No sooner does the commentary (once again) mention cyberattacks than the FFIEC comes out with a bulletin yesterday on the escalating number of attacks involving extortion. I think IT guys are viewing office microwaves and toaster ovens with suspicion, and are quickly deleting unnecessary apps on their phones. Seriously, if you think TRID was a hassle just wait until all of your borrower's social security numbers are stolen, or you can't fund a client's loan because your warehouse lines are frozen. Guarding against attacks is certainly becoming a growth industry for IT majors. And how do you know that your vendors value your data as much as you do?

Upcoming Events

On November 12, ATS Secured is hosting a webinar, "Beyond the File Review: Compliance & repurchase risk in marketing & compensation practices," presented by Brian Levy, Of Counsel at Katten & Temple. Learn how to better assess and prevent "outside the file" compliance issues, such as RESPA referral fee prohibitions and effects on MSAs, TILA's loan officer compensation rule and UDAAP, before they endanger your business. Sign up for a free ATS Secured account to view this webinar at no charge or click here to register for $49.  Here is the link to register for a free account.

TMBA will be holding its Warehouse Conclave again this year Nov. 17th from 12 to 3 at the Westin Galleria in Dallas in conjunction with the Annual Educational Seminar & Marketplace. Topics this year are "E-Notes from a Warehouse Perspective" and "A Discussion of Risk Topics for Today's Warehouse Lender". Info on speakers can be found at www.Texasmba. org as well as online registration.

The American Bankers Association announced that it has expanded its online training curriculum. Click the link to review information regarding its new classes as well as registration options.

Arch MI has a plethora of November free webinars spanning topics such as processing to analyzing appraisals. Click the link to view and register for November training options.

30 days into TRID and what do we currently know? Join industry experts Daniella Casseres, Esq., Offit Kurman and Ginger Bell, SVP e-learning, Morf Media, Inc. on November 12th as they explore the questions and issues that have surfaced with the implementation of the TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule. Register today for this Arch MI Sponsored Complimentary TRID Checkpoint Training November 12th.

Last year, the number of U.S. data breaches hit a record high of 783, up nearly 30% from the year prior. Is your organization keeping important data safe from cyber thieves? Join Clark Schaefer Consulting's Sarah Ackerman, Greg Bernard and Brian Matteson on November 18th as they cover what these components are, their role within an organization's security policy, and how they affect your business. Click the link for more information.

Ditech has released its November Client Development Calendar. This comprehensive training curriculum sheds some light on Ditech products and processes.

On November 17th, FHA is providing a free webinar on FHA Condo Approval Basics. Participants will be guided through eligibility requirements, legal and financial documents, insurance information, and much more. Interested parties are encouraged to register now.

On Monday, November 9 at 2 pm, K&L Gates will sponsor a one-hour webinar to address questions and concerns about MSAs. This informative session will review the state of MSAs prior to and after the Lighthouse and PHH Decision, as well as the CFPB's most recent Bulletin on the subject. The session will also discuss MSA dos and don'ts for your consideration. RSVP online to join this K & L Gates webinar.

And get ready for the MindSet Summit event on December 3rd in Las Vegas. Designed to help loan officers and realtors go to the next level, view the video link for a look at this unique business planning experience and then click the link to register for this inimitable event.

Changing from 2nd into 3rd gear, let's take a look at Agency news.

"Pacific Union Financial has learned that the VA will be shutting down the VA WebLGY appraisal feed to CoreLogic's LSAM for unscheduled maintenance from today, November 4, through Sunday, November 8. Any appraisals received during this closure will be held in queue and forwarded to CoreLogic upon completion this maintenance. LSAM reports will be available at the opening of business on November 9, 2015. Users are reminded that should they need to issue a VA Notice of Value (NOV) to facilitate a loan closing, they may follow instruction in VA Circular 26-15-12 para 5d, which allows processing without LSAM and provides instruction on documentation.  Any delays in issuing of NOVs during this period should be documented in case notes.

Everyone's lovey-dovey until something goes awry. In this case, although Fannie's earnings don't come out until the 5th, Freddie Mac reported a $475 million net loss for the third quarter due to losses it sustained on the investments it uses to hedge against swings in interest rates. But Freddie cried out, "Wait just a darned minute here! We've had 15 straight profitable quarters! The loss mainly reflected accounting measures, while business is strong and continued to improve. Both us and Fannie have been whittling down our mortgage holdings and transferring risky loans to the private market, away from taxpayers, and that is likely to reduce our revenue." Okay, they didn't actually say that, but they might have.

The loss compared with net income of $2.1 billion in the same period of 2014. Freddie's third-quarter loss was attributed largely to accounting losses from derivatives, financial transactions that the company uses to hedge against swings in interest rates. Freddie reported derivatives losses of $4.2 billion in the July-September quarter, widened from about $600 million a year earlier.

The loser in this is the U.S. Treasury since it won't receive a dividend next month. Freddie previously has paid $96.5 billion in dividends, exceeding its government bailout of $71 billion. That's a great return, and has certainly kept Congress from being in a hurry to push Freddie out of the nest. Besides, Freddie (and Fannie) can't be pushed out since they can't save any of their own money. The topic is important, but stalled due to the gridlock in Congress. And thus the industry has taken it upon itself to move both Agencies along. Freddie and Fannie own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages, worth about $5 trillion. Along with other federal agencies, they back roughly 90 percent of new home loans.

