Mon, Sep 23 2013, 10:22 AM
Phew! It turns out that the acronym for the Mortgage Bankers Association (of America) remains "MBA." MBa is just its logo .
Here is an interesting...
Fri, Sep 20 2013, 10:18 AM
Whereas the National Association of Realtors has managed to have
everyone capitalize the job of their members (Realtor), the MBA (which
years ago ...
Thu, Sep 19 2013, 11:01 AM
Welcome to "Talk Like a Pirate Day" , even held in Minnesota where I am heading today. Of course, 3.14159...% of sailors are Pi Rates .
Let's face...
Wed, Sep 18 2013, 10:07 AM
The industry is moving toward more acceptance of non-QM loans .
The CFPB will be the first to admit that just because a loan is not QM
doesn't me...
Tue, Sep 17 2013, 9:48 AM
I am really surprised at how many mortgage vets seem to have forgotten
what a business cycle is (almost like how I was surprised in 1977 when a
bu...
Mon, Sep 16 2013, 10:24 AM
On Friday the 13th the CFPB released the final amendments
to the Loan Officer Compensation, Servicing, QM and HOEPA Rules. The
official release ...
Fri, Sep 13 2013, 10:23 AM
After 36 years of space travel and months of heated debate among
scientists, NASA confirmed Thursday that Voyager 1 has indeed left our
solar syst...
Thu, Sep 12 2013, 12:21 PM
Citi is a global bank, and unfortunately for some of its workforce, there will be fewer of them in the mortgage group. Per FOX Business, Citigroup pl...
Wed, Sep 11 2013, 12:04 PM
The MBA numbers this morning confirmed that business is slowing even
more. Lock desks knew it but the MBA confirmed it: the Mortgage Bankers
Assoc...
Tue, Sep 10 2013, 10:30 AM
Last month this commentary mentioned the possibility of a maximum
loan amount reduction by the agencies. It has now become mainstream news
- a poo...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 10:08 AM
We're all watching the residential lending industry change, although
in Saturday's commentary I noted several bank mergers from recent weeks.
Whet...
Fri, Sep 6 2013, 9:04 AM
"Are LOs liable for their comp plans?" Yes they are. This commentary discussed this topic over a month ago, yet I still hear stories about a company ...
Thu, Sep 5 2013, 10:16 AM
On Saturday we'll have an exciting anniversary: on 9/7/08 Treasury
Secretary Hank Paulson announced a plan where the government took
control of Fa...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 10:15 AM
I know it is already Wednesday, but here is something labeled " The Monday Map "
which shows some interesting trends in personal incomes among the
...
Tue, Sep 3 2013, 9:49 AM
August was not a pleasant month for many lenders, and September may
not be much better. Sure, volumes are down, and staffing is down in most
shops...
Fri, Aug 30 2013, 10:52 AM
Radian announced it has entered into an agreement with Freddie Mac
on a pool of delinquent loans which eliminates credit risk on 9,756
delinque...
Thu, Aug 29 2013, 9:55 AM
Affordability has a strong impact on homeownership. Not surprisingly,
per the NRA, I mean the NAR, four of five states with the lowest
homeownersh...
Wed, Aug 28 2013, 10:53 AM
There are lots of training videos out there. But there aren't many 0%
down payment programs from the government - the USDA is about it. Here
is on...
Tue, Aug 27 2013, 10:00 AM
I am spending some time in Kansas, and some of the discussion is about
how hiring is so much more interesting and fun than eliminating staff.
Obvi...
Mon, Aug 26 2013, 9:42 AM
Here is an e-mail from Gary B. up in Washington: "Rob, I work for a mortgage bank, and we'd heard that that LOs have to be fingerprinted every three ...
Sat, Aug 24 2013, 3:55 PM
With so much going on in the lending, banking, and real estate business, let's take a look at some thoughts from readers across the nation " in the tr...
Fri, Aug 23 2013, 10:42 AM
When S&P downgraded the United States (remember that?), it did
absolutely nothing to Treasury rates, and certainly didn't seem to
motivate Congres...
Thu, Aug 22 2013, 11:01 AM
Many parents of young adults grapple with the, "Do we help little Sage buy a home, or let him rent?" question. The Wall Street Journal reports 37% ...
Wed, Aug 21 2013, 11:05 AM
There is a lot of continued controversy and focus over the various
compensation plans for loan officers and regulatory audits. Obviously,
these c...
Tue, Aug 20 2013, 10:20 AM
One can have a lot of fun with statistics. If I own one dog, and
adopt another, my dog population has gone up 100%. The same can be said
for the c...
