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January 26, 2007

Top Originators

Posted by S. Germain at 08:21 AM | Comments (0)

First American LoanPerformance Announces 2007 Symposium Series

First American LoanPerformance, a leader in residential mortgage data and analytics for the mortgage industry and Wall Street, announced today the dates and locations for its 6th annual complimentary symposium series, which focuses on best-practice mortgage risk management strategies and solutions.

All symposiums will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and will be preceded by registration and a complimentary breakfast buffet beginning at 8 a.m. A complete agenda and location details are available at www.loanperformance.com/events/symposiums. Attendees can register online by selecting the appropriate link for the city of their choice. Note: No vendors or consultants can register without prior approval from First American LoanPerformance. Questions regarding the 2007 First American LoanPerformance Symposium Series can be emailed to symposiums@loanperformance.com or answered by phone at (415) 536-3508.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

Fidelity National Financial Expands Cultural Competency Program Throughout California

In response to the dramatic population growth among Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans in California, Fidelity National Financial today announced plans to expand the company's Cultural Competency Training Program throughout the state of California. The training program enables employees to better understand key demographics and traits of multicultural communities and to improve communications skills with multicultural customers.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:17 AM | Comments (0)

With Acquisition, Stewart Transaction Solutions Enters the Business of Online Forms for Residential Real Estate Professionals

Stewart Transaction Solutions, Inc. announced today its acquisition of Formulator and key product, WebForms from Realigent. Stewart acquired Formulator on Jan. 4, 2007.

Formulator is an innovative online forms provider in the real estate industry. Introduced in 1992, the forms product has evolved from a DOS-based application, to Windows®, and over the past 15 years has matured to the current online Web-based format, WebForms.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:16 AM | Comments (0)

LandAmerica Selected to Provide Closing Services for Trump Ocean Resort Luxury Development in North Baja, Mexico

LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. announces its participation in the Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico development. The three-tower, 526-unit hotel-condominium luxury resort is located 30 minutes from downtown San Diego in North Baja, Mexico.

LandAmerica will serve as escrow agent, manage the escrow process, and issue title insurance policies on the condominium units or "out-sales" on behalf of the resort's developers, the Trump Organization of New York and Irongate, a Los Angeles-based real estate development and investment company.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

Citigroup Acquires ABN Amro's U.S. Mortgage Loan Unit

Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank, will buy ABN Amro Holding NV's U.S. home-lending arm to expand in billings and collections, a part of the mortgage industry whose profits remain steady as the housing market slows.

The purchase for an undisclosed price would add about $224 billion of mortgages to the more than $500 billion Citigroup already services, a 44 percent increase, spokesman Mark Rodgers said. An unspecified number of jobs will be cut, he said. ABN Amro Mortgage Group employs about 2,300 people, most of them at its Ann Arbor, Michigan, headquarters.

Read the entire story here.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:14 AM | Comments (0)

Biggest Mortgage Lenders

Despite nearly losing the title of biggest mortgage lender during the second quarter, Countrywide Financial Corp. widened its first place lead in the fourth quarter and originated more home loans than any other mortgage banker last year, according to a preliminary analysis of earnings data.

Fourth quarter residential originations were $122 billion, Countrywide reported. The latest period's production was higher than any other U.S. mortgage banker, as were reported annual fundings of $463 billion.

Wells Fargo & Co. reported fourth quarter residential volume of $87 billion, earning a silver medal for the San Francisco-based giant. For the year, Well's said originations were $398 billion, also earning it a second place ranking. During the second quarter, Wells nearly overtook Countrywide as the biggest lender by matching its $116 billion reported fundings.

But -- at a reported $1.4 trillion -- Wells did end the year with the biggest residential servicing portfolio. Wells acquired a $140 billion servicing portfolio from Washington Mutual Inc. last year, leapfrogging it past Countrywide, which said it ended the year with a $1.3 trillion portfolio.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced it originated $44 billion during the fourth quarter, making it the third biggest lender for the period. But for the year, WaMu's reported $191 billion in home fundings earned it the bronze medal for all of 2006.

Chase and Countrywide both reported an increase in quarterly volume from the third quarter, while Citigroup Inc., New Century Financial Corp., Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo each reported a decrease. First Horizon National Corp. reported flat quarterly fundings.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:05 AM | Comments (0)

Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. Selects Quantrix Modeler as Data Modeling Engine for iMAP Risk Analysis Platform

Quantrix today announces that Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. has implemented Quantrix Modeler as the core data modeling engine for its market risk analysis platform, iMAP. With $22 billion in assets covering 323 metropolitan areas in all fifty states, Impac is among the largest companies active in non-conforming residential mortgage loans in the United States. iMAP is a decision-support system that models and presents key risk indices in multiple dimensions to provide executive management, mortgage brokers, underwriters, and lenders with a comprehensive analysis of state and metro markets. Users simply enter a zip code and are presented with comprehensive credit risk analysis for each particular mortgage.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:03 AM | Comments (0)

Advectis' BlitzDocs Solutions Doubles Loan Volume During 2006

Advectis®, Inc., provider of the most widely-used solution for electronic mortgage document collaboration, more than doubled the volume of loans processed or delivered through its collaborative document network in 2006. The company, which has grown its employee base by more than 83 percent in 2006, also grew revenue by more than 100 percent.

Advectis' overall volume of 2006 loans in the BlitzDocs network increased 226 percent from 2005. Advectis also increased its customer base by 45 percent during 2006. By the end of 2006, BlitzDocs users benefit from a network of more than 20,000 broker shops, the top seven mortgage insurance companies and three of the top due diligence providers, and investor participants that represent more than 60 percent of loans purchased in the secondary market.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)

BasePoint Releases FraudMark(TM) for Investment Banking

BasePoint Analytics, a leading provider of scientific fraud analytics and consulting services, today announced the availability of FraudMark(TM) for Investment Banking, a statistical pattern recognition software product designed to assess mortgage fraud risk. FraudMark uses sophisticated analytic scoring technology to identify suspicious mortgage loans, enabling investment banks and due diligence firms to score and identify each loan's fraud risk before it is purchased, during the bid tape selection or due diligence review process. FraudMark for Investment Banking was developed in response to investment bank and due diligence provider demand for more sophisticated, analytics-based solutions to help curtail the growing multi-billion dollar mortgage fraud problem.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)

Loan Protector Launches First EasyTrack(R) Upgrade of 2007

Loan Protector Insurance Services, a leading independent provider of customizable lender-placed insurance programs for lenders and mortgage servicers, has enhanced several features of EasyTrack to improve overall functionality. This is the first of six updates scheduled for 2007.

