National Mortgage News articles from September 2007

National Mortgage News archives from September 2007

An Industry in Crisis.
September 3, 2007... * Credit Woes Hit Freddie Mac * B/C Volumes Way Off * Option One Cutting Originations? * Big Layoffs at LandAmerica * E*Trade Exiting * First Horizon Laying Off * Equifirst Laying Off (c) 2007 National Mortgage...

Credit Losses Hit Freddie Net.(Financial report)
September 3, 2007... MCLEAN, VA -- Freddie Macs net income fell sharply from one year earlier during the second quarter as an increase in credit losses and markdowns of credit-related items pinched results. Moreover, Freddie Mac said that it expects to see...

Option One May End Loans.
September 3, 2007... KANSAS CITY, MO -- H&R Block conceded in its quarterly earnings statement what many had suspected in recent weeks: that a deal to sell Option One Mortgage Corp. to Cerberus Capital Management is in trouble. H&R Block said certain closing...

B&C Falls to 5-Year Low.
September 3, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Mortgage bankers originated a paltry $53.4 billion in subprime loans during the second quarter, the industrys worst showing in this once-red-hot niche in almost five years, according to exclusive survey figures compiled by this...

A disaster: 2Q B&C Fundings.
September 3, 2007... (Dollars in Millions) Subprime Volume Percent Market Rk Organization Name Q2 07 Q2 06 Change Share 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. (1) $5,721 $11,206 -49%...

E*Trade Selling Mortgage Unit.
September 3, 2007... WASHINGTON -- E*Trade Mortgage, Arlington, Va., has been put on the auction block by its discount broker parent, according to investment banking sources. Late last week, a spokesperson for the parent company, E*Trade Financial, New York,...

LandAmerica Plans 1,100 Layoffs.
September 3, 2007... RICHMOND, VA -- Its not just lenders that are scaling back operations, the providers of title and related servicers are downsizing their operations as well. Last week, LandAmerica Financial Group, one of the nations largest providers of...

Job Cuts at FNBA, FHNC.
September 3, 2007... First National Bank of Arizona a top-ranked alt-A funder has closed its third-party lending platform, according to sources who used to work at the company. In total, about 540 workers were let go. The wholesale and correspondent units...

Countrywide Answers Critics on Loan Steering Accusations: 'OTS also wants to talk about some of the themes that ran through some of the complaints.'.
September 3, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Countrywide Financial Corp. is firing back at critics who recently accused the company of steering borrowers into high-cost loans in order to increase profits. We categorically reject recent criticisms that have been leveled...

Defaults Up, Prices Fall.
September 3, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Second-quarter data show that defaults on nonprime mortgages are up, house prices are falling and things are going to get worse before they get better. The default rate on subprime mortgage loans hit a record 13.44% in June,...

Ginnie to Securitize VA Jumbos.
September 3, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Ginnie Mae said it will begin securitizing Department of Veterans Affairs guaranteed jumbo loans with balances above the $417,000 conforming loan limit starting Sept. 1. Currently, VA loans going into Ginnie Mae...

Editorial: Shell Shock.(Editorial)
September 3, 2007... Mortgage industry professionals are going to be in a state resembling shell shock when they meet for the annual round of fall meetings that begins this week. People they were expecting to see wont be there, victims of a hard rollback in...

Open Forum: Thrifts Remain Well-Capitalized: Mr. Reich's remarks at the recent Minority Depository Institution's Interagency Conference in Miami are presented as our Open Forum.(Conference news)
September 3, 2007... As of March 31, 2007, the OTS supervised 22 minority-owned savings associations, with total assets of nearly $8.9 billion. The average asset size of minority-owned savings associations is approximately $404 million. Many of the minority-owned...

Colorado Business Bank Expands Financing of Commercial Realty.
September 3, 2007... DENVER -- Colorado Business Bank is forming a real estate capital markets group that will expand its existing real estate banking presence. The group will be led by Craig Poulter, executive vice president, and Kathy Thurston, senior vice...

MCA Brokers Sale Of $750MM Deal.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- Mission Capital Advisors LLC, a boutique investment bank, is currently advising on the sale, through a circulated bid list, of nearly $750 million in commercial, industrial, residential and land development loan portfolios, a jump...

Television Realty Rags-to-Riches: As You Suspected, Mostly a Con.
September 3, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The sentencing earlier last month of financial guru Wade Cook to 88 months in a federal penitentiary for tax evasion should stand as a warning to anyone thinking of buying into the get-rich-quick schemes peddled on late-night...

