National Mortgage News articles from June 2007

National Mortgage News archives from June 2007

Inside Track.
June 4, 2007... EDITORIAL MI Is Back 4 OPEN FORUM Big Ben Part Two 4 STREET SMARTS Apprising Appraisals 6 TECHNOLOGY Quality Loans 8 GRAPEVINE Posters Duke It Out 10 AFFORDABLE HOUSING Fair Lending...

New Secondary for Reverses.
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Ginnie Mae is on track to securitize its first pool of FHA-insured reverse mortgages that would allow lender/issuers to sell the federally guaranteed mortgage-backed securities to Wall Street dealers and other investors. ...

No Sign Of Recovery Yet.
June 4, 2007... NEW YORK -- Housing markets nationally saw values slide during the first quarter, according to a quarterly report from Standard & Poor's. In 13 of 20 metro areas covered by the report, home values declined, according to the...

Home Prices Still Stalled.
June 4, 2007... Metro Area March 07 Index Change Atlanta 133.27 2.0% Boston 168.52 -4.9% Charlotte 130.44 7.4% Chicago 167.04 1.3% Cleveland 117.69 -2.4% Dallas 123.46...

New FHLB Purchase Try.
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta has received regulatory approval to work with a Chicago investment fund management firm that wants to purchase high-quality-conforming single-family mortgages directly from community banks....

$22 Billion Bid Gets REIT.
June 4, 2007... DENVER -- In the biggest real estate investment trust deal so far this year, Archstone-Smith, a multifamily REIT, is being acquired by a Tishman Speyer and Lehman Brothers partnership for about $22 billion, including $60.75 per Archstone-Smith...

Foreign MBS Gain Share.
June 4, 2007... NEW YORK -- International strategies have become an increasingly important part of U.S. mortgage banking, speakers at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Secondary Market Conference here indicated. In answer to an audience question...

Foreign Holdings of Agency MBS*.
June 4, 2007... ($ in Billions) Date** 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 China $107.5 $55.9 $15.1 $3.0 $0.1 Japan $85.3 $53.8 $33.5 $26.0 $18.4 TOTALS Asian $226.0 $131.2 $65.8 $36.9 $25.0 Foreign $385.8 $264.0 $176.3...

Analytics Firm Sold to MVCG.
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON -- SN Capital Markets LLC of Denver - the largest servicing analytics company in the U.S. - has been sold to Mountain View Capital Group. No price was disclosed. Both firms are privately held. Mountain View also is based in...

Inventory Piles Up amid Weakness in Spring Home Buying Season: 'Builders have been pulling out all the stops to work down heavy inventories in the face of weak demand.'.
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON -- April home sales reports presented a conflicting picture of the housing market, but the huge pileup of unsold inventory is a clear signal that prices will continue to be under downward pressure the rest of this year. ...

Mortgage Insurers Benefit as Market Worries about Credit Risk.
June 4, 2007... ARLINGTON, VA -- Among the beneficiaries of the tighter mortgage market is the mortgage insurance industry, according to a report from analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey here. It issued the report following the release of the April...

Promotion Spotlight.
June 4, 2007... Tony Meola A former top production executive for New Century Financial Corp. and Washington Mutual, Mr. Meola has been hired by Morgan Stanley to help manage its nonconforming production business. In an interview with NMN last week, Mr....

Editorial: Back in Style.(Editorial)
June 4, 2007... Mortgage insurance is back. With a hard-won tax deductibility for this year and the possibility of more in future years, and with the decline of the piggyback loan as a result of the subprime mess, the nation's PMI companies now have a solid...

Open Forum: Wall Street Aids B&C Expansion: Mr. Bernanke's remarks at the recent Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's 43rd Annual Conference on Bank Structure and Competition are presented as our Open Forum. (Second of two parts.).
June 4, 2007... What about borrowers already in distress? The board and other federal supervisory agencies have taken actions to encourage the banks and thrift institutions we supervise to work with borrowers who may be having trouble meeting their mortgage...

HUD Study Helps Pave Way for Reverse Mortgage Securitization.
June 4, 2007... The difficulty in introducing a new securitized mortgage market product to investors often lies in the conundrum faced by entrants everywhere: people want to be able to size up new players before investing in them and that means having a track...

When the Appraisal Is Low, Borrowers May Get a Second Opinion.
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Much to their chagrin, many buyers, sellers and owners are finding out that, in today's down market, their homes aren't worth what they thought. At least not in the eyes of the professionals hired to tell lenders what the places...

