National Mortgage News articles from November 2004

National Mortgage News archives from November 2004

Inside Track.
November 1, 2004... EDITORIAL Kerry For President 4 OPEN FORUM Greenspan On Mortgage Debt 4 EQUITIES 'oscillation' Occurs 8 SECURITIZATION Roundup 9 INTERNATIONAL Mortgages Rabobank Deal Dead 12 ...

GSEs Gear Up for Subprime.
November 1, 2004... The chairman of Freddie Mac committed to the biggest gathering of mortgage bankers of the year to bring the benefits the secondary mortgage market has bestowed on mainstream America to would-be homebuyers who don't measure up to conforming loan...

Owner Rate Falls in 3Q.
November 1, 2004... The U.S. homeownership rate fell in the third quarter with African-Americans, in particular, suffering the most, according to new figures released by the Department of Commerce. The not-so-good news on homeownership comes just a few days...

U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls.
November 1, 2004... Period National Whites Blacks Hispanic of time Own. Rate Own. Rate Own. Rate Own. Rate 3Q 2004 69.0% 76.1% 48.4% 48.7% 2Q 2004 69.2% 76.2% 49.7% 47.4%...

MISMO Saves $249 a Loan.
November 1, 2004... Results from the MISMO "Time and Motion" study released at the MBA's annual convention here revealed that using the MISMO standards will save $249 a loan, 75% of which will go directly to lenders. The study was conducted on behalf of the...

Lowrie Sees Strength in Diversity.
November 1, 2004... Regina Lowrie, who is in line to become the MBA's first female chairperson in 2006, says that her election to the association's leadership says something about the organization. "I think it really sends a clear message that MBA is a diverse...

ARMs Fueling Speculation?
November 1, 2004... Fannie Mae economists "suspect" that adjustable-rate financing is helping to fuel speculative demand for residential real estate and driving up housing prices. However, they have not been able to definitely link investors to...

Loan Limit Tango Starts Anew.
November 1, 2004... Let the speculation begin! In an annual ritual that tends to start when the Federal Housing Finance Board issues its monthly mortgage market survey for September, it's time to guess next year's conforming loan limit. The maximum,...

Conforming Loan Limits.
November 1, 2004... 1985 $115,300 1986 $133,250 1987 $153,100 1988 $168,700 1989 $187,600 1990 $187,450 1991 $191,250 1992 $202,300 1993 $203,150 1994 $203,150 1995 $203,150...

Average Purchase Price New and Existing Homes.
November 1, 2004... September 2003 $237,900 October $243,800 November $246,700 December $233,900 January 2004 $241,800 February $248,000 March $250,600 April ...

GSE Reform Won't Threaten Housing.
November 1, 2004... The housing market will experience little turbulence as political and regulatory pressures force Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to slow the growth of their giant mortgage portfolios, according to a Wall Street economist. "It will not be that...

New Chief Executive for LandAmerica Financial.
November 1, 2004... LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. here has promoted Theodore L. Chandler Jr. to president and chief executive effective Jan. 1, 2005. With this promotion, the company has separated the roles of chairman and chief executive. The current...

The Choice At Hand.
November 1, 2004... Over the next 20 years, two-thirds of new household formations in this country will involve minority families, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Emerging markets, which include immigrants as well as minorities and the...

Debt 'Not Overly Worrisome'.
November 1, 2004... Mr. Greenspan recently addressed America's Community Bankers annual convention in Washington. Excerpts of his remarks are presented as our Open Forum. In recent years, banks and thrifts have been experiencing low delinquency rates on home...

Despite Continued Low Rates, Is Interest in MBS Picking Up?
November 1, 2004... Even though the average long-term mortgage rate tracked by Freddie Mac remained at six-month lows last week, at least one Wall Street firm was reporting that investors had been showing more interest in mortgage-backed securities due to slightly...

Third-Quarter Results Show Trading 'Oscillation'.
November 1, 2004... Trading revenue at major banks and investment banking firms was weak in the third quarter, but analysts at Sandler O'Neill & Partners believe the weakness might just be "oscillation" around a trend line that suggests continued growth. ...

ML Analyst Calls Quarter Stable.
November 1, 2004... The third quarter seems to have been a relatively good one for specialty and mortgage finance firms. At least that's the conclusion of analysts at Merrill Lynch, who expect the calm waters to continue as more firms report third-quarter...

