"I remember the words to every song from the 1970s, but I forgot why I walked into this room..." Memory is a funny thing. But remember when it was an unwritten rule that men made more money than women? Unfortunately it is still often the case but women's salaries are heading in the direction of reaching levels similar to their male counterparts. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 2000 and 2015, the share of married couples where the wife earned at least $30,000 more than husband increased from 6 to 9 percent and married couples where the husband earned at least $30,000 more than the wife dropped from 38 to 35 percent. Husbands and wives whose earnings were within $4,999 of each other also increased from 24 percent in 2000 to 25 percent in 2015.

In the "united we stand, divided we fall" category there continue to be upcoming training and events, some by companies and some by regional & nationwide organizations.

October Research will hold its fourth annual Regulatory Outlook event on December 8th. The Legal Description and Dodd Frank Update will provide an in-depth 90-minute webinar educating mortgage, title and settlement services professionals on what to watch for post-TRID implementation and what to plan for heading into the New Year.

Ditech had release its December Client Development Calendar providing the latest developments in products, technology solutions, compliance issues and process improvements. Each program is offered by its Client Development staff on a monthly basis, and is updated regularly to reflect recent changes in the industry as well as its products and processes. This month's features include Home Equity Overview and the Jumbo AA product.

On December 9th, Plaza is providing a webinar titled The New Reverse: Understanding the Changes, Benefits and Risks of the HECM Reverse Mortgage.

If you're in the San Jose area on Friday Silicon Valley CAMP has kindly asked me to celebrate the holiday and share some thoughts on 2016. "There will be raffle prizes, toys for tots and second harvest food bank. It's the time to give back. Pre-register required at http://www.siliconvalleycamp.com/."

CMPS Institute is hosting a webinar this week that may be useful as you finalize your 2016 strategic plans and technology initiatives. "We've compiled some very interesting data through our 15-city Top Producer Roundtable tour this year, and our 10 years of studying the habits of over 7,000 loan originators," writes Gibran Nicholas, CEO of CMPS. "The main problem we've discovered is the dismal and lackluster adoption of most corporate initiatives, with 20% - 30% adoption rates considered normal.  The right implementation strategy can have a whopping 9x greater impact on ROI vs. the wrong implementation strategy." The webinar will take place this Thursday, Dec. 10 at 1pm Eastern and is called, Three Ways to Increase Adoption of Your 2016 Initiatives. Topics include: (1) How to align your initiatives with the emotional drivers of each individual on your team; (2) The three characteristics of all human habits, and how to leverage them for behavioral change; and, (3) How to create metrics and accountability around three keystone sales and operational habits. Interested persons can click here to register.

Lenders Compliance Group is hosting a free webinar on the impact of TRID on Real Estate Brokers. It is entitled "TRID Challenges: Guidance for Real Estate Professionals," and will be held on December 15th at 2PM EST. The webinar will be conducted by Jonathan Foxx, Managing Director, and Neil Garfinkel, Director/Legal & Regulatory Compliance. Jonathan says that "TRID necessitates a shift in how real estate professionals serve their clients. While most of the implementation of the changes falls on lenders, realty firms must become familiar with the impact of the TRID rules in order to ensure timely closings, among other things. In this webinar for real estate agents, we will provide important facts and tips that will enhance the clients' home purchase experience." Slides and hand-outs are available for attendees.

On December 15th, the FHA is offering a free webinar regarding Lender Recertification Process.

If you are planning to be part of MBA's CREF/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo 2016 Program Guide; the exhibitor application must be submitted by December 11.

Sun West has made it easy and simple to originate 203k Rehab Loans. Click Here  to view the new Sun West 203k Rehabilitation Training Guide!  Sun West also offers live 203k training webinars. Click Here to view its training calendar.

There's a lot going on in the capital markets. For example, Greystone closed its first Freddie Mac Fast-Track Co-Op Early Rate Lock loan to refinance Rego Park Gardens, a 527 cooperative apartment building located in Queens, NY. The loan was in the amount of $9,500,000 and included a 15-year term with a 30-year amortization. The company also provided a $30,605,700 FHA-insured loan for a construction of luxury apartment complex in the Ascension parish of Prairieville, Louisiana. The property will have 272 market-rate units that will be built on 23.3 acres. The loan has a low, fixed interest rate during the initial construction period followed by a 40-year term with straight amortization.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has made a big splash in proposing swapping risk exposure for lower fees and is seeking explicit 2016 targets for this kind of "up-front" risk-sharing. It is debatable whether or not smaller lenders can participate in risk sharing, but it definitely appears to have momentum. "From our view, the upfront approach is preferred because Fannie and Freddie have so little capital and that amount of capital is declining over time," Mike Fratantoni, chief economist of the mortgage-bankers group, said in an interview. "The system may be better off if the risk is dispersed before it gets to the GSEs, particularly if they are aggregating risk and then distributing it later."

I have the opportunity to do some speaking to various groups, and am often asked about the impact of changing rates on lenders and on banks - especially since a large portion of people employed in lending have never seen a rate increase. Will an increase in short term rates help or hurt us?

