National Mortgage News articles from September 2005

National Mortgage News archives from September 2005

Inside Track.
September 5, 2005... EDITORIAL Juiced? 4 OPEN FORUM Greenspan Worried 4 STREET SMARTS Katrina Implications 5 SECURITIZATION Downgrades 12 RATEA DOWN, REFIS FLAT Interest rates on 30-year...

Katrina Threatens 360,000 Loans.
September 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Some 360,000 residential mortgages could be negatively impacted by the rampage caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, according to preliminary estimates made by the Mortgage Bankers Association. ...

Subprime Residential Lending Volume Leaders Q2 2005.
September 5, 2005... ($ in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name 1 Ameriquest Mortgage Corp. (E) (1) 2 New Century Financial Corp. 3 Countrywide Financial Corp. 4 Option One Mortgage Corp. (2) 5 Fremont...

MS Brokerages at Risk.
September 5, 2005... JACKSON, MS -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many are wondering how the mortgage industry will survive in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, when a whole portion of land along the Gulf Coast and beyond has been decimated. Vickie...

Top Lenders in the New Orleans MSA.
September 5, 2005... ($ in Millions) Lender Name Annual Fundings (1) Co. HQ Countrywide Home Loans $1,273 Calabasas, CA Hibernia National (2) $1,121 New Orleans, LA Chase Home Finance ...

Fannie Updates E-Mortgage Specs.
September 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- In the past, Fannie Mae has been criticized for overstepping its charter and using technology to gobble up market share and act as the investor, lender and technology vendor all at the same time. Now the government-sponsored...

Freddie's Net, Stock Plunge.
September 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Freddie Mac, which is almost current on its earnings releases, reported that first-half 2005 profits tumbled by 60% as net interest income fell and it took a massive loss on its derivatives positions. The company, however,...

Second Liens Rise 22% in 2Q05.
September 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Residential second-lien lending among the top 20 lenders reached more than $100.96 billion in the second quarter of 2005, a 22% increase from the year-earlier period, according to data provided by NMN's statistical affiliate. ...

A Good Deed Goes Unrecorded.
September 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Here's living proof of the need for title insurance. Or perhaps it's testimony to the long arm of our government. You decide. A year ago, HouseValues.com surveyed top agents across the nation to determine the value of 1600...

Fannie's Portfolio Dips Below $800B.
September 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae's retained portfolio dropped below the $800 billion mark in July, after the company shed nearly $20 billion in assets. In an effort to bolster cash, Fannie has been actively selling loans out of its retained...

Commercial Business Booming.
September 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- As money continues to pour into commercial real estate investments, originations of commercial and multifamily loans jumped to $44.4 billion for the second quarter of 2005. This is a new record, according to the Mortgage...

S&P Is Changing HELOC Analysis.
September 5, 2005... NEW YORK -- Rating agency Standard & Poor's has revised its loss coverage and cash flow criteria used in the analysis of securities backed by home-equity lines of credit. The new methodology, which became effective Aug. 1, applies to...

MBA Chief's Wife Running for MD Senate.
September 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Lise Van Susteren, a Maryland psychiatrist, and the wife of Mortgage Bankers Association president Jonathan Kempner, has declared her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., ranking minority...

Juiced?
September 5, 2005... Interest-only mortgages made up 26% of all mortgages in the second quarter of this year. That's a number that makes us sit up and start to wonder: is the market getting too juiced on these alternative instruments? IOs are a form of...

Housing Will Simmer Down.
September 5, 2005... Mr. Greenspan's closing remarks at a symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Jackson Hole, Wyo., recently are presented as our Open Forum. The Federal Reserve will almost surely face as many uncertainties over the...

Ten-Year T-Bill Yield Drops After Katrina, but No One Is Cheering.
September 5, 2005... Hurricane Katrina and its effects, as well as speculation about its effects, were the main topics in the market last week and here are some of the things to consider. First, of course, is the tragedy's direct effect on people and businesses and...

Hovnanian Buys Florida Builder.
September 5, 2005... RED BANK, NJ -- In order to position itself in the high-growth Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla., market, Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. here has acquired the assets of First Home Builders of Florida, a privately held homebuilder and provider of...

Firms Adapt to Meet HE Demand.
September 5, 2005... COSTA MESA, CA -- Various lenders specializing in second mortgages have seen increased demand for home-equity loans that serve as flexible financial tools for borrowers interested in anything from debt consolidation to cash outs and purchases....

