As a loan officer, how would you like the borrower’s first contact to be with your CEO or head of mortgage? A Wells borrower is greeted by Michael DeVito, Freedom by Stan Middleman, Quicken by Dan Gilbert, and so on? Or, least, an avatar of them? UBS has created a digital clone of Daniel Kalt, chief investment officer for Switzerland, to greet clients and to offer financial advice on-screen, along with a digital assistant that conducts transactions. (Just looking at the photo in the article gives me the willies. Just because IT says we can do it, does it mean we should?)

 

Upcoming Events

Don’t miss out on the Lenders One 2018 Summer Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 5-8, at The Grand America. In an age of disruption, it’s never been more important to learn from peers and industry leaders. Keynote speakers Alison Levine and David Robertson will share ways to get ahead in a tough market, and attendees will be able to select from 16 curated education sessions led by industry experts. Topics include:  improving margins, generating business through MarTech, rethinking your compliance strategy and two Secondary Market panels. Touted as the most valuable part of conference, Lenders One has expanded networking opportunities for members to connect with peers and explore best practices. Reserve your spot by this Friday, July 13, or contact Lauren Ketchum to learn more about becoming a member.

The Community Home Lenders Association (CHLA) announced it would be hosting a Roundtable this Thursday on Independent Mortgage Bankers (IMBs) on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. As the only national association exclusively representing IMBs, CHLA is holding the event to further the understanding about IMBs in Congress, federal agencies, the press, and among other policy makers in Washington. Featuring Ted Tozer, David Dworkin, Justin Burch, and IMB member firms, the event will address who IMBs are, highlight their strong growth in mortgage market share, and explain how extensively IMBs are regulated.

In its quest to transform the mortgage industry, XINNIX is offering a free ebook with best practices and strategies that have shaped their own 14-time award-winning culture of high performance, as well as the culture of top mortgage companies around the nation.

Tune into the webinar “Joint Ventures for Lenders and Realtors: Ten Compliance Pitfalls” on July 11 1PM EDT.

The Trump administration recently released a report that made recommendations on reorganizing the federal government, including an outline of a plan to end the GSE conservatorship and make changes to the mortgage finance system without winding down Fannie and Freddie. On KBW's latest podcast, analyst Bose George joins Brian Gardner to discuss what this might mean to the GSEs, other players in the mortgage industry such as the MIs, and the mortgage market in general as well as a discussion on how changes in accounting rules might impact the mortgage sector.

Freddie Mac has added new webinar sessions, July 10th and July 19th on the Introduction to The Redesigned URLA and New ULAD. Learn about the what, why and how of the URLA and the role the ULAD plays in promoting data standards.

In Colorado, join CoAMP on July 12th, 11AM at Dave & Buster's, 2000 S Colorado Blvd in Denver, CO for a Wire Fraud and Cyber Crime class. Licensed real estate agents can earn 1 CE credit.

The fabled Western Secondary Market Conference will be July 16th-18th at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco.

Register for Johnston Thomas Attorneys at Law complimentary July 26th webinar: Loan Officer Compensation Tips and Trends.

In California registration is underway for Summer CAMP on July 30th-31st at the Coronado Island Resort and Spa. “If you are looking for new products, useful information and helpful tips, Summer CAMP - Destination Coronado is where you want to be…Navigate for Success.”

FHA is providing a free, two-day, on-site training on August 7th in Portland OR. This training will cover a wide-range of topics such as underwriting the FHA appraisal and endorsement protocols and LRS. And the free, one-day “Completing Today’s FHA Appraisal” training on August 9th in Portland, OR. This course is ideal for seasoned FHA appraisers, appraisers new to the FHA Appraiser Roster, as well as those working toward appraiser licensing.


CFPB/BFCP

CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English will drop her months-long legal challenge to Mick Mulvaney for the leadership of the BFCP, saying on Friday that she will leave early this week. English said she was stepping down in light of President Donald Trump’s nomination of a permanent director, Kathy Kraninger, to run the show.

(The legal fight over the future of the agency goes back to the day after Thanksgiving, when then-CFPB Director Richard Cordray abruptly stepped down and named English, his chief of staff, as his successor and then Trump appointed Mulvaney to serve as interim CFPB director. English filed suit against Trump, arguing that the Dodd-Frank Act explicitly gave Cordray the authority to appoint an interim director until the Senate approved a nominee to lead the agency full time. The Trump administration maintained that the financial reform law does not supersede the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which gives the president the power to fill a vacancy at an executive agency.)

Last week the CFPB announced its intention to provide further guidance later this summer on the applicability of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the Act) to data collected in 2018 pursuant to HMDA. The statement confirms that 2018 Loan/Application Registers formatting and submission will remain the same. Referencing closed-end mortgage loans or open-end lines of credit subject to the partial exemptions, the Act states that the “requirements of [HMDA section 304(b)(5) and (6)]” shall not apply.

Accordingly, for these transactions, those institutions are exempt from the collection, recording, and reporting requirements for some, but not all, of the data points specified in current Regulation C which implements HMDA. reference to HMDA section 304(b)(5) and (6) provides the actual details of the HMDA relief contained in the Act. Also included is the provision to give the Bureau “discretionary authority” in rulemaking. This authority includes added data fields such as lender credit information and AUS result(s). The partial exemptions are not available to insured depository institutions that do not meet certain CRA performance evaluation rating standards. Guidance will include information on how this provision will be implemented. The Bureau’s complete notice is currently available for your reading pleasure.