This system enhancement features an upgraded database platform that has dramatically increased processing speed and improved performance. As a result, clients will realize faster processing of insurance data, saving time and gaining efficiencies in the process.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)

LSSI and Portellus Form Strategic Alliance

Lender Support Systems Inc. (LSSI), a global provider of lending and loan servicing technology solutions, and Portellus Inc., a software solution provider for the mortgage and insurance industries, have announced a strategic alliance and successful systems interface.

The alliance joins Portellus' origination platform, with LSSI's mortgage closing, servicing and imaging technologies, fully automating the ordering of loan closing documents. The seamless interface compiles loan data from Portellus and directly links with LSSI, enabling users to increase efficiencies in loan processing through the use of a single system. When users of Portellus' origination platform request loan closing documents through the automated interface, the information is transferred to LSSI and the document packages are completed and returned to the user.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:57 AM | Comments (0)

Dodd Working on Foreclosure Bill

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., says he is working on legislation to prevent an "unprecedented" wave of subprime foreclosures and to give homeowners a grace period so they can get back on their feet. "This is a homeownership crisis of unprecedented proportions," Sen. Dodd told a group of mayors. He is planning to hold hearings soon, possibly in two weeks. The committee chairman indicated that the legislation might include a rescue fund. "That is a possibility, but it would have to be paid back," he told reporters. Sen. Dodd also told reporters that he wants to move quickly on GSE legislation to strengthen regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and pass a bill in the next two months. He said the Senate government-sponsored enterprise bill will be a "little different" from the House bill. And he declined to take a position on raising the GSE loan limits. "I have to be careful about jumping into that," Sen. Dodd said after speaking to the mayors. "I want to talk with my colleagues first."

Posted by S. Germain at 07:52 AM | Comments (0)

Mandalay Mortgage Closing Its Doors

Mandalay Mortgage, Woodland Hills, Calif., a top-30-ranked subprime wholesale originator, is closing its doors at the end of the month and will stop funding loans, sources familiar with the situation have told MortgageWire. At deadline time, company officials had not returned telephone calls about the matter. A source close to the situation said the company "will fund out everything" it has "in the system." One executive said Mandalay sent out e-mail messages informing employees about the closing on Wednesday evening. Mandalay is the eighth nonprime lender of note to fail within the past 60 days.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:51 AM | Comments (0)

Resales Down 8.1% in '06

Sales of existing single-family homes slipped 1.3% in December and fell by 8.1% for the year (the biggest annual drop since 1989), but 2006 was still the third-best year in terms of sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. The NAR reported that December sales of previously owned single-family homes fell from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.51 million in November to 5.44 million in December. The median single-family home price rose 2.3% in December to $221,600, after declining for three months.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:51 AM | Comments (0)

Banks Move Earlier to Curb Foreclosures

Moody's Economy.com and Equifax Inc. report a jump in mortgage delinquencies to 2.51 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 from 2.33 percent during the previous three-month period, a trend that Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi attributes to rising monthly payments for borrowers with adjustable-rate loans. In order to avoid the costs and hassles associated with foreclosure, some lenders are taking a more active stance in assisting financially distressed customers. Citigroup Inc.'s CitiMortgage subsidiary is informing borrowers of interest-rate adjustments several months in advance and contacting those whose normal payment habits have changed, while Bank of America Corp. is calling borrowers who are most likely to face payment difficulties before th! ey become delinquent and allowing some to refinance at lower interest rates. Others are letting borrowers tack missed payments onto their loan balances. Additionally, lenders are reporting double-digit increases in short sales, which enable borrowers to sell their properties for less than what they owe and have the balance forgiven in order to preserve their credit ratings.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)

Wachovia Profit Rises 35 Percent on Golden West Purchase

Although news of its buyout of the nation's No. 2 savings and loan drove its stock price down more than 5 percent since announcing the deal in early May, Wachovia Corp. cranked out a 35-percent gain in profit for the fourth quarter. Net income at the bank climbed to a record $2.3 billion for the period from $1.71 billion a year earlier, despite investors' concern that Golden West Financial Corp.'s $122 billion portfolio of adjustable-rate mortgages and securities would hurt Wachovia at a time when the housing sector was entering a down cycle. However, revenue from mortgage loans--aided by the Golden West acquisition--rose and contributed to the quarter's solid performance. Wachovia CEO Kennedy Thompson intends to sell "option ARMs" generated by Golden West's! World Savings Bank thrift unit through Wachovia's branch network.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)

$1 Trillion in Adjustables Face a 25 Percent Increase in Payments This Year

Earlier this month, economist John Tuccillo gave an address to the Wisconsin Bankers Association, during which he estimated that more than $1 trillion in adjustable-rate mortgages are set to reprice upward this year. Consequently, he warned, the nation's homeowners should brace for a 25-percent increase in the amount of house payments unless they refinance. Tuccillo, former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, noted, "The degree to which consumers react to that repricing by absorbing higher mortgage payments will determine how consumption spending goes for the rest of 2007." He does expect the U.S. residential property market to rebound in 2007 thanks to favorable demographics that will add a lot of prospects to the overall pool of home buyers.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:45 AM | Comments (0)

Executive Summary: Brea-Based ResMae Mortgage Corp.

