The other day I was on a Southwest flight and I noticed someone on the aisle seat crumple up a couple of unused tissues and put them on the empty middle seat so that no one would want to sit there. What’s up with that? For something that won’t make you shake your head, the Federal Reserve released its Senior Loan Officer survey for January, noting that banks showed no significant change in lending standards for most categories of consumer loans, but standards on credit cards loans were tightened as demand for all categories of household loans decreased. Know that debt held by US households increased to a record $13.51 trillion in the third quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The amount is 21% more than the total in Q3 of 2008, during the financial crisis.

 

Lender Products and Services

“Is your organization looking to onboard quality production talent but struggling to find and attract the right candidates? Model Match can help!  Our award-winning Talent Management Suite and team of recruiting superstars, Model Match offers a full suite of solutions to help our partners grow. Our solutions are tailor fit to each of our clients unique business models and specific needs. Whether you're looking to fine tune your internal recruiting efforts to create more efficiency OR need a trusted and experienced partner to help with the process, Model Match is the answer! Click here to connect with our team and learn more about the value we are creating for our partners.”

The Choice is yours at Sierra Pacific Mortgage who is hosting a webinar that will review the Choice QM and Non-QM products. Every loan officer should attend this. These programs can help grow your business and retain business. Join them on Tuesday, Feb 12 at 10:00 am PST. Can’t make that time? A second webinar will be offered on Thursday, February 21st at 1:00 pm PST. Register now for one of them.

BCG has released its first industry white paper of 2019 on the next wave of digital transformation in mortgage. The paper analyzes mortgage market conditions, details how many lenders are using digital solutions to establish differentiated value propositions, and provides initial results observed from new solutions by review data from Blend, a leading lending platform that processes more than 100,000 applications per month and is used by more than 125 lenders nationwide. The next generation of homebuyers wants a digital-first experience from end-to-end. The paper takes a close look at how digital solutions are poised to help lenders fight their way through tough times ahead.

Conquering Shifts is a must read. Companies who incorporate the principles and techniques are seeing phenomenal results. “This well-crafted book is filled with inspiration and bullet proof tactics from some of the industry’s legends.” Daniel Harkavy, CEO Building Champions. “Conquering Shifts is a compelling read that will accelerate a salesperson’s success. Todd Duncan, High Trust Selling. “If I were to have read this book when I first began originating purchase loans in 2011, I can honestly say that I would be leaps and bounds ahead of where I am today.” Ryan Grant, Fairway Independent Mortgage. I’ve indicated in several posts the value of this book. Have you bought your copies yet? If not, why not? What are you waiting for? Authors Cindy Douglas and Kathleen Heck are providing Chrisman subscribers a 15% discount through February 28th.

Are your borrowers’ credit scores too low? Don’t turn them away! CreditXpert® Wayfinder™ can help find the path to a better credit score. Watch our video and register for our informative webinar scheduled for February 21st. Wayfinder automatically evaluates hundreds of options to give your client an actionable plan to attain a better score. That makes you look like a credit expert. Plus, you can save 1 in 3 loans that would have been lost due to a low credit score. Trust Data Facts to provide efficient mortgage lending solutions, such as credit reports, fraud products, tax return and social security verifications, a variety of lead generation tools, and more…all integrated within your LOS! Talk with a live person and take advantage of their personalized support for your business. Their 100% US based customer service team will help you increase efficiency so you can close more loans, faster and easier.

For the fourth consecutive year, LendingQB ranked highest in overall client satisfaction among the top-10 mortgage LOS providers by lender share with an overall rating of 8.6 out of 10, according to The STRATMOR Group’s recently released 2018 Technology Insights Study. The study also noted that PriceMyLoan, LendingQB’s built-in loan pricing engine, scored 95 percent in overall satisfaction across nine categories, recognizing LendingQB’s LOS and loan pricing components as the industry’s leading technologies. Learn more about LendingQB and PriceMyLoan here.


Trainings and Events Coming soon

Today join Mountain West Financial for Monthly Mortgage Insights with special guest, Tonya Todd, Sr. SVP of Strategic Projects.

For mortgage brokers in Houston, Texas, and Irvine, California, REMN is teaming up with two other powerhouses in the wholesale space, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, and Liberty Home Equity Solutions, on the Diversify & Thrive Growth Summit series of events. These evening events will explore ways a diverse product portfolio, including renovation mortgages, non-QM products, and reverse mortgages, can help brokers. The first event in the complimentary series takes place on February 5th in both cities and will include an after-summit cocktail reception.

Register for the upcoming Buckley webcast on February 6th: Compliance with RESPA Section 8: The current state of play. Topics will include marketing services agreements, joint advertising, lead generation, portfolio retention, and the CFPB’s process for no-action letters.

Momentifi CEO Gibran Nicholas is hosting a free webinar tomorrow, February 6 at 3pm ET: How to Use a CRM to STOP LOSING DEALS to Your Competition. Topics include: how to use a CRM to win more deals and convert more sales leads; how to use a CRM to stay focused on your most important sales opportunities; and, how to use a CRM to spend less time putting out fires and more time doing high-value sales activities. Click here to register.

Join MBA St. Louis for lunch on February 7th. This luncheon’s program will be Digital Transformation & Day One Certainty presented by Ms. Nancy Lucio, Technology Delivery Manager, Customer Engagement for Fannie Mae.

