Mon, Apr 3 2017, 9:33 AM
Welcome to Q2! I am attending the NYMBA conference for a few days, but 1,300 miles south, in Florida (aka "God's waiting room"), folks are talking "re...
Fri, Mar 31 2017, 9:47 AM
Let’s end the week with a non-mortgage question, but one that you mathaletes will enjoy. What would happen if you were hit by a penny falling from a s...
Thu, Mar 30 2017, 9:48 AM
On this date in 1867, 150 years ago, a few years before I started trading MBS, Seward’s Folly was created. Put another way, on this date a treaty was ...
Wed, Mar 29 2017, 9:39 AM
The average residential loan file has 367,000 documents - and each one must be verified by the underwriter. Okay, just kidding. But every Boeing 737 (...
Tue, Mar 28 2017, 9:39 AM
As an industry, we continue to be reminded of a small minority’s wrongdoings. The latest example comes from New York where a Copiague man was sentence...
Mon, Mar 27 2017, 11:06 AM
This week involves a fair amount of cross-country travel for me (California, Washington DC, Florida, and Utah), and as it turns out Wells Fargo is the...
Fri, Mar 24 2017, 10:22 AM
In legal news, Experian , one of the nation's three major credit reporting bureaus, misled consumers by telling them that the credit scores they purch...
Thu, Mar 23 2017, 9:10 AM
Have you been asked to join the Trump Administration’ new group focusing on mortgage finance policy? No? My cat Myrtle hasn't gotten the nod (yet) eit...
Wed, Mar 22 2017, 5:36 PM
“Dance like no one is watching. E-mail like one day it may be read aloud in a deposition.” Here's some pithier legal news. The Department of Justice i...
Tue, Mar 21 2017, 10:16 AM
Who can you trust? Digital Journal reports new malware targets Google Chrome users with a pop up that indicates a new font needs to be installed for w...
Mon, Mar 20 2017, 10:58 AM
Say it ain’t so! Fannie is being bought by an Italian company?! Sure enough, Italy’s Ferrero International SA is buying U.S.-based Fannie May Confecti...
Fri, Mar 17 2017, 9:03 AM
The Fed reported US household net worth (total asset value minus total liability value) jumped to a record $92.8 trillion in Q4 driven by stock market...
Thu, Mar 16 2017, 9:50 AM
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that is stupid.” Different peopl...
Wed, Mar 15 2017, 9:19 AM
Yes, calendars have changed over a few thousand years. But the Ides of March is a day on the Roman calendar that corresponds to 15 March, marked by se...
Tue, Mar 14 2017, 9:05 AM
Every lender should know a little about demographics . The Millennials receive the publicity, but the population aged 65 and older is expected to grow...
Mon, Mar 13 2017, 10:31 AM
It seems the general public is not moving. Not because they don’t way to, but because of… the influence of government regulations !? The regulatory en...
Fri, Mar 10 2017, 9:36 AM
The last time I checked Americans enjoy living indoors, especially given storms like today’s in the Northeast. How’s this for a combination of edifice...
Thu, Mar 9 2017, 9:34 AM
I have my own opinion about reading a book versus watching YouTube videos, given our finite time every day, but this statistic is staggering: The numb...
Wed, Mar 8 2017, 9:19 AM
Yes, we change our clocks this weekend, losing an hour, although some states have escaped this ordeal by not using Daylight Savings Time. Different st...
Tue, Mar 7 2017, 9:28 AM
Thousands of lenders around the nation, in one form or another, donate to charities. But here’s an interesting twist on that. Todd Potter, SVP & Natio...
Mon, Mar 6 2017, 9:30 AM
Welcome to national White Chocolate Cheesecake Day, and Oreo Cookie Day, both of which usually have gluten. Like gluten, most people don’t precisely k...
Fri, Mar 3 2017, 9:12 AM
For me the last few weeks included travel to events in Florida, Texas, Southern California, and now The Mortgage Collaborative’s event in Arizona. And...
Thu, Mar 2 2017, 9:31 AM
Here’s a public service announcement for folks in Detroit: check to see if you should boil your water before you drink it . Apparently drinking water ...
Wed, Mar 1 2017, 9:02 AM
There is some rate and price at which a borrower and lender will meet, whether it is residential loans, commercial, personal, auto, etc. But apparentl...
Tue, Feb 28 2017, 9:46 AM
The last day of February, already? Wasn’t it just New Years? Time flies by, things progress. Yesterday the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the world’s la...