To start let us take a look at short term rates, or the short end of the yield curve. The 2-yr ended Friday with a yield of .947%. A year ago it was .510%, so it has nearly doubled. As a proxy for the longer end, the 10-yr ended Friday at 2.28% versus being at exactly the same yield a year ago! So the spread between the two yields has gone from 1.80% to 1.33%, and although banks have been chafing under the pressure of years of low interest rates in the last year short term rates have moved sharply higher on a relative basis.

Depository banks, some of whom offer warehouse lines to mortgage banks, are in the business of maturity transformation: they pay depositors a short term rate, loan it out at longer term rates, and book the difference. In other words they fund long-term loans with short term liabilities. Thus any spread compression, like we are seeing between short and longer term rates, can pressure earnings. And what banks earn on their assets (loans and securities) falls relative to the cost of their liabilities (deposits) squeezing net interest margins. So any investors, or banks, thinking that net interest margins would see a boost when the Fed raises its interest rate target will not be pleased. Spreads are moving against banks. So logically one would expect any kind of portfolio lending product to have its rate moved higher if the bank wants to maintain its spread income. So we could see banks possibly putting slightly higher rates on its loan products in order to preserve spread income, or reducing margins in order to compete. Pick your poison.

What about warehouse banks? Most of these are caught in a similar dilemma in that they are using depositor's money (borrowing) to lend out to mortgage banks. So they can keep pricing the same and see margins suffer, or pass the increase along to their clients and run the risk of losing some business.

In terms of the bond market, up some, down some, so go rates. The experts are thinking there's about an 80% chance that the Fed jacks up short-term rates next week, but it is more of a coin toss what it will do to 15-year and 30-year mortgages rates. There is definitely a school of thought that thinks an increase in short term rates may slow things down, in which case long-term rates may actually decline over time! But if the economy takes an increase in overnight borrowing costs in stride, yes, mortgage rates may slide higher over time. My cat Myrtle is betting on the first option.

Yesterday the thinking is that, especially with the price of oil dropping, the economy may slow. And thus bond prices rallied and rates fell. The Washington Post reported on Friday that a majority of the FOMC preferred to hike rates at the September meeting but that Fed Chair Yellen campaigned to maintain zero interest-rate policy until global risks took some time to play out.

Don't look for much news today aside from an October JOLTS job openings number and a $24 billion 3-year note auction. The 10-year ended Monday at 2.23% and this morning it is 2.21% with agency MBS prices better .125.


Jobs and Announcements

While we're talking about earnings, in Southern California Financial Partners Credit Union is searching for a Credit Manager to lead its credit underwriting department. The person will direct underwriting activities, manage staff performance and productivity, review underwriting exception policy, and provide expertise in loan program and credit policy development - a full description can be found here. The location is in Downey although telecommuting on some days may be an option depending on the applicant's location. "Come work for an organization that is thriving, innovative, fast paced, and highly efficient. Financial Partners Credit Union is an award winning institution with over 75-years of service and is in growth mode having reached $1 billion in assets and acquiring three smaller credit unions in 2015.  If you're looking to make a difference in people's financial future and work in an environment where your efforts are recognized, then FPCU is the place for you! We offer a competitive compensation and benefit package. EOE." Questions and confidential resumes can be addressed to HR Specialist Jesse Rivera (562.904.4243).

In Ops news, over two thousand miles away Towne Mortgage a growing independent mortgage company based out of Troy, MI and is a direct FNMA and FHLMC Seller-Servicer and a GNMA approved issuer. Towne provides a full suite of conventional and government products, minimal overlays and services most of the loans, it purchases. Towne is looking to add to its team and is offering a highly competitive compensation plan with the ability to grow as the company continues to expand. Towne Mortgage is looking for independent, hardworking and seasoned applicants in Loan Set up, Processing, Closing departments as well as in Servicing. Applicants for the Senior Closer and Supervisors positions must have a minimum of 3-5 years' experience. Loan set up applicants must have experience working in the disclosure desk dealing with VOEs, and new file set up through the TPO channel with a minimum of 1-2 years' experience. Processing applicants must have 2 years' experience. The Servicing dept. is looking applicants with 1-2 years' experience in Default and for applicants with 2-3 years' experience in loan boarding activities. Please send confidential inquires to Chelsi Dingman (248.247.1800, ext. 1948).

On the production side of things a west coast mortgage banker is seeking an experienced professional for a unique position located in Reno, Nevada. This individual would fulfill the role of Retention Manager. In this capacity the individual would be responsible for refinancing loans from the company's servicing portfolio. The Company has strong capital backing, a national lending footprint, and is embarking on an aggressive expansion initiative and offers a full array of Agency, Government and Jumbo products. The successful Retention Manager candidate must display a proven track record of customer service, have previous retail mortgage origination experience, be licensed in some states and the ability to be licensed in multiple states. Please send confidential resumes to me and specify opportunity.

Our sympathies go out to the family of Solheim, president of LenderLive, who has passed away.