Oct. 5, 2011: Upcoming conferences & lots of various training sessions; a pod of investor updates
Rob Chrisman
The
English language has different nouns for the various groups of
animals. We call a bunch of cows a “herd.” We call a group of
geese a “gaggle,” a bunch of fish a “school.” We call a group of
sheep a “flock.” There’s a “pride” of lions, a “murder” of
crows, an “exaltation” of doves, a “parliament” of owls, and a
“congress” of baboons. I don’t know which of those might apply
to folks in the mortgage business when they congregate, but they
have been, and will be, congregatin’ in conferences.
Next
week, of course, is the
MBA event in Chicago: mortgage bankers everywhere are gearing
up for the MBA Triathlon (making sure your blackberry is
charged, sitting through eight 1-hour meetings about paperless
& electronic delivery, and then attending five cocktail
receptions in 3 hours within 4 blocks).
But
on a regional basis, in Bellevue, Washington the following week
(10/18) is a dinner hosted by the Seattle Mortgage Bankers
Association, the topic being "The Current State of
Mortgage Banking: How changes may help the industry going
forward." For more information go to http://www.seattlemba.org/events.html.
And
in the Dallas area, November 7 & 8, the Texas Mortgage Bankers
Association is hosting its 61st annual Educational Seminar
and Marketplace, titled, "The Confluence of Government
Regulation and Loan Origination." Topics include, "Issues
Experienced During Compliance Exams & How Financial
Institutions Can Be Proactive, Transitioning from a Branch
Manager to a Mortgage Banker, Best Practices for Disaster
Recovery in Secondary Marketing, The Fine Print in Mortgage
Insurance and Quality Control Audits, Right or Wrong What Might
Get You Sued? Real Estate Economic Forecast, and Fair Lending
from a Legal and Business Standpoint," along with continuing
education for MLO's." The early registration ends today, so if
you're interested go to https://texasmba.org/reg_seminar_on.htm."
And
for more training, Capital
Solutions Financial Group (CSFG), an Irvine CA based
lender, is hosting
a non-agency real estate mortgage performance, investing, and
lending seminar next Wednesday (10/12) evening at its
corporate headquarters in Irvine. Guest speakers include Mark
Latimer (President Baypointe Equity - specializing in arranging
private mortgage loans), Mike Kaylor (president of the Kaylor
Law Firm discussing deferred trusts and tax law), and Rod
Colombi (president of CSFG - reviewing recent real estate trend
data and investment returns). For more information please
contact Rod Colombi rcolombi@capitalsfg.com.
If
you're interested in what the US Census Bureau has
to say about housing, which might just be pretty
interesting, tune in tomorrow at 1PM EST when a few folks from
its Housing Statistics Branch do a presentation. Use the toll
free number: 1-800-369-2179, with Participant passcode: CENSUS.
"Note: Stay on the line until operator asks for the passcode. Do
not key in passcode." For the online portion, login early, as
some setup is required. URL: https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join/, Conference
number:
PW4849582, Audience passcode: CENSUS.
And for you NMLS issuers,
this month’s course provider renewal period closed on 9/30 and
the October renewal period opened 10/1 – you know who you are
and have until Monday, October 31 to submit their renewal
applications. ‘Course providers up for renewal are encouraged
to closely review the documentation posted under the Course
Provider Section of the Resource Center to ensure they are in
compliance with all requirements prior to submitting the
application and paying the fees."
Everywhere
I
go, loan agents say that the NMLS classes are "kind of
interesting, and usually pretty fun until you find out that the
teacher means business - usually at the point the cell phones
are turned off and go into a bag." The SAFE Act requires that
state-licensed mortgage loan originators (MLOs) complete 8 hours
of NMLS approved continuing education (CE) annually. The SAFE
Act also stipulates that a state-licensed MLO “may not take the
same approved course in the same or successive years to meet the
annual requirements for continuing education.” NMLS has
interpreted the term “successive years” to mean two years in a
row. "The NMLS Policy on Late CE courses and the requirements
and details associated how to submit courses for the 2011 Late
CE catalog has been posted to the Course Provider Section of the
NMLS Resource Center under Notices and Examples, and there is a
conference call tomorrow at 2PM EST addressing this. “The
conference call is limited only NMLS approved course providers.
Providers interested in participating need to RSVP to Rich
Madison (rmadison@csbs.org) by
today."
Yesterday
the
commentary had a lengthy discourse on the appraisal process. But
I had the incorrect name: it’s Mark Chapman, not Mark Eastman,
from SouthEastern Evaluation. My apologies – normally I save my
mistakes for industry news, underwriting updates, and economic
statistics!
Starting this week Bank
of Internet USA is now BofI Federal Bank. BofI Federal
Bank has adopted the new name and logo to unify its division
brands under an umbrella entity.
PHH Mortgage
announced that in the last six months it has “agreed to provide
mortgage services to five new financial institution clients
through its Private Label Solutions (PLS) business. Many in the
industry attribute PHH's growth to the servicing agreements that
it signs with clients, in that it agrees to not cross-sell to
borrowers – a big plus. The press released noted it “signed
agreements with these new PLS clients to provide end-to-end
mortgage process management services to loan officers, financial
advisors and their customers. The Company also said it was
unable to reach an agreement to renew an existing relationship
with Charles Schwab Bank, and indicated that it expects the
addition of its new PLS clients to more than offset any
resulting lost income from Charles Schwab Bank…As a result of
these signings, we will expand our nationwide footprint for
sourcing mortgage originations, with a net gain of more than
25,000 financial advisors affiliated with our PLS clients,
further strengthening our position as one of the leading
knowledge-based mortgage originators and servicers in the United
States."
