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Mortgage Industry News Headlines
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Last Updated Friday, January 26, 2007 04:04 PM CST
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Record IndyMac Volume
Fourth quarter mortgage production was about $26 billion, according to IndyMac Bancorp's latest earnings report. The latest quarter was an improvement over the third quarter, the announcement indicated. IndyMac said the fourth quarter represented an all-time high in fundings.
Mortgage Fraud Index Worsens
CoreLogic announced the results from its quarterly publication about mortgage risk. The company said it tracks risk in 379 metropolitan markets. Fraud and collateral risk rose for the ninth consecutive quarter, CoreLogic noted.
Wachovia Closes Wholesaler
Wachovia Corp. has decided to shutter EquiBanc Mortgage Corp., according to an announcement Friday on the unit's Web site. The decision was made after "an intensive strategic review of its mortgage business," the statment said. The move leaves brokers in 25 states with one less wholesaler.
TIL Errors Lead to Class Action
A federal judge recently ruled that Chevy Chase Bank violated the federal Truth in Lending Act. A Wisconsin couple claimed they believed the payments and the interest rate on their option ARM mortgage from the bank were fixed for five years. The judge ruled in favor of the couple and granted class action status to the case.
Bank Closes Mortgage Subs
Millennium Bankshares Corp. will wind down its mortgage operating subsidiaries, according to an announcement Thursday. "Management determined that it was in the company's best interest to focus its efforts solely on core banking strategies," said Millennium's chief executive in the announcement. He added that they were concerned about future volatility of earnings.
Apps Off, Rates Diverge
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.25%, declining from the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's latest interest rate survey. But the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage average reportedly stepped down 4 BPS over the week. Meanwhile, mortgage application volume dropped 8 percent, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced.
Nonprime Wholesaler Exits
Mandalay Mortgage "exited the nonprime wholesale mortgage business," according to a message on its Web site Thursday. "Mandalay will no longer accept new loan applications," the message read. No new loans will be funded after Jan. 31.
Lender Nets More Branches
Amstar Mortgage added three new branches, its parent announced. The new branches are located in Alabama, California and Illinois. The new offices reportedly follow a record net quarterly increase of branches, a company spokesman told MortgageDaily.com.
Record Originations at American Home
Residential volume was $15.5 billion during the 4th quarter 2006, American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. announced. The quarter represented an increase from the prior period, the data indicate. The 4th quarter also represented an all-time high for the real estate investment trust.
Crooked Lawyers
A former Jackson County, Kan., elected official and her attorney husband have been indicted along with nine other people on mortgage fraud related charges. A real estate lawyer in Fairfield, Conn., has pleaded guilty of defrauding clients out of more than $1.2 million. Finally, a New Jersey lawyer received only a reprimand from The New Jersey Disciplinary Review Board for employing his brother, who impersonated him in fraudulent real estate transactions.
Mortgage Lead Operation Closing
HouseValues Inc. announced it is exiting the loan lead generation business. The move will result in job cuts at its headquarters. The announced job cutbacks were accompanied by executive team changes.
PHH Production Down
PHH Corp. originated nearly $9.6 billion in the fourth quarter, according to an announcement. The volume was down from the third quarter, PHH said. Full-year fundings were also down from 2005, the data indicate.
Production Employees Wanted
Lendia Inc. announced it has an aggressive growth strategy for 2007. The plan calls for an increase in business volume by five times. As a result, Lendia plans to add about 50 new employees this year.
Secondary Dispute
A lawsuit was filed against a California woman and her two companies by the G.E. Employees Federal Credit Union. The lawsuit alleges she failed to sell mortgages on the secondary market and kept the money for herself. The credit union had worked successfully in the past with the companies, a lawyer representing the credit union wrote in an e-mail to MortgageDaily.com.
Executive Shuffle
Rafael Saldana recently assumed the title of president of R-G Crown Bank, according to announcement. U.S. Bancorp announced it named Andrew Cecere vice chairman and chief financial officer. Fifth Third Bancorp company president Kevin T. Kabat will become the CEO on April 17, according to a press release. Mercantile Trust & Savings Bank announced H. Blaine Strock III will assume role president on March 1, 2007.
National City Business Up
National City Corp. announced it originated $21.8 billion in mortgages for sale during last year's fourth quarter. The period was more than a billion dollars better than the prior quarter, the company reported. However, for all of 2006 fundings were lower than the prior year.
Freddie Activity Lifts
New business volume was $125.9 billion in the fourth quarter, according to Freddie Mac's monthly summary. The latest period was an improvement over the third quarter, Freddie said. December purchases drove the quarterly increase.
