National Mortgage News articles from October 2005

National Mortgage News archives from October 2005

Inside Track.
October 3, 2005... EIDTORIAL Getting Them Ready 4 OPEN FORUM Greenspan On Housing 4 STREET SMARTS Inflation Concerns 5 EUITIES Dividends, Earnings, Analyses 9 EXISTING HOME SALES ...

Will Industry Hit $3 Trillion in '05?
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The residential mortgage industry funded $1.5 trillion in loans during the first half and may wind up having its second-best year ever. According to exclusive survey figures compiled by National Mortgage News, the nation's...

Top Residential Originators in First Half.
October 3, 2005... ($ in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. 2 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage 3 Washington Mutual 4 Chase Home Finance 5 Bank of America 6 CitiMortgage,...

Freddie May Out-Buy Fannie.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Whipsawed by bad news last week, Fannie Mae has one more problem to worry about - that its chief competitor, Freddie Mac, may outpurchase it this year. Through the first eight months of 2004, Fannie had acquired $380 billion...

Will Freddie OutPurchase Fannie?
October 3, 2005... ($ in Millions) Fannie Freddie Purchase Winner 2005 Purchase Vol. Purchase Vol. for the Month January $48,101 $35,888 Fannie February $40,167 ...

Commercial, MF Debt Up 3.1%.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding went over the $2.4 trillion mark in the second quarter, an increase of 3.1% from the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. Commercial banks hold the...

CUNA Mutual Unit for Sale?
October 3, 2005... MADISON, WI -- The CUNA Mutual Group here, a key credit union player in mortgages, is toying with the idea of unloading its residential finance division. A spokesman for CUNA Mutual confirmed to National Mortgage News that a sale of the...

$5B Voted for Forbearances.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A $250 billion Hurricane Katrina recovery bill proposed by the Louisiana congressional delegation includes $5 billion to pay for mortgage payment relief. The bipartisan measure, introduced by Louisiana Sens. Mary Landrieu (D)...

First American RES Aligns with ComplianceEase.
October 3, 2005... ANAHEIM, CA -- Given the increased emphasis on complying with the always proliferating regulatory environment, First American Real Estate Solutions has entered into a partnership and acquired a minority ownership in automated compliance vendor...

Fair Lending, ID Theft and Licensing Are Top Concerns.
October 3, 2005... PROVIDENCE, RI -- Fair lending exams, identity theft protection and license renewal were all part of the conversation on the regulatory landscape at the recent 18th Annual New England Mortgage Banking Conference here, which brought in 265...

HUD Official Wants to Simplify FHA Loan Origination Process.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The new housing commissioner wants to make originating a Federal Housing Administration single-family loan as easy as originating a conventional loan. "We cannot continue to have unique, specialized and often onerous...

Getting Them Ready.
October 3, 2005... We will never see 100% homeownership in the United States. Some people are just not ready to be homeowners and some people will just not want to be. But what about those not ready now but who would like to be soon? It is obvious to us that...

Home Equity Fuels Spending.
October 3, 2005... Mr. Greenspan's remarks on mortgage banking at the recent American Bankers Association Annual Convention in Palm Desert, Calif., are presented as our Open Forum. Over the past decade, the market value of the stock of owner-occupied homes...

Inflation Concerns Emerge in Market, Then Subside Somewhat.
October 3, 2005... Last week's market was a "Tale of Two Economies," if you will, up through press time last Thursday morning, alternating between inflation concerns that pushed the long-term rate indicative 10-year Treasury yield higher and concerns about...

REIT Teams Up with California Teachers Fund.
October 3, 2005... CHICAGO -- First Industrial Realty Trust is acquiring a $1.01 billion industrial portfolio in a joint venture with the California State Teachers Retirement System. The portfolio, acquired from Duke Realty, an Indianapolis-based office and...

Greenspan Still Worried by IOs.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan continues to fret in public that interest-only and option-payment mortgages expose borrowers to more interest rate risk and house price risk. The chairman contends that these...

New Details on Loan Pricing Bring Scrutiny to Subprime Wholesalers.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The release of the 2004 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data generally do not have much of an impact on mortgage brokers, but that could be changing this year. Subprime mortgage wholesalers will be coming under increased...

