Tue, Jan 12 2010, 2:17 PM
In spite of issuing a disquieting set of projections for the mortgage industry last month, the Mortgage Bankers Association managed to issue even grim...
Tue, Jan 12 2010, 2:00 PM
Many mortgage banking CEOs are past production people that believe a company’s success is based on growing production. Production is part of the equa...
Tue, Jan 12 2010, 1:59 PM
Top Mortgage Servicers; Should Lenders Be Worried; Failed Bank Update; The Dornbusch Law; Keeping GMAC Alive
Tue, Jan 12 2010, 1:00 PM
Despite a slight bit of initial weakness, the charts are in fine position as the 10yr is holding one of it's more aggressive support levels at 3.73. ...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 11:53 AM
While I have outlined a theory that instills hope in the hears of fence sitters and float boaters in the short run, AGAIN I must remind that our overa...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 10:36 AM
SAFE Act Requires Credit Worthy Originator; RESPA Impact on VA Loans; Reverse Mortgage REMIC, Various investor updates
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 8:53 AM
The FN 4.5 is +0-07 at 100-10 yielding 4.476%. I do not like to create confusion about the extent to which mortgages are tied to the movements of benc...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 8:31 AM
Equity futures are firmly higher this morning as global markets react to December data from China showed exports jumping 17.7% compared to one year ag...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 5:14 PM
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 3:33 PM
Gain on Sale revenue leakage and wine leakage from barrels is not good for either business. Any leakage is a waste and reduces the opportunity to mak...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 3:26 PM
If you haven't read the following description of the agency MBS settlement process...please dont skip over it as it may save you from having to change...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 2:25 PM
Reports from fellow mortgage professionals indicate lender rate sheets to be similar to Friday’s. The par 30 year conventional mortgage rate remains ...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:45 PM
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:44 PM
Banks currently have a low cost of funds, but only a handful of low risk/high return investment options (borrow short and lend long) with which to put...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:33 PM
We’ve come a long way, but it still takes up to 30 days to get a loan funded after the loan application is taken by the loan officer. It’s interestin...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:33 PM
We’ve seen state regulators impose six figure fines on companies for violation of state regulations. And the repurchase of one loan and corresponding...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:33 PM
One of the major job responsibilities of a branch manager is to locate and hire loan officers. Recruiting is not easy and it takes time to find, recr...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:33 PM
I had a meeting last week with another mortgage banker that is wrestling with the decision to stick it out on his own, partner with a stronger better ...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:32 PM
Barriers of entry are increasing and will push out many players. Capital and a solid balance sheet are going to be paramount to compete as a mortgage...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:32 PM
In short, CDS are a type of insurance policy that protects bond holders in the event of a default. Let’s look at a simple example of the use of a CDS...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:32 PM
Several years ago, at the beginning of the subprime meltdown, I had the opportunity to audit a large national subprime company. I was hired by their ...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:32 PM
Early this year I attended a loan production seminar in Lake Tahoe sponsored by C.O.R.E. Both loan officers and production managers were present at t...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:31 PM
Our focus on Loss Mitigation is the process mortgage bankers have developed to manage issues such as early payment defaults (EPDs), repurchase request...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:31 PM
The quality of senior management drives the entire performance of a firm. A typical mid-sized mortgage company will be organized with a CEO and a CFO...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:30 PM
The Texas Ratio is one measure of a bank’s financial strength and sometimes is an indicator of banks that may fail. It is calculated by dividing the v...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:29 PM
We talked yesterday about the opportunity for community banks to partner with a mortgage banker. If a community bank is not interested in the mortgag...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:28 PM
We heard this over and over again this year: The wholesale business is dead and brokers aren’t going to survive. Everyone hates this business model f...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:28 PM
Wine sales are driven by the ratings of 3-4 wine publications such as Wine Spectator. A higher rating from these publications boosts the sales and pr...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:28 PM
We recently reviewed a company that had a pretty good prefunding quality control process. Every loan is audited before funding. Based on what we’ve s...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:28 PM
One of the studies we perform for mortgage bankers is a review of the capital markets area. We review various policies and procedures, controls, hedg...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:28 PM
As mortgage banking consultants and advisers, we have an opportunity to talk to many folks in our industry on a daily basis. These folks come from al...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:27 PM
As we visit mortgage operations around the country, we see many types of business models. Within the broad areas of the mortgage loan life cycle are i...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:27 PM
While origination is a pivotal part of the process (without it there would be no loan cycle)...heading into the new era of mortgage lending, focusing ...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:27 PM
In short, there are some parallels, though a different motivation, with the two governments’ intervention in the real estate and mortgage space. Two ...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:27 PM
Over the past month, we‘ve had a few private equity groups contact us that are interested in making an investment in a mortgage banking company. Gen...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:27 PM
One of the questions we ask CEOs during our FOCIS –plus review is: What do you think are the key risks confronting you in the next couple of years an...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:26 PM
If the loan officer is performing much of the front end underwriting and processing using technology – lap tops, websites, PDAs and cell phones, is it...
Mon, Jan 11 2010, 1:25 PM
Owners of small mortgage banking and brokering companies are passionate, energetic and motivated. It takes a certain personality and genetic code to ...
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 12:54 PM
Euphoria struck this AM not only with the substantially worse-than-expected headline jobs loss, but a slew of the report's internal components perhaps...
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 12:11 PM
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said a new inter-agency task force was focusing on halting fraud involving mortgages, securities, economic stimulus...
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 11:01 AM
The State of Originator Sentiment; Yield Spread Premium Confusion; Wells Fargo Lawsuit Dismissed; Updates from Fannie, SunTrust
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 10:09 AM
After failing to break 100-14, the floor fell out from underneath the FN 4.5. Prices have found their way back to yesterday's low print. In the Treasu...
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 8:56 AM
THE BOND MARKET'S INITIAL REACTION HAS BEEN FAVORABLE...but temper your excitement because we have not broken out of the recent range yet. The FN 4.0 ...
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 8:32 AM
The December Employment Situation Report has been released. 85,000 jobs were lost in December, much worse than expected. The unemployment rate was unc...
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 8:04 AM
The bond market has opened weaker ahead of jobs data...here is a screen shot of my matrix. I covered up the MBS yields because I do not like Reuter's ...
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 8:03 AM
The Employment Situation report is the most influential and closely watched data point to be released each month. For December the attention will be e...
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 4:46 PM
Today was a CROSSROADS EVENT. We were hoping rising mortgage rates in December was not a function of shifting sentiment in the rates market. We were h...
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 3:26 PM
The FHFA today released the Foreclosure Prevention & Refinance Report for the Third Quarter 2009. This report is intended to provide disclosure and an...
Fri, Jan 8 2010, 1:47 PM
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) endorsed its first HECM loan in 1989 and has endorsed over 525,000 loans since, with about ...
