The MBA's conference, which began with a capacity crowd at mPower, is packed with meetings and sessions, and I am sure glad that I’m not going between them in heels! (To paraphrase a joke about how, Fred Astaire was a great dancer, but Ginger did all those moves in heels and backwards.) Sure the Fed will start to taper (it’s been expected for months), and other investors will step in, but there may be periods of less investor interest. Put another way, the NY Fed’s trading desk is like clockwork with its consistent near-daily buying; private investors aren’t like that. Fed will do what it can to suppress any of the symptoms of the “taper tantrum” from 2013 (yes, it’s been eight years!) Other topics revolve around technology. My cat Myrtle is “chipped,” meaning that if she’s kidnapped by Somali pirates, or some similar fate, and is found, she can be identified. I mention this because now, in Moscow, riders can pay for tickets with their face. Isn’t it only a matter of time until our credit profile is maintained on an implanted chip? available here. This week’s is sponsored by Triserv, a top national AMC with client-specific, dedicated teams on both coasts that get to know their lenders. Today’s includes Part One of an interview with Triserv’s President Joe Bryant on AMCs during the pandemic.)


Lender and Broker Services and Products

The first Apple logo wasn’t the iconic ‘bitten apple.’ The original depicted Isaac Newton sitting beneath the apple tree that inspired his gravitational theory. Recently, Fannie Mae was inspired to help more renters become homeowners by factoring positive rent payment history in assessing eligibility. And luckily for lenders, FormFree makes it easy to participate. As a longtime authorized report supplier for the Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) validation service, FormFree automatically submits available 12-month rent payment history to Fannie Mae on behalf of every lender using its AccountChek verification of asset (VOA) service. FormFree even has safeguards to ensure the collection of 12-month rent payment history does not unnecessarily expose lenders to non-rent transactions (e.g., gift deposits) that occurred more than 90 days but less than 12 months in the past. Connect with FormFree at MBA Annual to learn how this initiative can help you welcome inclusivity in assessing eligibility while expanding your book of business.

“The Grinch is Coming” warns www.MortgageEducation.com. Yes, mandatory NMLS and compliance training could dampen the holidays for MLOs required to do redundant training and more, and for compliance officers who have to track it. Just as Cindy-Lou helped the Grinch’s heart grow 3x its size, MtgEd’s solutions for reducing redundant training via Premium CE and DashEMS Tracking Portal for Compliance Teams, www.MortageEducation.com can bring 3x the happiness to our partners in the year end rush. Contact Dave Olchek for info on solutions to make the holidays better in the compliance world.

As lenders, we often stop what we’re doing, even while networking at conferences, to update pre-approval and pre-qualification letters for our Agents & borrowers. We’ve convinced ourselves that if we aren’t available around the clock, we’ll lose the business. The LenderLogix team has found a better way with QuickQual. This adjustable pre-approval letter gives Agents & borrowers the ability to run their own scenarios and generate letters on the fly. Top-performing originators understand the value of investing to eliminate non-revenue generating tasks. Offered to individual loan officers or scaled to serve enterprise accounts, QuickQual is an absolute gamechanger if you’re looking to get some time back in your day. Schedule a demo to learn more!

As a top-performing bank in the nation*, Northpointe Bank Correspondent Lending provides tailored solutions to maximize your profitability and help your business grow. Northpointe’s market leading programs give you the competitive edge to retain top sales talent and reach more borrowers. Superior portfolio products include loan options for medical professionals, investment property owners, home renovators, and self-employed borrowers. As your investor conduit to the capital markets, at Northpointe everything we do focuses on you. Learn more about our programs, streamlined funding process, and our client focused approach at correspondentsales@northpointe.com. Warehouse financing for all Northpointe Correspondent programs is available through Northpointe Bank’s warehouse program. Please contact David Christel for more information. *S&P Global Market Intelligence ranked Northpointe number eight best-performing bank in the nation for 2020. For the past eight years, Independent Community Bankers of America® has ranked Northpointe Bank as a top 10-performing bank in the nation out of approximately 5,000 ICBA member banks.

“Do you use The Money Source (TMS) as your subservicer? Richey May will be conducting our annual subservicer oversight review over The Money Source (TMS) in November to assist lenders with their monitoring and oversight responsibilities. Richey May’s program and subsequent 120+ page report provides value beyond the basic compliance requirements. With a focus on current and ongoing procedures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the review includes interviews with all key department heads to observe their processes and challenges, a comprehensive review of business continuity and IT assessments to ensure client and consumer information remains secure. Optional loan-level testing is also available to provide succinct and valuable insight into how your personal portfolio is being serviced, potentially uncovering unobserved information, and assisting in the client-subservicer relationship. To learn more or to participate in the upcoming review of The Money Source (TMS), or our other 2021 reviews contact us.”