JPM Chase Earns $1.4 Billion in 3Q.
November 1, 2004... An increase in home finance operating earnings helped J.P. Morgan Chase generate net income of $1.4 billion in the third quarter vs. $1.6 billion a year ago and a loss of $548 million during the preceding quarter. The company said Bank One...

ML's 3Q Income Was $920 Million.
November 1, 2004... Merrill Lynch earned net income of $920 million in the third quarter vs. $1 billion during the same period last year and $1.1 billion of the second quarter of this year. Merrill's chairman and chief executive Stan O'Neal said the company's...

Countrywide Completes Exchange Offer.
November 1, 2004... Countrywide Financial Corp. has completed an exchange offer applicable to each $1,000 principal amount of its convertible securities due 2031 at maturity. In the exchange offer, Countrywide updated certain features of the original bonds...

Wachovia Earned $1.26 Bil in 3Q.
November 1, 2004... Wachovia Corp. here reported third-quarter net income of $1.26 billion, or $0.96 per share, compared with $1.11 billion, or $0.83 per share, in the third quarter of 2003. The company's general bank, corporate and investment bank, and...

Eagle Prices Initial Public Offering.
November 1, 2004... Eagle Hospitality Properties Trust has priced the initial public offering of 14,583,333 shares of its common stock at $9.75 per share. The shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "EHP." Eagle, a newly...

Bimini Rings Opening Bell at NYSE.
November 1, 2004... Jeffrey Zimmer, president and CEO of Bimini Mortgage Management, a REIT that invests primarily in residential mortgage-related securities, ceremoniously rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 21. "It was an honor to...

Roundup: S&P Sees Eight Upgrades for Every Downgrade in 3Q.
November 1, 2004... Performance-related upgrades exceeded performance-related downgrades by 8-to-1 in the third quarter in the U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities market, according to Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. S&P said in a recent report...

Fitch Lowers Some Ocwen Ratings.
November 1, 2004... Four classes of Ocwen Residential MBS Corp. mortgage-backed securities have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: Ocwen 1998-R1, class B-3, from BBB to BBB-minus; Ocwen 1998-OFS1, class B, from BBB to BBB-minus...

Several Oakwood Mh Ratings Slip.
November 1, 2004... Forty-five classes from 19 Oakwood Homes manufactured housing transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. In addition, the rating agency affirmed 31 classes from 15 Oakwood deals. Fitch attributed the downgrades to the deteriorating...

Some MS MBS grades FAll.
November 1, 2004... Two classes of Morgan Stanley Capital I Inc.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1997-XL1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings and removed from Rating Watch Negative. Class G was downgraded from BB to B, and class H...

Met Mortgage Class' Grade Slips.
November 1, 2004... Class M-2 of Metropolitan Mortgage series 2000-A has been downgraded from B-minus to CCC by Fitch Ratings. In addition, Fitch affirmed the ratings on two other classes in the deal. The rating agency attributed the downgrade to poor...

Some Lehman MH ABS Downgraded.
November 1, 2004... Moody's Invetors Service downgraded these Lehman ABS manufactured housing contract senior/subordinate asset-backed certificates from series 2001-B as follows: class A-IO2, Aaa to A1; class A-IOC, Aaa to A1; class A-1, Aaa to A1; class A-2, Aaa...

CMSA Weighs in on Case It Feels Could Hurt the CMBS Industry.
November 1, 2004... Concerned that a Dallas Court's action in a commercial mortgage-backed securities litigation case could have an adverse effect on the CMBS industry, the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association has filed an amicus curiae brief relating to the...

Colonial Buying Cornerstone Realty.
November 1, 2004... Colonial Properties Trust is acquiring Cornerstone Realty Income Trust, Richmond, Va., for a total price of about $1.5 billion, including the assumption or refinance of about $850 million of Cornerstone's secured debt. Colonial, a real...

New Tax Law Aids Foreign REIT Stock Buys.
November 1, 2004... It has become easier for foreign investors to purchase the stock of publicly traded U.S. real estate investment trusts under the corporate tax reform bill recently signed into law by President Bush, the National Association of Real Estate...

FCSA Terminates Rabobank Deal.
November 1, 2004... Farm Credit Services of America has terminated its merger agreement with Rabobank, a $500 billion Dutch lending cooperative, due to outside opposition and possible regulatory delays in completing the deal. Rabobank originally offered $600...

