Jun. 25, 2012: Mortgage jobs; Old Republic & foreclosure legality updates; CA Homeowner Bill of Rights nears vote; lots & lots of training & education news
Rob Chrisman
The
political climate is heating up. Jokes that we were able to tell
on the trading desk, regardless
of political affiliation, are flying around, like, "How do
you tell a Romney supporter from an Obama supporter? Romney
supporters sign their checks on the front; Obama supporters sign
'em on the back." Of course, being independent I could never use that one
in this commentary, but watch for politics here and in
Europe to influence the markets and environment more than much
of the weekly and monthly economic data that comes out.
And
companies continue to fill in where BofA, MetLife, ING, and GMAC
scaled back. SF retail & wholesale shop Bay Equity is
recruiting wholesale Area Sales Managers and Account
Executives in the Sacramento, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona
markets. Bay Equity was recently ranked #5 on the Bay
Area’s top 100 fastest growing private companies by the SF
Business Times, and is looking to aggressively expand in those
areas by hiring executives who can make an impact in these
regions. For more information visit its website at www.bayeq.com
or contact their Director of Wholesale John Curtin directly at john@bayeq.com.
Intercap
Lending
is searching for qualified DE underwriters (LAPP experience is
a plus) and FHA/VA processors, both with a minimum of 5 years’
experience, to work in its Denver/Boulder, Colorado Operations
Center and its Irvine, California office. In addition, Intercap
Wholesale is hiring AE’s in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and
Utah. The company is also in search of Regional Vice
Presidents of Wholesale Production for Southern and Northern
California. Intercap Wholesale offers unlimited HARP and
FHA Streamline loans as well as standard government and
conventional loan products. The lender is a DBA of Suburban
Mortgage Company of New Mexico, is 33 years old, and is a Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer as well as a GNMA issuer. If
interested in any of the positions available, please contact Jim
Storm at jstorm@intercaplending.com.
Here's
an interesting note I received; "Rob, have you heard anything
about a rumor that Fannie is coming out with a bulletin with
new counterparty rules, and that Fannie will have volume
limits based on a lender's net worth, quality, repurchase record
and servicing. There are too many thinly capitalized
independents that could not buy back 10 loans and were doing
$100 mm per month. One lender with a $5 million net worth was
told their limit was 7x, or $35 million, on an annual basis." I
haven't heard anything new that wasn't industry knowledge in
early May, and noted in this commentary, about capping. On May
8th I wrote, "Here at the MBA's National Secondary, one of the
big topics is monitoring & limiting counterparty risk,
the current version, with a few twists, of ‘Don't put all your
eggs in one basket.’ Pipeline hedging firms advise not doing all
your security trades with one broker-dealer, just like a
wholesale lender doesn't want all its business coming from
broker. The CFPB has pretty much said that financial
institutions need to concern themselves with, and in some cases
be responsible for, their counterparties following policies and
procedures. One piece of
scuttlebutt from this conference in NY is the possible capping
of agency counterparty risk in the form of limiting sales to
Freddie & Fannie based on net worth. At this point it
is a rumor, but if it plays out, it could severely hamper small
independent mortgage bankers in selling large sums to Fannie
& Freddie and help the depositories. Makes sense... if your
net worth is $3 million, and you're selling $100 million a month
to an agency, does the agency want that potential liability?" It
is best to discuss items like this with your Freddie or Fannie
rep.
Uh oh... Late last week the final bill language was received for
California's "Homeowner Bill of Rights." A vote is
expected this week. One saying is that, "As California goes, so
goes the nation," and if that is the case, it is not good: the
California Mortgage Bankers Association did have a strong
oppose position to the original language in the previous
versions of the proposals: http://www.cmba.com/new/index.asp
Moody's cut the ratings of many major, and non-major, banks
last week - but not Wells Fargo's. Why not? It isn't
necessarily because Moody's liked the stage coach - it must have
something to do with residential lending decisions in the last
ten years: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/22/us-wellsfargo-mortgages-idUSBRE85L1BE20120622.