In 1916 Clarence Saunders opened the original Piggly Wiggly in Memphis, Tennessee. It was the first self-service grocery store; before “The Pig,” store clerks assembled grocery orders for patrons, weighing out dry goods from large barrels. Though Saunders’ next innovation (a fully-automated shopping concept called Keedoozle) never took off, self-service grocery stores became the norm, offering superior efficiency and enabling stores to pass their cost savings on to customers. Today, Surefire CRM’s broker portal makes it easy for brokers and other third-party originators (TPOs) to efficiently self-provision white-labeled marketing collateral from their wholesale partners for distribution to their own customers and prospects. The portal gives TPOs real-time access to deal status and contact data, so they can stay informed as brokered loans progress from application to underwriting to clear-to-close. Catch a live demo at MBA Annual tomorrow.

Are fluctuating interest rates combined with the current health crisis compounding the challenges in your post-closing process and mailroom operations? Sourcepoint’s comprehensive end-to-end post-closing solution and its cloud-based platform combines a high-tech mailroom infrastructure with dedicated associates and a global delivery model, enhancing accuracy, strengthening compliance, and accelerating the funding-to-purchase cycle time. What’s more it frees up your staff to focus on more valuable tasks such as improving the customer experience, a critical differentiator during these challenging times and beyond. For lenders, our comprehensive services include Closing and Collateral Handling, Loan Delivery Shipping, Purchase Clearing, Trailing Documents and TRID Reviews and PCCD. For title companies, we offer Closing Package Handling and Recording & Title Policy Services. Contact Sourcepoint to learn more about how we can help you lower your closed loan cost while expediting the cycle time.


Snapshot of Conference News

Sprout Mortgage is strengthening its robust line of automation tools for a fully digital mortgage experience with the release of its third originator-focused mortgage tool, iAnalyze, the first non-QM bank statement analyzer tool of its kind. iAnalyze helps mortgage brokers & correspondent lenders receive immediate analysis of a borrower's qualifying income, analyzes up to two years of bank statements to determine qualifying income in a process that can take less than an hour. It is designed for third-party loan originators to eliminate the tedious and time-consuming process of income analysis required for bank statement-based loans. Sprout will unveil iAnalyze at the annual gathering of the Mortgage Bankers Association happening now in San Diego; expect it to be widely available to the Sprout client network in early November.

At Booth 514, at the MBA Annual Conference in San Diego, the unveiling of a revolutionary launch is taking place. Roostify’s Document Intelligence Service, the first service on its API platform to instantly process mortgage-related documents utilizing artificial intelligence. This new product offering brings both speed and scale to the mortgage application process, AI extracts and validates relevant data, streamlining the rest of the lending process.

CoreLogic, a global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider, completed its acquisition of all outstanding shares of ClosingCorp. ClosingCorp provides unique must-have intelligence and digital solutions that streamline the quoting and ordering of critical settlement services needed to originate and service a home loan, eliminating friction, cost, and risk. Bob Jennings will continue to lead ClosingCorp and it will remain headquartered in San Diego; its team will join CoreLogic’s BUY segment which includes various solutions focused on the origination of home loans.


Upcoming Events and Training

Ever wonder what a day in the life of a secondary marketer looks like? How about the relationship between secondary marketing and your work as a loan officer? Many originators understand that their success is closely tied to secondary operations and want to be better understood by these teams. Make plans to attend Black Knight’s upcoming webinar on Thursday, Oct. 21. at 1 p.m. CT, which will offer an insider’s look into how secondary market decision-makers assess and evaluate loan originators. Moderated by HousingWire, a panel of industry experts and veterans from Black Knight, plus a featured guest from Alerus Mortgage, will offer behind-the-scenes insights into the dynamic relationship between loan originators and secondary marketers. This session will explore the long-term financial impacts of renegotiations, extensions & fallouts, plus guidelines for loan officers to be viewed as professionals by their secondary marketing departments. Register today for this informative session!

XINNIX is hosting a special (day-before) Veterans Day Leadership Lessons webinar with a guest experienced in leading transformational change in business and on the frontline in matters of life and death. Reserve your seat for “About Face! Commanding Your Transformational Change” happening live on Wednesday, November 10 at 1 PM ET. In this webinar, XINNIX EVP, Michael Norton, will have a “fireside chat” with Bryan Price, Executive Director of the Buccino Leadership Institute at Seton Hall University and retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel. The two will discuss their approaches to leadership development and business transformation that turns away from traditional methods and towards new ideas that elevate success. Leaders, don't miss this opportunity to hear what the experts are saying about the future of leadership development and how it will transform today's business challenges into tomorrow's successes. Register today!