Mon, Feb 27 2017, 10:03 AM
If you’re a lender in only one state, just think about the state and federal regulations you must deal with, not to mention the investor or agency rul...
Fri, Feb 24 2017, 10:21 AM
Boss: "Working hard here, Jimmy?" Jimmy: "Yep, ever since I heard you coming down the stairs!" Mortgage banks are working hard, but banks and other fi...
Thu, Feb 23 2017, 9:50 AM
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge.” But what if you use knowledge to predict? Research by Goldman Sach...
Wed, Feb 22 2017, 1:37 PM
Are you lending in areas where LOs are receiving more calls from recruiters than they are from real estate agents? Let’s hope not. But here’s somethin...
Tue, Feb 21 2017, 8:49 AM
Through the wonders of modern air travel, I find myself in Miami. But everywhere, in front of the grocery stores, in truly exciting news, are reminder...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 10:31 AM
In lender and regulator news, SoFi (Social Finance) is reportedly close to raising $500 million in fresh funds from an investor group led by Silver La...
Thu, Feb 16 2017, 9:38 AM
Bank of America has opened 3 completely automated branches without any employees. Customers can use ATMs or have video conferences with employees at o...
Wed, Feb 15 2017, 9:56 AM
“The flat earth society has members all around the globe.” Speaking of orbs, while global wealth totals $255 trillion , the median wealth of all 4.8 b...
Tue, Feb 14 2017, 8:47 AM
What did one boat say to the other? “Are you up for a little row-mance?” Oh boy. Don’t forget the chocolates for your sweetie. If the love thing doesn...
Mon, Feb 13 2017, 9:16 AM
When I was a kid I’d go the bank, and my parents’ favorite teller and I would swap my money for the silver dimes and quarters she’d saved for me. I st...
Fri, Feb 10 2017, 8:52 AM
The stock market is not the economy. That’s a simple financial truth, but it is hard to keep in mind during rallies or sell-offs. Especially when main...
Thu, Feb 9 2017, 10:18 AM
“Sometimes I wake up grumpy; other times I let him sleep.” Kids in NY are sleeping in since the schools are closed today. But if you worked for Deutsc...
Wed, Feb 8 2017, 9:16 AM
Think there’s no creativity allowed in the down payment help arena? Think again. Loftium pays up to $20,000 towards your down payment and offers month...
Tue, Feb 7 2017, 10:07 AM
Our Census Bureau is at it again. Did you know that 5 million U.S. veterans are living in areas designated as rural between 2011 and 2015 per a new re...
Mon, Feb 6 2017, 8:45 AM
Tomorrow we’ll take a deep look at potential future Dodd-Frank changes , but for something more concrete the Census Bureau told us that U.S. home owne...
Fri, Feb 3 2017, 9:01 AM
Residential lenders are paying raptly following the news that President Donald Trump intends to roll back much of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regula...
Thu, Feb 2 2017, 9:38 AM
Supply and demand (“the invisible hand”) are the driver of many things in life, as are perceived shortages. So it was with great concern that Chris C....
Wed, Feb 1 2017, 10:21 AM
Although I am now in Phoenix for several days, where house flipping is ramping up again, I was fortunate earlier this week to be able to attend the Te...
Tue, Jan 31 2017, 9:42 AM
As the old adage goes, “Women spend more time wondering what men are thinking than men spend thinking.” But certainly women spend a good deal of time ...
Mon, Jan 30 2017, 10:04 AM
I certainly am hearing some dire numbers from appraisers out there – like their business, which kind of gets the ball rolling for a loan so could be c...
Fri, Jan 27 2017, 9:48 AM
One would like to think that, as an industry, we’re emerging from the public relations nightmare. And yet the popular press continues the ordeal , the...
Thu, Jan 26 2017, 10:27 AM
The average used car depreciated about 23% last year, faster than the historical average annual rate of 18%, per the National Automobile Dealers Assoc...
Wed, Jan 25 2017, 9:02 AM
"If you want to be successful on the highest level, be willing to serve on the lowest." That is a great statement for companies who take charity work ...
Tue, Jan 24 2017, 9:43 AM
Depository banks know that, per the AARP, more than 67% of US assets are controlled by individuals age 50+, with this group representing more than 67%...
Mon, Jan 23 2017, 9:31 AM
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those that lost their lives in storms in the South and East. On the other coast, Los Angeles has re...