Technology Should Produce Higher Quality Loans.
June 4, 2007... NEW YORK -- As buybacks continue to rise and investors look more for quality over quantity, technology can play a role in easing the friction between lender and investor to ensure that all loans sold into the secondary market are of a better...

ID Fraud Detector to Serve Lenders.
June 4, 2007... BETHLEHEM, PA -- Edentify Inc., a provider of identity management and fraud detection solutions, is partnering with eDominate Inc., a provider of buying-cycle management software for financial institutions. Edentify's IDScreenT identity...

Website Will Pay All Closing Costs.
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON -- WePayAllClosingCosts.com has launched the first real estate listing website that matches potential homeowners to sellers of homes with no closing costs. WPACC.com partners with sellers who have available properties with...

AVMs Helping to Verify Accuracy of Human Appraisal Estimates: 'We created a national database and put it in the hands of the appraiser.'.
June 4, 2007... TEMPE, AZ -- While there has been much ado about replacing live appraisals with AVMs, it isn't morphing into an all-or-nothing proposition. AVMs and other technologies are being used by appraisers to streamline the process and still deliver...

How Can You Finance High-LTV, Low Credit Score Loans Today?
June 4, 2007... Deron: What's next when Fannie's gone? So, your 3 points YSP, 100% financing with a 560 score is gone and taken down the subprime industry with it, you've switched now to My Community and flex 100, how can you LOs think that loaning someone...

Aegis to Pay $475,000 to Settle Bias Case Involving Row Houses: 'We trust that other lenders and securitizers with similar policies will follow the lead of Aegis.'.
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Aegis Mortgage Corp. has agreed to pay $475,000 in settling a fair housing complaint by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition regarding the company's lending restrictions on row houses in inner cities and other types of...

Chase Reaches Out to Minorities: The seminars are designed to educate African-Americans about homeownership opportunities.
June 4, 2007... ISELIN, NJ -- Chase has launched a city tour of homeownership education seminars for African-Americans designed to help create long-term sustainable wealth for their family members. The "Legacy of Homeownership Tour" started off on May 19...

Stewart Translates Service into 150 Languages: 'The process is doubly difficult for buyers for whom English is not their first language.'.
June 4, 2007... HOUSTON -- The multicultural markets department of the Stewart Information Services Corp. subsidiary, Stewart Title, has entered into a partnership with an undisclosed language service provider that will allow the company to offer nonnative...

Roundup: Thrifts Experience Sharp Decline in Adjustable-Rate Share.
June 4, 2007... Adjustable-rate mortgages made up only 13% of thrift originations in the first quarter, down 44% from the level recorded a year earlier, according to the Office of Thrift Supervision. It marked the second consecutive quarter in which the...

BoA Readies Seattle Acquisition: Seattle Mortgage was the third largest originator of FHA-insured reverse home loans last year.
June 4, 2007... CHARLOTTE, NC -- Bank of America expects to close upon the acquisition of the reverse mortgage business of Seattle Mortgage Co. sometime late in June, a company spokesman said. Seattle Mortgage finished fiscal year 2006 as the third largest...

State Bank Supervisors Wary of FCS.
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Conference of State Bank Supervisors has weighed in on the Farm Credit System's strategic plan, saying the System's "Horizon's Project" would expand its lending authority to businesses and suburban housing. Siding with...

VirtualBank Enters Reverse Market.
June 4, 2007... PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL -- A new reverse mortgage lending operation has decided to go the all-proprietary route, even though it offers products in both the conventional and jumbo lending areas. VirtualBank has created a seniors lending...

Fitch Affirms 'A' Debt Grade for CFC.
June 4, 2007... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed Countrywide Financial Corp.'s long-term issuer default rating of "A" and short-term issuer rating of "F1," the rating agency said last month. The ratings affect approximately $34 billion of debt and $57.5...

CRE Insurance Is Stabilizing.
June 4, 2007... SAN ANTONIO -- The insurance market has seen some "significant stabilization" in 2007, following a wild 2006, according to Jeremy Burr. Speaking at the MBA's Commercial Real Estate Asset Administration Conference here, at a panel session...

Mid-America Plans $500MM of Apartment Investments.
June 4, 2007... MEMPHIS, TN -- Mid-America Apartment Communities, a multifamily real estate investment trust, has set up a joint venture fund to invest $500 million in multifamily properties over the next three years. The REIT reports that the joint...

Morgan to Buy Crescent REIT.
June 4, 2007... FORT WORTH, TX -- Continuing the ongoing wave of real estate investment trust merger and acquisition deals, Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. is being acquired by Morgan Stanley Real Estate for a total price of about $6.5 billion. The...

