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April 27, 2007
New Home Sales
Posted by S. Germain at 09:38 AM | Comments (0)
The First American Corporation to Hold First-Quarter Conference Call on May 3
The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), America’s largest provider of business information, today announced that it will host a conference call on May 3, 2007, at 11 a.m. EDT. The call will follow the announcement of the company’s first-quarter operating results, which is scheduled for release on May 3, 2007, at 8:32 a.m. EDT.
The conference call, which will also be broadcast over the Internet and is open to investors, members of the financial community, the media and other members of the public, can be accessed online at www.firstam.com/investor or by dialing toll free (888) 955-3516. Callers from outside the United States may dial (210) 234-5896. The pass code for the event is “First American.”
An audio replay of the conference call will be available through May 10, 2007, by dialing
Posted by S. Germain at 09:33 AM | Comments (0)
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2007 EPS of $0.37
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF) , a leading provider of title insurance, specialty insurance and claims management services, today reported operating results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2007.
Read the entire story here.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:25 AM | Comments (0)
LandAmerica First-Quarter Earnings Plunge
LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., one of the largest providers of title insurance in the United States, said on Tuesday earnings fell sharply in the first quarter, hurt by weakness in the residential real estate market.
The real estate insurer said earnings were $4.7 million or 26 cents a share, down from $13.7 million or 78 cents a share in the year earlier quarter.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:23 AM | Comments (0)
Stewart Reports Earnings for First Quarter 2007
Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC) today reported the results of its operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2007.
Read the entire story here.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:22 AM | Comments (0)
Hostile bid planned in ABN bank takeover
The consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland said Friday it would go ahead with a hostile bid for ABN Amro.
In a move stepping up pressure in the already heated case, the RBS group indicated a $98.1 billion offer for the Dutch bank, which already was tied in with a merger with Barclays PLC. The banks' offer would top the Barclays offer of $91.13 billion, The Wall Street Journal said.
But, the offer was conditional on the Dutch bank abandoning the $21 billion sale of its Chicago-based LaSalle Bank to Bank of America, a key point in its previous agreement with Barclays, the British giant.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:20 AM | Comments (0)
Veros Delivers GMAC-RFC Propertywise(SM) for AVM Risk Management
Veros Real Estate Solutions today announced the expansion of GMAC-RFC's Propertywise(SM) automated valuation model (AVM) cascade. Propertywise represents GMAC-RFC's proprietary risk strategy for its acceptance of AVMs, based on years of extensive research into AVM performance and validation. Earlier this year GMAC-RFC implemented new policies for the acceptance of Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) and now requires that loans sold to GMAC-RFC on select waived appraisal programs conform to GMAC-RFC's Propertywise specifications. Lenders that use AVMs in this approved manner may also benefit from lower collateral risk and decreased repurchase risk.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:16 AM | Comments (0)
Reliant Signs on with Filogix
Reliant Home Warranty Corporation (OTCBB:RHWC - News), Boyd Soussana, President & CEO announced today that Reliant, through its Canadian subsidiary, Reliant Home Mortgage Canada Inc., has executed a comprehensive operating agreement with Filogix related to its acceptance/processing of mortgage applications. The relationship will complement Reliant's current infrastructure. Reliant will be added to Filogix's roster of institutional lenders thereby increasing its accessibility to over 9,500 originators across Canada
Posted by S. Germain at 09:15 AM | Comments (0)
Veteran Mortgage Broker Thwarts Decades of L.O.S. Problems With the Launch of eMortgedge 1003POWER V1
Donna Iwane, CEO & Founder of eMortgedge Corporation, announces the inaugural release of 1003 POWER Version 1, an innovative loan origination system (LOS) that speeds and simplifies all facets of loan processing. With the debut of 1003 POWER (www.1003POWER.com), flawed loan origination software programs will find themselves surpassed by a comprehensive online system that offers more benefits than its competitors, greater flexibility with its 24/7 secured interface and the added convenience of never again having to pay for expensive add-ons. This innovative technology is so versatile it is about to set a new precedent in loan origination and processing, eliminating all the irritants and wasted time endured by both brokers and loan processors.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:13 AM | Comments (0)
BasePoint Launches New Services to Help Mortgage Lenders and Investment Banks Fight Fraud
BasePoint Analytics, a leading provider of scientific fraud analytics and consulting services, today announced the availability of two new fraud consulting services - Enhanced Fraud Review and Fraud Organizational Framework. Both services will help identify and prevent the funding and purchase of fraudulent loans by incorporating proven best practices into the loan review process.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
US Technology Announces its First Mortgage BPO Client Win
US Technology, a leading provider of IT services and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) solutions for Global 2000 enterprises, today announced that one of the top 10 U.S. mortgage lenders became the first mortgage BPO client following the recent launch of the company's Mortgage BPO practice.