Capital Markets

Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting show participants discussed the possibility of replacing the bond yield curve as an instrument for predicting a recession. The yield curve has widely been considered a reliable indicator, but changes in the bond market and wider economy have brought its continued usefulness into question. In other words, the NY Federal Reserve continuing to demand 30-year paper tends to push prices higher and rates lower, artificially distorting the curve.

The bond market, to the relief of capital markets folks, is a snoozer. Friday the 10-year closed -1bps at 2.83% as the employment data for June stayed on trend, with an increase in payrolls, but subdued average hourly earnings growth. The “not too hot, and not too cold” report won’t raise any eyebrows from the Fed. Separately, the import/export balance export increase was driven mainly by exports of civilian aircraft and soybeans while the uptick in imports was led by capital goods. We should see some more volume this week as people return to work for a full week.

For scheduled economic news, this week doesn’t offer much of importance until the end. Today we’ll have May Consumer Credit and tomorrow only the June NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, and June JOLTS - Job Openings. In addition to the weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior -0.5%) on Wednesday, June Producer Prices, and May Wholesale Inventories figures will be released. There will also be a Bank of Canada decision. Thursday sees June Consumer Prices, and weekly initial jobless claims before Friday delivers June Import/Export Prices and the Preliminary July Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. We start the week with rates a shade higher than Friday’s close: the 10-year is at 2.85% and agency MBS prices are worse about .125.


Employment and Lender Products

Compass Analytics continues its expansion by growing its management team with two strategic hires, a Chief Revenue Office (CRO) and a Chief Technology Officer (CTO), for its San Francisco, CA or Chevy Chase, MD office. Compass is looking for proven leadership experience from energetic, passionate candidates to realize its industry vision of automating capital markets through robust and streamlined integrations and forward-thinking technology. The CRO will be responsible for driving continued revenue growth and expanding partner relationships while coordinating with sales, marketing, product and client implementation departments. The CTO will be responsible for owning and evolving Compass’ strategy for using technology and infrastructure to support our product success and to ensure high availability and performance. Postings for each position can be found here. Interested candidates should send a comprehensive resume and cover letter to compass-analytics@jobs.workablemail.com.

Angel Oak Home Loans is branching out and experiencing rapid growth in both volume and headcount, especially during the first six months of 2018. Angel Oak is currently seeking experienced loan officers, processors, underwriters and numerous other positions in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. With Richard LaNasa recently being promoted to President, AOHL provides traditional mortgage products as well as a suite of Non-QM product. An affiliation with Angel Oak’s $8.5 billion asset-management platform provides the ability to create unique mortgage products such as our Private Label Prime JUMBO loans, and offers the flexibility to strengthen initiatives to support growth such as our Builder Services Group. If you are interested in a career opportunity with Angel Oak, please visit www.joinangeloak.com or for more information, please contact: Lee Williamson, Business Development.

In personnel news, TCF Relationship Lending Unit (RLU), a division of TCF National Bank, a subsidiary of TCF Financial Corporation, announced that it added new leaders to its team. The five new hires will help grow the company’s mortgage business: Mike Petersen (director, secondary marketing and capital markets, TCF Consumer Lending), Mark Zierott (director, relationship lending sales, TCF RLU), Dee Dee Emmert (business development manager, TCF RLU), Bob Brenseke (business development manager, TCF RLU), and Rick Mangone (business development manager, TCF RLU).

Thinking of starting a mortgage joint venture? Already have one in place? Want to ensure your investment remains viable and compliant? Good news! Strategic Compliance Partners has launched its new premier compliance management system, JVerify, to meet the challenges of real estate and mortgage joint ventures at start-up and throughout the life of the venture. Simply email Leslie Benjamin to schedule time to discuss how JVerify can help keep your joint venture competitive and compliant. Also, tune into the webinar “Joint Ventures for Lenders and Realtors: Ten Compliance Pitfalls” on July 11, 2018 at 1:00 pm EDT. Please register here.

Are you new to reverse or simply looking for additional processing support? American Advisors Group (AAG) (NMLS# 9392) has a solution. AAG’s Concierge Experience (ACE) offers a team of dedicated HECM Professionals ready to guide your loan officers and processors through all aspects of processing a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loan. ACE is designed to assist partners who would like the option of additional processing support as and when the need occurs and to those who are new to reverse with minimal or no HECM loan experience. The ACE Team allows your team to learn while they earn. Contact the ACE Team or your Account Executive today to discover AAG’s Concierge Experience.

The Community Home Lenders Association (CHLA) announced it would be hosting a Roundtable this Thursday on Independent Mortgage Bankers (IMBs) on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. (More below in upcoming events.) CHLA is also releasing its 2nd annual Report on IMBs today. CHLA’s Executive Director Scott Olson noted that “IMBs have a great story to tell about meeting consumer access to credit needs without creating taxpayer risk.  It is also important to rebut some of the myths proliferating in Washington that IMBs are risky or aren’t adequately regulated.”