Roundup: Two New Century Deals Affected by Credit Downgrades.
June 4, 2007... NEW YORK -- Four classes from two subprime New Century Mortgage Corp. securitizations have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: Series 2003-2 total groups 1 & 2, Class M-3, from BBB to BBB-, and Class M-4, from...

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
June 4, 2007... MIEC Index: 130.9 Change: 1.5 Company 5/31/2007 5/24/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio American Home (AHM) 21.85 21.83 0% 19.51...

Bank Mortgage Volumes Falling.
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Single-family mortgage originations by commercial banks fell 20% to $286.4 billion in the first quarter from the previous quarter, reflecting a charter switch by one large originator and a slowdown in mortgage lending. The...

Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms.
June 4, 2007... B&C Stock Price Index: 130.2 Change: 1.5 Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 5/31/2007 Wkly.% Chg. % Chg. P/E Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC) 7.26 13.60 13.10 8% 80.44% 11.08 HSBC Holding (HBC) ...

RE Appraisal Unit Gets AG Subpoena.
June 4, 2007... NEW YORK -- New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed eAppraiseIT, the real estate appraisal unit of First American Corp., regarding appraisals performed in the state, the company has confirmed. "It is our understanding that...

LOGS Creates Home Retention Service to Aid Lenders: 'Now we are seeing...a much more dramatic and vocal focus on keeping the homes out of foreclosure.'.
June 4, 2007... NORTHBROOK, IL -- LOGS Network here has created a home retention assistance business to work with residential borrowers whose delinquent loans have been referred to foreclosure or bankruptcy attorneys. The new business, operating under the...

People.
June 4, 2007... CALIFORNIA Beverly Hills-Reliable Defeasance LLC has named Mark Schultz as managing director. Prior to joining Reliable, Mr. Schultz was chief financial officer and financial director of Hopkins Real Estate Group, and prior to Hopkins...

Compliance Tops List of Worries.
June 4, 2007... NEW YORK -- Financial services industry executives cite the cost, risk and burden of regulatory compliance as their top concern these days, according to a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers during the company's annual forum. But...

Summit Adds Reverse Loans to Menu.
June 4, 2007... BOSTON -- Summit Mortgage here is joining the ever-growing number of lenders who are originating reverse mortgages. In its home market, the company cited National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association figures that Boston saw a 97% jump in...

Inside Track.
June 11, 2007... EDITORIAL Servicing Rocks 4 OPEN FORUM More from the Fed 4 STREET SMARTS Rate Rise Implications 5 HOUSING SCENE Gender Differences 6 EQUITIES Earnings and Dividends 17 PEOPLE 34 HOT...

Subprime Firm Brings $400 MM.
June 11, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- Lone Star U.S. Acquisitions LLC, a private equity firm, will purchase Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., San Diego, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $400 million. Dallas-based Lone Star will pay $15.10 per share...

DPA Program Seen 'Flawed'.
June 11, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Housing Administration's mutual mortgage insurance fund would lose money for the first time ever if the agency doesn't curtail seller-funded gift programs, an FHA official said late last month. The Department of...

REIT Funding Squeeze?
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- As rating agencies tighten up ratings for commercial mortgage debt securitizations, some deals relying on such funding may not be closed. Risk associated with real estate investment is being underpriced, according to John Kriz....

Colo. Package Fights Fraud.
June 11, 2007... DENVER -- Gov. Bill Ritter has signed into law a package of five bills to combat mortgage fraud and reduce future foreclosures in Colorado. Representatives of the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association were on hand to participate in the...

Mortgage Pioneer Dies.
June 11, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Preston Martin, who served as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and was involved in the formation of Freddie Mac and the modern private mortgage insurance industry, died of heart disease May 30 in San Francisco at the...

Relief Will Be Long Term.
June 11, 2007... CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Research shows expected slow turnaround and continued U.S. housing market weakness should not have a detrimental effect on its overall long-term growth potential. Housing affordability, however, remains the chip-on-the-shoulder...

FHA Reform Bill Could Help Distressed Subprime Borrowers.
June 11, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The prospects for Federal Housing Administration reform legislation brightened last week when a key senator expressed interest in passing a bill before Congress adjourns for its August recess. Senate Banking Committee...

Making SMART Docs Accessible.
June 11, 2007... WASHINGTON -- While many lenders have felt that there are too many little roadblocks in the way of e-mortgage adoption and would prefer to sit back and wait for others to test it out before getting involved themselves as a result, the time to...

