National Mortgage News articles from November 2006

National Mortgage News archives from November 2006

Inside Track.
November 6, 2006... EDITORIAL Technology Graduation 4 OPEN FORUM The View from OFHEO 4 AFFORDABLE HOUSING Hip-Hop Summit 11 COMMERCIAL MORTGAGES New Deals 14 TECHNOLOGY IBM Takes on Palisades 15 EQUITIES ...

ABN Amro On Selling Block?
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Dutch bank ABN Amro Holding NV is contemplating selling its once-storied U.S. mortgage division, according to industry officials. At press time, a spokesman for ABN Amro Mortgage, Ann Arbor, Mich. - the nation's largest...

Second Lien Volume Flat.
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Second-lien production was flat in the second quarter and there is growing evidence that piggyback loan structures are starting to lose market share to traditional mortgage insurance. According to exclusive survey figures...

Top 2nd Lien Servicers at June 30, 2006.
November 6, 2006... ($ in Millions) 2nds Serviced % Rk Organization Name Location at 6/30/06 at 6/30/05 Change 1 Bank of America Charlotte, NC...

Latinos See High Rejection.
November 6, 2006... LAS VEGAS -- A share of an estimated $200 billion in mortgages is up for grabs for any lender which can figure out how to safely evaluate the nontraditional credit habits of Hispanic families who desire to own a home, according to a group of...

IndyMac Keeps Gaining Share.
November 6, 2006... PASADENA, CA -- IndyMac's earnings per share only grew by 3% in the third quarter from the same period last year, but the company's loan production market share continued to grow by a much higher rate. The company posted net income of...

B&C Wholesaler Closes.
November 6, 2006... WestWorks Mortgage, a privately held wholesaler based in Santa Ana, Calif., has closed its doors but is still honoring existing approvals and rate locks. Ron Wilsie, president of the company, confirmed the news, calling the shutdown "an...

The Software Battle for Mortgage Broker Share Is Heating Up.
November 6, 2006... DUBLIN, CA -- The legal battle between rival broker loan origination vendors Calyx Software and Ellie Mae is over, but the market share battle continues, with Ellie Mae's Encompass making significant inroads in just the past year alone. ...

Promotion Spotlight: Jim Judd.
November 6, 2006... Mr. Judd has been named head of Wachovia's retail mortgage and credit group. Joining the bank from the recently acquired World Savings of Oakland, he was promoted as part of a reorganization that led to the resignation of C.D. Davies who served...

Private Issuer Gets Head Start in Reverse Market.
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Ginnie Mae recently said it intends to securitize Federal Housing Administration reverse mortgages, but one private issuer already has a head start on the federal secondary market agency. Seattle Mortgage Co., working with a...

Editorial: Best in Class.(Editorial)
November 6, 2006... Congratulations are in order for the 2006 winners of the annual Technology Awards given out by our sister publication, Mortgage Technology, at the recent Chicago convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Our presentations at the...

Open Forum: Getting GSE Reform Right.
November 6, 2006... Excerpts of Mr. Lockhart's remarks before the Hudson Institute Center for Employment Policy & Center for Housing Policy in Washington are presented as our Open Forum. The case for GSE reform is very strong given Fannie Mae and Freddie...

Experts Say States Should Do a Better Job Policing Appraisers.
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- A lack of enforcement at the state level is a major reason appraisals remain at the root of mortgage fraud, panelists at a symposium sponsored by the Appraisal Foundation said recently. A third of the states "are doing a great...

OpenClose User Base Triples as Company Targets Correspondents.
November 6, 2006... WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- As Beanstalk Networks' OpenClose platform approached the 30,000 mark for active users of its Web-based mortgage platform, the company has refined the software in the correspondent version that augments its wholesale and...

Wholesale Exec Will Lead Fifth Third Mortgage.
November 6, 2006... CINCINNATI -- Bob Lewis has been promoted by Fifth Third Bank to be president of Fifth Third Mortgage Co., which he joined approximately one year ago to help build its wholesale channel. Prior to joining Fifth Third, Mr. Lewis worked for...