Mon, Aug 19 2013, 10:07 AM
I am heading off to Indiana this morning, but still had time to catch
this OCC release about a company to cheat consumers who are trying to
rebuil...
Fri, Aug 16 2013, 10:14 AM
Hundreds of lenders across the nation are targeting purchase business. When was the last time refis accounted for less than 50% of MBA's weekly appl...
Thu, Aug 15 2013, 11:36 AM
Here is an interesting note I received from a capital markets VP in
Florida: "Rob, I have nicknamed my company's sales staff the 'If
only's.' It s...
Wed, Aug 14 2013, 9:51 AM
Per the recent post regarding the STRATMOR Group's mid-year survey,
over 50 lenders have responded to the STRATMOR Survey on what actions
lenders ...
Tue, Aug 13 2013, 10:04 AM
They say that sensational headlines sell newspapers, but when
incorrect, the retraction shows up on page B3 at the bottom. In this
case, "Presiden...
Mon, Aug 12 2013, 9:30 AM
Periodically I am asked, "Do you know how many LOs there are in the nation? "
And folks periodically write and ask, "How many lenders are there in ...
Fri, Aug 9 2013, 9:57 AM
Those in the lending industry are more concerned with the future, but
we (along with the public, regulators, Congress, and so on) continue to
be r...
Thu, Aug 8 2013, 9:56 AM
Watching loan officer ads is a full-time job. The Mortgage Bankers
Association of the Carolinas wrote up this compliance tidbit: "Are lenders requi...
Wed, Aug 7 2013, 10:15 AM
Reverse mortgages are alive and kind of well. HUD and Congress want
them to be weller. Before it took off for a month of R&R, Congress
authorized ...
Tue, Aug 6 2013, 10:11 AM
"What is the difference between ' Secondary Marketing ' and ' Capital Markets '?
I keep hearing the two terms used interchangeably. Is the Secondary...
Mon, Aug 5 2013, 9:33 AM
"What do you hear about Bernanke's replacement?" First off, most of
the "news" articles are merely editorials - don't expect anything before
Septe...
Fri, Aug 2 2013, 11:14 AM
Happy Friday, August 2 nd . The U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) notified everyone that its offices are
closed today due to ...
Thu, Aug 1 2013, 9:57 AM
"Do you ever hear about Freddie or Fannie doing anything illegal with
regard to foreclosures?" Wow - that question is way above my pay grade!
And ...
Wed, Jul 31 2013, 9:43 AM
I used to look at my dog and think, "If you were a little smarter,
you could tell me what you were thinking." And she'd look at me like she
was sa...
Tue, Jul 30 2013, 9:45 AM
Uh oh, just as I head to New York, this comes up. When the new MIP rules
went into effect, disclosures needed to be updated. A very informal
pol...
Mon, Jul 29 2013, 9:38 AM
I am visiting Montana, and Butte just wrapped up "Evil Knievel Days"
over the weekend. (I had an acquaintance who was married to his sister -
thei...
Fri, Jul 26 2013, 10:25 AM
I am fortunate enough to do a little speaking, and in fact next week
am heading to New York for a Sterling National Bank event. But I
received thi...
Thu, Jul 25 2013, 9:50 AM
"America is the only country where a significant proportion of the
population believes that professional wrestling is real but the moon
landing wa...
Wed, Jul 24 2013, 10:20 AM
It is hard to drive by a corner without seeing a gas station or a
bank these days. That doesn't mean banks are all huge, especially here
in Colora...
Tue, Jul 23 2013, 10:10 AM
I want one of those jobs where people ask, "Do you actually get paid
for doing this?" Most folks involved in lending or real estate rarely
hear th...
Mon, Jul 22 2013, 9:25 AM
We'll see a lot of housing news this week. Recently May 2013's, and
before that April's, national and regional prices showed continued
improvement...
Fri, Jul 19 2013, 10:16 AM
When my wife says, "I need to talk to you," every bad thing I've ever
done flashes before my eyes. All humor aside, at some stage of the
game, poi...
Thu, Jul 18 2013, 10:13 AM
I really like July, since the Tour de France is so much more fun to
watch than CNBC in the early morning. Besides, I freely admit that I
make up 9...
Wed, Jul 17 2013, 9:40 AM
Huh? I head to Southern California today, but the big news comes from Illinois. Cole Taylor Mortgage looking for a buyer ? It probably won't be the...
Tue, Jul 16 2013, 11:29 AM
Everyone has complaints about something. Mortgage lenders are the target of plenty of complaints. As one reader noted, "This is a classic self-fulfill...