There are two upcoming Wells Fargo Funding first-time homebuyer/affordable product events in key California markets. The free events, in cooperation with Freddie Mac, will be held in Sacramento Tues., Feb. 12th and Anaheim Wed., Feb. 13th, from 11:00 - 3:30 p.m. Pacific (including a networking lunch). The day’s focus will be on helping lenders grow market share in the affordable/first-time homebuyer space, strategies to connect with first-time homebuyers, including Freddie Mac’s Home Possible, their new HomeOne product, and in-depth insight into the local markets. Approved and prospective Wells Fargo Funding and Freddie Mac clients are welcome. Contact a member of your regional sales team or send an email to organizers.

Attend the Southern Los Angeles County Chapter of CAMP on Wednesday, February 13th at the Grand in Long Beach. Nicole Soares, COO of bSquared Credit, will reveal to how to help support clients to improve their credit scores and Tannia Ayala, Portfolio-Lending Business Development Specialist at Caliber, will show us how we can help more clients qualify to purchase or refi with Portfolio Loans. RSVP Online.

Join over 1,000 mortgage industry professionals at the 2019 CMLA Mortgage Expo on February 12th at the Denver Marriott DTC. There will be a diverse lineup of knowledgeable industry speakers who will cover a wide range of mortgage-related topics and an extensive, comprehensive exhibit hall featuring companies who are dedicated to helping your business grow! Several exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities are available and light refreshments will be served.

The sixth annual San Antonio edition of the Texas Mortgage Roundup is being held Tuesday, Feb. 12th at the Marriot Plaza SA hotel in San Antonio with a bonus 8-hour NMLS class there on Wednesday, Feb. 13th. Sessions will cover how to pump up your purchase mortgage business to how the new Trid 2.0 will affect you. From opening sessions featuring Caroline Jones,commissioner of the Texas Department of Savings & Mortgage Lending, to a great interactive session on the Whole Tale of Wholesale, to awesome speakers on how to take more market share towhat you need to do to compete for the Millennials market. Register now.

The Mortgage Collaborative’s 2019 Winter Conference will take place February 17-19 at the J.W. Marriott in Austin, TX. The interactive agenda will feature over 30 lender led discussion-based educational breakout sessions, a heavy emphasis on peer-to-peer networking and experiences with third parties and exchange of best practices, with a sharp focus on lender growth and efficiency solutions. Visit www.mortgagecollaborative.com or contact TMC COO Rich Swerbinsky.

Start making your plans to be in San Francisco on February 21st for the Social Media & Digital Marketing Seminar. The #SIFMAsocial program will explore how we serve our clients and will feature a wide range of topics including: New trends in social, mobile and digital advice, Data analytics and artificial intelligence, Cybersecurity and risks in social media, as well as Regulatory requirements and compliance.

Learn how making informed and calculated decisions can help your business stay profitable with a new webinar, Wednesday, February 27th, “Mortgage Lending in 2019: What the Heck Do I Do Now? Part of MBA Education's "Mortgage Banking Management" webinar series with Garrett, McAuley & Co.; experts will cover the issues that matter, including necessary trade-offs, tactics that work, and strategic choices you may have never considered.

And there is the Lenders One’s March 2019 Summit in Austin, TX March 3-6, 2019, which is already seeing a record number of registrants. Contact Lauren Ketchum, Director of Member Experience for more information on these programs or how to become a member.

Registration is now open for Ellie Mae Experience 2019. The conference will be held March 10-13 in San Francisco. This year’s conference theme, “Driving Innovation Home,” encourages attendees to take the digital mortgage journey while participating in exclusive training, hearing the latest in new tracks and sessions and networking with visionaries innovating on behalf of the mortgage industry. From URLA changes to HELOC opportunities to engaging homebuyers at the point of interest, Experience 2019 has it all.


Capital Markets

The U.S. 10-year began the week yielding 2.72% as rates rebounded upward after last week’s rally despite closures in most major markets through Wednesday in observance of the Lunar New Year. Factory orders declined in November, falling well short of expectations and raising the potential for a further decline in December since the November softness preceded the big market sell-off in December and the start of the partial government shutdown in January that were drags on business confidence.

Today’s economic calendar is filled with non-market moving stats: Redbook same-store sales, final January Markit Services PMI and January ISM Non-manufacturing PMI. President Trump will deliver his previously delayed State of the Union address before Congress starting at 9PM ET. We begin today with Agency MBS prices dead in the water versus last night’s close and the 10-year yielding 2.72%, unchanged.


Careers, Business Opportunities, Layoffs

An industry veteran is in search of a lender willing to sell its GNMA Ticket. Interested parties should send me a confidential email for forwarding; please specify the opportunity.

“Why isn’t there more discussion about trimming the fat from bloated retail shops who employ too many layers of middle management at corporate, have too many people involved in the loan process, and have outdated tech layered on top of slow LOSs? Canopy Mortgage is trimming the fat AND keeping LO comp intact. Don’t believe us? Take our price quote engine for a spin to see what it could do for your borrowers! Then schedule a call to see what it will do for your comp. Reach out to Josh Neumarker, Director of Business Development (888-696-9076).”

On the flip side, Provident Financial Holdings will discontinue its mortgage banking segment with 122 layoffs.