Bopping over to the markets, there just isn't much going on out there with U.S. rates aside from them creeping up a little. Take your pick of reasons: the release of the October FOMC statement last Wednesday, a strong dollar, stocks rallying for some reason, relative stability around the world politically. It didn't matter that U.S. factory orders fell by 1.0% in September.

Today we've already had the MBA Mortgage Index for the week ending 10/31 (-.8%, still 10% above where apps were a year ago). We've also had the dry run for Friday's unemployment data with the October ADP Employment Change (+182k, about as expected). Let's not forget the September Trade Balance numbers (narrowest since February at $40.8 billion) and coming up is the October ISM Services report. We finished Tuesday with the 10-year at 2.22% - we've been here plenty of times in 2015 - and this morning it is hovering around unchanged at 2.21% and agency MBS prices are also roughly unchanged from the end of Tuesday.


Jobs and Announcements

In job news...

W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital LLC continues to expand its in-house business development team. "We are looking for a seasoned, growth-focused individual to assist the deal team in targeting and engaging retail mortgage owner-operators/CEOs and large retail teams who are looking for investment capital and an efficient, compliant, agency approved and well capitalized platform with which to grow. Experience should include sourcing and M&A work on larger deals within the retail mortgage sector.  Please contact Managing Director Peter Tenfjord for a highly confidential discussion (720.250.9842).

Arch Mortgage Insurance is actively seeking a "passionate and enthusiastic Vice President, National Accounts to join our dynamic sales team! If you are a results-driven sales professional with the ability to develop strategic long-term relationships and build advocacy with top tier national account executives to grow profitable market share, apply today at resumes@archmi. com. Strong candidates will be able to use their highly developed sales skills and knowledge to promote Arch MI solutions to expand/sell new business, develop and implement strategies and tactics to achieve NIW growth objectives, and ensure customer loyalty. Arch Mortgage Insurance is the U.S. based mortgage insurance division of Arch Capital Group Ltd., a leading insurance and reinsurance specialty lines underwriting company operating through its subsidiaries located worldwide." Confidential questions should be directed to HR Business Partner Harlen Derringer.

Carrington Mortgage, "an entrepreneurial and dynamic organization is expanding its footprint in New England, and is currently looking for a Regional Sales Director to join our growing team in our state of the art facility in Windsor CT. The candidate will lead an Inside Direct to Consumer Mortgage Team and be responsible for staffing to 4 Sales Manager, 40-50 LOs, Processing Manager and 15 processors - nationally licensed - totally marketing driven. A successful candidate will have an income opportunity to $500K+ when fully ramped and the security of working for a firm with 19 different companies- including a multi-billion dollar servicing division. The job offers one of the highest BPS payout in the industry for your team, and leads for your LOs- Direct Market, Internet, and direct access to our Realtors. Apply online or contact Beatriz Hernandez (949- 517-7043).

(Carrington Mortgage Services is holding an Open House for its new Nashville Regional Sales Center on Thursday, November 19th in the evening. The address is 105 Continental Place in Brentwood. "Enjoy some refreshments, meet the leadership team, and learn about open positions that include Sales Managers, Inside Loan Officers, Loan Processors, and working at the Marketing Call Center. This open house is invitation only, so be sure to RSVP. To RSVP, please sign up below, or contact Carlos Fernandez (949.517.7204) or Beatriz Hernandez above.)

On a personal note, being able to hold things in confidence is often an attribute and I seem to have a pretty good grasp of "migrations" in lending. Whether or not large numbers of key personnel changing jobs is a good thing or not is debatable, but I am seeing many companies looking for talent, and people in management rolls taking on new assignments. An industry in flux: just in the last week some key announcements were made regarding management roles, and these are just the ones I know about - I am sure there are others:

Crescent Mortgage Company announced the promotion of Robert E. (Bob) Shellenberger to Senior Vice President and National Sales Manager. Mr. Shellenberger will be responsible for wholesale and correspondent sales relationships between Crescent Mortgage Company and its clients. Texas' Network Funding, LP announced that it has hired Matt Kiker to serve as president and has promoted Brett Snortland to executive vice president and Richard Jefferson to vice president of sales and branch operations. New American Funding announced it has appointed Ellen Skaggs as its Reverse National Production Manager. As Reverse National Production Manager, Skaggs plans to expand the reverse mortgage division nationwide. Dart Appraisal's EVP Michael Dresden announced the promotion of several team members. Among other moves, Tom Moser has been promoted to Director of Quality Control from Quality Control Manager. And Rachel Lasater has been promoted to Operations Manager from Client Service Manager. Lasater will be responsible for vendor management, appraiser engagement, appraisal status and overall production management.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that Perry Hilzendeger, currently head of Home Lending Default, will become the new head of Home Lending Servicing, effective immediately. William M. Mullin recently joined Dedham Savings as Executive Vice President, Mortgage Banking. And the American Land Title Association (ALTA), the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, announced that John Hollenbeck NTP has been named president for the 2015-2016 year.