Bank Regulators Issue Warnings.
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators hit the convention circuit recently to scold mortgage lenders about the "slippage" in underwriting standards and extending risky loans to subprime borrowers. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan told the...

News Analysis: Exotics Continue to Cut into Market Share of Fannie, Freddie: Interest-only and pay-option ARMs currently account for 31% of the loan origination market.
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The popularity of "exotic" mortgages is continuing to eat away at the purchase loan market share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to an analysis of purchases by Fannie and Freddie conducted by this newspaper, the two...

Triad Guaranty Beats Earnings Forecast in 3Q: 'Our thesis on the entire space is grounded on the premise of improving MI penetration and premium rates.'.
November 6, 2006... WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- Friedman Billings Ramsey, Arlington, Va., has maintained its market perform rating on Triad Guaranty Inc. here, even as third-quarter earnings per share for the mortgage insurer beat FBR's estimates by $0.03 and the...

Latino-Owned Bank Exceeds Funding Goal as it Launches Business: 'Our customers will be able to call on us like family to be a trusted financial partner.'.
November 6, 2006... LOS ANGELES -- Promerica Bank has surpassed its initial funding goal of $20 million to $25 million and is now ready to move forward and open its doors as the first majority Latino-owned commercial bank to form in Los Angeles in 30 years. ...

Hip-Hop Stars Advise Youth on Financial Savvy: 'It was wonderful to see so many young people express their views on such a relevant issue as financial literacy.'.
November 6, 2006... DALLAS -- The final free event of the 2006 "Get Your Money Right" series organized by the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network sponsored by Chrysler Financial to inspire 18- to 35-year-old at-risk youth to improve their life through financial...

Experts Debate Liquidity Outlook for Commercial Realty Sector: 'When product types and geographic areas get overheated, the capital markets do a good job of self-policing.'.
November 6, 2006... NEW YORK -- At a recent "Realshare Structured Finance" conference here, participants discussed how the liquidity situation in the U.S. commercial real estate market will play out and also saw opportunities overseas. John Bralower, managing...

Roundup: Developers to Buy Inland Retail REIT for $6.2 Billion.
November 6, 2006... CLEVELAND -- Developers Diversified, a retail real estate investment trust, is acquiring Inland Retail Real Estate Trust, a non-listed REIT, for a total price of about $6.2 billion. Developers Diversified is paying $14 per Inland share, and...

GE Veteran Launches Venture.
November 6, 2006... SOUTHBOROUGH, MA -- Jerry Quill, a former GE Real Estate managing director, has formed Charles Street Capital, a commercial real estate investment company. "Strong real estate fundamentals in many North American markets together with low...

Prudential partners with Kimco.
November 6, 2006... PARSIPPANY, NJ -- Prudential Real Estate Investors is getting in on Kimco Realty Corp.'s previously announced acquisition of Pan Pacific Retail Properties, through a joint venture with Kimco. PREI is putting in a $1.1 billion equity...

GE Buys More Real Estate.
November 6, 2006... DALLAS -- Crow Holdings, a real estate investor representing the Trammell Crow family, is selling a portfolio of 147 assets to GE Real Estate, Norwalk, Conn., for $2.2 billion. The portfolio consists of 112 industrial buildings (9.3 million...

GE to Buy Restaurant REIT.
November 6, 2006... ORLANDO, FL -- GE Capital Solutions, a Danbury, Conn.-based asset management division of GE, is acquiring Trustreet Properties, a restaurant real estate investment trust, for a total of about $3 billion. The acquisition price includes a...

NYC Apartment Deal Fetches $5.4B.
November 6, 2006... NEW YORK -- MetLife has sold the Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town complex here for $5.4 billion to a joint venture between BlackRock Realty and Tishman Speyer. The complex includes over 11,000 units, making it the largest apartment...

IBM Strikes Deal to Buy Palisades' Web-Based Lending Technology.
November 6, 2006... ARMONK, NY -- In a move likely to solidify its position in mortgage technology, IBM has agreed to acquire New Jersey-based Palisades Technology Partners, an IBM partner that offers a comprehensive Web-based multichannel lending platform. ...