Credit Suisse First Boston reportedly is looking to acquire the Brea, Calif.-based subprime lender ResMae Mortgage Corp. Experts predict ongoing consolidation in the subprime niche, which caters to borrowers with imperfect credit.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:44 AM | Comments (0)

Clash Management for Wall St. Mortgage Buyers

A growing number of Wall Street firms are snapping up mortgage servicers and originators, taking into consideration the cultural differences between investment banks and mortgage lenders to ensure a successful integration. Some may follow in the footsteps of Lehman Brothers--which acquired the servicing platform of Aurora Loan Services in 1998--by hiring managers with mortgage banking experience to handle operations, instead of traders. However, critics express concerns about investment banks' practice of pricing risk based on return, with Countrywide Financial Corp. Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo insisting that Wall Street typically underprices loans. Clayton Holdings Inc. President and COO Keith Johnson counters that investment banks are a! ble to offer lower prices due to lower borrowing and origination costs. Meanwhile, Mortgage Bankers Association Chairman John Robbins, CMB, says it remains uncertain whether investment banks will hang onto their mortgage operations in times of weakness, noting that Wall Street firms generally unload nonperforming companies.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:43 AM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2007

Housing Starts

Posted by S. Germain at 08:24 AM | Comments (0)

First American Introduces Instant Title for Refinance Transactions

First American Title Insurance Company announced today that its Lenders Advantage Division has completed development of TitleSmart(TM) -- a new technology that delivers insured title commitments in less than 60 seconds.

The instant title information offered by TitleSmart gives mortgage lenders a significant advantage in pursuing refinance loan business. Having the full title facts -- including ownership, tax, lien, title conditions and closing fee information -- immediately in-hand, rather than waiting the traditional 48 hours to receive that information, increases the lender's ability to effectively consult clients and efficiently close more loans.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:23 AM | Comments (0)

First American Real Estate Solutions Consolidates Mission-Critical Data Centers With Fujitsu PRIMEPOWER Servers

Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation today announced that First American Real Estate Solutions (RES(TM)), the nation's largest provider of advanced property and ownership information, analytics and services and a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE:FAF - News) family of companies, has completed a three-year project using highly reliable Fujitsu PRIMEPOWER® servers. The First American Corporation is using PRIMEPOWER servers to consolidate several data centers into two -- one at its Santa Ana, Calif. headquarters for its primary business servers and the other near Dallas for disaster recovery purposes. Using the virtualization capabilities of the PRIMEPOWER server, RES has simplified IT management, enabling long-term cost savings, streamlined compliance processes and faster recovery in the event of a disaster.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:22 AM | Comments (0)

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. Announces 4th Quarter Earnings Release and Conference Call

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF - News), a leading provider of title insurance, specialty insurance and claims management services, will release 4th quarter 2006 earnings after the close of regular market trading on Monday, February 5, 2007. A conference call will follow on Tuesday, February 6, 2007, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Those wishing to participate via the webcast should access the call through FNF's Investor Relations website at www.fnf.com. Those wishing to participate via the telephone may dial-in at 800-230-1085 (USA) or 612-332-0228 (International). The conference call replay will be available via webcast through FNF's Investor Relations website at www.fnf.com. The telephone replay will be available from 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time on February 6, 2007, through February 13, 2007, by dialing 800-475-6701 (USA) or 320-365-3844 (International). The access code will be 859634.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)

Flagstar Bank Expands Kofax Solution with New Document Separation Technology

Kofax (LSE:DCM - News), the world's largest information capture vendor, today announced that Flagstar Bank (NYSE:FBC - News), one of the nation's leading originators of residential mortgage loans, has expanded its current Kofax information capture solution to include the Kofax INDICIUS 5.0 suite. With the newly integrated automatic document separation technology, Flagstar Bank will be able to further increase efficiency and reduce costs associated with processing the hundreds of thousands of mortgage and loan documents the bank receives on a weekly basis from its national network of home loan offices and wholesale lending customers.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Acquires Banconsumer Service, Inc.

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, part of the Wolters Kluwer Corporate & Financial Services division, today announced an agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Banconsumer Service, Inc. (BANCO), a leading provider of regulatory compliance-related documentation solutions in the Northeastern region of the United States. BANCO's main offerings include pre-printed and electronic forms for the indirect lending market, as well as for the mortgage and home equity markets.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:14 AM | Comments (0)

Edeus now one of MDA's top ten valuation solution users in UK

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA - News), a provider of essential information solutions, announced today that its UK subsidiary xit2 is providing Edeus Mortgage Creators Limited with its property valuation management solution. Edeus, owned in part by Merrill Lynch, entered the UK lending market in late 2006 and has already grown to become one of MDA's top ten valuation solution users.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)

PropertyInfo Corporation Acquires Advanced Title Search (ATS)

PropertyInfo Corp. has announced the acquisition of a proprietary title search application, Advanced Title Search (ATS), from CST Title Abstractors, LLC. The application provides efficiently managed title searches from a broader variety of data sources, both public and private. Offered by PropertyInfo, ATS will offer title agents a Web-based automated search tool that:

creates a consolidated property Title Search Report (TSR) from various public and private databases
applies rules-based search analysis technology
delivers an electronic title search package to the title professional

Posted by S. Germain at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)

Ace Mortgage Funding Implements Lender Support System's DocWin

Lender Support Systems, Inc. (LSSI), a global provider of lending and loan servicing technology solutions, announced the implementation of LSSI's mortgage document preparation technology, DocWin, by Ace Mortgage Funding, LLC, an Indianapolis, Ind.-based independent mortgage banker that provides wholesale and retail lending.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)

Equifin Capital Leads $125 Million Investment in Residential Credit Solutions, Inc.

Equifin Capital Partners (“Equifin Capital”) announced today that it has partnered with mortgage industry veteran Dennis Stowe to form Residential Credit Solutions, Inc., an integrated residential mortgage investment and servicing company focused on credit-sensitive and servicing-intensive mortgage assets. Equifin Capital is leading a group of investors, including Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, an Equifin limited partner, in a $125 million equity investment capital commitment to fund the Company’s growth.