IL Predatory Law Suspended
Illinois House Bill 4050 was suspended by the state's governor. The bill required borrowers with poor credit in 10 Chicago zip codes to receive credit counseling before their loans were approved. A spokesman for the governor told MortgageDaily.com the governor is asking the administration take the legislation back to the drawing board and meet with all the parties concerned.
Acquisition Increases Wachovia Originations
Fourth quarter 2006 fundings were $24.2 billion, Wachovia Corp. reported. The latest numbers were significantly higher than the third quarter, the data indicated. However, fourth quarter figures included originations from Golden West Financial, which was acquired during the period.
BoA Business Better
Fourth quarter 2006 mortgage volume amounted to $44.1 billion, Bank of America Corp. reported in its earnings supplement. The period was an improvement from the third quarter, the report indicated. Bank of America also reported an increase in annual fundings.
Exotics Create More Borrowers
Subprime and exotic mortgages "represent a net gain to society," according to the president of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. He made his comments at an economic forecast luncheon recently. Some of these types of loans open up financing to "borrowers who previously could not obtain it," he said.
E-LOAN Settles With Originators
E-LOAN Inc. agreed to settle a class action, according to an announcement from the plaintiffs' law firm. The online lender will pay $13.6 million to loan consultants, the statement said. The settlement resolves a class action claiming E-LOAN did not provide overtime pay, among other allegations.
RMBS Performance, Outlook
Standard & Poor's announced it expects issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities to fall next year. The high end of S&P's 2007 estimate is $950 billion. Last year held the first annual decline in overall rating activity since 2001, the agency said.
Worsening Foreclosures Present Opportunities
A roundtable discussion at a real estate conference last week in New York focused on growing foreclosure filings. One panelist predicted foreclosures will jump 25 percent in 2007. But many loans entering foreclosure can be sold or modified before the lender gets them back.
OR Tightens Mortgage Regulations
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services has implemented tougher mortgage regulations. Among the changes are educational requirments for loan originators. An executive for one state trade group told MortgageDaily.com that they worked with Oregon to formulate the changes.
Record SunTrust Activity
Mortgage originations topped $15 billion during the fourth quarter, SunTrust Banks Inc. reported. The volume was higher than the third quarter, earnings data indicate. The latest period represented an all time record, SunTrust said.
Citi Acquiring ABN AMRO Mortgage
Citigroup and ABN AMRO Mortgage Group announced a merger Monday. Citi will reportedly acquire the unit from LaSalle Bank Corp. The deal is expected to be done during the first quarter, Citi said.
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Copyright © 2005 MortgageDaily.com
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Broker Named to Fed Council
A mortgage broker is one of 10 new members of a Federal Reserve Board council.
The Fed appointed Joseph Falk, the legislative chair of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, to its Consumer Advisory Council, according to an announcement today.
Falk will reportedly serve a three-year term on the council, which meets three times a year in Washington, D.C., and advises the board on important policy issues related to consumer financial services under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.
MortgageDaily.com subscribers read full story
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CA Broker Busy Growing
A mortgage broker is looking to double its staff of high producers and support personnel in California next year.
Business is booming at Twin Capital Mortgage and the employee base must expand to keep the momentum rolling, company Chief Executive Officer Darius Mirshahzadeh told MortgageDaily.com.
In the past seven months alone, the San Francisco brokerage originated $220 million of the year's expected total of $300 million -- surpassing the total of $150 million in all of all of 2005, according to the executive.
MortgageDaily.com subscribers read full story
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Litigation Fest
A Virginia Beach borrower has filed a lawsuit against a mortgage broker, claiming he was deceived about refinancing his delinquent loan. Meanwhile, the broker has filed a lawsuit against a television station that aired the borrower's allegations -- claiming the station's defaming coverage has severely cut into his business. And one attorney involved in the matter suggests more lawsuits are on the way.
Michael Robinson, the co-owner of D and D Home Loans, Inc. along with his wife, Valeria, filed suit last month in Virginia state court against television station WAVY-TV.
The Robinsons claim the television station defamed them and the mortgage company when it ran several promotions in advance of a news story about Darrell Salley's attempt to refinance his home loan with Robinson's company while facing foreclosure.
MortgageDaily.com subscribers read full story
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Mortgage Database Stolen
A mortgage broker has been jailed for stealing the customer database of a now bankrupt company.
Sales for Denver-based Mile High Capital Group hit $120 million in 2005 and grew to $175 million a year later, the company touted in a press release issued last year.
"I was drawn to Mile High because there was such a fantastic business plan in place," Jeffrey Dietz said in a July 2005 press release announcing his promotion to company president. "We supply good affordable housing in areas that need housing. We serve the client; we serve the tenant. It's a win-win situation."
MortgageDaily.com subscribers read full story
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