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Top Mortgage News in April
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2 Wholesalers Done, 1 Scales Back
Two wholesale lenders are done, while a third has significantly scaled back operations -- leaving a number of workers unemployed.
Macquarie Bank Limited said in a statement that its Macquarie Securitisation Ltd. unit is winding back its residential mortgage origination services for both retail and wholesale customers "due to the significant increase in the cost of funding mortgages and current conditions in the global mortgage securitization market."
As of early April, there were already at least 67 subprime-related securities class actions, according to The Subprime Meltdown Heads to Court announced by RiskMetrics Group. And the number of subprime-related lawsuits last year was "significant."
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New Breed of Wholesalers
Hard-money wholesale lenders have stepped in to fill the void left by failed subprime wholesalers. Among loan programs being marketed are those that allow stated incomes, no minimum credit scores and commercial properties.
LenderLab, a search engine for wholesale lending programs, boasts 12,000 loan programs from 400 wholesalers. A search for a $200,000 mortgage in Texas with an 80 percent loan-to-value loan, stated income and a 620 credit score turned up American First Financial Inc. -- which said it will go to 85 percent LTV with good credit.
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WaMu Closing Wholesale Unit, Retail Centers
Washington Mutual Inc. is shutting down its wholesale lending unit as well as its home loan centers. The move could potentially impact more than 10,000 employees.
4 More Confirmed Dead
Mortgage lending operations continue to close from Colorado to New Jersey. Two of the latest victims were wholesale lenders.
Collapse Tied to Fraud
A $15 million mortgage fraud judgment has driven a Virginia-based mortgage company into bankruptcy liquidation. Among creditors listed in the bankruptcy filing are a number of failed wholesale mortgage lenders.
Fla. Firm Bankrupt
Millions of dollars in litigation have apparently driven a Florida-based lender into bankruptcy liquidation.
Brokers, Appraisers and Securitizers Blamed for Meltdown
The former owner of a failed wholesale lender has authored a book that discusses his take on the causes of the mortgage meltdown. Among the culprits: mortgage brokers, appraisers, investment bankers and ratings agencies. Wholesalers, he wrote, were caught in the middle -- though they deserve a share of the blame.
Top Chase Producer
The top originator at JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s mortgage unit generated nearly $200 million in loans last year.
Firm With 800 LOs Closes Only 40 Loans Monthly
Reverse mortgage activity is fueling hiring at a California-based mortgage company, which said it has grown to 800 loan officers nationally and is headed higher. But the growth is deceiving -- as the company is closing fewer than 50 reverse loans monthly.
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Sam Garcia Publisher  Mortgage Industry News |
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