For something relevant to real estate agents, LOs, and travelers, the U.S. Census Bureau has updated its World Population Clock to include country profiles with trade and population statistics. Additional features include graphics on population projections and top exported goods by U.S. state or territory. The international Map Viewer is also now available, which shows commonly requested demographic measures for foreign countries. Yes, populations are expanding.

Upcoming Events

On October 14th Annie Mac Home Mortgage is holding its Sales Summit. "AnnieMac Home Mortgage has emerged as one of the fastest-growing mortgage companies in the country, and is committed to the principle of excellence. We're eager to share that with others. Apply what you learn. Get inspired. Grow your business. It's all waiting for you at the AnnieMac Sales Summit."

Later this week, on the 1st and 2nd, the Virginia Mortgage Lenders Association is holding its annual conference in Norfolk. On-line lending and finance reform are the hot buttons. And if you're attending please say hello - I will be there!

Caliber Home Loans Wholesale Division is offering live TRID Training for Brokers via webinar for the next two weeks.  Through Friday October 2nd, Caliber Wholesale Broker TRID Training will be held weekdays, twice a day at 10 am CDT and 2 pm CDT.  To register, click here and select the session that is most convenient to you.

Join Bilzin Sumberg for an in-depth webinar presented by litigation attorneys James Ward and Phil Stein that will cover the trending topic of information security and how to protect your company from a data breach, discuss industry developments, outline the key takeaways from lawsuits, ways to protect your data, how to maintain control over your information. Find out how to be DataSmart with this October 15th webinar.

And starting this Friday over the weekend, tying in nicely with the advent of TRID, the Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas has its annual conference in Hilton Head. Say hello if you're there as I'll be wandering around the hallways.

"LET'S PLAY SOME GOLF AND RAISE MONEY FOR A GREAT CAUSE!!! Central Florida Chapter of the FAMP is hosting its annual golf tournament on October 19th.  This event includes a Silent Auction where 100% of the proceeds will go to the Wounded Warrior Project."

In Northern California the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce, St.  Mary's College and Movement Mortgage present, Maura Wolf - Author, Leadership Consultant and Faculty at St. Mary Executive MBA Program. This interaction presentation is Cultivating a Vision that Leads to Results with free admission. RSVP by October 2nd for this event.

Marketing Services Agreements: Alive, Dead, or Life Support? Find out on October 8, 2015 at 1 PM - 2 PM EDT with a free webinar from Lenders Compliance Group. Plus, for attendees only, the following important support will be offered: Outline of MSA requirements in order to assist you in evaluating the structure of such relationships, Webinar Slides, Suite of Services, plus, email questions in a post-webinar Q&A. LCG webinars are usually highly attended and registration fills up quickly, so attendance is limited to the first 1,000 attendees.

September has been a big month for FHA news.

Ed Golding, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, HUD Office of Housing & FHA provided an update on the impact of one of this year's policy changes. The reduction of FHA's Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium from 1.35% to .85% in January proved to have significant positive results. More than 735,000 loans in Fiscal Year 2015 through June 30 have been endorsed. Compared to 2014, FHA purchase volumes are 24 percent higher for the first six months of the year, and total volume is up 50 percent for the same time period. All this suggests that the decrease in mortgage insurance premiums has made a significant impact on endorsement activity. One of the most important things about these numbers is that they demonstrate FHA is successfully serving more everyday Americans. Over 54 percent of loans went to borrowers with credit scores at or below 680 - the average credit score in the US.  

A few weeks back Tim A. contributed, "To your FHA comments, this is more of a backend item related to default servicing, but MBA responded to FHA's NPR addressing maximum time to file claims, curtailment of interest and disallowance of operating expenses incurred beyond certain timeframes.  As you know future defaults and the costs associated with defaults are directly linked to today's pricing (via MSR/SRPs) and credit terms offered by various lenders. There is some complex stuff in here, but it is something to watch along with the Lender certification item that hit the press recently.

Here's more information on the requirements superseded by the FHA Handbook 4000.1 - "offers FHA-approved mortgagees an easy-to-use, quick-reference tool that identifies the major substantive changes that took effect September 14. This online tool helps lenders understand the major changes being implemented with the new FHA Handbook so they can incorporate them into their processes, policies and procedures.

On September 18 the Federal Housing Administration announced it is temporarily waiving its requirement for mortgagees to obtain a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 26-8937, Verification of VA Benefits, when documenting a borrower's VA disability benefits. This form in no way impacts FHA's policy that considers VA disability benefits an acceptable source of borrower income.

Plaza's FHA Fixed and ARM and 203(k) Program Guidelines have been updated in accordance with the new FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1.  These updates are effective for case numbers assigned on or after Sept. 14, 2015.  There are no changes to Plaza overlays but many sections of the guidelines have been rewritten to address FHA Guideline changes.

In accordance with changes to FHA mortgage loan requirements, Banc Home Loans has updated its seller guide. Some of its updates include changes to large deposits, part time income, self-employed declining income, frequents job changes and bonus.

NewLeaf's FHA Standard and Streamline guidelines have been added to support HUD Handbook 4000.1 changes that are effective with case numbers assigned on or after September 14th. Two NewLeaf matrices have been added to support the Handbook changes: FHA Standard matrix 4000.1 and FHA Streamline matrix 4000.1.

Last week a whole lotta industry folks (certainly more than 500) attended the Ginnie Mae Summit in Arlington, VA. The two-day Summit explored the biggest challenges facing the housing industry, including the shift to independent mortgage bankers, new business models for managing mortgage servicing rights, and the uncertain regulatory environment. Wait... isn't that what every conference around the nation is doing these days? In his opening speech the Honorable Theodore "Ted" Tozer, President of Ginnie Mae, pointed out the surge in independent mortgage banks, the increased frequency of mortgage servicing rights transfers, and the complexity of business models. He stressed that order to efficiently monitor risks presented by this new environment Ginnie Mae needed increased funding but noted that Congress denied their $5 million increase budget request.