Lenders Snap Up Free LOS Product.
November 6, 2006... BELLEVUE, WA -- TeraVendo said that its LoanAce LOS software has reached the 1,000-user mark among mortgage companies, less than three months after LoanAce debuted Aug. 1, 2006. To date, said Jeff Cunio, president of TeraVendo Inc., 5,100...

Some Believe Recorders Are No Longer an E-Mortgage Barrier.
November 6, 2006... NEW YORK -- While many have contended that county recorders are a hurdle to e-mortgage adoption, that is no longer the case. About 50% of loans done today can be e-recorded, and county recorders are waiting for lenders to realize the benefits...

Astoria's Earnings Fall on Tighter Margins and Servicing Charge.
November 6, 2006... LAKE SUCCESS, NY -- Astoria Financial's earnings fell as a sometimes inverted yield curve ate into the company's net interest margin and led to a valuation adjustment to the company's mortgage servicing asset, the company said. Astoria...

North Fork Bank's Earnings Decline.
November 6, 2006... MELVILLE, NY -- North Fork Bancorporation, parent of GreenPoint Mortgage, earned $203 million in the third quarter, down from $237 million in the third quarter of last year. Earnings per share fell to $0.44 from $0.50 in the year-earlier...

Franklin Bank Sees Lower Residential Volume.
November 6, 2006... HOUSTON -- Third-quarter results for Franklin Bank Corp., the parent company of Franklin Bank SSB, revealed that its commercial loan portfolio increased 65% to $1.5 billion compared to the same period a year ago. According to the company, as of...

South Dakota Bank Buys Servicing.
November 6, 2006... SIOUX FALLS, SD -- HF Financial Corp. earned $1.1 million in the third quarter, up from $1 million in the year-earlier period. The company's bank subsidiary also completed the purchase of servicing rights on mortgages held by the South Dakota...

Ryland's Earnings Contract by 25%: Ryland said its capture rate for mortgages made to homebuilding customers was 82.2%.
November 6, 2006... CALABASAS, CA -- The Ryland Group here said that its consolidated net earnings decreased 25.5% for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 to $87.9 million, or compared to $118 million for the same period in 2005. The homebuilding segments...

FDIC Revamps Deposit Insurance.
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- For banks and thrifts, the days of free deposit insurance are coming to an end now that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has completely revamped the premium assessment system. Starting next year, all FDIC-insured banks and...

People.
November 6, 2006... CALIFORNIA Laguna Hills-SLMC Mortgage appointed two regional sales managers and a chief credit officer. Steven J. Finn was appointed regional sales manger. He has over 25 years in the mortgage industry in both sales and operations and...

Failure to File Quartely Report Lands KB Home on Watch List.
November 6, 2006... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has placed KB Home on Rating Watch Negative. The change is due to the company's inability to make a timely filing of its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Aug. 31 with the Securities and Exchange Commission and...

NVR's 3rd Quarter Earnings Decline.
November 6, 2006... RESTON, VA -- NVR Inc., a national homebuilder and mortgage banker, reported diluted earnings per share for its third quarter ended Sept. 30 decreased 19% and net income decreased 32% when compared to the 2005 third quarter. Net income for...

Fannie Mae Patent Alarms Industry.
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Industry groups are pressing Fannie Mae to give up the rights to a patent on an origination process for customized mortgages for fear it could stifle innovation and competition in the mortgage market. Seven trade groups are...

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
November 6, 2006... MIEC Index: 136.3 Change: -3.9 Company 10/19/2006 11/2/2006 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi From Ratio Astoria Federal (AF) 30.00 ...

Fannie Purchases Hit High for Year.
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae acquired $66.59 billion in mortgages during September, its best purchase month of the year. On a sequential basis, loan acquisitions rose 36%, but compared to September 2005, purchases fell 6%. September tends...