Fed Chief Says Worst of B&C Woes Yet to Come.
June 11, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the worst is not over in the subprime sector and further reductions in subprime originations should be expected along with higher foreclosure rates. "Decelerating house...

'Near Prime' Gets Cold Shoulder Too.
June 11, 2007... NOVATO, CA -- Subprime mortgage concerns that have tightened underwriting standards and diminished secondary market appetite in the neighboring "near prime" market have forced originator GreenPoint here to cut 440 staff positions and close 12...

Mortgage Tree Automates Program Changes: 'On an average month we get 72 guideline changes, but in the last eight days we got 68 changes alone.'.
June 11, 2007... VISTA, CA -- As loan guidelines and pricing changes, so must lenders and their correspondents. Mortgage Tree turned to Lender E-Source here to automate this part of the process with great success. "I've been working with Lender E-Source for...

Editorial: Holding Value.(Editorial)
June 11, 2007... As interest rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage start creeping up again, servicing becomes even more valuable for those shops that hold loans in portfolio or service them for investors. If refinancings dry up (and they have finally...

Open Forum: Outlook and Risks for Economy: Excerpts of Mr. Kroszner's recent remarks at the Institute of International Finance 2007 Spring Membership Meeting in Athens, Greece, are presented as our Open Forum.
June 11, 2007... After increasing at about a 3.5% annual rate from early 2003 to early 2006, the pace of economic expansion in the United States stepped down last spring, with real gross domestic product rising since then at about a 2% pace. Yesterday, the...

B&C Woes Unite Disparate Players; 10-Year Jumps Above 5%.
June 11, 2007... One of the many issues that market participants at the American Securitization Forum's annual meeting looked at last week in regard to recent subprime mortgage concerns was what was different this time around when the cycle turned and the...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
June 11, 2007... To the editor: In the April 2 article "HSBC May Exit B&C Channel," your publication wrote: "In February, HSBC Holdings said writedowns and expected losses on adjustable-rate second-lien subprime loans sparked it to increase the bad...

ASF Provides Subprime Guidance: The ASF also provided a statement of recommendations and guidelines for the modification of subprime loans.
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- The American Securitization Forum provided subprime lending guidance on issues that included loan modification and urged caution on the possible expansion of mortgage assignee liability at its annual meeting here last week. In...

FASB to Eye Servicing-Related Issue.
June 11, 2007... WASHINGTON -- In providing relief for subprime borrowers, servicers and trustees of mortgage-backed securities have to deal with accounting rules that govern permissible activities in managing mortgage trusts or "qualified special purpose...

Eyeing Gender Differences in Marketing to Single Homebuyers.
June 11, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Together, single men and women make up about one-third of the nation's 111 million households. Toss in unmarried moms and dads living with children under age 18, and singles account for almost half. But when it comes to...

RBC Capital Markets: Wells' Growth Rate Is Likely to Continue.
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- Analysts at RBC Capital Markets claim that Wells Fargo's prospects for continuing its streak of double-digit earnings growth remain strong. Noting that the company beat RBC's estimate for first-quarter earnings, analysts Joe...

More Customary Fees to Be Allowed on Veterans Affairs Loans.
June 11, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to align its lending practices with industry practices and it is going to start with its restrictions on third-party charges. Keith Pedigo, the director of VA's loan guaranty service,...

Brokers Propose National Registry.
June 11, 2007... WASHINGTON -- As Congress looks for ways to curb predatory lending and mortgage fraud, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers is recommending the federal government establish a national registry for all mortgage originators to ensure bad...

Compass Making Preparations to Launch MSR Valuation Analytics.
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- A provider of loan valuation and risk management technology for participants in the mortgage secondary market, Compass Analytics, is getting ready to enter the servicing side of the mortgage business. Rob Kessler, managing...

W&W to Buy Collateral RE Risk.
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- A major stumbling block with real estate-owned properties is that real estate is not liquid. The longer a property stays vacant, the faster the property deteriorates and therefore the faster its value depreciates. These types of...

Subprime/Home Equity Roundup: Ameriquest Classes' Grades Fall.
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- Seven classes from three Ameriquest Mortgage Securities Inc. home equity issues have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: Series 2003-1, Class M-4, from B to C/DR4; Series 2004-R2, Class M-8, from BBB to...

General Roundup: Mid-Ocean Mortgage-Related CBO Ratings Slip.
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- Three classes of notes issued by Mid Ocean CBO 2000-1 Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation that includes mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. Class A-1L has been downgraded from BB to B-/DR2, and...