(NOTE: Client wasn't named in the press release)
Posted by S. Germain at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)
Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Loses in Nonprime
Arlington, Virginia-based Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc. said challenges at one of its nonprime lending subsidiaries caused the company to experience $185.9 million in after-tax losses during the first quarter of 2007.
In the company's official 2007 first quarter report, it attributes most of the recent losses to its wholly-owned nonprime origination platform, First NLC Financial Services (FNLC). According to the company's first quarter report, FNLC experienced a net after-tax loss of $124.2 million.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:55 AM | Comments (0)
Vendors Align to Mitigate Fraud
Rapid Reporting, Fort Worth, Texas, has announced a partnership with Calyx Software, a broker loan origination vendor based in San Jose, Calif., to help brokers detect fraud earlier in the process. Rapid Reporting said it will offer mortgage fraud detection capabilities to users of Calyx's core group of products and services, including the company's flagship loan origination application, Calyx Point. As part of the agreement, Calyx Software users will be able to interface to Rapid Reporting's Web-based IncomeChek and DirectChek tools. Through established relationships with both the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration, Rapid Reporting enables users to detect and reveal potential mortgage fraud associated with deceptive income and identity information, the company said.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:52 AM | Comments (0)
Countrywide Links Earnings Dive to B&C Ops
Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has reported net earnings of $434.0 million ($0.72 per share) for the first quarter, a 37% decline from $683.5 million ($1.10 per share) in the first quarter of 2006 that the company attributed largely to its subprime operations. Mortgage banking revenues from subprime operations plummeted approximately $400 million in the first quarter from those of the fourth quarter, $245 million of the total from production revenues and $155 million from investments, the company reported. Pretax earnings by the company's mortgage production sector overall were off by more than 50% from those of a year earlier, falling from $284 million to $139 million. The loan servicing sector recorded a pretax loss of $69 million, compared with net income of $249 million a year earlier, the company said.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)
7% of Mortgagors Have Negative Equity
Roughly 7% of U.S. homeowners have negative home equity, and the housing industry is currently in the throes of a "deep recession," according to the chief economist for Global Insight Inc., a forecasting firm. But Global Insight's Nariman Behravesh also said Thursday that the subprime mortgage crisis "is now off the front pages, but more firms could go belly up." Speaking at a forecast conference sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, Mr. Behravesh added that "housing demand is beginning to recover." Even though 7% of mortgages are under water, 60% of homeowners have equity of 30% or more, he said. Outstanding subprime loans account for just 13% to 14% of the total market, according to Global Insight.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:49 AM | Comments (0)
Bellevue's Seattle Mortgage to Sell Reverse-Mortgage Unit
Bank of America plans to acquire the reverse-mortgage business of Seattle Mortgage Co. in a deal that is expected to close in June. In taking on the operations of the Bellevue, Wash.-based lender, which has 40,000 reverse mortgages with balances totaling more than $4 billion, Bank of America would trail only IndyMac and Wells Fargo in providing the niche financing product. The Charlotte, N.C.-based banking giant has been testing reverse loans in Arizona since 2006. The market continues to grow, with the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association reporting a second-straight record month of reverse mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration; volume reached 9,349 in February, compared to 5,841 a year ago.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:47 AM | Comments (0)
Home Equity Stalls
Rising interest rates and the slowdown of the housing market have made homeowners cautious about cashing in on their equity. New data from Equifax Inc. and Moody's Economy.com reveals that total home-equity borrowing rose 9 percent over the 12 months ended in March, compared to an average annual growth of 21 percent over the past five years; and that borrowers owed $561 billion on their home-equity lines of credit last month, marking a decline over the last six months that represents the first decrease since 1999. "People are feeling uncertain about the value of their home and are feeling tapped out," confirms Doreen Woo Ho, president of Wells Fargo's consumer-credit group. The average rate on home-equity lines of credit has risen to 8.7 percent, up from 4.64 percent in Apri! l 2004; and rates on home-equity loans now average 8.1 percent, compared with 6.75 percent three years ago, reports HSH Associates.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:46 AM | Comments (0)
Judge OKs Auction of New Century's Loan Origination Business