RCS will invest in a broad range of mortgage assets including loan pools, servicing rights, securities and related assets while utilizing its integrated servicing capabilities to manage those assets.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:06 AM | Comments (0)

Foreclosures Down 9% Nationally in December

RealtyTrac released today its December U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for 2006 showing that 109,652 properties across the nation entered some stage of foreclosure, nearly a nine percent decrease from November, but still a 35 percent hike when compared to December 2005. RealtyTrac’s report also indicates that one out of every 1,055 U.S. households resulted in a foreclosure filing.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:05 AM | Comments (0)

Ellie Mae Increases Banker Focus

Ellie Mae, Dublin, Calif., has launched a banker division in response to the introduction of Encompass Banker Edition. The new division will focus exclusively on Ellie Mae's banker and lender clients and partners. Ellie Mae's client base includes over 3,000 mortgage bankers, according to the company. Encompass Banker Edition has already been adopted by two dozen companies since its launch in late October 2006, Ellie Mae reported. Jeff Benjamin, the company's director of sales, has become vice president of the newly created division and will report to Joe Langner, Ellie Mae's chief operating officer. Mr. Benjamin will focus on business development efforts among wholesale lenders and bankers -- including the promotion of Encompass Banker Edition and Encompass Custom Edition -- as well as the company's full range of connectivity solutions for the wholesale banking community.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:04 AM | Comments (0)

Free Anti-Fraud Tool, Anyone?

Informative Research, Garden Grove, Calif., has announced launch of a free fraud prevention tool, Credit Score Verifier, that offers to reduce mortgage lender risk and loan fallout. The company said the proprietary Web-based utility was developed to enable a lender to verify credit scores reported by any of the repositories before undertaking the time and expense of underwriting the file or ordering a backup credit report. The tool addresses the risk associated with the increasing popularity of nontraditional loan types that allow for no documentation and stated incomes, where fraud is always a major consideration, according to an Informative Research spokeswoman. The enhanced tool, formerly called Credit Score Validator, provides a way to assure a lender that a paper copy of a credit report has not been altered, Informative Research said.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:03 AM | Comments (0)

MBA: Hundreds of Lenders Could Fail

A "couple of hundred" mortgage banking firms could fail in the next year or so as the industry works out its excess capacity, according to the chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. "It could be a significant" number of firms, said the MBA's Doug Duncan at a forecast conference hosted for the media. "There's a lot of capacity in the industry," he said. The trade group, though, does not think residential production will fall off the cliff this year. The MBA is forecasting that home lenders of all stripes will fund $2.4 trillion in loans this year -- 45% of it refinancings -- compared with $2.5 trillion in 2006. (The MBA's volume number for 2006 differs from that of the Quarterly Data Report, which found lenders funded about $3 trillion in 2006.) Over the past three months several mortgage firms have exited the business, either through merger or failure.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:03 AM | Comments (0)

Profits Fall in JPMorgan Mortgage Ops

The mortgage banking operations of JPMorgan Chase & Co., New York, recorded net income of $34 million in the fourth quarter, down from $63 million a year earlier, while profits rose for the company as a whole, JPMorgan has reported. Mortgage production revenue totaled $215 million, up $81 million from that of a year earlier and reflecting increased loan sales and wider gain-on-sale margins that "benefited from a shift in the sales mix," the company said. Mortgage originations totaled $31.0 billion, which was off 3% from the level recorded in the fourth quarter of 2005. Net mortgage servicing revenue totaled $195 million, which was down significantly from $290 million a year earlier. The entire company reported net income of $4.5 billion ($1.26 per share) for the fourth quarter, up from $2.7 billion ($0.76 per share) a year earlier.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:02 AM | Comments (0)

Credit Suisse in Talks With ResMae

Investment banker Credit Suisse is in talks to buy subprime wholesaler ResMae Mortgage of Brea, Calif., investment banking sources have confirmed to MortgageWire. At deadline time, ResMae had not returned telephone calls. A source at Credit Suisse confirmed the talks but said a purchase agreement has not been signed. According to the Quarterly Data Report, ResMae is a top-20-ranked subprime funder.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)

Housing Starts Fall

Single-family housing starts fell 4.1% in December as construction activity plunged 14.7% last year from the level recorded in 2005. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that single-family starts declined from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million in November to 1.23 million in December. Single-family permits increased by 1.2% in December, the first increase in 11 months. In 2006, builders started 1.46 million single-family homes, down from 1.72 million in the previous year. Economists at the National Association of Home Builders are forecasting that single-family starts will bottom out in the first quarter and steadily increase over the next three quarters. However, NAHB chief economist David Seiders says he still expects a 15% decline in single-family starts this year.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)

Earnings: WaMu Profit Increases in 4th Quarter

Washington Mutual Inc. saw its net income jump to $1.10 a share in the fourth quarter of 2006 from 85 cents per share during the corresponding period of 2005--with much of the gain tied to the sale of its mutual fund subsidiary, WM Advisors. At 66 cents a share, WaMu's fourth-quarter earnings failed to meet the per-share estimate of 88 cents predicted by analysts surveyed by Thomson One Analytics. After posting a $57 million profit in the fourth quarter of 2005, WaMu's mortgage unit recorded a $122 million loss during the final three months of 2006--mainly due to weakness in the subprime niche and the Federal Reserve's hikes in short-term borrowing costs. However, WaMu CEO Kerry Killinger anticipates improvements in the mortgage industry this year.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:58 AM | Comments (0)

Commercial Real Estate Still Strong, Fed Report Finds

The Federal Reserve Board's new Beige Book shows that the ongoing surge in commercial real estate lending is working to offset a slumping residential property market. The periodic study of economic conditions in the Fed's 12 districts identifies Richmond, Va., as the only district to record any improvement in its local housing market over the past six weeks. The New York district was hit particularly hard, with 63 percent of small and midsize banks posting sliding demand for residential mortgages. At the same time, an increase in demand for commercial real estate loans was reported in the Kansas City district; while the Minneapolis market continued to be bolstered by commercial real estate projects as local resident! ial development remained slow.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:57 AM | Comments (0)

MBA Long-Term Forecast Sees Accelerated Growth

The Mortgage Bankers Association projects economic growth in the first half of this year to accelerate from the second half of last year, averaging 3.0 percent by year-end. Total residential mortgage production in 2007 will fall slightly from 2006 levels, to $2.39 trillion.