Credit Union Claims Minimal Foreclosure Rate on Two-Year ARMs.
September 3, 2007... RALEIGH, NC -- State Employees Credit Union data defy the high-risk reputation of two-year adjustable-rate mortgage loans, showing they can be an almost no foreclosure product regardless of borrower profile. If it is done right, SECU senior...

Commerce Using TSYS for Collections.
September 3, 2007... COLUMBUS, GA -- Total System Services Inc. here said that Commerce Bancorp Inc. has selected the TSYS Collections and Recovery System to manage its entire collections and recovery inventory, which will allow the bank to more effectively work...

Franklin's Loss Widens On Higher Credit Costs.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- Franklin Credit Management Corp. reported a net loss of $3.58 million in the second quarter, compared with net losses of $1.95 million in the quarter ended March 31 and $1.39 million in the second quarter of 2006. The net loss...

Chase on Path to Fulfilling Ten-Year AH Plan: 'Our loans and investments provide the capital that is essential to low- and moderate-income families.'.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- Three years after launching its 10-year affordable housing commitment to invest $800 billion in housing for low- to moderate-income families and small businesses in underserved neighborhoods across the country, JPMorgan Chase said...

Top 5 Receivers Of 2004-2006 Investments.
September 3, 2007... ($ in Millions) State Mortgages Small-Business Community-Development TOTAL Florida 23,045 1,250 177 24,473 New York 21,536 7,546 2,537 31,619 Illinois 9,683 2,692 762 13,138 New Jersey...

Wachovia Becomes Largest Commercial Mortgage Servicer: Capmark, Midland, Wells Fargo and Bank of America rounded out the top five on the MBA's list.
September 3, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Wachovia Securities was the largest commercial and multifamily mortgage servicer as of midyear, at $356.6 billion in primary and master servicing volume, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. According to the trade...

IndyMac Hires AHM Castaways: Our fourth-quarter mortgage banking revenue margins are presently forecasted to increase.
September 3, 2007... PASADENA, CA -- The companys stock price is down, and like everyone else in the mortgage industry, IndyMac here faces questions about how much damage it will suffer from deteriorating credit performance and secondary market illiquidity. ...

NC Mortgage Banker Looking to Hire.
September 3, 2007... CHARLOTTE, NC -- Even though many non-depository mortgage banking firms are cutting heads, Citizens Home Loans here says it is hiring. Were looking to add people on the Eastern Seaboard and in California, company CEO Patrick Sutherland told...

Early Action Helps Save Homes.
September 3, 2007... SACRAMENTO, CA -- As increasing foreclosure rates continue to cause panic, industry experts strongly believe the mortgage havoc is avoidable for most homeowners in distress. Earlier this year the California Association of Mortgage Brokers...

Levitt's Loss Widens as Builder Woes Grow: The builder ended the 2nd quarter with a backlog of $297.8 million of homes to sell.
September 3, 2007... FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- Levitt Corp. here reported a net loss of $58.1 million for the second quarter ending June 30, compared with a net loss of $737,000 in the second quarter of 2006. The second-quarter net loss included pretax charges of...

Thornburg Faces More Challenges.
September 3, 2007... ARLINGTON, VA -- Thornburg Mortgage faces the possibility of more writedowns of mortgage securities backed by repurchase and commercial paper financing, according to a report from analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey here. FBR gives...

Astoria to Appear at Investor Conferences.(Conference news)
September 3, 2007... LAKE SUCCESS, NY -- Astoria Financial Corp. here said it will participate in two upcoming investor conferences, one sponsored by Lehman Brothers and the other by RBC Capital Markets. Astorias chairman and CEO, George Engelke, will discuss...

Breeden Seeks H&R Block Seats.
September 3, 2007... GREENWICH, CT -- Breeden Capital Management, an investment fund manager here, has won the backing of three additional proxy firms in its effort to elect three nominees to the board of H&R Block, parent of troubled subprime lender Option One...

KKR Sells Shares To More Investors.
September 3, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- KKR Financial Holdings LLC has agreed to sell 16 million of its common shares to seven unaffiliated institutional investors in separately negotiated transactions and its board of directors has approved a public rights offering...

Carlton Advises On $1B in Sales.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- Carlton Advisory Services here has been retained by Wall Street firms and commercial banks to assist with the marketing and sale of more than $1 billion in troubled real estate loans, the company said last week. The loans are...

BMO Sees Drop In Net Income.(Financial report)
September 3, 2007... TORONTO -- BMO Financial Group, which suffered from $97 million in commodities losses in its fiscal third quarter, said net income totaled $660 million in the quarter, down 7.1% from the prior year period. The banking firm also reported a...