Allied Picks Entellium Hosted CRM Product.
October 3, 2005... HOUSTON -- Allied Home Mortgage here has entered a three-year deal to use Seattle-based Entellium's Pro-Activity hosted customer relationship management product. In making the decision to pick Entellium over Salesforce and other leading CRM...

Nation's Largest Subservicer Names Five New Executive Officers.
October 3, 2005... EWING, NJ -- Cenlar, one of the nation's largest mortgage subservicers, has appointed five employees to officer status. Cenlar manages over 300,000 mortgages. Robin Brodsky has been appointed vice president of Cenlar's customer service...

CapitalSource Becomes REIT.
October 3, 2005... CHEVY CHASE, MD -- CapitalSource has chosen to be taxed as a real estate investment trust beginning Jan. 1, 2006. The company, which provides financing for commercial real estate properties, reports that while the move has been approved by...

Do Dividends Compensate Investors for Risk?
October 3, 2005... ST. LOUIS -- Calling Citigroup a "top pick" among the financial services stocks it covers, A.G. Edwards & Sons says that Citi's handsome dividend is a reward to investors willing to withstand what may be a difficult period for bank stocks in...

NYMT Cuts Third-Quarter Dividend.
October 3, 2005... NEW YORK -- New York Mortgage Trust has declared a cash dividend of 21 cents per share for its common stock for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The dividend is payable Oct. 26 to shareholders of record Oct. 6. That's down from a 25 cent...

Fidelity Details Terms of Spin-Off.
October 3, 2005... JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Fidelity National Financial has released final terms and set the record data and distribution date for the stock of Fidelity National Title Group, which will be traded under the symbol "FNT" on the New York Stock Exchange....

Alt-A Popularity on the Rise, Says Union Federal.
October 3, 2005... FORT WAYNE, IN -- The popularity of alternative-A paper loans appears to be growing with no end in sight, according to an industry expert specializing in the lending of alt-A loans, option ARMs and interest-only options. David DePodesta,...

One in Three Lenders Depend on Fannie, Freddie for Business.
October 3, 2005... COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Nearly one out of every three lenders would be "badly damaged" if anything were to happen to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a consultant who follows financial institutions' behavioral patterns warned here earlier this...

Fed's Take on HMDA Data Seen Slowing Activists.
October 3, 2005... COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- The Federal Reserve Board's analysis of the most recent Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data will force consumer activists to change their strategies in dealing with lenders, a gathering of mortgage professionals was told...

Roundup: Rating Agency Sees Heightened Risk from New Products.
October 3, 2005... NEW YORK -- New mortgage products in the U.S. housing market may hold greater risk for borrowers and for financial institutions holding more of the new products on their balance sheets, according to Fitch Ratings. Alternative products such...

First Union Deal Downgraded.
October 3, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class B of First Union Home Equity Loan Trust, series 1997-2, has been downgraded from CCC to C by Fitch Ratings. The downgrade was attributed to the poor performance of the collateral, which consists of subprime fixed-rate and...

Bear Stearns Deal Downgraded.
October 3, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class B-3 of Bear Stearns Mortgage Securities Inc., series 1997-6, has been downgraded from BBB to BBB-minus by Fitch Ratings. In addition, the ratings on five other classes in the fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgage pools were...

First Bank & Trust's Income Rises.
October 3, 2005... PARIS, IL -- First BancTrust Corp. here, parent of First Bank & Trust, earned net income of $400,000 in the first quarter, or 17 cents per diluted share, compared with $324,000, or 13 cents, a year earlier. The $234 million asset bank,...

GMAC Deal Affirmed.
October 3, 2005... NEW YORK -- The rating on class F of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2002-FL-1, has been affirmed at BB and removed from Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. In addition, Fitch...

NovaStar Pools $2.43 Billion.
October 3, 2005... NEW YORK -- NovaStar Financial Inc., Kansas City, Mo., has completed a $2.43 billion securitization by its subsidiary NovaStar Mortgage. NovaStar Mortgage retained the M-11, M-12, and class C certificates of the transaction, NovaStar...

SAMI Deal Downgraded.
October 3, 2005... NEW YORK -- Two classes of Structured Asset Mortgage Investments mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and a third has been removed from Rating Watch Negative. The downgrades in the SAMI Inc. series...

National City Educates Banking Clients about International Growth.
October 3, 2005... CLEVELAND -- The global trade and Treasury division of National City Corp. here plans to sponsor at least two seminars on strategies for competing in the international marketplace this week. The first is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 4 at...