MBA Chief Economist Doug Duncan said he expects growth to pick up, returning to near trend growth (about 3.25 percent) over the course of 2008 and through 2009.

Residential investment is expected to decline further through the first half of 2007 but at a diminishing pace. Economic growth should accelerate later this year to a trend-like pace as the drag from the housing sector wanes, Duncan said.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:55 AM | Comments (0)

Wells Fargo Posts Record Profits, Revenue in 2006

Although its mortgage business slowed, Wells Fargo & Co. watched its revenue soar to a record $35.7 billion in 2006, with profits ahead of 2005 by 11 percent. Revenue from home mortgages slipped $704 million for the year and $116 million during the fourth quarter, mainly due to a sale of adjustable-rate mortgages for $26 billion in the second quarter that led to a $250 million loss. Mortgage originations were 9 percent higher than 2005 at $398 billion, but the $87 billion in originations during the fourth quarter marked a 23-percent decline from the corresponding period in 2005 and a 16-percent drop from the previous three-month period. Wells Fargo's mortgage servicing portfolio, meanwhile, rose 38 percent for the year to $1.37 trillion.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:54 AM | Comments (0)

GMAC ResCap to Cut 1000 Jobs in Mortgage-Related Business

"The continued deterioration" of the subprime mortgage business has prompted Residential Capital LLC to slash 800 jobs and leave 200 open positions in the United States unfilled. The General Motors Acceptance Corp.-owned property finance company will make the job cuts by October, in a move that will cost the company $10 million in severance and other costs. However, ResCap also suggested it could save as much as $65 million next year. In addition to a squeeze on lending to subprime consumers, the Minneapolis-based company also cited cooling loan originations, the slumping housing market and the current interest-rate environment as influencing its decision.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:53 AM | Comments (0)

Lenders Seen Equal to Housing Hit

A new report from Moody's Investors Service Inc. looks at the current portfolios of 31 banks and thrifts and concludes that they could survive a housing-market crash. The idea behind the report was to determine whether these institutions could weather the high default rates recorded in California during a four-year period in the early 1990s. Using data from the year with the biggest losses, Moody's found that the hardest-hit lender could manage the charge-offs with 55 percent of its yearly earnings. When Moody's calculated a charge-off rate using data from all four years, it determined that the lender with the largest losses would lose just 27 percent of its earnings and tangible equity.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:52 AM | Comments (0)

American Home Division Adds Loan-Buy Programs

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. recently launched two loan acquisition programs: Live Mandatory plus Bulk and Mini Bulk. It offers block commitments for agency mortgages and associated servicing rights under the former program and purchases pools of alternative-A mortgages, jumbo loans and mortgages whose adjustable rates are linked to the 12-month Treasury average index under the latter. The Melville, N.Y.-based real estate investment trust has set its minimum purchase amounts under those of most rivals--below $1 million for agency loans and $3 million for nonagency loans. Rick Pishalski of American Home's correspondent division notes that the company is "going counter-industry trend" by hiring more correspondent account managers and otherwise expanding in recent months. Slightly more than $1 billio! n of American Home's third-quarter originations were correspondent loans, and Pishalski says the company remains focused on becoming one of the top 10 correspondent lenders in the United States.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:50 AM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2007

Top Servicers

Posted by S. Germain at 08:23 AM | Comments (0)

First American Title's National Commercial Services Division Announces Two Strategic Leadership Appointments

First American Title Insurance Company today announced the appointment of two seasoned executives to run its National Commercial Services (NCS) division. Sally French Tyler, the division's new president, succeeds Curt Johnson, who was recently promoted to president of First American Title Insurance Company. Working closely with Tyler will be Joseph J. Ghilardi, who has been named senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of National Commercial Services.

In their new roles, Tyler and Ghilardi will be responsible for planning and overseeing the operational management of First American's commercial real estate activities, as well as coordinating activities and strategies for First American's commercial real estate regions throughout the United States.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)

First American Title Insurance Company Acquires Minnesota-Based Complete Title Services, LLC

First American Title Insurance Company announced today that it has acquired Complete Title Services, LLC located in Brainerd, Minn. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:19 AM | Comments (0)

DigitalGlobe Acquires GlobeXplorer

DigitalGlobe®, provider of the world's highest resolution commercial satellite imagery and geospatial information products, today announced the acquisition of GlobeXplorer®, a leading geographic data integration and publishing company, from Stewart REI Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE: STC - News).

The combination of DigitalGlobe and GlobeXplorer creates the industry's most complete, most current provider of high resolution digital Earth imagery and products. Together, DigitalGlobe's industry-leading archive and high-resolution, high-capacity satellite and GlobeXplorer's effective Web-based search and delivery applications create the commercial remote sensing (CRS) industry's most extensive, complete and easy-to-use solution for acquiring, integrating and distributing all types of high-quality digital Earth imagery and data.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

Wells Fargo sees buying opportunity ahead for small banks

Wells Fargo & Co. is ready to step up its acquisition of small banks but still has no plans for a major merger despite Wachovia's big splash into the California market. "We haven't done any banking deals in the last three quarters because they're still not economic, but they're getting closer to being economic," said John Stumpf, president and chief operating officer of the San Francisco bank that enjoys an industry reputation as a disciplined buyer.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:17 AM | Comments (0)

CoreLogic Announces Significant Enhancements to Cascading AVM Solution

CoreLogic, the leading provider of mortgage risk assessment and fraud prevention solutions, announced significant enhancements to its cascading Automated Valuation Model (AVM) solution, AVMSelect(TM), that delivers increased hit rates and valuation accuracy within its standard system while enabling cascade customization at a greater level of detail where needed. These enhancements reinforce AVMSelect's leadership position in providing highly reliable automated valuations.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:14 AM | Comments (0)