Fitch Puts 67 CMBS Deals Under Analysis.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- Following its monthly surveillance review, Fitch Ratings has identified 67 of its U.S. CMBS deals as under analysis, indicating that Fitch will be issuing a rating action within 30 days. Approximately 400 U.S. CMBS deals were...

Roundup: S&P Finalizes Downgrades of Recent Alt-A Deals.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- A recent Standard & Poors assessment of first-lien alternative-A credit residential mortgage-backed securities issued between October 2005 and December 2006 leaves 158 classes downgraded and affirms/removes 82 alt-A classes from...

Fitch Lowers Three Deals.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has downgraded certain notes from at least three collateralized debt obligation transactions: Independence V CDO Ltd., Northlake CDO I and Dunloe 2005-1 Ltd. The rating agency downgraded all of Dunloe 2005-1s notes,...

Glacier Deal Downgraded.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- Three classes of notes issued by Glacier Funding CDO II, a collateralized debt obligation that includes mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: Class B notes, from AA to...

Another Glacier Deal.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- Three classes of notes issued by Glacier Funding CDO III, a collateralized debt obligation that includes mortgage-backed securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: Class B notes, from AA...

Oceanview Notes Downgraded.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- Five classes of notes issued by Oceanview CBO I Ltd. have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and three of the classes have been removed from Rating Watch Negative. The downgrades were as follows: Class A-1B, from AAA to BB-;...

Pacific Coast Notes Downgraded.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- Two classes of notes issued by Pacific Coast CDO Ltd. have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings and removed from Rating Watch Negative. The Class A notes were downgraded from AA to A, and the Class B notes were downgraded from...

High Unemployment, Fraud Contribute to Climbing Foreclosures.
September 3, 2007... Increasing foreclosures is fast becoming the No. 1 problem facing their communities, with outright mortgage fraud, questionable lending practices and job loss all contributing factors, according to a new survey conducted by the National...

Defaults Spreading in Florida.
September 3, 2007... ORLANDO, FL -- Amidst the rise of foreclosures across the state, the annual Fund Homeownership survey recently found that 16% of Florida homeowners have been or know somebody who has been in the foreclosure process. The survey also showed...

Aussie MBS Deals Weaken.
September 3, 2007... SYDNEY -- Securitized loan performance show that delinquencies in the Australian nonconforming housing sector have exceeded 6%, according to Moodys Investors Service. During the second quarter, average nonconforming RMBS delinquencies...

United Kingdom Sees Sharp Increase in Foreclosures.
September 3, 2007... LONDON -- The United Kingdom has seen a significant rise in property repossessions, according to new, revised statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders here. The number of U.K. properties taken into possession during the first half...

Wachovia Largest Commercial/MF: Capmark is the top FHA and Ginnie Mae servicer.
September 3, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Wachovia Securities was the largest commercial and multifamily mortgage servicer as of midyear, at $356.6 billion in primary and master servicing volume, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. According to the trade...

Customer Service for Partnership.
September 3, 2007... ROYAL OAK, MI -- As the market goes through a correction, many lenders may take this opportunity to rethink their technology decisions. In the end, customer service may be the deciding factor as to which lenders stay with their vendor and which...

Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.
September 3, 2007... MIEC Index: 85.9 Change: -6.5 Company 8/30/2007 8/23/2007 Wkly. 52 52 % Chg. P/E % Chg. wk/lo wk/hi Ratio Astoria Federal (AF) 25.70 26.63...

Leveraging EDM to go Paperless.
September 3, 2007... DUBLIN, CA -- Various lenders and brokers alike are embracing electronic document management practices. EDM allows mortgage professionals to scan docs and use them in a more collaborative, efficient and compliant fashion. To meet this...

Group Says Originators, Wall Street Share Blame for Woes: The CMC says mortgage investors should become more involved in the loan origination process.
September 3, 2007... WASHINGTON -- A mortgage industry group wants the Federal Reserve Board to understand that the deterioration in subprime lending standards over the past few years has resulted from a disconnect between mortgage originators and the investors who...

People.
September 3, 2007... ARKANSAS Little RockWilson & Associates PLLC has named Elizabeth Moseley as new default attorney in its Little Rock office. Ms. Moseley was admitted to the bar of the state of Arkansas in 2006 and is a member of the Arkansas Bar...

An Industry in Crisis.
September 10, 2007... * Foreclosures reach a record level * CFC Cuts 900, more company layoffs coming * Layoffs at Lehman, NatCity too * Investor defaults rise * Citi buys AMQ assets, Arnall's reign ends * EquiFirst Slashes Staff (c) 2007...