Citing “significant exposure to the volatility and risk of
outsized losses inherent to capital-markets activities,” Moody’s
completed its review begun Feb. 15 and downgraded 15 global
banks as follows: 1 notch (13 banks), 2 notches (Morgan
Stanley), and 3 notches (for Credit Suisse Group). The
downgrades were expected and analysts dismissed them as coming
years too late. Nonetheless, the cuts will cost billions of
dollars for each bank.
There
is
some solid training and industry event news out there.
Clarifying
and containing risk is on everyone's mind in this environment.
As it turns out, the MBA is holding a "Risk Management
& Quality Assurance Forum 2012" in early September in
Dallas. (Yes, there will be air conditioning.) It will cover
risk analytics, quality assurance, underwriting, and servicing
QC. It's very meaty and impressive- check it out: http://mba.informz.net/MBA/data/images/m2122007_brochure.pdf.
The
summer lineup of the FHA’s Basic Loss Mitigation training for
HUD-approved housing counseling agencies includes September 13th
in Las Vegas, NV and September 30th in Phoenix, AZ. Loss
mitigation webinars that focus on different aspects of the
foreclosure process will be held throughout the summer as well.
Additional loss mitigation training is available at the FHA’s
National Servicing Center in Oklahoma City, OK on August 15th
and 16th. Designed for HUD-approved housing counselors,
nonprofit housing counselors, and HUD-approved mortgagees, these
seminars cover delinquencies, defaults, mortgage collection
activities, and initiating foreclosure. More information can be
found at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src/program_offices/housing/sfh/nsc/training.
With FinCEN’s August 23rd deadline in mind, CampusMBA is
presenting a webinar on establishing Anti-Money Laundering and
Suspicious Activity Report programs on June 19th. Aimed at
non-bank lenders and originators, the program will cover topics
such as the background of the Bank Secrecy Act, the role of the
Lender Compliance Officer, and SAR red flags. More information
and registration links are available at http://store.mortgagebankers.org/ProductDetail.aspx?product_codeâ121716AP%2fREGIS.
We are in the middle of this year’s MBA Chairman’s
Conference (June 24th-26th) in Palm Beach, FL
and is open to all Senior Executives of regular MBA member
firms, premier associate members, and members of the Board of
Directors and Board of Governors. The program is slated to
include peer-to-peer discussions, roundtables, and presentations
by industry leaders. See http://www.mortgagebankers.org/chairmans12.htm
for more information.
Online loss mitigation training is being offered for
underwriters and home retention specialists will be available
from July 9th-11th. Combining self-study, live webinars, and
instructor guidance, the course covers loss mitigation and
retention resources, options, decision-making criteria,
government agency directives, and foreclosure prevention
models. To find out more and register, see http://store.mortgagebankers.org/ProductDetail.aspx?product_codeDL2-009926-WC-W.
As part of the MBA’s adoption of inspector qualification best
practices for properties financed by Fannie and Freddie,
CampusMBA will hold a workshop on multifamily property
inspections in Palatine, IL on July 12th and 13th.
Participants will be instructed on the regulation governing such
properties, performing a physical inspection, and evaluating
observable market factors. Registration contacts can be found
at http://www.campusmba.org/products/default.aspx?product_codeâ121796C/REGIS.
CampusMBA’s next Residential CMB online prep course will
run from July 13th-August 31st. Designed to prepare candidates
enrolled in the CMB program for the written exam, the course
covers origination, underwriting, loan administration,
marketing, investor relations, financial management and
strategy, real estate law, and industry-wide issues over its
eight-week duration. Visit http://store.mortgagebankers.org/ProductDetail.aspx?product_codeDL2-002021-WC-W
to register.
An online training session on the notary compliance required by
the OCC and AG settlement and the CFPB’s proposed National
Servicing Standards is being offered by CampusMBA on July
19th. The webinar will discuss the background of the
settlement, training standards, supervision of notary employees,
record-keeping requirements, penalties, and how firms can
improve their notary programs. See http://store.mortgagebankers.org/ProductDetail.aspx?product_codeâ121716AO%2fREGIS
for further details and registration.