'Mortgage Day' Arrives in U.K.
November 1, 2004... "Mortgage Day" has arrived in the United Kingdom, "the date on which the Financial Services Authority takes over the statutory regulation of mortgages," according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders here. As of Oct. 31, "intermediaries" -...

Bank of America Aims to Be Top Community Development Lender.
November 1, 2004... Bank of America said it aims to become the nation's No. 1 affordable housing and community development lender through its commitment to lend and invest $750 billion in the next 10 years, primarily in low- and moderate-income communities across...

R.T. Glass & Assoc. to Help with Nonprime Executive Recruiting.
November 1, 2004... A new executive search and consulting firm, R.T. Glass & Associates here, has been created to serve the mortgage banking industry in general and the nonprime sector in particular. The firm is being formed by Rick Glass, who will serve as...

ABFS Takes Loss In Its Fiscal Year.
November 1, 2004... American Business Financial Services Inc. here is still being affected by its problems from earlier in its fiscal year 2004, which ended on June 30. As a result, the firm reported a loss of $115 million ($34.07 per share) for its fiscal...

TCF Restructuring Leads to $1.1 Million Expense.
November 1, 2004... TCF Financial Corp. here said as a result of the restructuring of its mortgage origination business, it recorded $1.1 million of expenses during the third quarter. The company announced plans to shut its wholesale channel and downsize and...

Home Sales May Hit Record in '04.
November 1, 2004... Home sales are likely to set a record again this year before easing, according to an October report from the National Association of Realtors here. The association said it is anticipating a record 6.49 million existing home sales and 1.15...

RI Bills Have Implications for Consumer Credit, Mortgage Payoffs.
November 1, 2004... Two mortgage-related Rhode Island Senate bills were recently passed by the Legislature here. The first bill provides for increased scrutiny over consumer credit counseling agency actions, offering more protection for consumers, said the...

Pressure Building For Home Sellers?
November 1, 2004... While home price increases have mitigated softening commissions, an expected slower housing market is likely to put even more pressure on them, Steve Ozonian, a national homeownership executive with Bank of America, recently told the Real...

GMAC-RFC Aims Its New First-Lien HELOC at Aging Baby Boomers.
November 1, 2004... GMAC-Residential Funding Corp., Minneapolis, unveiled its new first-lien home-equity line of credit product at the Mortgage Bankers Association convention here. In an interview, Danny Hellams, senior vice president, managing director, said...

RFC's Tools Defend Its AU Leadership.
November 1, 2004... Defending its lead in the private-label automated underwriting arena, Residential Funding Corp. here chose the annual MBA convention in San Francisco to provide more details about the four e-commerce tools that it had said it would launch at...

MBA Targets New Members.
November 1, 2004... The Mortgage Bankers Association is reaching out to other constituencies as part of a new three-year strategic plan designed to boost membership, enhance its position among policymakers and create standards for the industry. "If you are an...

'Predatory Lending and Fraud Differ'.
November 1, 2004... Fraud expert Arthur Prieston believes he has "opened the door to a continuing dialogue" with legislators by testifying recently before a House subcommitee, he told NMN in an interview. Among the points he believes legislators need to...

Hansen Goes Beyond Due-Diligence Services to Credit, Compliance.
November 1, 2004... Hansen Quality, a division of Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., is expanding its due-diligence services to include credit and compliance reviews of mortgage loan packages. The company issued the announcement during a...

FNF Exec Teaching Servicing Courses.
November 1, 2004... Fidelity Information Services, a division of Fidelity National Financial, Jacksonville, Fla., will be providing courses on the servicing function for CampusMBA, the educational arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. The...

After 40 Years, Still Enthusiastic About His Job.
November 1, 2004... Bill Elliott has been in the real estate arena for almost 40 years, 20 as a Realtor and since 1987, as a mortgage banker. But he still has a passion for his work, even after all that time. That much is readily apparent during a talk with...

Allied Releases Proprietary Fraud Detection Tool.
November 1, 2004... Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp. here has branched out to include fraud detection among its specified areas of expertise by creating its own Web-based fraud detection tool. As the industry turns to a purchase market, the instances of...

Michigan May Change State Predatory Rules.
November 1, 2004... The Michigan Legislature is considering amending its anti-predatory law, which is currently entitled the Consumer Mortgage Protection Act, according to the Washington law firm Lotstein Buckman LLP. The House bill is significant in that it...