CFC May Trim Thousands.
September 10, 2007... CALABASAS, CA -- Countrywide Financial Corp. here is contemplating slashing its work force by 7,000 to 10,000 workers, according to industry officials close to the situation. Late last week, the publicly traded CFC announced layoffs of 900...

New Foreclosures Hit High.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The delinquency rate for single-family home loans jumped by 28 basis points to 5.12% in the second quarter of this year, and the number of loans entering foreclosure reached the highest level in the history of the Mortgage Bankers...

Seven States are Driving Higher Default Rates.
September 10, 2007... State # Loans 30-Day Fcl. Inv. Fcl. Starts SD Arizona 1.2M 3.55% 0.78% 0.49% 1.35% California 5.6M 3.57% 1.12% 0.65% 1.86% Florida 3.4M 5.18% 1.42% ...

HUD Acts on B&C Refis.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development gave lenders the go-ahead last week to start refinancing delinquent subprime borrowers into Federal Housing Administration loans. The emergency program is designed to give...

Citi Buys ACC Assets.
September 10, 2007... NEW YORK -- Citigroup has finalized a deal to purchase $45 billion in subprime servicing rights from Ameriquest Mortgage, a transaction that will help it challenge Countrywide Financial Corp. for the No. 1 spot among B&C servicers. ...

Jolt Extends To CMBS/CDOs.
September 10, 2007... NEW YORK -- The subprime-induced credit crunch has impacted the commercial mortgage securitization sector in the form of fewer takers for the riskier credit classes that were going into collateralized debt obligations. There is now excess...

Top Residential Originators in Q2 07.
September 10, 2007... (Dollars in Millions) Origination Volume % Market Mkt Shr Rk Organization Name Q2 07 Q2 06 Change Share % pt. +/- 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. (1) $130,163 $118,509 10%...

Bush Sets Treasury, HUD to Work on Loan Restructuring Issues.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- With rising delinquencies and defaults, mortgage servicers are coming under increasing pressure to help troubled borrowers restructure their loans, particularly adjustable-rate subprime loans that are due to reset. President...

New Century, Maryland Broker Sued for 'Equity Stripping'.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Now-defunct wholesaler New Century Financial Corp., a suburban loan brokerage firm reportedly operated by a former stripper, and others, have been sued by the District of Columbia for their alleged role in an "equity stripping"...

Klein Buys QHL From Bankruptcy.
September 10, 2007... AGOURA HILLS, CA -- Two weeks after filing for bankruptcy protection, hard-money lender Quality Home Loans here has been sold to hedge fund manager and entrepreneur Michael Klein for an undisclosed amount. Mr. Klein, according to a...

Editorial: Unfinished Business.(Editorial)
September 10, 2007... Tomorrow marks the sixth anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and there's unfinished business at the open sore that is the site of the ruins of the World Trade Center here in New York. The deaths of two more brave firefighters and...

Open Forum: Housing and Monetary Policy.
September 10, 2007... Mr. Bernanke's remarks at the recent Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., are presented as our Open Forum. (First of two parts.) I will begin my review of recent developments by discussing the...

Lehman, Market Trying to Find the Right Size: It may take months to achieve the new 'price consensus' needed to resume normalcy in the credit markets.
September 10, 2007... Lehman Brothers has in total cut about 850 jobs worldwide in a restructuring of its global mortgage origination business, a move affecting primarily its United States, United Kingdom and Korean operations. The move raises questions about...

Prices Are Down and Inventory Is Up, But Houses Are Still Selling.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- A one-day sales record was set in Las Vegas earlier this summer when 229 of the 296 available units were sold at Verge, a downtown property where prices start at $149,000. In Alpharetta, Ga., outside of Atlanta, 26 of the 48...

Banks/Thrifts Turn to FHLBs for Liquidity.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Banks and thrifts turned to their Federal Home Loan Banks in August and borrowed $110 billion in advances in August as other sources of funding dried up and competition for deposits heated up. The FHLB System Office of Finance...

AVERAGE SALES PRICES.
September 10, 2007... (New and Used Homes in Thousands of Dollars) Q2 Q2 Percent City 2006 2007 Change Atlanta GA $251.0 $255.4 1.8 Boston-Worcester MA...

'Credit Situation Improving but Far from Over': A Treasury undersecretary says regulators 'must remain vigilant' as further stress may lie ahead.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Treasury undersecretary Robert Steel told a congressional panel last week he is seeing some improvement in the credit markets but cautioned that the volatility in the credit and mortgage markets is "far from over." The former...

