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Mortgage Industry News Headlines
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Last Updated Friday, February 23, 2007 03:47 PM CST
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Impac Originations Up
Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. originated about $4.2 billion in mortgages during the fourth quarter, according to it's latest earnings announcement. Fundings were up from the third quarter, the REIT said. But full-year production tumbled from the prior year.
Pres Candidate Sued Mortgage Lender
Presidential candidate Barack Obama took on a national bank accused by his clients of mortgage discrimination. He represented several African-Americans in the case while working at a Chicago law firm. The lawsuit was originally filed in 1994.
CFO Robs Mortgage Company
Intermountain Mortgage Co.'s chief executive officer told MortgageDaily.com that the company's former chief financial officer has admitted to stealing. The theft occured over a period of five years, he said. He said he is pursuing federal charges against the woman.
Bank Activity Worse
Total real estate loans outstanding at federally-insured banks were $4.51 billion in the fourth quarter last year, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported. Residential volume was unchanged from the third quarter, the regulator said. Residential mortgage loans that were 90 days or more past due or in nonaccrual status increased by almost 16 percent, according to the report.
Mortgage Broker Plans
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is pushing for an independent, government-sponsored study of the causes of foreclosures, according to a conference call Thursday. NAMB's legislative chair also highlighted the problem of identity theft being possible through mortgage trigger leads. NAMB told MortgageDaily.com it does not see the fallout of wholesale lenders affecting the share of business brokers do at this point.
Wells Cuts Grow
About 70 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage employees in California received layoff notices Tuesday, a spokesman confirmed to MortgageDaily.com. The job cuts are the result of tightened subprime guidelines and the resulting lower originations. About 250 South Carolina empoyees are also being laid off.
Rates, Apps Dip
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.22%, according to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year was better than a week earlier, Freddie said. Mortgage application volume took a 5 percent downturn in the week ending Feb. 16, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced on Wednesday.
Freddie Business Off
Business purchases were $44.8 billion during January, Freddie Mac announced Thursday. The volume was down from December, the statement said. Freddie's total mortgage portfolio reportedly reached $1.8 trillion.
Subprime Servicer Ratings May Fall
Moody's Investors Service announced on Wednesday that it has placed on review for a possible downgrade the servicer quality ratings of five companies. The reviews are "prompted by the heightened level of volatility in the Alt-A and subprime mortgage markets," Moody's said. Among the servicers are Accredited Home Lenders Inc., New Century Mortgage Corp. and NovaStar Mortgage Inc.
Thrift Business Drops
One- to four-family mortgage production at thrifts amounted to $112.1 billion in the fourth quarter, the Office of Thrift Supervision reported. The figure off a quarter from the third quarter, OTS said. Originations were nearly a third worse than a year earlier.
Subprime Still Essential
While subprime mortgages have become increasingly risky, their flexible terms have helped more Americans become homeowners, a Federal Reserve Board Governor said Tuesday. She made her comments while speaking at Duke University. The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said subprime mortgages represent a net gain to society.
Mixed Views on License Registry
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators have proposed rules for a national mortgage licensing registry. The Mortgage Bankers Association said it supports the Statement of Principles and Related Sample Legislation for the Residential Mortgage Licensing System. But the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, however, has expressed opposition to the registry system.
Rogue Exec Costs Bank $10 Mil
GB&T Bancshares Inc. announced that it increased its allowance for loan losses by $9.7 million in the fourth quarter 2006. The increase relates primarily to several loan relationships originated by the president of a subsidiary bank where he "did not follow numerous bank loan policies and procedures." The portfolio may have some residential loans, GB&T's chief financial officer told MortgageDaily.com.
NovaStar Reports Loss, Lower Fundings
Nonconforming production was $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter, NovaStar Financial Inc. announced Tuesday. The latest period was lower than the third quarter, according to the statement. NovaStar reported a fourth quarter net loss of $14.4 million.
Nonprime Wells Cutbacks
On Tuesday, approximately 200 workers received 60-day layoff notices, a Wells Fargo Home Mortgage spokesman told MortgageDaily.com. The employees worked from a location in Fort Mill, S.C., the spokesman said. The layoffs are the result of tightened nonprime underwriting guidelines.
Servicers Assemble in San Diego
The Mortgage Bankers Association is holding its 2007 National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo this week. The event is being held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, Calif. The conference sessions kicked off with a keynote speaker who is the award-winning, deep-sea explorer who discovered the Titanic.
Overreaction to Subprime Woes?
Markets responded to recent bad subprime news by battering a "wide swath" of banking, mortgage and financial sectors, BullMarket.com reported. It was no surprise to see shares of other financial industry players that have no mortgage exposure decline after recent warnings, BullMarket.com added. But it sees concerns over the subprime portfolios at big banks as overblown.
