(And while we're making a tour of the nation, in Florida Old Harbor Bank was closed and 1st United Bank assumed its deposits, Decatur First Bank in Georgia, was closed and Fidelity Bank stepped in, Community Capital Bank, also in GA, is now State Bank and Trust Company. Lastly, in Colorado, Community Banks of Colorado account holders now have Bank Midwest, National Association, Kansas City, Missouri, on their checks.)

Yes, there is value in data. Heck, just think of the wealth of information (yes, there's a reason for that term) contained in the data vaults of institutions such as Fannie, Freddie, MERS (although it only has 60% of the market), title companies, the big servicers, and so on. CoreLogic and Amherst Holdings will begin forecasting future loan prepayments underlying mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie & Freddie. CoreLogic, with 40 million active mortgages up its database sleeve, will provide the numbers, and Amherst will conduct the analysis and predictions on the prepayment risks from refinances, home sales and defaults. And there are lots of people who want to know that.

On to FHA loans and a quick note on something that I am often asked about. It is not a loosening of underwriting guidelines when companies advertise something like, "Minimum FICO 560 on our FHA loans!!" Usually these lenders are approved with Ginnie Mae, are issuing their own securities, often are servicing these loans, and therefore can offer these products with few or no overlays.

HUD issued a new Mortgagee Letter, 2011-37 for those playing along in the home audience, titled “Extension of Implementation and Reporting Dates Regarding Trial Payment Plan for Loan Modifications and Partial Claims under Federal Housing Administration’s Loss Mitigation Program.” Those interested can go to http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/letters/mortgagee/.

But probably more interesting is a FHA Industry Webinar/Conference Call tomorrow from 2-3EST. “The purpose of this webinar is to inform FHA industry partners of recent updates to FHA-Approved Lender regulatory requirements & guidance.  The webinar will focus on FHA Mortgagee Letters 2011-33, 2011-34, & Sponsored Third Party Originators.” The audio portion of the Webinar/Conference call can be accessed by dialing: 866-207-1228, the conference call ID# is: 20388924: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/216465936.

"America has been very, very good to me..." The Wall Street Journal reports that Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, will offer a proposal that would give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to purchase homes in the United States. Supporters believe the initiative would help absorb a glut of housing supply, especially in markets like Arizona and south Florida, where foreign buyers have representing a rising share of home buying activity. In fact, I think that the last time a U.S. citizen bought a house in South Florida was last February.

Drama in the mortgage insurance biz continues. “Insurance regulators in Arizona have seized the main subsidiary of private mortgage insurer PMI Group, which will begin paying claims at just 50%.”
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/story/2011-10-22/pmi-mortgage-insurance-seized-arizona/50870238/1

Across the MI aisle, MGIC Investment reported a wider third-quarter loss as the cost of claims from mortgage delinquencies rose. It dragged the stock price of others, such as Radian and PMI, down. Most believe that capital reserve levels have been depleted at many older MI companies, and MGIC has been unprofitable for 16 of the last 17 quarters. Its stock price is down over 70% this year, Radian almost 70%, and PMI 89%. Let’s hope, unlike many of our brethren at WAMU, Countrywide, or Lehman, their employees diversified their retirement plans away from their own stock.

On the good news front, however, “MGIC is pleased to announce that as of November 1, all restrictions will be lifted from California and several other restricted markets. See the announcement at http://www.mgic.com/email/uw_bulletin_04-2011.html, but highlights in CA include 95% LTV purchases and r/t refi’s up to $625,500, 95% LTV condos, 97% LTV SFR purchases to $417,000, and 660 FICOs on 95% LTV purchase and r/t refi’s to $417,000. MGIC also changed up (baseball, World Series reference!) its designations of "Tier One" and "Tier Two" Restricted Markets, doing away with them. But check the bulletin for details.

SunTrust Banks’ stock didn’t fare too well at the end of the week after reporting higher mortgage-repurchase costs and operating expenses. Earnings came in higher than expected at $2.19 billion, and improved credit quality and moderate loan growth in both consumer and commercial loans helped. “Operating losses related to mortgage services continues to be elevated, and even outside that increase, you still had total expenses higher,” said one analyst. Operating losses related to mortgage servicing increased by $45 million in the third quarter compared with a year earlier. Mortgage repurchase costs were $117 million, an increase of $27 million over the prior quarter.

This is not for the faint of heart. As the housing market collapsed and home prices plummeted, Americans lost vast amounts of wealth. Homeowners in some cities were hit particularly hard — Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla., are now effectively “underwater,” with more mortgage debt than property value over all. It is a graph showing the ratio of total mortgage debt to property value in areas around the US.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/19/business/more-mortgage-debt-than-property-value.html?srctp

Here’s one editorial plan to halt the fall in house prices. “The government should reduce mortgage principal when it exceeds 110 percent of the home value. About 11 million of the nearly 15 million homes that are ‘underwater’ are in this category. If everyone eligible participated, the one-time cost would be under $350 billion: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/opinion/how-to-stop-the-drop-in-home-values.html?_r1&partnerrss&emcrss

Based on a quick scan of the names in the latest Bank of America shuffle of its retail banking and mortgage leadership team, it will never be accused of not having enough women in senior management. “Barbara Desoer maintains the title of president of home loans, but her role is now to integrate home loans into consumer and small business banking. Two other executives will now run the underlying mortgage business. Susan Faulkner, an executive in charge of products in consumer and small business, will now also run home loan products. Dean Athanasia, who ran banking for preferred and small businesses, will now also run home loan sales. Laurie Readhead, a former retail executive, will now be focused on "driving out the New BAC ideas" across the consumer businesses. Katy Knox was given the head of a newly combined retail unit called Retail Banking and Distribution.

Bank of America issued a list of key dates in regards to their closure at year end. October 21 is the last day Correspondent Lending will offer lock terms greater than 30 days. October 31 is the last day to lock Best Effort commitments and Mandatory trades. November 10 is the last day clients may deliver loans (credit packages) to Correspondent Lending for prior underwriting decisions. Loans with application dates of December 1 or later will not be eligible for purchase by Correspondent Lending. December 5 is the last day to deliver any loan to Correspondent Lending for purchase, and December 15 is the last day Bank of America Correspondent Lending will purchase any loan. Correspondent Lending will enforce the final December 15 purchase date, irrespective of the file due date or target funding date on a commitment, relock or extension. Loans with commitments issued prior to October 3, 2011 with an initial file due date on or after December 16 will be purchased in accordance with the initial file due date terms and are not eligible for extension or relock.

For economic news there is zip today. Tomorrow is another Case-Shiller Index (20 cities), another Housing Price Index (FHFA), and Consumer Confidence. (Are you more confident than last month?) Wednesday is Durable Goods (always volatile), and New Home Sales (let's sell the old ones first). Thursday is Jobless Claims (will we ever run out of new claims?), GDP, and Pending Home Sales.

Top 10 Rules for Halloween for seniors. You know you are too old to Trick or Treat when:
10. You keep knocking on your own front door.
9. You remove your false teeth to change your appearance.
8. You ask for soft high fiber candy only.
7. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag, and you lose your balance and fall over.
6. People say: 'Great Boris Karloff Mask,' and you're not wearing a mask.
5. When the door opens you yell, 'Trick or...' and you can't remember the rest.
4. By the end of the night, you have a bag full of restraining orders.
3. You have to carefully choose a costume that doesn't dislodge your hairpiece.
2. You're the only Power Ranger in the neighborhood with a walker.
And the number one reason seniors should not go
Trick or Treating...
1. You keep having to go home to piddle.