Standard & Poor's Sees Potential Risk for IO Payment Problems.
October 3, 2005... NEW YORK -- Rating agency Standard & Poor's, noting the explosive growth in interest-only home loan products, has expressed concern about the ability of some homeowners to weather the payment shock that they could face in a rising interest rate...

FHA Offers More Hurricane Relief.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Housing Administration is going beyond temporary forbearance in hurricane disaster areas by allowing servicers to advance up to 12 monthly payments to borrowers who are temporarily unemployed. "It is FHA's version...

Illinois High Court Sides with Lenders in Dispute about Fee Limitation.
October 3, 2005... SPRINGFIELD, IL -- The Illinois Supreme Court has issued a major ruling for banks, mortgage lenders and trustees of securitized mortgage loans on whether a state law can severely restrict the fees that lenders can charge. The court held...

New Century Cuts Forecast, EPS.
October 3, 2005... IRVINE, CA -- Subprime mortgage giant New Century Financial Corp. here trimmed its earnings forecast for the year, sending its share price falling to a new 52-week low. New Century, the nation's second-largest subprime lender, revised...

Laurex to Advise Real Estate Investors.
October 3, 2005... PLANO, TX -- Laurex Group here has formed two advisory divisions to aid individuals seeking to invest in the real estate market. Laurex Realty Advisors will provide a range of real estate investing support while Laurex Lending Advisors will...

UK Office Good to Work In.
October 3, 2005... MINNEAPOLIS -- The United Kingdom office of GMAC-RFC (General Motors Acceptance Corp.-Residential Funding Corp.) here is among branches of the company that have been named "Great Places to Work" this year. The company also has been named a...

Subservicing: What's on the Menu.
October 3, 2005... The leading subservicers have seen their volume of business rise dramatically in recent years. In the past 12 months alone, the 20 largest subservicers in the prime mortgage market saw their volume grow by 18%. Meanwhile, the top 10...

GMAC Focuses on HELOCs.
October 3, 2005... These days, just about everyone is keen on originating more home-equity products, and home-equity lines of credit are at the top of many a lender's wish list. The challenge for some, though, is how to service these complicated loans? ...

Top Subprime Subservicers at 6/30/05.
October 3, 2005... ($ in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Option One Mortgage Corp. Irvine, CA 2 Ocwen Financial Corp. West Palm Beach, FL 3 Homeq Servicing Corp. ...

Cenlar Sees Avenues for Growth.
October 3, 2005... EWING, NJ -- Cenlar FSB, a wholesale bank that recently became the nation's largest subservicer of home loans, remains focused on growing its business. Cenlar, in recent years, has obtained servicer ratings from Wall Street rating...

Top Subservicers at 6/30/05.
October 3, 2005... ($ in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Cenlar FSB Ewing, NJ 2 Dovenmuehle Mortgage (E) Schaumburg, IL 3 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage ...

People.
October 3, 2005... CALIFORNIA Calabasas-Countrywide Home Loans Inc. has appointed John Stasche and Doug Winter in its consumer markets division. Mr. Stasche will oversee production and operations for Countrywide branches throughout Delaware, eastern...

Housing Groups Rush To Aid Katrina Victims.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Federal agencies, minority groups and affordable housing providers across the country are coming up with emergency financial aid options and housing assistance information for Hurricane Katrina victims. The National Council...

Positive Rebuilding Seen for 2006.
October 3, 2005... NEW YORK -- Although there is currently a shortage of building materials and labor, Standard & Poor's chief economist, David Wyss, said he sees positive rebuilding ahead in 2006 for the areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And while...

Publicly-traded Subprime and Alt-A Related Firms.
October 3, 2005... B&C Stock Price Index: 194.7 Change: -3.6 (part 1 of 2) Company 52 wk/lo 52 wk/hi 9/29/2005 Aames (AIC) 2.15 2.80 2.35 Delta Financial Corp (DFC) ...

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
October 3, 2005... MIEC Index: 152.9 Change: -5.6 (part 1 of 2) Company 9/22/2005 9/29/2005 Wkly. % Chg. Astoria Federal (AF) 26.70 ...

Inside Track.
October 10, 2005... EDITORIAL HMDA Data 4 OPEN FORUM FHA On Track 4 STREET SMARTS Katrina Supply Pressures 5 NONPRIME MORTGAGES Alt-doc Loans 8 EQUITIES Stock Buyback ...

