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Mortgage Headlines
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Last Updated Friday, January 21, 2005 10:05 AM CST
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Cardinal to Restate Income
Cardinal Financial Corp. announced it will restate its operating results for the three and nine month periods ended Sept. 30, 2004 as a result of corrections in accounting adjustments surrounding a recent acquisition. The corrections, of nonrecurring and noncash nature, were primarily related to the purchase accounting adjustments associated with the pipeline of the acquired company.
30-Year Could Reach 6.75% This Year
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage came in at 5.67%, falling from last week, according to Freddie Mac's latest survey. In a conference call with economists at the Homeownership Alliance, forecasts for the 30-year at the end of 2005 ranged up to 6.75% on the high end.
Growth is Good
Roth Capital Partners reported it raised its ratings on shares of Impac Mortgage Holdings as a result of Impac's total assets for the December quarter exceeding its projections. "Because of the higher levels of total assets and mortgage assets we are now expecting going into 2005, we have boosted projected balances of both in our earnings model throughout 2005 and 2006," Roth said.
Fraud Felon Helps Forestall Forgery
A convicted felon has partnered with Sysdome Inc., an Internet-based technology provider of mortgage fraud prevention and audit support tools. Sysdome announced the felon will use his personal testimony to help establish fraud awareness when training mortgage companies and speaking at industry conferences.
WaMu Quarterly Fundings Edge Higher, Full Year Way Off
Washington Mutual Inc. announced it originated nearly $60.6 billion in residential loans during the fourth quarter, a slight uptick from the previous quarter. Volume for all of 2004 amounted to $254.6 billion, according to the earnings announcement.
Fieldstone to Restate Income
Fieldstone Investment Corp. announced it will eliminate the use of cash flow hedge accounting treatment for interest rate swap transactions in place during the year ended Dec. 31, 2003, and the first three quarters of 2004. The SEC indicated to Fieldstone that it was in its view that "Fieldstone's contemporaneous hedge documentation was not sufficient to qualify the interest rate swaps for cash flow hedge accounting under FAS 133," according to the announcement.
4th Quarter Higher, Year Off at First Horizon
Full-year 2004 volume of $30.5 billion fell way below the previous year, according to First Horizon National Corp.'s FORM 8-K/A filing. Fourth quarter production of $7.8 billion was better than the previous quarter.
Business Falls at Chase
Chase Home Finance originated $44.4 billion in residential loans during the fourth quarter, down from the previous quarter, according to the parent company's financial supplement. Full-year 2004 volume reportedly plunged from the previous year.
Mortgage Murder Mystery
An Illinois mortgage and property investor has been indicted on first degree murder charges in the beating death of his business partner and is being held in jail without bond. In a 2002 case, the state attorney's office filed multiple felony theft charges against the investor and his son while two were in the mortgage business, according to published reports, but that case was dismissed when a key witness was murdered.
Fed Gov Complains About Subprime Brokers
During a break in a meeting of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a Federal Reserve Governor engaged in conversation with reporters. "All of a sudden," said a listener, "he [the Fed Governor] went after brokers, saying they were close to the 'breaking point', but then he backed off. The gist was that too many brokers are making loans in the subprime market, without any incentive to make sure borrowers are creditworthy," this person recounted.
Conforming Down, Subprime Double at National City
For all of 2004, National City Corp. said production totaled $80.1 billion -- down significantly from the previous year. But annual volume from subprime subsidiary First Franklin grew a whopping 97% from the previous year, the parent company reported.
Wells Claims 'Biggest Home Equity Lender' Title 4th Time
Wells Fargo & Co. announced fourth quarter volume of $69 billion rose from the previous quarter. The company noted in the announcement it was "ranked #1 nationally in home equity loan market share for the fourth consecutive year."
Quarter Up, Year Down at BoA
Bank of America reported fourth quarter originations of $18.4 billion, better than the previous quarter. But BoA's 2004 volume totaled $87.6 billion, down from the previous year.
State Farm Mortgage
Armed with an opinion from the OTS, State Farm Insurance is launching its branchless banking business, which includes mortgage lending, in states that require licensing of mortgage originators. With the opinion, State Farm believes it does not need state approval for its army of agents to offer mortgage loans and other banking products.
Mortgage Banker Adding 100 Jobs This Year
Global Home Loans and Finance company announced that its recent move to a 40,000 square-foot building enabled it to add 293 employees to its staff base. Global anticipates it will hire more than 100 employees by the end of 2005, a spokeswoman told MortgageDaily.com.
Countrywide CEO Tops List
Countrywide Financial Corp.'s chief executive was honored as the Best CEO in America in the mortgage finance category by Institutional Investor Magazine. The magazine said the third annual ranking identifies the top CEOs in 62 industries, as rated by nearly 1,700 investment professionals and close to 500 brokerage and asset management firms.
S&P Warning Comes as GMAC Mulls New Unit
GMAC announced it is considering a restructuring of its residential mortgage operations. Later that day, General Motors Corp. released its outline for 2005 business objectives, lowering expected earnings. An S&P credit analyst said concerns regarding GMs ability to improve its competitiveness over a longer time period have grown recently given the company's relatively poor domestic sales performance and competitors' growth plans.
Knowledge is Sales
There are many ways to stay on top of the competition by being prepared. One way, a best-selling author explained in his book, The Little Red Book of Selling, is to capitalize on the endless amounts of instantaneous information found on the Internet. But efficient homework is more than just surfing the Internet.
Shareholders, Not Consumers Benefit from GSE Activities
Fed economists analyzed the effect of portfolio purchases and mortgage securitization by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on mortgage rate spreads during 1994 through 2003. While "earnings from mortgages held in portfolio clearly benefit GSE shareholders," one of the researchers' main findings was that the GSE portfolio purchases and issuance of mortgage-backed securities "have negligible effects on primary or secondary mortgage spreads.
Group Says Prepayment Penalties Worse for Minorities
The Center for Responsible Lending released a study which it said found subprime borrowers living in minority neighborhoods are more likely to receive abusive prepayment penalties on their loans than those living in mostly white neighborhoods. The findings were based on an analysis of 1.8 million loans originated from January 2000 to July 2004, while the effects of prepayment penalties on interest rates were based on an examination of 30-year fixed-rate loans originated during a three-year period, the group said.
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