HomeBanc Does $1B ARM Deal.
September 5, 2005... ATLANTA -- HomeBanc Corp. here has completed a public offering through HomeBanc Mortgage Trust 2005-4 of approximately $1.09 billion of sequential-pay notes backed by adjustable-rate, residential first and second mortgages. The approximate...

FirstBancorp Updates Accounting Review.
September 5, 2005... SAN JUAN -- First BanCorp here said it has received a letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that the SEC is conducting an "informal inquiry" into the company. The inquiry pertains to accounting for mortgage loans purchased...

MortgageIT Pools ARMs.
September 5, 2005... NEW YORK -- Real estate investment trust MortgageIT Holdings Inc. has completed its fourth loan securitization of 2005, a public offering of $707.8 million in aggregate principal amount of notes backed by residential, first-lien adjustable-rate...

Puerto Rican Lender Subpoenaed.
September 5, 2005... SAN JUAN -- Doral Financial Corp., the largest residential mortgage lender in Puerto Rico, said that on Aug. 24 it had received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York regarding the production...

Australian Realty Firm Sees Stable Earnings, Diversifies Financing.
September 5, 2005... SYDNEY -- The Westfield Group's first release of financials under the new international financial reporting standards show a net profit of approximately A$1.53 billion (about $1.15 billion) for the six months preceding June 30, including net...

COFI Rises to Three-Year High.
September 5, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- The Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index in July rose to its highest point since 2002, according to the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. The index rose to 2.757% as of July from 2.676% in June,...

CMBS Deal Sees High Losses.
September 5, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class G of Mortgage Capital Funding Inc. multifamily/commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1996-MC2, has been downgraded from Ca to C by Moody's Investors Service. In addition, Moody's upgraded one class and...

Roundup: SASCO Bonds Take Hit.
September 5, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class B3 of series 2001-2 of Structured Asset Securities Corp. residential mortgage-backed certificates has been downgraded from B to C by Fitch Ratings. In addition, the ratings on seven classes from two SASCO deals were...

Another SASCO Downgrade.
September 5, 2005... NEW YORK -- Six classes from two Structured Asset Securities Corp. residential mortgage-backed certificate transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: series 2002-HF2, class M3, from BBB to...

MH Deal Downgraded.
September 5, 2005... NEW YORK -- Two classes from two Access Financial Manufactured Housing Contract Trust issues have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. Class B-1 of series 1995-1 and class B-1 of series 1996-1 were downgraded from CCC to C. In addition,...

MCF Class Downgraded.
September 5, 2005... NEW YORK -- Class G of Mortgage Capital Funding Inc. multifamily/commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1996-MC2, has been downgraded from Ca to C by Moody's Investors Service. In addition, Moody's upgraded one class and...

United Kingdom's Mortgage Lending Volume Tapers Off in July.
September 5, 2005... LONDON -- Gross lending in the United Kingdom in July totaled PN25.2 billion (about $45.5 billion), 2% lower than in June and 13% lower than the PN29 billion (about $52.4 billion) seen in July 2004, according to the latest data from the Council...

European Fund Passes $100M.
September 5, 2005... BOSTON -- MIL Equity Partners LP, a partnership formed to acquire, manage and sell commercial real estate within emerging European countries, has increased its Fund I to over $100 million. "Once our funding is completed, MIL will be the...

Roundup: Analyst Sees Bargain in Golden West's Current Valuation.
September 5, 2005... ST. LOUIS -- A.G. Edwards has upgraded its rating on the stock of Golden West Financial to a "buy" rating, saying that recent weakness in the company's stock price has created an attractive entry point for investors. The recent drop in the...

Fiserv Raises Guidance.
September 5, 2005... BROOKFIELD, WI -- Fiserv, parent of the MortgageServ loan servicing operation system and other mortgage technology offerings, has raised its earnings-per-share guidance for this year. Based on strong second-quarter results released in July,...

Wells Ratings Affirmed.
September 5, 2005... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed its ratings on the debt of Wells Fargo & Co. with a stable outlook. Wells' senior debt is rated AA. Subordinated debt and preferred debt are rated AA-. The rating agency said that Wells Fargo...