Cash-Out Financing at 16-Year High: Refinancing continues at a higher frequency than historically would have been the case given the rise in mortgage rates.
November 6, 2006... MCLEAN, VA -- Cash-out transactions accounted for 89% of Freddie Mac-owned loans that were refinanced in the third quarter, the secondary market agency reported. That's the highest level of cash-out refinancing reported in 16 years....

Publicly traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms.
November 6, 2006... B&C Stock Price Index: 201.3 Change: -4.0 Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 11/2/2006 Wkly. %Chg. P/E % Chg. From Ratio Delta Financial Corp (DFC)...

CORRECTION.(Correction notice)
November 6, 2006... A headline on page 23 of the Oct. 30 issue of NMN misidentified the location of Washington Federal Savings. The thrift is based in Seattle, not in Virginia as the headline stated. (c) 2006 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. All...

Mortgages Swing FBR to 3Q Loss.
November 6, 2006... ARLINGTON, VA -- Friedman, Billings Ramsey here reported a third-quarter net after-tax loss of $67.4 million, or $0.39 per share, in large part due to a $146.8 million non-cash mark-to-market write-down in the value of its real estate...

Inside Track.
November 13, 2006... EDITORIAL Georgia in Mind 4 OPEN FORUM Big Ben Chimes 4 STREET SMARTS Prepays and TPOs 5 TECHNOLOGY Whale of a Tale 12 HOT STAT Stable Rates and refinancings remained stable last week, with...

H&R Block May Sell B&C Giant.
November 13, 2006... NEW YORK -- H&R Block Inc. is considering selling Option One Mortgage Corp., Irvine, Calif., one of the nation's largest subprime lenders and servicers. The tax preparation company also initiated cost-cutting measures at the lender and has...

Huge Changes In Congress.
November 13, 2006... WASHINGTON -- By winning control of the House and Senate in last Tuesday's elections, Democrats will set the agenda in the next Congress and housing issues are expected to be at the forefront. The housing agenda of the Republican-controlled...

NetBank Closes B&C Unit, LIME.
November 13, 2006... ATLANTA -- NetBank Inc. here last week pulled the plug on its Meritage Mortgage subprime affiliate, but agreed to transfer many of the account executives working there to another company. NetBank, which is in the throes of restructuring its...

3rd Quarter Losses in Subprime.
November 13, 2006... NEW YORK -- The third quarter 2006 was not kind to a trio of subprime mortgage lenders, with one of the three firms, Saxon Capital Inc., taking a loss for the period of $26.4 million, or $0.53 per share. The Glen Allen, Va.-based firm,...

50-Year Goes Toward Alt-A.
November 13, 2006... IRVINE, CA -- Fifty-year term products, which not long ago raised eyebrows about how long is too long a term for residential mortgage loans, are becoming mainstream and embraced by the prime loan market. BrooksAmerica Mortgage Corp., a...

A Lower Limit? OFHEO Won't Say.
November 13, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Could the conforming loan limit fall in 2007? The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight isn't saying. But Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac always maintained that under the law, they did not have to lower the limit on loans...

Conforming Loan Limits.
November 13, 2006... 1980 $93,750 1981 98,500 1982 107,000 1983 108,300 1984 114,000 1985 115,300 1986 133,250 1987 153,100 1988 168,700 ...

Loan Buybacks Remain the Talk of the Industry.
November 13, 2006... WASHINGTON -- It appears that the tidal wave of loan buyback requests plaguing the nonconforming sector is showing no signs of slowing down. According to interviews with investment bankers, due diligence executives, warehousers and others,...

Fiserv Touts New Web-Based Tools.
November 13, 2006... BROOKFIELD, WI -- As one move toward implementing the new Fiserv 2.0 strategic vision, Fiserv Lending Solutions has just launched a new suite of Web-based add-on tools for users of its easyLENDER LOS system. The new toolset, called easyWEB,...

Freddie Expands Technology Effort.
November 13, 2006... MCLEAN, VA -- As an extension of Freddie Mac's new technology strategy to buy instead of build, the GSE is branching out by opening smaller regional offices to tap local labor brain trust instead of locating all its technology initiatives in...