After giving New Century Financial Corp. the nod last week to sell off its mortgage-servicing operation, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey now has approved the process under which New Century can auction its loan origination business. The judge set a May 2 deadline for interested parties to submit their offers to New Century, which once boasted a claim as the No. 2 provider of home loans to risky borrowers. With Carey's blessing, the company is able to proceed with the sale of its Access Lending Corp. unit
Posted by S. Germain at 08:45 AM | Comments (0)
Sales of Previously Owned Homes Plunge to 1989 Level
The National Association of Realtors reports that sales of previously owned homes declined 8.4 percent in March, which is the biggest drop since January 1989. Economists believe the winter weather and tighter lending standards for borrowers with shaky credit are largely responsible for the tumble in existing-home sales, which follows two months of sales growth. "The January, February figures were certainly higher than many analysts had anticipated, and that was due to the sort of artificial elevation from the warm weather," explain NAR senior economist Lawrence Yun. Also, the inventory of unsold properties rose to a 7.3-month supply, and the median price fell 0.9 percent to $215,300.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:43 AM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2007
Subprime Servicers
Posted by S. Germain at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)
Landon Taylor Promoted to Senior Vice President, Director of Market Development for The First American Corporation
The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), America’s largest provider of business information, today announced that Landon V. Taylor has been promoted to senior vice president, director of market development.
Read the entire story here.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:21 AM | Comments (0)
First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation Announces New President and Chief Operating Officer
First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation, a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) family of companies, announced today that it has named Daniel T. Langston president and Lawrence F. Hariton chief operating officer.
Read the entire story here.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:20 AM | Comments (0)
First American’s Parcelpoint™ Technology Delivers New Level of Accuracy for Navigation and Location-Based Applications
The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), America’s largest provider of business information, announced today the release of ParcelPoint™, the next generation in geographic location technology that offers the most advanced solution for superior positional accuracy.
Read the entire story here.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)
Matthew W. Morris Named President of New Stewart Business Group
Matthew W. Morris has been named president of Stewart Professional Solutions (SPS), a newly formed business group aligned to provide best-in-class support services to Stewart Title Co. and Stewart Title Guaranty Co. and their affiliates.
Forming the core of Stewart Professional Solutions are current Stewart home-office service centers and their associates, including: marketing and communications, technology infrastructure services, employee services, legal services, finance and accounting, and audit services.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:15 AM | Comments (0)
LandAmerica announces write-down
LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. announced a noncash write-down of $21 million, or $13 million after taxes. The write-down is related to a probable loss of business from a customer.
Freemont General Corp., a tax and flood processing customer of LandAmerica, received a cease and desist order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. relating to lending practices in its mortgage origination business.
The $21 million charge will be reflected in LandAmerica's first-quarter earnings. The intangible assets after the write-down are expected to be $29 million, with $7 million relating to LandAmerica Tax and Flood Services.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:11 AM | Comments (0)
SigniaDocs' Mortgage Servicing Solution Backed by Real Estate-Focused Law Firm
SigniaDocs, Inc., a service provider of solutions for mortgage document preparation, guarantees compliance for all mortgage loan documents by partnering with an experienced real estate-focused law firm, Shanks Darby, P.C. The attorneys have close to 30 years of experience working with real estate regulations and the mortgage industry. The associates of Shanks Darby stay abreast of the latest laws and ordinances from the federal and state levels all the way down to local municipalities.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:04 AM | Comments (0)
Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC) Now Accepts PRBC Reports Through Credit Plus
PRBC (Pay Rent Build Credit) Reports, which are available through Credit Plus, Inc., a leader in the credit information industry since 1928, will be accepted by Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), the primary subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG - News) to automate approval and pricing decisions. MGIC is the first private mortgage insurance provider to make approvals based upon the PRBC Bill Payment Score (BPS).