Lender Raises Dividend.
September 5, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- First Republic Bank here raised its dividend by 24% after reporting strong second-quarter earnings. The bank, which reported an increase in all loan categories on its books as well, increased its dividend to $0.125 per...

Wells Revises B&C Practices.
September 5, 2005... DES MOINES, IA -- Wells Fargo Financial and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage have made changes designed to benefit customers of their nonprime real estate-secured lending businesses. The company said these improvements include: * Moving to a...

Accredited Pools $1.1 Billion into Securities.
September 5, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- Nonprime lender Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. has closed a securitization containing approximately $1.12 billion of first- and second-lien residential mortgage loans through its real estate investment trust subsidiary,...

Wells Fargo Revisits its List of Responsible Lending Principles.
September 5, 2005... DES MOINES, IA -- Wells Fargo said its nine responsible lending principles have been updated to reflect new changes that can be summarized as follows: 1. Appropriate loan pricing: Pricing on all Wells Fargo real estate loans is fully...

A La Mode Defers Fees From Victims.
September 5, 2005... OKLAHOMA CITY -- A La Mode, a developer of appraisal, mortgage and inspection tools here, is deferring all fees and payments of any kind for its thousands of clients in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, who were victims of Hurricane Katrina,...

ECC Capital Packages $1 Billion Nonprime Portfolio into Securities.
September 5, 2005... IRVINE, CA -- ECC Capital Corp., a real estate investment trust that originates and invests in nonprime residential mortgages, has completed a securitization and related offering by Encore Credit Receivables Trust 2005-3. The company said...

Home Equity Lending: An Explosion Of Wealth.
September 5, 2005... Home price increases over the last few years have provided homeowners a cache of riches to tap into, fueling the current home-equity lending boom. This is likely to continue as long as home prices hold up. Federal Reserve-initiated...

AMCO AVMs Offer Valuation Decision Points.
September 5, 2005... AMCO's chief information officer, Patrick O'Brien, believes that broker price opinions can't be trusted, even if the broker doesn't have a stake in a particular deal. "In 1994, the home-equity market hadn't taken off after FIRREA...

QuickClose Home Equity Line Provides Faster Approvals.
September 5, 2005... Home-equity customers can apply online within minutes for a loan and receive feedback in seconds thanks to the new QuickClose Equity Line from PricelineMortgage, the joint venture between EverBank Financial Corp. and Priceline.com. Not...

Hanover Goes Down Credit Spectrum for Hard-Money Niche.
September 5, 2005... Hanover Mortgage Co., Tustin, Calif., specializes in a privately financed, hard-money niche of the home-equity market, according to principal G. David Lapin. At one time, being in the private money game alone was enough to distinguish...

People.
September 5, 2005... CALIFORNIA Aliso Viejo-GoApply Inc. has appointed Mark Cramer as senior vice president of corporate development. He brings over 12 years of business development and project management experience to the organization. Mr. Cramer will be...

Habitat Seeks Rebuilding Funds.
September 5, 2005... AMERICUS, GA -- "Preparing for the worst," Habitat for Humanity International here said it is appealing for emergency funds that will help Habitat families and other low-income families in the affected areas recover and rebuild in the areas hit...

900 ABS Pools Are Exposed.
September 5, 2005... Greenwich, CT -- RBS Greenwich Capital here has counted more than 900 subprime mortgage-backed securities pools exposed to collateral damage from Hurricane Katrina. Since homeowners' insurance policies usually exclude damage caused by...

Relief from Fannie, Freddie, Mis.
September 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with mortgage insurers and servicers, are providing mortgage relief for borrowers facing hardships related to the massive and widespread damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. "What matters most...

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
September 5, 2005... MIEC Index: 157.4 Change: 0.0 (part 1 of 2) Company 8/25/2005 9/1/2005 Wkly. % Chg. Astoria Federal (AF) 27.71 27.99 ...

Retail Helps Lenders Brand Their Business.
September 5, 2005... DETROIT -- Metro Detroit's top lenders use retail banking operations to gain name recognition among the area's residents and businesses. Becoming familiar names and using attractive logos on buildings helps the lenders expand retail operations...

Canadian Firm Targets North.
September 5, 2005... OTTAWA -- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. here has created CMHC Northern Housing "in order to better serve its partners, clients and stakeholders in the North," the corporation said. "This move reinforces the government of Canada's...