Gallagher Financial Systems and IntraPrise Solutions, Inc. Form Mutual Alliance

Gallagher Financial Systems, Inc. (GFS), a leader in enterprise Loan Origination System technology, and IntraPrise Solutions, Inc. (ISI), a premier software solutions managed services and software products provider, have formed an alliance to use Merit Matrix Connect (MMC) to create a unique tightly integrated interface. Merit Matrix, a loan product eligibility information outsourcing service, is ISI's flagship product. MMC integrates the investor lending guide information compiled by Merit Matrix with the workflow/pipeline management technology of GFS to offer a fully automated system to their mutual customers.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:14 AM | Comments (0)

Lending Solutions Inc. Partners with MortgageClick(R)

Lending Solutions Inc., a provider of lending center services and consulting programs for financial institutions across North America, has allied with Woburn, Mass.-based MortgageClick, a network of credit unions sharing Web-based mortgage origination technology.

The partnership with Lending Solutions will enable MortgageClick to offer its credit union customers origination, processing and closing services nationwide, including access to the National Loan Processing Center, which offers 24/7 online loan processing and collections services.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)

CoVantage Credit Union Brings Mortgage Servicing Operations In-House with FICS

Financial Industry Computer Systems, Inc. (FICS), a mortgage technology specialist that provides in-house residential origination and servicing technology and commercial servicing technology to the mortgage industry, announced today that Antigo, Wis-based CoVantage Credit Union, a non-profit financial cooperative that is presently one of the most secure financial institutions in Wisconsin, is successfully utilizing FICS' residential mortgage loan servicing solutions.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:09 AM | Comments (0)

Radar Logic Launches as Data Biz

Radar Logic Inc., New York, has announced its launch as a technology-driven analytic and data business (whose first products relate to residential real estate) that has merged with Ventana Systems Inc., Harvard, Mass. Radar Logic said the two companies have developed proprietary mathematical tools and algorithms that extract statistical information from public source data relating to residential real estate transactions. This information will be used to maintain indices representing daily cash market-equivalent prices for various categories of real estate in different metropolitan statistical areas, Radar Logic said.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:05 AM | Comments (0)

Survey: Doc Images in Underwriting Critical

Using document images in the mortgage underwriting process is the most critical component of going paperless, according to an annual survey by Atlanta-based Advectis Inc. Advectis said 92% of its survey participants cited the use of document images in underwriting as critical to moving toward a fully electronic mortgage. The survey also found that 70% of respondents said it is very important that new technology integrate with existing systems, and 64% said it is very important to have a Web-based solution. In addition, enabling collaboration with other mortgage market participants and functionality throughout the loan processing life cycle were both cited as very important by 56% of the survey respondents, Advectis reported.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:04 AM | Comments (0)

Secured Funding Shutters Wholesale Unit

Secured Funding of California has shuttered its wholesale division, which accounts for about one-third of its total production. As MortgageWire neared its deadline, a company official declined to comment. It is the latest in what is turning out to be a long line of nondepositories that have run into financial problems in a difficult market. Secured is a retail and wholesale lender that originated $900 million in mortgages during the first half. Its specialty is second mortgages. In June of last year it increased its office space by 35,000 square feet and boasted 1,000 employees. It is not known how many workers lost their jobs. Among all funders, it ranked 149th in 2005, according to the Mortgage Industry Directory.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:03 AM | Comments (0)

Radian Reports Exec Change, Aussie Expansion

Radian Group Inc., a Philadelphia-based mortgage insurer, has announced a change in the leadership of its international mortgage business and an expansion into the Australian market. Radian said Roy Kasmar will step down as head of its international mortgage business on April 1, but will remain as an adviser through the end of the year. S.A. Ibrahim, Radian's chief executive officer, will assume primary responsibility for strengthening the company's international business, while Jeff Cashmer, senior vice president of the international mortgage business, will continue to direct day-to-day operations, Radian said. The company also reported that it had formed Radian Australia Ltd. late last year, and that managing director Andrew Morgan has relocated from London to Sydney and will be responsible for business development in Australia.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:02 AM | Comments (0)

Feds Moving Cautiously on 2/28 ARMs

Federal banking regulators are planning to propose new interagency guidance on subprime 2/28 adjustable-rate mortgages, but they say they want to move cautiously and avoid overreaching, despite congressional pressure. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. officials hope to propose guidance for industry and public comment in the next two months. "FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair believes all products should be underwritten at the fully indexed rate with clear consumer disclosures," an FDIC spokesman said. But the FDIC may be ahead of the other regulators. "It is an area of concern," said Robert Garsson, a spokesman for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. ".... We need to look at it, and we will. But we are not going to act precipitously." Six senators recently urged the regulators to expand the nontraditional mortgage guidance to subprime 2/28s, which has stirred industry opposition. The regulators are considering a revision of the nontraditional mortgage guidance along with other options -- expanding the regulators' subprime guidance, or simply issuing a new advisory to address concerns about subprime 2/28s and 3/27s. (The 2/28 and 3/27 ARMs are 30-year mortgages that have a fixed rate for the first two years and the first three years, respectively.)