Join MBA/MW for an educational opportunity, Self-Employed Borrower Basics and Temporary COVID-19 Guidance, on Wednesday, October 20th. Speaker Stephanie M. Clark, AMP, Senior National Trainer & Instructional Designer will teach attendees the basics of determining qualifying income for self-employed borrowers and understand the different business structures.

This Friday, October 22, join The Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Rich Swerbinsky, the COO of The Mortgage Collaborative, and me as we discuss current events in the mortgage market for 30 minutes on Friday at 3PM ET in “The Rundown with Rich and Rob.”

Infosys, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, is hosting an exclusive roundtable “How the mortgage industry can prepare for a digital future” on October 28, at 1PM ET. The session will feature industry leaders from mortgage and Fintech firms and discuss actionable insights on how the industry can prepare to navigate the digital future. The panel will discuss on the various market forces that will drive the digital mortgage experience for home buyers and how technology lead transformation will help you and your organization stay ahead of the curve.

Join MCT and Verity Global Solutions on October 28th at 11am PT for a Halloween-themed industry webinar titled “Don’t Let Margin Compression Scare You.” In the webinar, MCT and Verity Global Solutions will review which stages of the mortgage origination life cycle are best to outsource and if it makes sense for you. It’s time to embrace the new normal of remote working as waves of mortgage lenders are adopting the concept of a global team with powerful results. Register today for their webinar on October 28th at 11am PT.


Capital Markets

Despite a decline in job openings, labor supply and demand for workers remained out of balance in August. There were 10.4 million job openings during the month, a number that is roughly 50 percent higher than before the pandemic. Workers are also quitting their current jobs in record numbers especially in the accommodation and food services industries which have seen significant upwards pressure on wages as businesses compete for workers. Consumer prices are also seeing upwards price pressure as supply chain bottlenecks remain throughout the economy. Rising energy and food prices pushed overall consumer inflation higher in September and we can expect the trend to continue over the coming months. Despite the rising prices, consumers continue to spend. Retail sales grew faster than expectations in September even when accounting for higher prices. There is no sign yet that the supply bottlenecks and labor shortages will work themselves out soon and with the holiday season fast approaching it is likely the current trends will prevail through the end of the year.

Looking at Monday, the trading week in the bond market kicked off with continued concerns about the impact of near-term inflation on future growth. We saw that total industrial production decreased 1.3 percent in September (versus expectations of an increase). The capacity utilization rate also dropped when it was expected to increase, largely due to the effects of Hurricane Ida and the ongoing semiconductor supply shortage. On the bright side, the NAHB Housing Market Index rose to 80 in October when it was expected to decline.

Today’s calendar of events is packed with Fed speakers and light on data. We are already under way with September housing starts and building permits (1.55 million, below estimates, and permits were -7.7 percent). Later this morning brings Redbook same store sales and no fewer than five Fed speakers. The Desk will target up to $4.9 billion of conventionals across 15-year 1.5 percent and 2 percent followed by 30-year 2 percent and 2.5 percent. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices nearly unchanged from Monday’s close and the 10-year yielding 1.60 after closing yesterday at 1.58 percent.

 

Jobs

Sovereign Lending Group, an established lender in Orange County, CA, is searching for a Director of Call Center Operations responsible for driving business growth by managing the call center Dialer system. The person will be responsible for the call center dialer platforms, including gathering requirements for dialer configurations (campaigns, rules, policies, etc.) and the continued maintenance of the system, reporting of overall Dialer metrics, management of leads including disposition of leads, transfer rate and lead management protocols, and will work to be able to develop performance management of the leads, improve processes, efficiencies and cost savings. Critical for this role are 3+ years technical background with experience in dialer management, call center scheduling, & analytical skills, and desired qualifications include working knowledge of Genesys platform, experience in developing Policies and Procedures in general use of telephony technologies & third-party application integrations, and five or more years management with a call center focus. Interested parties should contact Gary Deppe, SVP of People and Culture.

Shamrock Home Loans is America's oldest 'start up' in the mortgage industry. With a 32-year track record of originating loans for consumers across the United States, Shamrock has reinvented itself with investments in 3 areas to enhance the consumer and loan officer experiences. First, in technology to make the online application process seamless, second, in people to ensure underwriting support that yield 48 hour underwrites/on-time closings, and third in next generation media, to help Loan Officers, Branch & Area Managers take advantage of our Ad Agency quality video production to brand you. Agency direct, no overlays, high performing sales culture, and ad agency quality marketing to building relationships with Realtors & borrowers. Come join a company where your contribution and leadership matter and is developed. Dean Harrington, founder of Shamrock Home Loans, builds leaders not just originators: What matters more than managing your time? Check out the Morning Huddle. Come join us: JoinTheRock@ShamrockHomeLoans.com.