Realtors See Increase in Demand for Office, Industrial Space.
June 11, 2007... WASHINGTON -- A leading indicator for the commercial real estate sector maintained by the National Association of Realtors has risen to a new high of 120.3 for the first quarter, the NAR reports. The rate of growth in the index, which has...

CA Bill Targets Transfer Taxes.
June 11, 2007... LOS ANGELES -- A Senate bill for private transfer tax prohibition has been amended to place responsible restrictions on private transfer taxes levied by developers and limit the proceeds to environmental and affordable housing efforts related...

PCLender.com Adds Warehouse Line/Loan Reconciliation Tools: 'Inaccurate [line/loan] reconciliation is ... [an] indicator that ... too many ... are not properly equipped.'.
June 11, 2007... HONOLULU -- Midsized mortgage lenders can stop leaving money on the table with every loan they originate, says PCLender.com founder and president Lionel Urban. To help them do that, his company has just released warehouse line and loan...

Ellie Matchmaking Brokers/Lenders.
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- Ellie Mae has launched a new service dubbed Dynamic Loan Screening that matches originators' loan applications with the products and services of lenders, investors and settlement service providers. While best-fit engines have...

Consumer Groups Call on Lenders to Provide Foreclosure Relief.
June 11, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- Under the umbrella of the California Reinvestment Coalition, 150 community and consumer organizations recently called on some of the country's largest mortgage lenders "to declare a temporary moratorium and direct homeowners to...

Jumbo Trend Line Starts to Improve.
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- In a rare bit of good news on the loan performance front, Moody's reported that the serious delinquency rate on securitized, prime credit quality jumbo mortgages improved slightly in March. That reverses a trend of credit...

Fitch: Mortgage Insurers Facing More Loss Risk.
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- While the market has worried about the performance of subprime loans originated in 2006, analysts at Fitch Ratings say the concerns may extend to earlier origination vintages as well. And that will put continued pressure on the...

Remend Releases New Default Tool.
June 11, 2007... SAN MATEO, CA -- Remend Inc., a mortgage servicing software provider, said that Remend OnDemand Analytics is now available. Remend OnDemand Analytics is the newest addition to Remend OnDemand, an on-demand mortgage servicing system for default...

Citigroup Looks to Revive Stock.
June 11, 2007... NEW YORK -- Citigroup, the nation's largest bank and one of the nation's biggest mortgage lenders, has been a stock market laggard for the last five years, a fact that has analysts wondering what the firm can do to spark more interest in its...

Home Financial Sees Loss on REO.
June 11, 2007... SPENCER, IN -- For the third quarter and nine months ended March 31, Home Financial Bancorp, the holding company for Owen Community Bank, reported a net loss of $94,000 on the sale of repossessed property. The company reported a net loss of...

Millennium Bank Sees NIM Shrink.
June 11, 2007... RESTON, VA -- Millennium Bankshares Corp. here posted net income of $581,000 for the quarter ended March 31, compared to net income of $827,000 for the same period in 2006. The 30% decline in revenue is attributable primarily to an 86 basis...

Pulaski Financial Sees Growth in 2nd Quarter Mortgage Business.
June 11, 2007... ST. LOUIS -- Pulaski Financial Corp. here saw its mortgage revenue rise 12% during the first quarter to $1.3 million, despite challenges in other sectors of the banking company's business. William Donius, chairman and CEO of the firm, said...

TFN Takes Stock Off of Exchange.
June 11, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- Transnational Financial Network, a wholesale and retail mortgage banker operating principally in the Southwest and California, has notified the American Stock Exchange that it intends to voluntarily delist its common stock from...

Technology As A Helper.
June 11, 2007... In the past there has been much ado about replacing live appraisals with automated valuation models. This threat of computers taking away jobs done by a human is hardly a new phenomenon in American history. Historically speaking the...

Proposed Standardization Abroad May Redefine Appraisal Role.
June 11, 2007... Two United Kingdom entities have launched proposals that promote standardization in ways that could redefine the role of appraisals in the Scottish and Asian real estate markets. Communities Scotland, a Scottish government housing/community...

The Marriage of Technology and Appraisers.
June 11, 2007... Fidelity National Information Services Inc., Hansen Quality, Jacksonville, Fla., has sought to incorporate elements of automation with a live appraiser to benefit both the speed and quality of the loan transaction. "We're focused on...

Web Tool Helps TPOs Value Homes: 'The ... tool is built to help agents and brokers quickly find the property information they need.'.
June 11, 2007... KNOXVILLE, TN -- With the availability of a new Web tool from Courthouse Retrieval System Inc., real estate professionals now have a single source to find and analyze property data. Courthouse Retrieval System showcased the Real Estate...