Posted by S. Germain at 09:02 AM | Comments (0)
Document Systems, Inc.'s DocMagic Delivers Free, Open-Source PCL Viewer
Document Systems, Inc. (DSI), a leading developer of mortgage technology for compliant loan document preparation and customer contact management, including DocMagic® and LoanMagic(TM), announced the release of OpenPCL, the industry's first free electronic document viewer capable of representing documents saved in Printer Control Language (PCL). The native language used to communicate with computer printers, PCL is widely used throughout the mortgage industry because it delivers the most accurate electronic representation of what the final document will look like on the printed page.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:01 AM | Comments (0)
JPMorgan's Mortgage Profits Rise
JPMorgan Chase & Co., New York, has reported net income from its mortgage banking operations of $84 million for the first quarter, up from $39 million a year earlier. The company said mortgage production revenue totaled $400 million in the first quarter, up $181 million from a year earlier, reflecting higher gain-on-sale income and "the reclassification of certain loan origination costs to expense (previously netted against revenue) due to the adoption of" Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 159. Mortgage originations totaled $34.1 billion, up 21% from those of a year earlier and 10% from those of the previous quarter. Overall, JPMorgan reported record net income of $4.8 billion ($1.34 per share) for the first quarter, up from $3.1 billion ($0.86 per share) a year earlier.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)
BoA Reports Mortgage-Related Rise in Profits
Bank of America Corp., Charlotte, N.C., has reported net income of $5.26 billion ($1.16 per share) for the first quarter, an increase of 5% from $4.99 billion ($1.07 per share) a year earlier that it attributed partly to a rise in mortgage banking income. BoA said the net income from its Consumer Real Estate segment, including its home equity and mortgage businesses, rose 33% to $227 million. Revenues for the segment totaled $840 million, a 21% increase derived "partly from increased home equity balances," the company said.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:55 AM | Comments (0)
RealtyTrac: New Foreclosures Up 47% From '06
RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif., has reported that new foreclosure filings rose 7% in March and were 47% higher than the level recorded a year earlier. The company's U.S. Foreclosure Market Report indicates that 149,150 new foreclosure properties were added to the rolls in March. "Foreclosure activity shifted into a higher gear in the first two months of 2007, and March's numbers continued that trend," said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer. "While foreclosures are causing a major disruption in the subprime sector of the lending industry and saturating pockets of some local markets, it's important to note that U.S. foreclosure activity overall is not far above historical norms." The company said Nevada, Colorado, and California recorded the highest foreclosure rates in March.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)
Freddie Makes $20B Subprime Commitment
Freddie Mac has announced that it will purchase $20 billion in fixed-rate and hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage products that will provide more options for lenders to offer subprime borrowers. The products, which are under development and slated to be introduced by midsummer, will limit payment shock by offering reduced adjustable-rate margins, longer fixed-rate terms, and longer reset periods, the government-sponsored enterprise said.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)
H&R Block Agrees to Sell Option One Mortgage to Cerberus
Cerberus Capital Management LP has agreed to acquire Option One Mortgage Corp., the unprofitable subprime mortgage business of H&R Block. The accord calls for Cerberus to pay $300 million less than the value of Option One's tangible net assets, which were worth $1.27 billion as of Jan. 31. CEO Mark Ernst had hoped to sell Option One for $1.3 billion; but investors have urged him not to haggle over the sale price, considering that the value of subprime mortgage loans and lenders is plummeting.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:52 AM | Comments (0)
Appraisers Seek Curbs on Lender Pressure
The four biggest trade groups representing appraisers believe that inflated property valuations have been one of the main driving factors behind the surge in foreclosures by financially strapped borrowers. Led by the Appraisal Institute, the organizations also argue that inflated appraisals are at the center of many mortgage fraud schemes and have called on federal regulators to come down harder on lenders that pressure appraisers to boost valuations in order to permit overpriced deals to proceed. In many instances, such lenders failed to require "firewalls" separating loan officers working on commission from appraisers tasked with assigning a value to the property being financed. In a 2006 poll conducted by October Research Corp., 90 percent of the appraisers reported having been the victims of such forms of coercion as nonpayment o! f fees and outright threats, with many having lost business when they opted not to go along with the plan.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:51 AM | Comments (0)
