The Census Bureau published a table showing median earnings and a wage comparison for men and women depending upon occupation. In 2013, there were about 57 million full-time male workers (16 years old and older) compared to 43 million female workers in the same cohort. The median annual income for men was $48,520 and $38,233 for women, with women earning on average 79% of men's earnings. The occupations with the smallest wage gap between the two genders include transportation and distribution managers, emergency management directors, biological scientists and counselors. Click here to review the Census Bureau's table.

Companies are going full steam ahead with TRID. Vance Edwards, MGIC's Marketing Program Director, sent, "An area many aren't focused on yet is the after the loan closes. Kyle Bensen manages MGIC business integration and has been speaking on MISMO at various technology conferences. While there he has had many conversations with servicers who have raised concerns about if their vendor partner systems will be ready. He wrote a blog on it this week.

The CFPB's Settlement Cost Booklet will soon be replaced by the new TRID induced Loan Toolkit, titled "Your Home Loan Toolkit: A Step-by-Step Guide" that will take effect for applications received on or after August 1, 2015. The Toolkit will combine the new amendments and the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure from the CFPB's TRID final rule and must be delivered or placed in the mail no later than three business days after an application is received. The toolkit provides a guide to help consumer's research tips and find important information regarding the home buying process. The toolkit can also be accessible in an electronic version that can be filled in by the consumer. Click here to view the toolkit.

Flagstar has posted its upcoming training schedule on TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure: April 13 - 17: 10:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m. EDT; April 14 - 16: 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. EDT; April 20, 22 & 24: 10:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m. EDT; April 21 & 23: 1:00 p.m. EDT; April 27 - May 1: 1:00 p.m. EDT. Access Flagstar's live trainings to register for these classes or go to wholesale.flagstar. com in the Help & Training link and select Wholesale Live WebEx Training.

ComplianceEase announced that it has acquired the assets of Mortgage Banking Systems (dba ProClose) of McLean, Va. This completed acquisition will enable ComplianceEase to create a comprehensive and innovative solution that will help residential mortgage lenders comply with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule that takes effect August 1. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) new TRID rule will mandate new forms, the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, and set new disclosure timelines and fee tolerances that must be followed in order to not trigger re-disclosure requirements.

In California North Bay CAMP is hosting a TRID Training by Theresa Ballard of Compliance Consultants Team. Theresa currently serves as compliance consultant and quality control trainer to many organizations including The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) and California Association of Mortgage Brokers (CAMB). Registration for this April 21st event is available by clicking here.

FAMC Correspondent published its National Bulletin 2015-07 which includes information on TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) - Loan Estimate. To view its bulletin log into your account on FAMC website. 

While we're on upcoming events...

Tomorrow is the Iowa Mortgage Association's Spring Conference. If you're going, please say hi - I will be there.

FHA will host the following industry briefing conference call  on April 9 at 2-3PM EDT to provide an overview of the published versions of the 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program and 203(k) Consultant Requirements sections:  Title: SF Handbook: 203(k) Product and Consultant Requirements.  Dial-in Number: (866) 320-4708; Participant Access Code: 355443 (Please note that this access code has changed from the code published in FHA's online article on March 18, 2015.)

FHA is providing an overview of the published version of the Appraiser and Property Requirements section and the Appraisal Report and Data Delivery Guide on April 16 at 2:00-3:00 (Eastern). Dial-in Number: (866) 254-5938; Participant Access Code: 355444 (Please note that this access code has changed from the code published in FHA's online article on March 18, 2015.)

On March 18 the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published its completed versions of the Doing Business with FHA-Lenders and Mortgagees (Doing Business) and Quality Control, Oversight, and Compliance (Oversight and Compliance) sections of the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook . In order to provide a more thorough overview of these sections, FHA will host an industry conference call to provide detailed and comprehensive reviews of the policies contained in the Doing Business, and Oversight and Compliance sections on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Eastern). Dial-in Number: (866) 254-5938 with Participant Access Code: 355862. Attendees should thoroughly review the content for the two sections listed above, and have access to this information during the call.

MBA Education's New Developments in Mortgage Performance Data and Analytics webinar is scheduled on April 15th at 2PM EDT. This webinar will teach participants how to use MBA's Weekly Application Survey data, prepayment modeling and market valuations to track mortgage performance, and predict pre-payment activity. Additional details and registration is available here.

NYCB is offering its Table Funding Clients and Closing Agents an on-going monthly series of webinars designed to help you understand how to successfully operate in compliance with the new rules using NYCB's origination and closing technology platform. Registration for its April training courses are available now. Registration for April 16th  is available here. The April 23rd registration is available by clicking here.