Top Producers Use Assistants
If too much of your time is spent on tasks not directly related to the development of new business, you are a candidate for considering an assistant. If you have a goal to grow your business but never seem to find the time to implement the activities to reach this goal, you may very well need an assistant. It is no secret as to why top producers have assistants -- not because their production requires such, but because they think like successful business people.
Bank Sued by Criminal Defendants
A Missouri couple has filed a lawsuit against People's Bank of the Ozarks. The couple accused the bank of terminating their HELOC and construction loan in 2004 based on accusations by Arkansas authorities. But a lawyer for the bank said it had to take the action after the wife disclosed that felony charges had been lodged against the couple for fleeing police.
Subprime Market Reshaping
Collateralized-debt obligations could be at risk if more secondary market funders recoil from faltering credit performances of subprime loans and companies, a Wall Street source told MortgageDaily.com. A scenario in which larger banks operating under strict guidelines will fill the spreading void for mortgage originations is a possible outcome, he said. The chief executive of Lenders Direct Capital Corp. told MortgageDaily.com brokers could wind up paying two points on wholesale loans.
Mergers Create Bigger Lenders
IBERIABANK Corp. completed its acquisitions of Pocahontas Bancorp Inc. and Pulaski Investment Corp., according to a recent announcement. The combined entity will originate about $1 billion annually from eight states, IBERIABANK said. TMSF Holdings Inc. announced Wednesday it will acquire six wholesale branch offices from Central Pacific Mortgage.
Subprime Problems Isolated
In a report to investors, the chief strategist for Citigroup said the markets have been "rattled" recently by problems in subprime lending. "We also suspect that concerns about weakening within the subprime sector have been somewhat overblown," he said. The strategist said he didn't think an uptick in delinquencies, from residential mortgage or other sources, will be enough to trigger an economic meltdown.
World Decline Goes On
World Savings Bank originated $2.7 billion in loans during January, according to an announcement by parent Wachovia Corp. The month was off from December's level, the statement said. Mortgage volume has fallen for five consecutive months at World.
More Mortgage Mergers
C-BASS, announced that it will acquire Fieldstone Investment Corp. That deal is expected to close during the second quarter. New York Mortgage Trust Inc. said Tribeca Lending Corp. agreed to buy substantially all the assets of New York Mortgage Co.'s wholesale lending arm.
Reverse Programs Improved
Live Well Financial Inc. announced it is offering a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage that allows seniors more proceeds at a lower rate of interest than the standard HECM 150 Monthly product. Financial Freedom announced a new reverse program which offers a lower interest rate. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage said it recently cut the margin it charges on its variable rate HECM.
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| Mortgage Broker Plans
In a conference call outlining its upcoming plans, the country's mortgage broker trade group criticized the use of trigger leads and projected the recent nonprime meltdown will have little impact on the broker share of business.
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is pushing for an independent, government-sponsored study of the causes of foreclosures, including any abusive lending practices that may lead to foreclosures, in order to work toward effective solutions to fight such problems, according to a conference call Thursday.
While abusive lending practices and mortgage reform have been discussed in or around Washington, D.C., since the mid-1990s, the issues have been "crystallizing in these past several months due to the unfortunate rise of foreclosures that appear to be spreading around the country," said Joe Falk, the group's legislative chair.
MortgageDaily.com subscribers read full story
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| State Licensee Actions
Several states have taken a range of actions against individual and company mortgage licensees.
In Georgia regulators have issued cease and desist orders to three brokers and one brokerage firm.
A final order from the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance has been issued to PFS Mortgage of Alpharetta, Ga.
MortgageDaily.com subscribers read full story
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| Brokers Better for Subprime Borrowers
Subprime borrowers who use mortgage brokers pay less than when obtaining their mortgage from a mortgage banker, according to a joint study from economists at George Washington and Oklahoma State Universities. But a mortgage banking group questions the consistency of the findings.
This was the conclusion from data analyzed from the third quarter of 1995 through the end of 2003 from the subprime mortgage subsidiaries of 10 large financial institutions, the report said.
"The results indicate that broker-originated mortgages are not more costly and generally less costly to the borrower than lender-originated mortgages after holding other loan terms and borrower characteristics constant" the economists reported. "They are consistent with hypotheses that brokers may be more efficient than lenders in originating loans and may be better able to match borrowers' and lenders' reservation prices."
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| Licenses Lost
Georgia regulators have issued cease and desist orders to four mortgage brokers.
None could be reached for comment by MortgageDaily.com and the department only releases limited information on cease and desist orders.
Several alleged offenses were given by the department in its announcements, including making false statements to lenders, employing felons, making illegal payments to employees, not keeping proper records, conducting business with unlicensed brokers and lenders and making false statements to the state.
MortgageDaily.com subscribers read full text of story
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