E Ratio Aames (AIC) 4.68 10.35 4.93 -2% 5% na Delta Financial Corp (DFC) ...

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
July 10, 2006... MIEC Index: 155.2 Change: 0.7 Company 6/29/2006 7/6/2006 Wkly.% Chg. 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi % Chg. From P/E Ratio Astoria Federal (AF) 30.49 30.45 0% 24.43 31.95 25% 14 Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC)...

National City Website Will Cater to Brokers.
July 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- National City Home Equity, Cleveland, has launched its Broker's Choice website, as an expansion of its online capabilities. In an interview conducted during the National Association of Mortgage Brokers annual convention...

Some Markets Reach 'Unsustainable Point'.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Housing has enjoyed a lengthy boom, with appreciation galloping in many markets, and the activity has been heated up to an "unsustainable point" in terms of fundamentals, according to Celia Chen. She believes that we are now...

Fannie & Freddie Market Share.
July 10, 2006... Time Purchase Market Fan/Fred Industry Period Share of Fan/Fred Purchases Production in Period 1Q 2006 36.23% $275 $759 FY 2005 36.25% $1,194 $3,294 FY 2004 43.73%...

CFA Accuses Realtors Of Stifling Competition.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- While traditional real estate brokers continue to operate as a "price-setting cartel," according to the Consumer Federation of America, consumers don't have to pay high commissions to sell their homes. "Consumers can take...

Lender Posts 400% Growth.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- InterContinental Capital, a retail mortgage bank operating in 10 states, has experienced 400% growth in origination volume in the past year. The growth can be attributed to the institution's decision to outsource document...

Borland Streamlines Off-Shoring.
July 10, 2006... MOUNT LAUREL, NJ -- When a new regulation came down from HUD or the FHA, PHH Mortgage used to have to stop new development projects to go back and work the regulation into its software releases. No longer. Today PHH leverages the Borland ALM...

Mortgage Lenders Heading for the Exits in 2006.
July 10, 2006... Lender '05 Res. Prod. Prod. Buyer's Name Volume Rank Name GMAC (1) $175,421 5 Cerberus, others Golden West $50,486 15 Wachovia Irwin...

Inside Track.
July 17, 2006... EDITORIAL An Imperfect Storm 4 OPEN FORUM FHA Risks 4 STREET SMARTS Mortgage Rates Ease 5 EQUITIES M&T Earnings 6 TECHNOLOGY Broker One Source 10 AFFORDABLE HOUSING Ownership Vouchers 12...

Merger Market Catches Fire.
July 17, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The mortgage M&A market caught fire last week with two major deal announcements and a handful of investment bankers telling this newspaper that about 30 lenders are currently on the auction block. Moreover, one investment...

Lenders Heading for the Exits in 2006.
July 17, 2006... Lender '05 Res. Prod. Prod. Buyer's Name Volume Rank Name GMAC (1) $175,421 5 Cerberus, others Golden West $50,486 15 Wachovia ...

MISMO Makes PDF Standard Decisions.
July 17, 2006... WASHINGTON -- After months of debating the topic, the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization has made some clear decisions about how PDF documents will be incorporated within the MISMO standard. Initially, Adobe Intelligent...

Broker Settles with SEC.
July 17, 2006... NEW YORK -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accepted a settlement offer by a former principal of broker-dealer Suncoast Capital Group Ltd. who the SEC said has admitted to a "failure to supervise" improperly priced sales of...

Residential Jumbo Lenders in Q1 2006.
July 17, 2006... (Dollars in Millions) Jumbo % Market Rk Organization Name Q1 2006 Q1 2005 Change Share 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. (E) $15,900 $15,000 ...

Fannie Suspends ADC.
July 17, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has directed Fannie Mae to suspend purchases of construction loans until it fixes certain operational and control problems. "We will be working closely with OFHEO to work...

Macquarie Buys Canadian Firm.
July 17, 2006... NEW YORK -- Macquarie Group here has entered the Canadian mortgage market through its acquisition of Cervus Financial Corp. for C$12.5 million ($11 million) - a move that strengthens its foothold in North America, where its long-time...

Freddie Compliant With New PSR Rules.
July 17, 2006... MCLEAN, VA -- Freddie Mac has begun conducting business under the Federal Reserve Board's revised "Payments System Risk" policy ahead of the July 20 implementation date, the company said last week. In September 2004, the Federal Reserve...

Wells Increases Volume with Fannie.
July 17, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Wells Fargo Bank and its affiliates - which long have been wedded to Freddie Mac - are increasing the amount of loans they sell to Fannie Mae, industry sources confirmed to National Mortgage News. One industry executive...

Key Player Leaving Fannie at Year-End.
July 17, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae has disclosed that its EVP and chief information officer, Julie St. John - who is playing a key role in its restructuring - will leave the GSE at year-end. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission,...

Six Charged with Swindling Two Mortgage Firms.
July 17, 2006... NEW YORK -- A Suffolk County grand jury has returned an indictment charging six individuals with grand larceny in the first degree and other crimes stemming from two separate real estate transactions involving a four-bedroom house located in...