Wamu: $2B Subprime Refis Would 'Get Ahead' of Risk
During the next six months, borrowers who obtained subprime adjustable-rate mortgages from Washington Mutual Inc. will have a chance to refinance into 30-year, fixed loans with rates 50 basis points lower than their interest. The $2 billion refi program--which could be expanded to accommodate demand--aims to help borrowers who may encounter difficulty making their monthly payments after rates reset in the future. David Schneider of Washington Mutual says, "What we're trying to do is get ahead of what we see as a potential risk." A similar $1 billion refinancing program was launched earlier in the month by Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc., in conjunction with the nonprofit Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:49 AM | Comments (0)
Housing Picture Improves in March
The U.S. Commerce Department reports that housing starts rose 0.8 percent from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.52 million in March and that applications for building permits also rose 0.8 percent last month. The second straight monthly increase in housing starts and the modest rise in building permits are early signs that the slowdown in the housing market may be coming to an end. Single-family starts accounted for all of the increase in residential construction in March, rising 2 percent from February, as construction of multihousing units declined 6.8 percent last month. Meanwhile, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index shows that many home builders have concerns about demand and order cancellations, as their confidence in April reached its lowest level of the year.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:48 AM | Comments (0)
Mortgage Lenders' Foreclosure Divisions Criticized
Mortgage lenders with in-house foreclosure operations are coming under fire by consumer groups, which insist that foreclosures should be handled by objective third parties without financial ties to the case. National Community Reinvestment Coalition Executive Vice President David Berenbaum singles out "foreclosure mills," where law firms aggressively pursue foreclosures. However, Alexandria, Va.-based banking industry consultant Bert Ely says in-house foreclosure operations enable lenders to reduce the costs and length of foreclosures; but he adds that, because of the losses they incur, legitimate mortgage shops only seek to foreclose when absolutely necessary. There are 20 states that allow nonjudicial foreclosures, and some permit foreclosure companies to act as the trustees overseeing the! foreclosures.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:47 AM | Comments (0)
Wachovia First-Quarter Profit Rises 33 Pct
Wachovia credits improvements in consumer and commercial lending as well as the acquisition of Golden West Financial for its 33-percent increase in profit during the first quarter. The fourth-largest bank in the United States posted net income of $2.3 billion, or $1.20 per share--up from $1.73 billion, or $1.09 per share, a year ago. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company acquired the adjustable-rate mortgage lender with 285 branches on Oct. 1 for $24.2 billion. Golden West has reported a decline in mortgage originations and an increase in delinquencies during the housing market downturn.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:45 AM | Comments (0)
1Q Earnings: Subprime Woes Hit GE Unit
WMC, the Burbank, Calif.-based subprime mortgage subsidiary of General Electric Co., reports a decline in originations to $3.4 billion in the first three months of 2007 from $9 billion in the final three months of 2006. Year-over-year, the company watched delinquencies rise to 5.48 percent from 5.14 percent. Weakness in the subprime market contributed to a $373 million loss for the January-through-March period, with $330 million in loan-loss reserves to be used to repurchase loans as requested by investors; GE has earmarked $700 million to cover the current loan losses as well as losses yet to come. The company, which no longer offers stated-income or no-documentation mortgages, anticipates a $50 million loss in the second quarter. WMC has already downsized its workforce by ! 40 percent since January and will continue efforts to reduce operating costs.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:45 AM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2007
Wall Street and Subprime Servicing
Posted by S. Germain at 09:42 AM | Comments (0)
The First American Corporation to Hold First Quarter Conference Call
The First American Corporation announced today that it will host a conference call on May 3, 2007, at 11 a.m. EDT. The call will follow the announcement of the company's first-quarter operating results, which is scheduled for release on May 3, 2007, at 8:32 a.m. EDT.