Aussie Group Has Healthy Earnings.
September 5, 2005... SYDNEY -- The Westfield Group's first release of financials under the new international financial reporting standards show a net profit of approximately A$1.53 billion (about $1.15 billion) for the six months preceding June 30, including net...

Illinois Lender Talking to Buyer.
September 5, 2005... OAK BROOK, IL -- United Financial Mortgage here, a fast-growing, publicly traded lender, is talking to the Airlie Group, Greenwich, Conn., about a buyout, industry sources told this newspaper. As National Mortgage News went to press, UFM...

Inside Track.
September 12, 2005... EDITORIAL Katrina Fixes 4 OPEN FORUM Treasury on the Job 4 STREET SMARTS Katrina's Market Implications 5 TECHNOLOGY Lenders and SOA 13 AFFORDABLE HOUSING...

Lender Shuns Storm Speculators.
September 12, 2005... BATON ROUGE, LA -- Jack Quan, the president of Unity Mortgage, knew something was up when Realtors began calling his loan officers here, asking if the company would fund investor loans - not just one, but 10 to 20 at a time. He suspected...

Fixing a Disaster.
September 12, 2005... The mortgage finance industry, both residential and commercial, will have a key role to play in fixing the economic and societal disaster that is unfolding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I urge the key players in the mortgage and real...

Helping Relief Effort, in Shirtsleeves.
September 12, 2005... HOUSTON -- While many in the housing business have donated time and money to help the victims of Katrina, few can match the effort put together by the Ameriquest Mortgage family of companies. Only days after the massive hurricane struck the...

Katrina Hurting Deal.
September 12, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Citing damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, Capital One Financial, McLean, Va., last week shaved $300 million (9%) off the price it will pay for Hibernia Corp., New Orleans, one of the largest residential lenders in Louisiana. ...

Top Retail Lenders in Q2 2005.
September 12, 2005... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name 1 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage 2 Countrywide Financial Corp. 3 Bank of America 4 Washington Mutual 5 Chase Home Finance 6...

LA, AL Lenders Stay Positive.
September 12, 2005... BATON ROUGE, LA -- Members of the Louisiana Bankers Association were in and out of meetings last week in the wake of destruction Hurricane Katrina left behind. While it was impossible to reach association leaders by cell phone, a brief...

Roundup: All Sectors of Industry Mobilize to Help Hurricane Victims.
September 12, 2005... VA to Aid Hurricane Victims The Department of Veterans Affairs has identified 5,100 of its foreclosed properties nationwide that can be used to shelter victims of Hurricane Katrina. The VA is currently working with the Federal Emergency...

Katrina May Keep Rates Low.
September 12, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The economic disruption caused by Hurricane Katrina could put a lid on mortgage rates and prolong the life of the housing boom, according to the chief economist for National City Corp. "It is likely to extend the longevity of...

Fitch also Sees Katrina Damage.
September 12, 2005... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings reported that the impact of Hurricane Katrina may adversely affect certain Fitch-rated commercial mortgage-backed securities deals. The rating agency said it has identified 18 transactions with greater than a 5%...

Storm Causes CMBS Downgrades.
September 12, 2005... NEW YORK -- The ratings of 20 classes from five commercial mortgage-backed transactions have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service due to concerns related to Hurricane Katrina. The affected classes are as...

Treasury Focused on Recovery.
September 12, 2005... Secretary Snow recently held a press conference in Washington on the economic effects of Hurricane Katrina and Treasury's efforts to provide relief to its victims. His remarks are presented as our Open Forum. For all Americans, our hearts...

Katrina's Impact on Trading: Mixed So Far, Uncertainty Ahead.
September 12, 2005... I think that RBS Greenwich Capital researcher Ken Hackel did a good job summarizing what Wall Street trading has been like in the past week when he said in his Sept. 7 report, "Almost [two] weeks have passed, and the fixed-income markets, like...

Freddie CEO Expects Hot Housing Markets to Cool.
September 12, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Freddie Mac expects to see price declines in some hot housing markets, according to the company's president and chief executive Richard Syron. "Along with many other informed observers, we do anticipate some cooling in the...

10 FHLBanks Miss Deadline with SEC.
September 12, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Only two of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks have registered their stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the other 10 banks will probably make it across the finish line over the next 12 months. The San Francisco...