GAO Worries About FHA.
October 10, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A congressional watchdog agency is raising concerns that a federal mortgage insurance program could face future financial problems if it "cannot compete for new borrowers" and improve its loan performance. The Government...

PHH Buying CU Mortgage.
October 10, 2005... MADISON, WI -- CUNA Mutual Group here has signed a letter of intent to sell most of its mortgage operations to PHH Mortgage, Mount Laurel, N.J., for an undisclosed amount. PHH, the nation's largest private-label originator, will acquire...

A TX Lender's Katrina Compassion.
October 10, 2005... HOUSTON -- When Willie Lambright learned of a large number of horses whose lives were imperiled by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he responded by forming a group, and used his vacation time and his own money to help save more than 300...

Top Alt-A Lenders in Q2 2005.
October 10, 2005... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name 1 Aurora Loan Services, Inc. (1) 2 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. 3 GreenPoint Mortgage Funding (2) 4 WMC Mortgage Corp. (BC) 5 Impac...

Freddie Losses: $300 Million?
October 10, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Freddie Mac said it could lose up to $300 million due to property damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As National Mortgage News went to press last week, Fannie Mae was on the verge of releasing an estimate on its...

Industry Spotlight: George Livermore.
October 10, 2005... The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., has promoted Mr. Livermore to president of the company's Property Information Group. He also will maintain his duties as president of First American Real Estate Solutions, a position he has held...

Bill Doesn't Pre-Empt Licensing.
October 10, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A predatory lending bill that calls for licensing mortgage brokers would not pre-empt the states from adopting stricter standards or the licensing of loan officers at banks and mortgage companies. The predatory lending bill,...

Freddie Finances Temporary Housing.
October 10, 2005... JACKSON, MS -- Freddie Mac has joined forces with Mississippi Home Corp. here, providing $900,000 for the acquisition and positioning of more than 35 travel trailer units that will be used to provide temporary housing to Mississippians who have...

Basel Proposal Called 'Sensitive'.
October 10, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Federal banking regulators are proposing to update the 1989 Basel I risk-based capital rule to make it more risk sensitive for residential mortgages, rated securities and other assets. Single-family mortgages with low LTVs and...

B&C Prepayments Fall; Delinquencies Rise.
October 10, 2005... ARLINGTON, VA -- A report from Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. here found that prepayments of fixed- and adjustable-rate, nonprime mortgage-backed securities fell in August, though delinquency rates rose. The decline in prepayments is not...

Zacks Puts New Century on Sell List after '05 Guidance Is Cut.
October 10, 2005... IRVINE, CA -- Zacks.com, the online unit of Zacks Investment Research Inc., Chicago, has placed New Century Financial Corp. on its #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now. This follows by a couple of weeks New Century's announcement it was severely...

States to Test Uniform Licensing.
October 10, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A joint task force of state banking and mortgage regulators has approved a uniform licensing application for mortgage companies and individual loan originators that is slated to be tested by nearly a dozen states. The...

Reading the Data.
October 10, 2005... According to a Federal Reserve Board analysis of the 2004 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, about 2% of the 8,800 lenders that reported on their volumes for the year may have violated fair lending standards when pricing mortgages to...

FHA Is on Comeback Trail.
October 10, 2005... Excerpts of Mr. Montgomery's remarks at the recent FHA Lenders Conference in Washington are presented as our Open Forum. Unfortunately, over the last decade, FHA has fallen behind, unable to keep pace with a mortgage market that is dynamic...

Building Supply Pressures Seen as Possibly Resulting from Storms.
October 10, 2005... Hurricanes Katrina and Rita may have some overlooked, indirect and possibly adverse effects on the residential real estate finance business both here and abroad, according to Nomura Securities International Inc. chief economist David Resler....

Lenders Partner with Businesses to Help Employees Buy Homes.
October 10, 2005... DETROIT -- Top lenders in the Detroit area are teaming up with local and national businesses to offer employee-centered special perks that will draw more borrowers. Special access and discounts for home mortgage borrowers are among the tools...

Irwin Expects Better Mortgage Results.
October 10, 2005... COLUMBUS, OH -- Irwin Financial Corp., a bank holding company focused on mortgage banking, home-equity and small business lending, said its mortgage banking operations are likely to be back in the black when third-quarter results are posted....