Investors, members of the financial community and the media, can access the call by dialing 888-955-3516, and giving the pass code First American. The call will also be webcast at www.firstam.com/investor.
An audio replay of the conference call will be available through May 10, 2007, by dialing 203-369-3279. An audio archive of the call will also be available for replay on First American's Web site.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:39 AM | Comments (0)
Ray Abide Named EVP and COO for First American Commercial Real Estate Services
First American Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc. announced today that Raymond G. Abide Jr. has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer.
In his new position, Abide will be responsible for planning and overseeing the operational management of First American’s commercial lending and real estate clients.
Abide, who joined First American in 1996, brings extensive mortgage banking experience to his new position, most recently serving as senior vice president of information technology with the company’s Corporate Information Technology Group. He is also a certified public accountant.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:38 AM | Comments (0)
Vikki A. Roby Named SVP and Manager of First American National Claims Outsourcing
First American National Claims Outsourcing, a member of The First American Corporation family of companies, announced today that Vikki A. Roby has been named senior vice president and manager.
In her new position, Roby will oversee and manage post-foreclosure claim filings for all loan types including FHA, VA, subprime and conventional, and mortgage insurance for National Claims Outsourcing clients.
Roby brings more than 15 years of default management experience to her new position, most recently serving as vice president and credit sensitive asset channel manager with Homecomings Financial and as vice president of default administration with CitiMortgage, Inc.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
Ellie Mae Partners With ReallyGreatRate to Provide More Lead Sources to Encompass Loan Origination Software Users
Ellie Mae, an award-winning provider of innovative software and services for the mortgage industry, has partnered with ReallyGreatRate, Inc., an online lead provider for mortgage professionals. The partnership was formed to give Encompass subscribers a convenient, fast and easy way to augment their lead sources in this cooling, transitional mortgage market.
The leads from ReallyGreatRate are purchased by Encompass subscribers on a per-lead basis. Subscribers simply go into the Encompass Lead Center, select the leads they would like to purchase based on information like loan amount, location, loan to value and type of dwelling, and those leads download directly into Encompass
Posted by S. Germain at 09:33 AM | Comments (0)
Questys Solutions Releases Powerful, New Integration Module
Questys Solutions, the leader in providing comprehensive and affordable document management solutions to small/mid-sized businesses, is unveiling its newest product, Questys AppLink.
Questys AppLink "links" to many popular business applications, such as, QuickBooks, Peachtree Complete Accounting, Microsoft Great Plains, MAS 90, Goldmine, ACT!, SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Microsoft Small Business Accounting, and PeopleSoft, with a GUI designer to speed the integration and remove the complexity of programming.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:30 AM | Comments (0)
Reverse Mortgage Solutions opens in Spring
Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc. has been formed to provide loan servicing and private-label subservicing technology and consulting for reverse mortgage products.
El Segundo, Calif.-based JAM Equity Partners LLC and its affiliates have made a $7 million investment in RMS. RMS said proceeds from the financing will be used to accelerate entry into the reverse mortgage sector, including refinement of the RMS servicing technology platform, funding the company's infrastructure, sales and marketing and general working capital needs.
