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
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
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
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 ...
Thu, Jan 7 2010, 12:44 PM
Homeownership is more than down payment, interest rates, tax deductions, yearly appreciation, deferment of capital gains, asymmetrical liquidity and d...
Thu, Jan 7 2010, 11:27 AM
Thu, Jan 7 2010, 9:46 AM
Fed Minutes & Jobless Claims push rates higher; NAMB's view of HUD proposal; RESPA sites; "Herding"
Thu, Jan 7 2010, 8:27 AM
Just one day before the all-important nonfarm payrolls and unemployment numbers, markets are decidedly looking sour this morning after another mixed s...
Thu, Jan 7 2010, 4:52 PM
The Federal Reserve today reported on their weekly purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS). In the holiday shortened work week between De...
Thu, Jan 7 2010, 3:07 PM
While you cannot stop a foreclosure with talking alone, the lender will see that you are putting effort into saving your home and paying your loans. L...
Thu, Jan 7 2010, 1:36 PM
Mortgage rates have been stuck in a back and forth battle all week. We started the new year with improvements which carried over into Tuesday only to ...