Posted by S. Germain at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)

Ohio Tops in Home Foreclosures

Ohio registered a 1-percent increase in new foreclosure filings during the third quarter of last year, pushing the state's foreclosure rate to 3.3 percent--which is again the highest in the nation, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Ohio's foreclosure rate is three times the national rate of 1.1 percent and has outpaced the national average every quarter dating back to the last three months of 1998. The state's delinquency rate of 7 percent also topped the 4.7 percent of delinquent loans nationwide, and MBA senior economist Mike Fratantoni said delinquencies and foreclosures serve as signs for how well a local economy and job market are performing. Predatory lending practices are also a major factor in increasing foreclosures, according to housing activists.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)

Puerto Rico's Popular to Exit Sub-Prime Lending

San Juan, Puerto Rico-based Popular Inc. says poor performance of subprime loans is responsible for the closure of its subprime lending unit in the early part of the first quarter. More than 600 workers will be out of work as its wholesale broker, retail and call-center units are shuttered. Such subprime lenders as Mortgage Lenders Network USA Inc., Ownit Mortgage Solutions Inc. and Sebring Capital Partners also have folded in recent months. Subprime delinquencies hit a three-year high of 12.56 percent in the third quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)

Lean Times for Mortgage Lenders Foreseen in 2007

The Mortgage Bankers Association expects purchase originations to fall 6.7 percent from 2006 to $1.29 trillion this year on the slump in housing sales and refinancing volume to tumble 16 percent to $918 billion in the face of higher borrowing costs and a slowdown or decline in property appreciation. Overall, the group predicts that home-loan origination will total $2.21 trillion in 2007--off 11 percent from last year--before sliding another 7.4 percent to $2.05 trillion in 2008. The industry will adjust to the changing marketplace by slimming down the work force, consolidating and modernizing. "After every good party, there's a hangover," notes Freddie Mac deputy chief economist Amy ! Crews Cutts. "The guys who got into being a mortgage broker because easy money fell out of [the] sky are going to get pushed out by the ones who really know how to earn it. I would anticipate seeing, as banks merge, and servicing offices merge, a greater emphasis on technology."

Posted by S. Germain at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)

Credit Plus, Premier Mortgage Join Forces

Credit Plus Inc., Salisbury, Md., has been named a preferred credit vendor by Premier Mortgage Funding Inc., a national lender with 700 branch offices throughout the U.S. Through the partnership, Premier Mortgage Funding’s affiliate branches will use Credit Plus for credit reports to support its mortgage lending business.

Credit Plus also announced that it is offering PRBC Reports to mortgage professionals. PRBC is a national consumer reporting agency that allows consumers and small business owners to build their credit through timely payments of rent and other recurring bills.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:50 AM | Comments (0)

New Bill Targets Appraisal, Mortgage Fraud

Lawmakers in Colorado are considering legislation that aims to curtail what state Attorney General John Suthers calls the "American nightmare" of mortgage and foreclosure fraud. Sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, and Rep. Tom Massey, R-Chaffee, the bill would enable the Division of Real Estate to shutter mortgage companies guilty of fraudulent activity and prevent mortgage brokers and other real estate professionals from pressuring appraisers for a particular valuation. "One of the best aspects (of this bill) is that it includes everyone who would be involved in real estate fraud--it's not just about mortgage brokers or loan originators, but includes real estate agents and consumers," says Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association President Chri! s Holbert. Foreclosures in the seven-county Denver area hit a high of 19,425 in 2006.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)

Credit Quality to Hold Up, MBA Forecasts

Residential appreciation and a resulting boost in home equity in recent years will sustain mortgage credit quality, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, even though minimal price gains are predicted during the next two years. MBA reports that upwards of 80 percent of outstanding mortgages were made since 2002, as scores of homeowners refinanced to take advantage of lower interest rates. The group adds that the youngest mortgages are in the subprime category and that a "measurable number" of borrowers owe more than their properties are worth. MBA anticipates a decline in mortgage originations for 2006 and 2007 from the boom years of 2003, 2004 and 2005 but says they will likely surpass levels recorded during the 1990s.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:47 AM | Comments (0)

January 05, 2007

Top Subprime Originators

Posted by S. Germain at 08:33 AM | Comments (0)

First American Receives 2006 InfoWorld 100 Award

The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), America’s largest provider of business information, was recently named to the InfoWorld 100, InfoWorld Magazine’s highest honor for information technology (IT) operations consolidation. The annual awards honor IT projects that demonstrate the most creative use of cutting-edge technologies to further their business goals. Business Technology Optimization (BTO) software from HP (NYSE: HPQ) was at the foundation of First American’s winning IT operations consolidation project that was recognized by the editors of InfoWorld.

The First American project included the implementation of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)-based processes to keep focus on business outcomes while streamlining operations. HP Software BTO offerings were implemented to provide increased visibility into the infrastructure and help First American understand how changes and new applications will behave, function and perform throughout the consolidation process.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:29 AM | Comments (0)

Stewart Title Acquires Border Title Group of Laredo, Texas

Stewart Title has acquired Border Title Group of Laredo, Texas. Existing management and staff will remain with the office, and former owner and chief executive officer, Evan Quiros, will assume the role of president at the newly named Stewart Border Title, LLC, which will continue to do business as Border Title Group.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:24 AM | Comments (0)

Freddie Mac Reports 3rd-Quarter Loss of $550 Million

Freddie Mac, the second-largest source of money for U.S. home loans, said it had a $550 million net loss in the third quarter and expects to report a similar loss for the fourth quarter as falling interest rates eroded the value of derivatives it used to hedge risk.

The loss compares with net income of $880 million in the year-earlier period, the McLean, Virginia-based company said in a statement today. The numbers, which don't include per-share figures, are preliminary estimates as the government-chartered company continues a three-year overhaul of its accounting.

Freddie Mac hasn't released timely financial reports since revealing in 2003 that it understated net income to minimize earnings volatility. The irregular earnings, a federal limit on the company's $704.3 billion mortgage portfolio and uncertainty over stronger federal oversight have discouraged investors.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:22 AM | Comments (0)

FNC, HomeSafe providing new service

Mississippi technology companies FNC Inc. and HomeSafe Inspection Inc. are now providing lenders with easy access to advanced home inspection technologies.

FNC's real estate collateral management systems will bring HomeSafe's advanced inspection technology to lenders and appraisers who require a more in-depth look at a particular property. HomeSafe inspectors use specially customized, high-powered infrared cameras and acoustic equipment to, in effect, see and hear through walls, floors and ceilings.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:16 AM | Comments (0)

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Offers Lenders a New Centralized Way to Visualize Lending Compliance

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, through its line of PCi solutions, today announced the availability of a web-based dashboard solution specifically designed to help lenders easily identify and address their unique potential compliance issues throughout the loan cycle.