Advisor Sees M&A Revival.
November 1, 2004... What's the outlook for mortgage banking-related mergers over the next 12 months? Dale Kurland, chief executive of Classic Strategies Group LLC, is attending the MBA convention to talk to old friends and clients about what lies ahead in M&A...

LION Buys Tuttle Pipeline Risk Tools.
November 1, 2004... LION Inc. here, a provider of mortgage technology to loan brokers and lenders here, has entered into an agreement to acquire Tuttle Risk Management Services, a provider of mortgage pipeline risk management services based in San Rafael, Calif....

Northstar Plans Initial Public Offering.
November 1, 2004... NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. is planning to make an initial public offering of 20 million common shares priced at between $9 to $11 per share. The company invests in subordinate mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities, manages and...

AgFirst Selects Fidelity's Commercial Software.
November 1, 2004... Fidelity Information Services, a division of Fidelity National Financial, has won a contract to serve the AgFirst Farm Credit Bank and its Farm Credit System member institutions. AgFirst will implement FIS' Advanced Commercial Banking...

At a Glance: AgFirst Farm Credit Bank.
November 1, 2004... Assets: $15.9 billion 2nd Qtr Earnings: $90 million Members: 23 Ag Credit Associations Headquarters: Columbia, S.C. Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com...

Farmer Mac Will Pay First Dividend.
November 1, 2004... Farmer Mac's board of directors has declared for the first time a quarterly dividend on the company's common stock. Farmer Mac, formally the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., has three classes of common stock. All will receive a...

Dexma Takes Step Closer to Electronic Lending.
November 1, 2004... Dexma here is releasing a new product called the Loan Fulfillment Center designed to move the industry closer to a realized electronic mortgage. Companies like MortgageHub have Web-enabled its LOS offering, others like GHR Systems and...

1st Met Goes Live with GHR's Web-Based LOS.
November 1, 2004... 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, a national mortgage brokerage firm here, decided that it wanted a Web-based loan origination platform, and after an exhaustive search just went live with Wayne, Pa.-based GHR Systems' Loan Origination Studio...

S&P Rating Boosts SharperLending.
November 1, 2004... The S&P rating approval of SharperLending's Mortgage Loan Report gives lenders the OK to use alternative lien products. "The Mortgage Loan Report is an information-based product backed by a service agreement much like the insured AVM - an...

Survey Finds Borrowers Like Website.
November 1, 2004... Customer satisfaction surveys conducted by ABN Amro Mortgage Group of users of its www.mortgage.com website found that the contentment with the online experience and the overall loan process are drivers of future use. The e-mail survey,...

DocuSign Offers Web Signatures.
November 1, 2004... DocuSign Inc. here has created what it calls the first-ever complete Web service for signing documents online. Any business with a document that requires a legally binding signature can have the transaction done electronically in seconds....

California Embraces Statewide Electronic Recording Provisions.
November 1, 2004... The California Electronic Recording Delivery Act of 2004 has been approved by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a way to develop a secure system for all 58 county recorders to deliver, record and return documents electronically by title companies...

KFD to Continue on Acquisition Track into 2005.
November 1, 2004... Given the turn in the market from refi to purchase and the amount of consolidation going on in the technology sector, Kroll Factual Data here sees this as the right time to aggressively acquire companies that both play in their space and those...

Prieston Group and AppIntelligence Join Forces for Fraud Prevention.
November 1, 2004... The Prieston Group here is teaming up with AppIntelligence Inc., Weldon Springs, Mo., to offer a new mortgage fraud insurance product called DISSCO(TPG). The product takes an enriched version of AppIntelligence's DISSCO fraud detection and...

Data Trace Buys Firm in Northeast.
November 1, 2004... Data Trace LLC, a provider of title plant services based here, has acquired Accu-Search Inc., Keyport, N.J., further strengthening its presence in the Northeast. Accu-Search, which will assume the Data Trace name, is a provider of property...

Roundup: Site Lets Consumers Get Instant Home Value Estimate.
November 1, 2004... Consumers can determine the value of their home on a website run by Instant House Values.com Inc. here. The company said consumers could use its service to have access to the same automated appraisal technology and reports used by banks and...

Score Assesses Value Risk.
November 1, 2004... Hansen Quality, a division of Fidelity National Financial Inc. here, has created a collateral risk screening tool called Insight. Insight is Web-based and looks to identify hidden collateral risks at the origination level as well as in...