The MBA School of Mortgage Banking will be hosting a training
event titled “Managing Profitability and Risk” in
Washington, DC from July 31st-August 3rd. Developing markets,
production management, servicing portfolio management and
valuation, marketing risk management, and pricing strategy are
all on the agenda. More information is available at http://store.mortgagebankers.org/ProductDetail.aspx?product_codeDL2-002021-WC-W.
The next DC offering from the School of Mortgage Banking will be
its “Introduction to the Real Estate Finance Industry,” which
covers the structure of a residential mortgage banking firm and
the relationships of the various actors within the industry.
Participants will receive instruction on loss mitigation,
predatory lending, capital markets, real estate law and
regulation, and real estate mathematics. The event will take
place from July 31st-August 3rd; see http://www.campusmba.org/products/default.aspx?product_codeâ121814B/REGIS.
CampusMBA will be offering an instructor-guided online course
that will cover property preservation requirements, resources
for outsourcing vendors for maintenance and preservation, GSE
and non-GSE requirements for REO properties, and valuation of
REO assets from August 6th-8th. Details and registration are
available at http://store.mortgagebankers.org/ProductDetail.aspx?product_codeDL2-009927-WC-W.
The Texas Mortgage Bankers Association is presenting its
Southern States Servicing Conference in Grapevine, TX on
September 19th and 20th. Four “tracks” are available, including
loss mitigation, REO/property preservation, bankruptcy and
foreclosure, and “hot topics” like fraud and information
security. More information and registry links can be found at https://www.texasmba.org/servicing/.
The
TMBA will also be holding its 62nd annual Educational Seminar
and Marketplace in Sugar Land, TX on November 12th and 13th; see
http://www.texasmba.org/seminar/
for more details.
A webinar on self-employed borrowers is being offered by the FHA
on June 27th. The training will discuss new policies and
underwriting requirements, tax returns, and using the Schedule
Analysis Method to analyze the borrower’s business. Register at
http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id‡679.
Training on taking advantage of FHA regulation changes to assist
housing counseling clients will be available in Sacramento, CA
on July 17th for program managers and counselors with clients
facing foreclosure or reentering the housing market. The event
is only open to non-profit and government organizations; see http://www.rcac.org/events.aspx?824
for details.
Phew!!
Our heads would all full of stuff after all that!
It
is quite the week for news here in the United States, and
Europe. Much of it is “second tier” data, however – not
really capable of moving rates, but it will give us a flavor of
things and we’ll see if we continue on our “slow recovery”
scenario. Today we have New Home Sales. Tomorrow is the
Case-Shiller 20-city Index and Consumer Confidence. Wednesday is
the volatile Durable Goods and Pending Home Sales, and Thursday
is Jobless Claims & GDP. We finish Friday with Personal
Income and Consumption, some PCE Prices, the Chicago Purchasing
Manager’s Index, and the University of Michigan Consumer
Sentiment number. But the biggest event could be Friday's EU
Summit and also Treasury auctions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday.
In
the early going, our 10-yr, which closed at a yield of 1.67% of
Friday, is back down to 1.62%, and agency MBS prices are better
by about .250.
Here
are the “Top 10 things you wish you could say to your borrowers
but can’t.” (Part 1 of 2.)
10. After reviewing your tax return…Is your company hiring?
9. Unfortunately, we just cannot use the $20,000 you have stored
in your gun safe to cover the cash you’re short to close.
8. Listen, there’s been a red-dot out-break at my office, I will
have to call you back tomorrow
7. Let’s just say I ruled the world, I’d certainly loan you
$417,000 without bothering to check your credit or verify your
income.
6. Sure, take as long as you want to think about my offer of 4%
with no points. In the meantime, I will ask the markets (US and
abroad) to suspend all trading until you decide.
If
you're interested, visit my twice-a-month blog at the STRATMOR
Group web site located at www.stratmorgroup.com.
The current blog discusses the issue of the Freddie Mac &
Bank of America buybacks, and its potential impact on the
industry. If you have both the time and inclination, make a
comment on what I have written, or on other comments so that
folks can learn what's going on out there from the other
readers.