For those numerically inclined, Ginnie Mae guaranteed more than $47 Billion in MBS for July.

Ginnie Mae announced changes to its guarantee fee structure to reduce the minimum fee and minimum pool balance required to create a Platinum security. Platinum securities are re-securitizations of Ginnie Mae MBS; by allowing investors to re-securitize older MBS, including those with lower remaining principal balances, the Platinum program enhances the overall liquidity of the Ginnie Mae program. The new fee structure is here, with one "tic" being equal to 1/32 of 1 percent. Face amounts of $5,001,000 to $9,999,999 (2.5 tics versus 0 in the old structure), $10,000,000 to $24,999,999 (2.5 versus the old 3.0), $25,000,000 to $49,999,999 (1.5 versus 2.0), $50,000,000 to $499,999,999 (.75 versus 1.0) and $500,000,000 or more (.25 versus .5). There is also a non-cash fee related to the creation of a Platinum Principal-Only (PO) bond; this fee is being reduced from $5,000 to $1,000. Ginnie Mae's MPM 15-01 outlines program changes to enhance the Ginnie Mae Platinum Program. Specific changes include reduced guarantee fees and reduced minimum aggregate remaining principal balance for Ginnie Mae Platinum Securities.

There are plenty of opinions about the FHA's efforts. For example, "Housing affects too many Americans to simply cast out government involvement, especially where the government-sponsored entities and Ginnie Mae are concerned."

Ginnie Mae is adopting the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization's (MISMO) standard for delivery of single family at-issuance pool and loan data to align with the broader mortgage industry. There are some minor updates to the Pool Delivery Dataset (PDD) and the PDD Implementation Guide. Details regarding MISMO Adoption updates are available on Ginnie Mae's September 17th Notes and News link. Additionally, to promote a smooth rollout of the application, Ginnie Mae will be leveraging a pilot Issuer group that will go-live with the application prior to the full Issuer community. This will allow Ginnie Mae to provide more focused support to this initial pilot group and to readily familiarize them with the new system.  Please send an email to GinnieMaeMISMOProject@hud. gov if you would like to participate in the pilot Issuer group.

In other capital markets news, IFR reports that Angel Oak Capital Advisors has delayed the launch of its debut $140 million dollar mortgage bond deal of residential loans to borrowers with "less-than-pristine credit". What? Investors aren't anxious to gobble up a pool of loans made to borrowers with blemished credit profiles, such as having recent bankruptcies or foreclosures?

Say what you will but non-QM, subprime, whatever, origination has not shot up to the moon quite yet. Angel Oak is one of the few lenders currently originating residential home loans that fall outside the CFPB's strict "qualified mortgage" credit parameters or the standards required for sale to one of the GSEs. But don't forget that Caliber Home Loans privately sold the market's first non-qualifying RMBS this summer.

Maybe it's the fact that sponsors will be required to hold at least 5% of each new nonconforming deal they create. But heck, originators might be happy to hold on and earn a coupon of 7%-9%. We all know that depository banks are relatively happy with the returns being earned by the jumbo loan product flowing into their portfolios.

Many of us are surprised at how quickly the months seem to come and go. Wasn't it just Labor Day? And here we are at the last week of September. And another week of thrilling economic releases here in the States. We began with the Personal Income and Consumption/Spending figures today (+.3% and +.4%, respectively - more than expected), along with the PCE inflation figures (at below the Fed's target) and Pending Home Sales. Tomorrow is the series of Case-Shiller housing numbers with their two-month lag. But we'll also have Consumer Confidence. Wednesday will see the ADP Employment Change numbers as well as the Chicago Purchasing Manager's survey. Thursday consists of Initial Jobless Claims, Challenger Job Cuts, ISM Index, and Construction Spending. Friday is another full slate with all the employment data as well as Factory Orders.

If you're wondering about rate sheets, we left off Friday with the 10-year at 2.17% and this morning we're at 2.15% with agency MBS prices better by a smidge.

Richey May put together a fun video that pokes fun at accountants (isn't that one of America's favorite pastimes?). The firm interviewed some of its employees' kids and asked them about what their parents do at work.


Jobs and Announcements

On the topic of expanding, Firstrust Bank is looking to expand its Retail Mortgage business in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware markets. "We are seeking existing branch locations and loan officers that would like to join our team. Founded in 1934 and currently in its third generation of family ownership, Firstrust is a privately-held bank with assets of $2.5 billion. Safe and Sound for more than 80 years, Firstrust provides both retail and commercial services through its 19 banking offices located in South Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey. "To find out more about Firstrust contact VP of Retail Mortgage Kelley Tyrell (610.238.5098).

Three thousand miles away Pacific Union is searching for retail originators and branch managers in Northern California and Hawaii. Pacific Union Financial, LLC announced the hiring of industry vet Cheryl Halverson as VP, Retail Sales Manager of Northern California and Hawai'i for the Distributed Retail Channel. Ryan Boyajian, VP & Regional Manager stated, "With over 25 years in the business Cheryl has a proven track record as an accomplished sales leader which will be invaluable as we continue to expand our footprint with our Distributed Retail Channel." Pacific Union Financial, LLC is a full-service mortgage company, located in Irving, Texas, with fulfillment centers in California, Virginia, Nevada and North Carolina and more than 20 branch locations across the country. Pacific Union originates approximately $1.25 billion per month in residential mortgage loans through Wholesale, Retail and Correspondent origination channels, in addition to an $18 billion servicing portfolio. To inquire about openings please contact Cheryl (916-798-2437).