Commerce Velocity Rolls Out ASP-Based End-to-End Network: 'Some of the Wall Street investors want to bring their lenders onto the platform.'.
November 13, 2006... IRVINE, CA -- In the wake of its announcement of a new ASP-based loan origination offering, Commerce Velocity here has been picked over rivals to have Allen, Texas-based BSM Financial LP, a $3-billion-a-year lender that expects to be up and...

Editorial: Disaster Averted.(Editorial)
November 13, 2006... Georgia has the dubious distinction of being the first state to have had a predatory lending law put on its books a few years back. North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico and other states followed, lenders abandoned these states in a...

Open Forum: Subprime Questions & Concerns: Excerpts of Mr. Bernanke's remarks at the Opportunity Finance Network's Annual Conference in Washington are presented as our Open Forum.
November 13, 2006... The growth of subprime mortgage lending is one indication of the extent to which access to credit has increased for all households, including those with lower incomes. In 1994, fewer than 5% of mortgage originations were in the subprime market,...

Eyeing Prepays and Freddie's Third-Party Origination Disclosures.
November 13, 2006... Long-term mortgage rates as tracked by Freddie Mac had jumped a bit before subsiding and rate-indicative long-term bond yields as tracked by Yahoo! Finance had drifted lower at press time as the market buzzed with speculation about election...

Fidelity's Empower LOS Migrates to .NET Technology Platform.
November 13, 2006... JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Fidelity is looking to stand out in the eyes of large lenders looking hard at investing in a new loan origination system by migrating its Empower system to a .NET framework. "As interest rates rise and volume continues...

A Second Chance for LEM?
November 13, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Conflicting feedback on the need to create location-efficient mortgage loans gets an in-favor vote from a recent first-of-its-kind study showing urban families in search of affordable housing tend to lose their housing finance...

Housing vs Transportation Costs.
November 13, 2006... (Expenses as a share of income) Typical Household Budget in 28 Metropolitan Areas All Households Working Families Incomes $20,000-$50,000 Housing 27.4% 27.7% Transportation...

Boomerang Web Tool Brings in Business for InterFirst's Brokers.
November 13, 2006... ANN ARBOR, MI -- More than 1,500 mortgage third-party originators are now using the Boomerang Web presentation tool offered exclusively to InterFirst Wholesale Mortgage Lending's approved brokers, said ABN Amro Mortgage Group Inc. Since AAMG...

Equity Data Is Marketing Tool.
November 13, 2006... SANTA ANA, CA -- In its latest regional equity report, First American Real Estate Solutions identifies more than $38 billion of available equity among San Francisco homeowners and identifies how the presence of equity can be used as a key...

MLOM Helps Lenders Optimize Decision Making: The system functions like an 'oven,' allowing lenders to put any type of operation into it.
November 13, 2006... COLLEGE PARK, MD -- MLOM originally meant "Mega Loan Officer Machine." But today the company that bears that name stands for much more, offering technology that handles both primary and secondary market functions in user-optimized ways. ...

Florida Broker Picks Whaleback for Voice-Over Broadband Service: 'We didn't have to purchase a PBX and phones and worry about unloading an outdated piece of equipment in a few years.'.
November 13, 2006... TAMPA, FL -- Once dismissed as a cyber-toy, voice-over broadband has been touted as the answer for growth-oriented mortgage brokers seeking to an affordable telephony solution. The launch of Skype in 2002 brought the voice quality of VoIP calls...

Default Expert Sees Credit Risk Factors Gathering Momentum: 'There are a number of perfect-storm predictions for the mortgage industry.'.
November 13, 2006... SAN MATEO, CA -- Lenders and servicers are currently concerned about the effect of falling housing prices and resets on adjustable-rate mortgage loans that might drive up defaults. Some say rising rates could push up ARM reset payment levels...

Bank of the West Stays with Fiserv.
November 13, 2006... BROOKFIELD, WI -- Fiserv Lending Solutions said that Bank of the West, a San Francisco-based subsidiary of BancWest Corp., will use its end-to-end technology platforms to expand its branch-focused mortgage operations. Fiserv said the...