For more investor news, Bank
of America issued a disaster update for the Texas
wildfires. It also addressed the Uniform Loan Delivery Dataset
(ULDD), provided a revised loan purchase voucher, and a new LPV
Affordable Loan Program Addendum.
Suntrust told clients
that, “HUD REO properties that only require a minimum down
payment of $100 may only have a maximum total loan amount
including upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) equal to or
less than the "as is" appraised value. This update does not
affect 203(b) with repair escrow loans.”
JPMorgan Chase issued
a bulletin serving as a reminder of the Chase price cap policy
for Standard Mandatory, AOT/Direct Trade and Best Efforts
products, and also increased its price adjustment for agency
fixed rate high balance loans by .125.
The Department of
Agriculture sent out a form (10-11)1980-21 “that must be
used on any files received for Conditional commitment, as the
revised form incorporates the required annual fee disclosures.”
It also told folks that “funding for the Single Family Housing
Guarantee Loan Program (SFHGLP) will not be available for a
short period of time at the beginning of Fiscal year 2012.
During the time frame between October 1st, 2011 and receipt of
continuing resolution funds, Conditional Commitments will be
issued "subject to the availability of commitment authority" for
both purchase and refinance transactions. The FY12 up-front
guarantee fee will be 2% for purchase transactions and 1% for
refinance transactions In addition to the up-front guarantee
fee, all FY 2012 obligations (purchase and refinance)will be
subject to an annual fee of 0.3 % of the average schedule unpaid
principal balance of the loan. Contact Tony Ballestero if you
have any questions: 208-733-5380, ext. 106 or visit www.rurdev.usda.gov.
ING Mortgage let
brokers know that it made some changes to rate adjustments,
starting today. "ING to ING Refinance rate adjustment will be
removed. Second Home rate adjustment will be increased from
0.125% to 0.375%."
Franklin American
sent out over four pages of changes to their guidelines, and the
corresponding sections of FAMC's guide. Topics ranged from new
forms for FHA condominiums & the total loan amount for
IRRRLs including the EEM cost improvements to the new annual
guarantee fee for USDA loans & employer relocation
assistance. As always, it is best to consult the actual
announcement for information - it is too long to detail here.
GMAC Bank Wholesale
& Correspondent reminded clients that Monday is Columbus Day
and a federal holiday. Therefore, many banks and the U.S. Postal
Service will not be open for business. GMACB will be open for
business, but the day cannot be included in the rescission
period for refinances. It is not a business day.
The
markets are behaving themselves, although fixed-income traders
report that trading in this environment is growing increasingly
difficult. “We're approaching levels that suggest the worst is
built in.” The MBA reported that mortgage applications fell 4.3%
last week in spite of the great rates. Banks are afraid to lend,
to put it simply. Volatility picked up a little Monday afternoon
when traders realized the Fed's daily purchases were not going
to be enough to hold up mortgages at current (low) yields,
higher levels of volatility and supply. Throw in some European
uncertainty and the REIT issues mentioned above and folks become
nervous.
Bernanke’s
talk
yesterday showed concern about the problems in Europe and market
uncertainty, and he urged policy action to support the housing
market and encouraged Congress to come up with a long-run plan
for fiscal responsibility – nothing too dramatic. But he feels
that stabilization in the housing market is crucial to the
economic recovery, and that Congress should focus on policies to
support housing such as managing REO overhand, facilitating
refinancing for underwater borrowers, stabilizing distressed
neighborhoods, and suggesting a clear path for the future of the
mortgage finance system. Good luck with that one ahead of next
November.
By
the end of yesterday Treasury rates were nearly unchanged from
Monday’s closing levels, with the 10-yr at 1.78%. Originator
selling picked up with supply totaling between $2 and $3
billion, higher than average over the last 30 days per Tradeweb,
which pushed MBS prices down about .375.
Overnight
Italy’s
credit rating was cut by Moody’s for the first time in almost
two decades on concern that chronically weak growth will make it
difficult to reduce the region’s second-largest debt while
fallout from the region’s debt crisis boosts financing costs. Do
you think so? Moody’s lowered Italy’s rating three levels to A2
from Aa2, with a negative outlook. The ADP numbers came out this
morning. Small business service providing companies contributed
nearly 2/3 of the jobs – and the basic ADP number showed a
pickup of 91k, a little stronger than expected. Later we have an
ISM Non-Manufacturing number. The 10-yr is up to 1.84%
and MBS prices are worse by about .250.
(An
example of mistaken unintended consequences.)
Ole and Lars were on their very first train ride. They had
brought along bananas for lunch. Just as they began to peel
them, the train entered a long, dark tunnel.
"Have you eaten your banana yet," Ole asked excitedly?
"No," replied Lars..
"Vell, don't touch it den," Ole exclaimed. "I yust took vun
bite and vent blind!"