Lender Uses VMP Fraud Tool.
November 1, 2004... Secured Funding Corp., Costa Mesa, Calif., has integrated VMP Mortgage Solutions Inc.'s Fraud Management Solutions into its loan origination process. The fraud prevention tool includes a link to VMP's parent Banker Systems' Patriot Act...

Wachovia Selects Web Tool.
November 1, 2004... WebSideStory, a provider of on-demand World Wide Web analytics based here, said that Wachovia Corp., Charlotte, N.C., is using its HBX service to improve the bank holding company's online business performance. Among the areas Wachovia is...

GSE Purchases Down from '03.
November 1, 2004... Freddie Mac acquired $35.19 billion in loans during September, its second-worst purchase month of the year. Meanwhile, Fannie Mae acquired $63.45 billion, its fourth-best purchase month of the year. Year-to-date, Freddie Mac has...

Freddie Mac Holdings/Purchases 2004-2003.
November 1, 2004... (part 1 of 2) Year/ Total Retained PCs Held in Port. Growth Month Portfolio Portfolio Rate(1) Jan-03 $567,594 $340,785 -2.40% Feb $560,634 $334,441 ...

Fannie Mae Holdings/Purchases 2004-2003.
November 1, 2004... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Portfolio Year/ Mort. Port Growth Multi- MBS Month Holdings Rate Family(1) Purchases Jan-03 $810,609 31.00% ...

Lenders with the Highest Average Loan Size in 2Q 2004.
November 1, 2004... (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 First Republic Bank San Francisco, CA 2 Union Bank of California San Diego, CA 3 No Red Tape Mortgage Sherman Oaks,...

Lenders with the Lowest Average Loan Size in 2Q 2004.
November 1, 2004... (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 America First CU Riverdale, UT 2 State Employees CU Raleigh, NC 3 Associated Mortgage Co. Inc. Depere, WI 4 CUNA...

People.
November 1, 2004... CALIFORNIA Pasadena-IndyMac Bancorp Inc. said it is adding new members to the Wholesale Lending, Correspondent Services and Subprime Lending Divisions. Thomas Carroll joins IndyMac as business development manager for IndyMac Bank's...

MBA Reports E-Mortgage Progress.
November 1, 2004... In the wake of recent stories about e-mortgages closed in an actual production setting, the Mortgage Bankers Association convention here offered a progress report on the mortgage industry's e-mortgage initiative - and remaining hurdles...

How Much Can MISMO Save You?
November 1, 2004... (numbers in $) (part 1 of 2) Current Costs Data Touchpoint/Functional Item/ Movement Area Service Cost Cost ...

Publicly-traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms.
November 1, 2004... B&C Stock Price Index: 236.0 Change: -0.9 (part 1 of 2) Company 10/21/2004 10/28/2004 Wkly. % Chg. Astoria Federal (AF) ...

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
November 1, 2004... MIEC Index: 176.9 Change: 7.4 (part 1 of 2) Company 10/21/2004 10/28/2004 Wkly. % Chg. Astoria Federal (AF) 35.84 ...

Inside Track.
November 8, 2004... EDITORIAL The Spirit Of Bipartisanship 4 OPEN FORUM Powell On Gses 4 STREET SMARTS The Effects Of The Election 5 TECHNOLOGY Sysdome's Fraud Tool 8 EUITIES Mortgage Firm Earnings 10 ...

Is Bush Win Bad GSE News?
November 8, 2004... The re-election of President Bush and GOP gains in the House and Senate have increased the likelihood that legislators will finally pass meaningful government sponsored enterprise reforms next year. According to industry officials, election...

Freddie: Faster Reporting.
November 8, 2004... Freddie Mac hopes to provide full-year 2004 financial reports by the end of the first quarter in 2005, chairman and CEO Richard Syron said in a conference call last week. But Freddie Mac executives weren't making any promises about whether...

Top Residential Servicers at 9/30/04.
November 8, 2004... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Servicing Volume % Rk Organization Name 9/30/2004 9/30/2003 Change 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. $785,992 $606,095 ...

BoA Pulls Plug on Framework.
November 8, 2004... After much industry speculation about the future of Framework here, Bank of America, the parent company, has decided to close the loan origination software provider down by the end of this year. A source within Framework confirmed, "The...