Citi Buys Stake in Turkish Firm: 'The agreement also establishes a strategic collaboration between Citigroup and Akbank.'.
November 13, 2006... NEW YORK -- Citigroup has agreed to purchase a 20% equity position in Turkish housing lender and financial services provider Akbank for approximately $3.1 billion. Sabanci Holding, a 34% owner of Akbank shares and its subsidiaries, which...

FGIC Guarantees Mexican MBS.
November 13, 2006... NEW YORK -- Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. has guaranteed Mexico's first monoline-wrapped residential mortgage-backed securities transaction, according to a report by FGIC Corp. here. "For FGIC, this is another step forward as we expand...

GE Unit Buys Real Estate in Turkey: 'Dogus and GE Real Estate will enter into a shareholders agreement that will form the basis for the management of the REIT.'.
November 13, 2006... STAMFORD, CT -- GE Real Estate here has made its first investment in Turkey. Specifically, GE Real Estate Europe and Dogus Holding AS have agreed to buy a 50.98% stake in publicly listed Turkish real estate investment trust Garanti...

Reducing Turn Time.
November 13, 2006... Mortgage warehouse lenders are about to enter tough times, suffering from the same macro conditions that affect the primary lending business: mortgage loan volume decline and an increase in competition. But, said a number of people who were...

Pricing Issues Could Impact Warehousers.
November 13, 2006... Warehouse lenders will be facing margin pressures in the next few months as lower demand for warehouse credit will force some, especially those companies for which this business is a loss leader, to compete on pricing, experts in the field...

Warehouse Commitments at 9/30/06 (a sample).
November 13, 2006... ($ in Millions) Firm Commitments Commitments Percentage Name at 9-30-06 at 9-30-05 Change Credit Suisse $5,460 $6,750 (19%) Horizon Bank $332 ...

Preliminary: Volumes Slipped in 3Q.
November 13, 2006... WASHINGTON -- When residential loan production falls, warehouse providers feel the pain as much as primary funders. According to preliminary survey figures compiled by National Mortgage News, warehouse commitment volume fell by 8% in the...

Warehouse - Average Outstandings (a sample).
November 13, 2006... ($ in Millions) Firm Avg. Outstandings Avg. Outstandings Percentage Name at 9-30-06 at 9-30-05 Change Credit Suisse $7,000 $7,700 (9%) ...

Technologies to Be Looked Into.
November 13, 2006... CONSHOHOCKEN, PA -- As the warehouse lender acts as the intermediary between the lender and the investor, collaborative technology is key to a warehouse lender's success. Going forward, new technologies and new systems should be evaluated to...

Expert Says Warehouse Relationship Different.
November 13, 2006... One mortgage industry consultant sees a theme among most small mortgage banker and mortgage broker-to-banker convertees applying for warehouse lines. They don't realize they are applying for a commercial line of credit, said David Lykken,...

BRT Realty Trust Adds $30 Million.
November 13, 2006... GREAT NECK, NY -- BRT Realty Trust, a mortgage real estate investment trust here, said the amount available under its existing line of credit has been increased by $30 million to $185 million. The participants in the line include North Fork...

Growing Industry Negotiates Settlements between Lenders, Debtors.
November 13, 2006... ADDISON, TX -- Growing customer debt, defaults and fraud risk have fueled the rapid growth of the relatively new debt settlement and negotiation industry, which insiders say is making efforts to get regulated so it can ensure customer...

Study Debunks Criticism of Low Down FHA Loans: 'The fact is nonprofit downpayment assistance loans perform at a 94% success rate seasoned three years.'.
November 13, 2006... WASHINGTON -- A new independent analysis of three government studies on Federal Housing Administration loans assisted by nonprofit downpayment assistance providers often referred to when calling these loans higher-risk indicates DPA-FHA loan...

PwC Predicts Commercial Realty Boom Will Come to a Halt in '07.
November 13, 2006... NEW YORK -- The boom in commercial real estate investments is likely to slow down next year, according to an outlook report for 2007 put out by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Washington-based Urban Land Institute. Home prices are also seen...