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Mortgage Industry News Headlines
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Last Updated Saturday, November 07, 2009 06:52 PM CST
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Banks Cut Over 2,000 Jobs
U.S. Bank plans to layoff more than 1,000 employees in Southern California during the second half of 2009, according to an analysis by MortgageDaily.com of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filings. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its subsidiaries laid off more than 400 California employees during the third quarter. Nearly 600 more California layoffs are planned by Chase during the fourth quarter.
Cost of Friday's Failures: $1.5 Billion
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced the closing of five federally insured banks on Friday. One of those failures, United Commercial Bank, is expected to cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $1.4 billion. The other four failures are expected to add up to $132 million in costs.
FDIC Maintains Fast Pace of Regulatory Orders
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reported that it processed 48 enforcement actions and matters during September. The agency processed the same number during August. September's activity included 26 cease-and-desist orders.
Mortgage Leads and More
Eight of LendingTree's best customers were recognized for outstanding achievement during the Charlotte, N.C.-based firm's 10th Annual Partner Summit. Former LendingTree executive Keith Moore was hired as chief marketing officer of iContact, a news release indicated. Leads360 recently reported that a division of Jones International Ltd. became its 4,000th client.
Office, Industrial Originations Up
Commercial mortgage production for loans secured by office properties jumped by nearly two thirds from the second quarter in the Mortgage Bankers Association's third-quarter origination survey. Industrial origination activity expanded by nearly half during the same period. However, overall commercial loan fundings declined.
Mortgage Jobs Fall Further
During September, nearly 3,000 mortgage jobs were shed, based on data reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was the second consecutive monthly decline for people in real estate finance. Mortgage headcount was down 42,400 from September 2008.
US Bank Among 6 FHA Lenders to Face HUD Actions
U.S. Bank, N.A., is accused of failing "to provide necessary documentation delayed the re-sale of the foreclosed property and the department's mitigation of the FHA fund's losses in connection with the claim," the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a news release. The Minneapolis-based institution "agreed to settle allegations that it violated HUD/FHA requirements in the submission of documentation necessary for the department to process a claim on a multifamily insured property" for an administrative payment of $37,500. In all, four Federal Housing Administration-approved lenders settled with HUD, while the agency hit two other approved mortgagees with $27,000 in civil money penalties.
PHH Fundings Off, Big MSR Write-Downs
Third-quarter residential originations fell 18 percent from the second quarter, PHH Corp. announced. Applications, meanwhile, were down nearly a quarter. PHH took $186 million in negative valuation adjustments on its mortgage servicing rights.
American Home v. Ohio AG v. American Home
A complaint was filed in an Ohio court against Ohio's attorney general by American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc. On the same day, the attorney general filed another lawsuit filed another lawsuit in Ohio against American Home. Ohio claims the company used modification agreements that forced borrowers to pay excessive fees, waive their rights and agree to modification terms that were "unconscionably one-sided." American Home claims the state made unsupported allegations.
Rates Likely to Hold
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was down 5 basis points from the prior week in Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 0.06%. But the yield on the 10-year Treasury indicated fixed rates are likely to stay at their current levels over the next seven days, while a plurality of panelists surveyed by Bankrate.com projected rates will remain idle for at least a month.
Program Keeps REOs Occupied
The "Deed-for-Lease Program" has been introduced by Fannie Mae. It is immediately available on first lien mortgages owned or managed by Fannie. Qualified borrowers who transfer their properties through the deed-in-lieu of foreclosure process can execute a lease for up to 12 months.
Default Service Providers Drain Pool of Servicing Executives
Jane Johnson was appointed senior vice president of loss mitigation services at ServiceLink, according to an announcement last month. LoanCare has a new chief operating officer: Ralph Carrigan. James G. Jones has joined DepotPoint Inc.'s board of directors, a news release said.
Organizational Executives
Patrick M. Parkinson was appointed director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, the Federal Reserve Board reported. Parkinson joined the board in 1980. The American Bankers Association elected Arthur C. Johnson as its chairman, a news release indicated.
Banks Shuffle Mortgage Executives
Raymond S. Barbone was named executive vice president of mortgage services at BankUnited. Dave Dorsey was promoted to executive vice president at Frontier Bank's real estate division, Frontier Financial Corp. said last month. Family First Federal Credit Union issued an announcement indicating Jon K. Meier was hired as mortgage manager.
Record Consumer Bankruptcy Filings
Last month, consumer bankruptcy filings rose 9 percent from September, according to data released by the American Bankruptcy Institute. Compared to a year earlier, filing were up 28 percent. October filings represented "new highs," according to ABI.
GMAC Surpasses Citi in Quarterly Originations
Residential originations at GMAC Financial Services declined $3.1 billion from the second quarter, according to third-quarter earnings data. But over at Citigroup Inc., volume was down by $17.0 billion. The smaller decline at GMAC helped it displace Citi as the fourth biggest residential lender in the country.
Reverse Volume Drops
Reverse mortgage lenders closed 7 percent fewer loans in October than during September, Reverse Market Insight reported. Compared to a year earlier, volume was down 13 percent. The biggest retail reverse lender last month was Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
MTA Headed Below 0.5%
The monthly Treasury index dropped 9 basis points from September to October, according to Federal Reserve Data. Compared to a year earlier, the MTA has fallen 171 BPS. Based on a review of the data, the index will likely fall below a half percent this month.
USA Mortgage Originations Surpass $1 Billion
USA Mortgage reported that it has already surpassed $1 billion in annual originations this year. Projected volume for all of 2009 is more than double the level of production during all of 2008. Parent company DAS Acquisition Company LLC is "the largest mortgage bank in metro St. Louis," according to the statement.
Fannie's Performance Worsens
Third quarter business acquisitions fell more than $5 billion from the second quarter, according to monthly operational data. During just September, volume was off 2 percent from August. Meanwhile, serious residential delinquency climbed further into record territory.
HFF Business Picks Up
The dollar volume of third-quarter commercial real estate financing transactions at HFF Inc. increased by more than half from the second quarter, according to earnings data. By number of transactions, volume was up nearly a quarter. But production was down by half from a year earlier.
Flagstar Performance Deteriorates
Residential originations during the third quarter were down 29 percent from the second quarter at Flagstar Bancorp Inc., according to earnings data. The company had a nearly $300 million loss during the latest period. The loss widened substantially from both the second quarter and the third-quarter 2008.
BoA Expands Use of Voluntary Disclosure
Bank of America Home Loans announced that its "clarity commitment" was expanded for use with home-equity loans and home-equity lines-of-credit with terms greater than 36 months. The one-page disclosure was first announced in April. The disclosure summarizes key loan turns in simplified language for easy borrower comprehension.
Lenders Warn About Forcing 'Skin in the Game'
The president and chief executive officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association issued a letter to senior member of the House Financial Services Committee. He warned the legislators that pending legislation which would force mortgage bankers to retain "skin in the game" on residential loans they originate could be catastrophic. "If the requirements under Financial Stability Improvement Act are made applicable to all creditors for residential loans, independent mortgage bankers would be forced out of business," he warned.
Agency Issuance Tumbles
During October, fixed-rate issuance was down by more than one-third from September at Fannie Mae, according to eMBS. At Freddie Mac, volume was off 17 percent. Ginnie Mae issuance was one-third lower last month.
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