Rating Agency Eyes the Implications of MGIC/Radian Deal's End: 'Current market conditions in the mortgage insurance sector will remain very challenged.'.
September 10, 2007... PHILADELPHIA -- In the wake of the collapse of the merger agreement Radian Group Inc. here had with MGIC Investment Corp., Milwaukee, Fitch Ratings has downgraded Radian and gave it a negative rating outlook. The two parties called off...

Fitch's Subprime Assumption Change Leads to 100+ Downgrades.
September 10, 2007... NEW YORK -- Over 100 classes of mortgage-backed securities were recently downgraded by Fitch Ratings as a result of changes to its subprime loss forecasting assumptions. Fitch also affirmed the ratings on classes with outstanding balances...

Delta Financial Prices $900 Million MBS Deal.
September 10, 2007... WOODBURY, NY -- Delta Financial Corp. has priced a securitization backed by $900 million of mortgages through a subsidiary in a move president and chief executive office Hugh Miller said was "paramount" for the company "in light of the rapid...

Harborview Deal Sees One Change.
September 10, 2007... NEW YORK -- Class B-4 of Harborview Mortgage Loan Trust Inc. Series 2006-3 has been downgraded from BB to B by Fitch Ratings, and Class B-3 has been placed on Rating Watch Negative. In addition, Fitch affirmed the ratings on three other...

Roundup: MBA's Index Shows Seasonally Adjusted App Increase.
September 10, 2007... The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 615.2 to 622.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Aug. 31, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey....

Leads360 Launching LeadDialer: LeadDialer is offered in both a 'Click-to-Dial' and a 'Progressive Dialing' format by the company.
September 10, 2007... LOS ANGELES -- Making technology handle lead generation is always a plus. Who wants to deal with stale leads anyway? As such, Leads360, a provider of on-demand customer acquisition and lead management solutions here, will launch LeadDialer as a...

Digital Realty Trust Amends Facility.
September 10, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- Digital Realty Trust Inc. here has amended its credit facility, increasing its total capacity from $500 million to $650 million. The three-year facility is expandable to $750 million and has two one-year extension options....

Accredited Rejects Lone Star Fund V Offer: A point of contention is whether all the contractual conditions for the original offer had been fulfilled.
September 10, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. here has rejected an offer by Lone Star Fund V (U.S.) LP, Dallas, to renegotiate the price of their transaction from $15.10 a share down to $8.50 per share. In a letter to Accredited, Lone...

AHM Gets OK On Loan Sales.
September 10, 2007... MELVILLE, NY -- American Home Mortgage Investment has received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to auction off certain loans owned by two affiliates of American Home, Broadhollow Funding and Melville Funding....

British Bank's Subprime Subsidiary Slashes Workforce by 50%.
September 10, 2007... CHARLOTTE, NC -- EquiFirst Corp. here, the subprime lending arm of British bank Barclays plc, has cut half its work force, according to industry sources. A spokeswoman for EquiFirst confirmed that layoffs had occurred but declined to offer...

Investor Loan Defaults Rising.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- It is common knowledge that subprime loans are in shambles. It is less well known, however, that investor loans are faring far worse than other type of subprime product. The Mortgage Bankers Association said, "Defaults on...

New Trade Association Seeking Fiduciary Duty on Loan Officers.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- To ensure consumers are treated fairly, Congress should impose a fiduciary duty on loan officers and mortgage brokers, according to a newly formed trade association of mortgage professionals. "The National Association of...

DCT Industrial Forms Venture.
September 10, 2007... DENVER -- DCT Industrial Trust Inc. has formed a new institutional capital management joint venture with investors advised by JPMorgan Asset Management. "DCT Industrial expects to contribute $140 million of seed assets to the joint venture by...

2Q Loan Vols Fall 10% Year-to-Year.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Mortgage bankers funded $796 billion in residential loans during the second quarter, a decent performance despite a cratering of the subprime market. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, loan production fell 10% but rose...

Sen. Dodd Moves Ahead with Bill.
September 10, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has finally decided to move ahead with a comprehensive predatory lending bill that would prohibit lenders from steering borrowers into subprime loans and impose a fiduciary...

Coaching a tough game.
September 10, 2007... Despite - and because of - all the challenges the business has faced of late, there remains demand for recruiting and training in the market. The biggest demand is for servicing and loan workout professionals and the greatest challenges exist...

'Quality Training Has Value'.
September 10, 2007... The industry has gone through some tough times, but Xinnix co-founder and president Casey Cunningham believes some good will come out of it in terms of restoring quality to the mortgage market. But she acknowledges, "It's painful for many...