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Mortgage Industry News Headlines
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Last Updated Friday, February 03, 2006 02:05 PM CST
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How to Improve Internet Lead Conversions
Steven Kropper recently told MortgageDaily.com that when prospects typically hit Web sites, they aren't ready to buy and it might be too early to contact them. "Incubate them and find a way to figure out when they move into the buy zone," he advised.
MTA, LIBOR Climb
The Monthly Treasury Average was 3.7508% in January, up from the previous month, according to the Federal Reserve. Last month, the 6-month London Interbank Offered Rate climbed to 4.8126%, Fannie Mae reported.
FHA Fee Guidelines Loosened
FHA lenders can charge customary and reasonable fees, according to a mortgagee letter released last week. These costs, except for discount points, count towards the borrower's required minimum cash to close.
Jobs Flow Out of Real Estate Finance
Yearend mortgage jobs totaled 500,900, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. While December was just a smudge worse than November, the decline marks the second consecutive monthly contraction in a sector that may see many more.
Former Citi Exec could Prompt AIG Mortgage Expansion
The former president and COO at Citigroup has joined American International Group's board of directors and could eventually be in line for the top spot at the company. It is widely believed that he was brought on board to help expand AIG's presence in the world of consumer finance, including mortgage lending.
Rates, Apps Worsen
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.23%, jumping from last week, according to Freddie Mac's latest survey of 125 mortgage-lending companies, thrifts and commercial banks. There were 5% fewer mortgage hunters in the market during the seven days ended Jan. 27 than the prior week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.
FTC Targets Credit Repair Companies
Project Credit Despair, announced today by the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Postal Inspection Services and eight state law enforcement agencies, will involve the pursuit of "20 operations that deceptively claim they can remove negative information from consumers' credit reports -- even if that information is accurate and timely." Among the states participating in the project are Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio and Tennessee.
Profile of Growing Wholesaler
Over the last two years Ownit Mortgage Solutions reports it has added 29 states to its national coverage, hired an additional 360 employees and increased mortgage loan volume by 800 percent. An executive for the Agoura Hills-based wholesaler told MortgageDaily.com the management's philosophy is focused on ownership -- both in helping Americans obtain homeownership and for the employees who have a stake in the company.
Texas Town to Host 1,500 Countrywide Employees
Countrywide Financial Corp. recently purchased a 292,000 square-foot building in Fort Worth, Texas, that has manageable capacity for 1,500 people, a Countrywide spokesman told MortgageDaily.com. Countrywide has yet to determine how many of the occupants will be new hires versus transferees from other Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex offices.
Countrywide Blasts New Century, Ameriquest
Countrywide Financial Corp. announced mortgage banking pretax earnings fell to $434 million from $703 million in the third quarter. The earnings were hampered by production sector margins, which dropped in the fourth quarter, Countrywide said. "It's the Ameriquests and New Centuries of the world" as well as "companies that have a REIT," explained a Countrywide executive.
Net Branch Adding Alternative Division
Fairway New England Mortgage is expanding and adding an alternative lending division that "will focus solely on nontraditional financing," according to an announcement today. Parent Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. plans to integrate the program nationally through its nearly 100 branches.
Fake Paystubs Online
Automatic Data Processing has gone to court with a trademark infringement lawsuit against a now-defunct Web site that offered services for mortgage loan applicants that needed fake paystubs. The company is being investigated for allegedly violating state law "by producing fake paycheck stubs which can be used to deceive third parties," the attorney general's office said.
Key to One Ohio Mortgage Banker's Success
With a foundation based on focusing on its employees and a target market of middle-class Americans with nonprime credit, ColdStream Financial is growing its business. "We invest a ton of time and money into our employees and they stay," the company's CEO told MortgageDaily.com.
Fannie Business Falls
Fourth quarter business volume of $161.2 billion was below the level reported in the prior three-month period, Fannie Mae said Tuesday in its monthly summary report. Fannie's 2005 volume fell 16 percent from 2004.
COFI Just Keeps Rising
The 11th-district cost of funds index averaged 3.296% in December, up from the prior month, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco said Tuesday. The index average has reportedly increased without interruption since May 2004.
ECC Results Mixed
ECC Capital Corp. said Monday it originated $4.2 billion mortgages in the fourth quarter, less than the third quarter. For all of 2005, ECC said loan production was better than the prior year.
Argent Employees Laid Off
Argent Mortgage Co. cut about 16% of its 4,000-employee workforce, a company spokesman told MortgageDaily.com. In a written statement, Argent cited "a more challenging economic environment" in the mortgage industry as the reason.
REIT to Restructure
Aames Investment Corp. announced it will consolidate its wholesale and retail operations in a management restructuring. The move by the real estate investment trust was reportedly made "to better align its infrastructure with the current market environment."
Mortgage Mergers Maintain Momentum
American Bank of Saint Paul said Friday it acquired a full-service residential and commercial mortgage broker. Western Alliance Bancorporation recently announced that its lead subsidiary will acquire a Nevada bank. Fulton Financial Corp. recently obtained approval from the Federal Reserve to merge with Columbia Bancorp.
HUD Monitors FHA Underwriters, Originators
The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently amended guidelines to the Federal Housing Administration Credit Watch Termination Initiative. The final rule provides that both originators and underwriters will be considered to be on Credit Watch Status if they have a default and claim rate on insured mortgages that exceeds 150 percent of the normal rate and its origination approval agreement has not been terminated.
Mortgage Legend Backs Internet Lead Co.
Lew Ranieri, considered the father of mortgage-backed securities, has joined Root Markets, a New York-based online marketing and advertising firm that provides leads on mortgages and other financial services. Ranieri, who could not be reached to comment, has reportedly invested $5 million of the fortune he made on Wall Street in the Internet startup company.
OT Lawsuits Filed Against Wells, National City
A former Wells Fargo Home Mortgage employee who is now with National City Mortgage filed lawsuits last month against the two companies claiming he and other loan originators routinely worked more than 40 hours weekly but were only paid by commission in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Wells has filed an answer in court explaining that its loan originators are not due overtime pay because they are exempt from the FLSA's overtime requirements.
Paper Analyzes eNotary Effect on Mortgage Fraud
The director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's E-Commerce Architecture Program authored a white paper that called for quick action by government, industry and professional associations to provide a "sound strategy" for e-notarization to help stagnate the rising tide in forgeries and frauds in mortgage transactions, among other things. The paper, published by the National Notary Association, outlines the legal and technological issues that must be addressed to ensure a convenient and secure e-commerce environment.
Down Payment Assistance Under Fire
The Department of Justice wants to stop Partners In Charity from telling home sellers and real estate professionals that payments made by sellers who participate in the program are tax deductible. The lawsuit is part of a federal crackdown on downpayment assistance organizations.
Texas Fund for Broker Victims
The Mortgage Broker Recovery Fund contains nearly $2 million for what a top state regulator calls consumers who have been "aggrieved" by mortgage loan officers or brokers and have not been able to collect through legal or other remedies. "The fund is a last resort, if you will, after all else has been exhausted and there remains no remedy," the commissioner of the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending told Mortgage Daily.com.
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