The PCi lending compliance dashboard gives financial organizations the ability to review key lending compliance performance indicators in a web browser. These indicators are presented in easily understood graphical metaphors, charts, and tables with visual alerts about the performance status.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

Freddie Sees Further Drop in ARM Share

Lenders that specialize in adjustable-rate mortgage products could face a tough time this year as ARM volume drops to 16% of originations, according to the chief economist at Freddie Mac. ARM production (based on number of loans) accounted for 21% of originations in 2006 and 31% in 2005. However, chief economic Frank Nothaft said he believes that a flat or inverted yield curve will make ARMs less attractive to borrowers. In addition, the recently-issued regulatory guidance on nontraditional mortgages "may have some effect as well," he told MortgageWire. Freddie's chief economist is forecasting that single-family originations will total $2.50 trillion this year, down from $2.65 trillion in 2006. He projects that refinancings will remain relatively high at 38% of originations, compared with 44% last year. "Some people are facing a payment shock, and some people want to tap into the huge amount of home equity they have accumulated," Mr. Nothaft said. Nevertheless, it looks like total originations and ARM production will be the lowest since 2001, he said.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:51 AM | Comments (0)

Thrift Forms Sub Devoted to Reverses

Family Federal Savings of Illinois, a federally chartered thrift based in Westmont, Ill., has obtained regulatory approval to form a first-tier subsidiary dedicated solely to reverse mortgage lending. The new entity, called 1st Reverse Financial Services LLC, will offer multiple levels of correspondent lending opportunities to mortgage lenders throughout the country. 1st Reverse will be headed up by longtime industry professionals Ralph Rosynek, Terry Bivins, David Cesario, and Larry Ferries. "As the reverse mortgage market continues its growth, it has become clear that smaller to midsize producers of reverse mortgages are not being provided the access and service that the larger lenders enjoy," said Mr. Rosynek, president of 1st Reverse. "Our goal is to change that by providing our business partners with a concierge level of service and access to the growing number of secondary-market lenders."

Posted by S. Germain at 07:51 AM | Comments (0)

Foreclosure Spike Linked to Subprime Mortgages

Foreclosures climbed sharply in 2006 as a result of several factors, including the growth of subprime mortgages, rising energy costs, and slowing home sales, according to Default Research Inc., a foreclosure research company based in Mt. Pleasant, Pa. The largest increase was recorded in Nevada, where foreclosures skyrocketed 166%, the company reported. Serdar Bankaci, president and chief executive officer of Default Research, said the company processed more than 250,000 pre-foreclosures last year. "You can expect to see the foreclosure rate continue to increase in 2007 -- not as much as [in] 2006 -- but there will be excellent opportunities to help homeowners in distress and turn a profit, too," he said.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:50 AM | Comments (0)

New Century Buys Irwin Servicing Assets

New Century Mortgage Corp., a subsidiary of Irvine, Calif.-based New Century Financial Corp., has completed the purchase of certain assets (and the assumption of certain lease obligations) of Irwin Mortgage Corp.'s servicing operations, according to New Century Financial. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The operation will be managed by Carla Wise, and the servicing employees of Irwin Mortgage, based in Fishers, Ind., will join New Century Mortgage, New Century said. "This acquisition will allow us to increase scalability, reduce servicing costs, and improve time zone management, while also expanding our expertise in servicing alt-A and prime mortgage loans," said Kevin M. Cloyd, executive vice president of New Century Financial.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:49 AM | Comments (0)

State Banking Officials Probe Mortgage Lender

In Connecticut, state banking regulators have launched a probe that will take a closer look at the viability of Mortgage Lenders Network USA (MLN), which has brokered billions of dollars in mortgages to consumers with spotty credit backgrounds. The Middletown-based lender drew the attention of watchdogs after it recently ceased funding loans and accepting new applications. According to James Heckman, spokesman for Connecticut's Department of Banking, state officials are investigating the company to determine whether "they're still able to conduct their business." Heckman confirms that MLN has shut down its wholesale business, which represents roughly 85 percent of the lender's operations.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)

Fed Reveals Concern Over Housing Slump

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's December policymaking session reveal that fear over the potential impact of the sputtering housing market on the overall economy was the main impetus behind the central bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged. "The concern is that the Fed was seeing something at their last meeting that suggested potentially more pronounced weakness than we had all been anticipating in the economy," says Lehman Brothers senior economist Drew Matus. Although one Fed member saw a rate cut as a possibility, there was no indication of any speculation about such a course of action in the central bank's statement following the meeting. The Fed is expected to let rates stand pat at 5.25 percent at its next meeting at the end of January, and analysts predict that its next move is likely to be a rate cut later in the year.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:47 AM | Comments (0)

National City Sells First Franklin

Merrill Lynch & Co. has completed a deal to acquire mortgage lending and other related businesses from National City Corp. for $1.3 billion. Initially announced in early September, the agreement involves National City's sale First Franklin, an originator of nonprime residential mortgage loans in San Jose, Calif., that has nearly three dozen branches nationwide serving more than 35,000 mortgage brokers. Merrill Lynch also gains two affiliated units: National City Home Loan Services in Pittsburgh and NationPoint in Lake Forest, Calif.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:46 AM | Comments (0)

Demise of Ownit Mortgage Hits Home

The closure of Ownit Mortgage, a national subprime lender based in Agoura Hills, Calif., left 800 people out of work and without paychecks. The company was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late December, as Wall Street investors--including Merrill Lynch & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Credit Suisse First Boston--ordered it to repay more than $165 million in delinquent loans. The risks associated with providing zero-down loans with 40- to 45-year repayment terms to borrowers with flawed credit made it impossible to locate a buyer for the troubled company; and Merrill Lynch--a part-owner of Ownit since September 2005--declined an offer to take complete control of the company at no cost, provided it remained operational. Ownit CEO William Dallas expects other independent subprime l! enders that receive funding from Wall Street firms to encounter similar troubles, predicting that things will "end badly" for the industry

Posted by S. Germain at 07:44 AM | Comments (0)