Study: Alt-Doc Loans Do No Harm.
October 10, 2005... ARLINGTON, VA -- A report from Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. here said adjustable-rate subprime mortgage loans with alternative documentation perform better than their counterparts with full documentation. The report from Michael...

Anworth Buying Back Stock in Advance of Third Quarter Results.
October 10, 2005... SANTA MONICA, CA -- Anworth Mortgage Asset Corp. here repurchased more than 1.8 million shares of its common stock at an average cost of $8.72 per share during the third quarter, the company said. The company's board of directors had...

CA Bank Sees Higher Profits.
October 10, 2005... SAN JOSE, CA -- Heritage Commerce Corp. here reported strong growth in earnings for the second quarter, but the company is scaling back its involvement in the mortgage business. The banking company reported net income of $3.3 million, or...

FloodSmart Gets New Stock Symbol.
October 10, 2005... HOUSTON -- Allied Energy Corp. has changed its name to FloodSmart and adopted a new stock ticker symbol. The company, which previously traded over the counter under the symbol ALNG, now trades over the counter under the symbol FDSI....

Regions Financial Faces Katrina Exposure.
October 10, 2005... CHICAGO -- Writing for Zacks.com here, investment prognosticator Charles Carlson says that Regions Financial is one of the banks with the most exposure to fallout from Hurricane Katrina. Regions, which has outlets in a number of areas...

KB Home Sees Revenue Jump.
October 10, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- KB Home said total revenue rose 44% in the third quarter of 2005 to $2.53 billion, up from $1.75 billion in 2004. Companywide unit deliveries in the third quarter ended Aug. 31 rose 22% to 9,812 from 8,041 in the third...

Puerto Rico's First BanCorp Is Latest to Shuffle Management.
October 10, 2005... SAN JUAN, PR -- First BanCorp, the second-largest bank in Puerto Rico and a major mortgage lender here, is the latest Puerto Rico bank to reshuffle its management in the wake of an accounting controversy. The bank has acknowledged being...

Hartford Adds Agricultural Finance.
October 10, 2005... HARTFORD, CT -- Hartford Investment Management Co., a subsidiary of The Hartford Financial Services Group, has added an agricultural finance group based in Fresno, Calif., to its staff. David Dunlap joined Hartford Investment Management in...

Commercial Transactions.
October 10, 2005... * Anthracite Capital has done a private placement of $75 million in preferred securities, with interest initially fixed at 7.49% for ten years and thereafter floating at 3-month LIBOR plus 2.9%, and will use the proceeds to invest in commercial...

Brandywine Realty to Buy Prentiss.
October 10, 2005... PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA -- Brandywine Realty Trust, an office and industrial real estate investment trust here, is acquiring Dallas-based Prentiss Properties, another office REIT, in a transaction valued at about $3.3 billion. As part of the...

Fitch Downgrades ASC CMBS Deal.
October 10, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class A-5 of Asset Securitization Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1995-MD IV, has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings. Fitch also upgraded one class in the transaction and affirmed...

Is Bad News Good for Fannie?
October 10, 2005... NEW YORK -- The last week in September was a rough one for Fannie Mae, with renewed media coverage highlighting possible new accounting woes for the mortgage secondary market giant. But while continued news of the accounting scandal has...

Thornburg Issues $140M of Bonds.
October 10, 2005... SANTA FE, NM -- Thornburg Mortgage Inc. has completed a $140 million issuance of unsecured junior subordinated notes due in 2035 in a private placement through Thornburg Mortgage Home Loans Inc., its origination subsidiary. The notes bear...

RFC Deal Downgraded.
October 10, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class B-5 of Mellon Residential Funding Corp. series 1998-A mortgage-backed securities has been downgraded from CCC to C by Fitch Ratings. Fitch also upgraded five classes and affirmed the ratings on 25 other classes in six...

People.
October 10, 2005... CALIFORNIA Calabasas-Interthinx, a provider of fraud prevention and decision support tools for the mortgage industry, said that Connie Wilson, executive vice president of fraud, was elected as secretary of the Mortgage Bankers Association...

Licenses Required for MD LOs.
October 10, 2005... ANNAPOLIS, MD -- All Maryland loan officers - regardless of whether they work for a mortgage banker or broker - must be licensed, according to a new state law that went into effect here last week. "We supported and lobbied for the law,"...