Increasing Default Rate Leads to Worries about IO Home Loans.
September 12, 2005... SACRAMENTO, CA -- Recent reports show a new increase in defaults and foreclosures, raising housing experts' concerns about an unprecedented interest-only loan-related foreclosure risk. Other market insiders wonder whether the housing-bubble...

Fannie Offers a Calendar for Benchmark Notes.(Calendar)
September 12, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae has set out a calendar for issuing Benchmark Notes in 2006 that the government-sponsored enterprise said "is designed to assist investors and other market participants in incorporating Fannie Mae Benchmark Notes into...

GMAC Tops List Of CRE Servicers.
September 12, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A midyear ranking of top commercial mortgage servicers by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows GMAC Commercial Holding continuing to head up the list, with a total servicing portfolio of $219.715 billion. No. 2 on the list...

Orco Deal Raises Nearly $10MM.
September 12, 2005... LUXEMBOURG -- Orco Property Group here has raised close to 8 million euros (about $9.95 million) through the issuance of 167,960 new shares fully subscribed by SG Corporate and Investment Banking within a step-up equity subscription program set...

OFHEO to Watch Sub-Debt Offers.
September 12, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The next time Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issue subordinated debt, it will be with the approval of their federal supervisor - the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. In 2000, the two government-sponsored enterprises...

Fitch Downgrades Salomon Deal.
September 12, 2005... NEW YORK-Two classes of Salomon Brothers Mortgage Securities VII Inc. mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-UP1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. Class B-4 was downgraded from BB to B, and class B-5 was downgraded from CC...

Wells Fargo Plans to Expand Presence in Detroit's Housing Market.
September 12, 2005... DETROIT -- Wells Fargo said it will open between two or three offices within Detroit before the end of 2006. Shopping for office space in Detroit is one of many ways Wells Fargo wants to increase its presence in the Motor City. Opening...

What Lenders Really Need to Know about SOA.
September 12, 2005... SAN MATEO, CA -- Recently there has been much talk about the benefits of having service-oriented architecture in a user's loan origination system. However, like all buzzwords thrown around in the technology space, the trick is knowing what SOA...

Fidelity National Acquires DOCX.
September 12, 2005... JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Fidelity National Financial here has acquired DOCX LLC, a provider of mortgage lien release solutions, assignment services, county recording office requirements and fee calculators to the mortgage banking industry. ...

Fitch Affirms Litton's Ratings.
September 12, 2005... New York -- Fitch Ratings has once again given its top ratings to Litton Loan Services, a subsidiary of C-BASS, for the servicing of subprime and high loan-to-value ratio loans. Litton also received the top rating, "RSS1," as a special...

Workforce Stretched as MortgageIT Keeps Growing.
September 12, 2005... NEW YORK -- In a market where many mortgage companies are starting to pull in their horns, at least one firm is growing like topsy. MortgageIT, the mortgage lending subsidiary of the self-administered real estate investment trust by the...

Promotion Spotlight: Richard F. Smith.
September 12, 2005... Equifax Inc., Atlanta, has named Mr. Smith as chief executive officer and chairman-elect, succeeding Thomas F. Chapman, who is retiring from the company at the end of 2005. Mr. Smith will assume his chief executive officer responsibilities at...

Analysis: First American Automates POS with Dexma, Not Dorado.
September 12, 2005... MINNEAPOLIS -- First American has entered into a strategic alliance with Dexma here to automate the point-of-sale and link small and midtier banks to its fulfillment services using transactional website technology supplied by Dexma instead of...

Calyx and Ellie Mae Extend Battle.
September 12, 2005... HOUSTON -- The ongoing battle between broker point-of-sale tools continues with Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp. here adding Ellie Mae's Encompass. However, Allied will continue to support rival Calyx's Point system, the market leader,...

Major Realtor to Pay $250,000 RESPA Settlement.
September 12, 2005... ATLANTA -- Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Inc. here has agreed to a $250,000 settlement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development for RESPA violations. HUD had asserted that Coldwell Banker's Atlanta real estate...

Airlie Won't Merge UFM and Alliance.
September 12, 2005... NEW YORK -- The Airlie Group, at this time, has no plans to merge United Financial Mortgage, Oak Brook, Ill., into Alliance Bancorp of South San Francisco, Calif., it's alt-A platform, according to UFM president Steve Khosabe. In an...