I received a note from Becky Walzak. "Rob, last week the National Mortgage News ran an article warning lenders that QC is hazardous to a lender's legal health. The article was based on the lawsuit involving Wells Fargo. This is or should be alarming to every lender with a quality control department or any company that provides quality control services. Not only does it put the QC individuals at risk but leaves all QC operations susceptible to such allegations. This is primarily due to the fact that there is no common and comparative way to determine if the number and type of QC issues are consistent with the rest of the industry.  In other words there is no standard method (i.e. Benchmark) for measuring these issues and protecting lenders. This is unacceptable since this lack of measurement is now being used against the industry and putting all lenders at risk. In order to stop the proliferation of these lawsuits and other potential issues, I have asked Mortgage True View, with whom I work to lead a discussion on how we, as industry members, can establish some means of developing these measurements.  In response, Mortgage True View has set up a series of discussion-based webinars to be held each day.  We need as many QC participants or anyone else interested in this issue to join the discussion. If they prefer, they can contact me directly at Becky@rjbwalzak. com and I will register them."

Here in Kentucky the talk is centered on Rand Paul running for president. But in the Collingwood Group's recent survey respondents were asked what they thought the new congress could do to improve the housing market. Most respondents (27 percent) said repeal Dodd-Frank, 22 percent said abolish the CFPB and another 22 percent suggested GSE reform, while 11 percent proposed appropriate additional funds to FHA for upgrading technology and hiring additional personnel would help. These responses indicate that many industry stakeholders prefer a more tempered approach to these reactionary reform measures resulting from the crisis. Many respondents favored a restructuring of the CFPB to allow for more transparency, oversight and accountability.

Let's face it: there isn't much to talk about with rates. Yesterday the bond market sank a little in the morning and then came back to finish almost exactly where it began. There just wasn't much to move rates (one minor Fed speaker, a JOLTs job number, and a 3-year note auction that was met with average demand). Today might not be much different - at least until the FOMC Minutes are released at 2PM EDT. For numbers we closed the 10-yr at 1.89% and that is exactly where we are in the early going today with agency MBS prices unchanged.


Jobs and Announcements

Congrats to Todd Probasco who American Financial Network, Inc. has welcomed to its management team in Chicago. "With a strong fundamental knowledge of the industry, Todd's superior leadership, integrity and team building experience provide him the necessary management skills to further expand our number of branches and sales production."  Prior to joining AFN, Todd was a branch manager for Wells Fargo, a multi-million dollar producer for Chase, and the founder of Premium Mortgage where he won the 2005 Illinois Mortgage Broker/Owner of the year award from the Illinois Mortgage Brokers Association. Todd is currently hiring experienced loan originators, sales managers and branch managers. Interested candidates wishing to join his award winning team are encouraged to submit a letter of interest or resume to Todd. AFN is a full agency direct, multi-billion dollar retail mortgage lender. Corp NMLS#237341 Equal Opportunity Employer

AnnieMac Home Mortgage's Renovation Lending and Construction Division is looking to expand its sales force nationwide. "We are in need of MLO's and teams of MLO's with a specific focus on renovation and construction. Our goal is to become one of the top 5 renovation and construction lenders in the country which is why we are seeking the best of the best in the industry." Please send all confidential inquires to the Director of Renovation Lending and Construction Division, Jeff Onofrio.

A well-capitalized group of strategic/financial investors is seeking a mid-Atlantic retail mortgage bank for an acquisition. The residential mortgage bank should be full-service, Mid-Atlantic based, retail-focused, and licensed in MD, DC, VA, and PA at a minimum, FHA/VA endorsements, GSE approvals optimal. Principals only; please send a confidential note of interest to me at rchrisman@robchrisman. com.

And out west Parkside Lending is looking for wholesale AEs across the US (AZ, CO, FL, HI, MA, NC/SC, TX, UT, VA & WA) as well as key operations and credit staff (national head of underwriting, reporting to the COO, and a credit policy analyst reporting to the CCO) along with openings for other operational staff like Client Service Team members. Operational personnel can work from the headquarters in San Francisco or any one of Parkside's five satellite offices across the country. Some positions can even be set up to work remotely from home. "Are you looking to work for a lender that cares about you and your customers?  Then come talk to us at Parkside Lending, named one of the Top Mortgage Employers in America for 2015 based on employee feedback per National Mortgage Professional Magazine, January 2015.  We are a national wholesale and correspondent lender that is committed to making a positive difference for mortgage professionals and their borrowers. Furthermore, because we don't serve the retail channel, our clients can be confident that we will never compete for their customers." Interested parties should contact Rick Nelson  or apply at Parkside Lending.

Over in Florida the founders of Orlando-based residential mortgage lender FBC Mortgage LLC re-acquired their company after they had sold it three years ago to an affiliate of Sterne Agee Group Inc. of Birmingham, AL. Pine Court Holdings LLC, which finalized its purchase of the mortgage company March 31, is owned by Sal "Joe" Nunziata, Robert Nunziata, and a group of FBC executives, employees, and former investors. With an estimated 450 employees, FBC is licensed in 45 states. The company funded just under $1 billion in residential mortgages in the first quarter of 2015 and is on track for more than $3 billion of transactions.

And last but not least congrats to Phillip M. Miller who MB Financial Bank has named President of its mortgage division. Previously, Miller was Group Senior Vice President and Director of Secondary Marketing for MB. Miller joined Cole Taylor Bank (which was acquired by MB Financial Bank in 2014) in 2009.