RMS' first product offering is the RM Navigator system, which handles unique reporting and cash distribution characteristics required in the servicing of reverse mortgages.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)
First Magnus Renews with Lender Support Systems, Inc.'s WebDocs
Lender Support Systems, Inc. (LSSI), a global provider of eMortgage enabled lending and loan servicing technology solutions, announced Tucson, Ariz.-based First Magnus Financial Corp., one of the nation's largest privately held mortgage companies, renewed its contract for the ninth consecutive year for use of LSSI's core document preparation technology.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)
Colonial Savings Buys $1.7B MSR Package
Colonial Savings, Fort Worth, Texas, has purchased the servicing rights on 18,431 home loans with a combined principal balance of approximately $1.7 billion from a Midwestern bank. Colonial Savings said the acquisition increases its servicing portfolio by 15% on a dollar-volume basis to $12.7 billion. The effective date of the transfer will be June 1. James DuBose, president and chief executive officer of Colonial Savings, said the company estimates that the addition of the new loans will reduce its per-loan average cost of servicing by 16%.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:21 AM | Comments (0)
Turkey Bank 1st in Europe to Use Anti-Fraud Tool
Turkey's AkBank has become the first lender on the European continent to deploy Fair Isaac's Falcon ID anti-fraud tool, according to the Minneapolis-based company. With Turkey now an aggressive adopter of technology, AkBank takes applications over mobile phones and is initially using the solution to protect its credit card portfolios before using Falcon ID with mortgage loan applications, a Fair Isaac representative said.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)
Countrywide Reports Hefty Boost in Refis
Of the $43 billion in mortgage loans originated in March by Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., $26 billion were for refinancings, a $3.4 billion increase from the refi level recorded the previous March, according to the company. This contributed to an overall increase of 5% in volume, Countrywide reported. Purchase loans fell from $19 billion in March 2006 to $17 billion last month. Home equity fundings were down 5%, nonprime fundings were down 29%, and originations of option adjustable-rate mortgages totaled $3.5 billion, down from $8.8 billion a year ago. Countrywide's pipeline at the end of March totaled $69 billion, up $5 billion from that of March 2006. The servicing portfolio totaled $1.4 trillion, compared with $1.2 trillion a year earlier, and delinquencies on the portfolio stood at 4.29% for March, compared with 5.02% for December 2006 and 3.68% for March 2006.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)
NovaStar May Put Itself Up for Sale
Embattled subprime mortgage lender NovaStar Financial is weighing the idea of putting itself up for sale, among other strategic alternatives. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that the company's nonconforming loan volume reached $314.8 million in March and $1.44 billion during the first quarter, down 58 percent and 21 percent from a year ago, respectively. Also last month, the Kansas City, Mo.-based lender handed out pink slips to 17 percent of its workers. NovaStar adds that Wachovia Capital Markets has arranged a $100 million financing commitment that will replace and may even expand existing financing from Wachovia.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:15 AM | Comments (0)
$1 Billion Pledged to Help Fend Off Foreclosures
In order to keep them from losing their homes to foreclosure, Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) says it will offer $1 billion in refinancing assistance to lower-income homeowners struggling with subprime mortgage payments. Citigroup and Bank of America, which have lent money for years to borrowers screened by NACA, will provide the financing for the mortgage assistance initiative. "If we put people in the front door and they're being forced out the back door, then we're not stabilizing neighborhoods, which is part of our mission," says Bruce Marks, chief executive of the Boston-based housing advocacy group. Homeowners continue to struggle with making payments on their mortgages, and the most recent survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association indicates that more than 13 percent of subprime mortgages were at least 30 days delinquent.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:15 AM | Comments (0)
Defaults Rise in Next Level of Mortgages
Companies such as IndyMac and Countrywide Financial lent nearly $400 billion to borrowers with between prime and subprime credit ratings, known as Alternative-A, for mortgages in 2006; and now delinquency rates for these types of loans are on the rise. With the decline of the subprime mortgage market that started in last year's fourth quarter, analysts and investors have been keeping an eye on Alt-A loans, which are proving to be particularly vulnerable to the deterioration in formerly overheated residential property markets in the Southwest and along both coasts. Now, Wall Street reportedly is becoming increasingly wary of Alt-A and is putting loans back to lenders or bidding less for them, which could result in default rates getting even worse before they get better. Until recently, Alt-A loans were considered by many to be only slightly more risky than prime mortgages, while losses in bonds backed by such mortgages were typically rare and quite small. Center for Financial Research and Analysis analyst Zach Gast remarks, "This is a definite sign that at least in the secondary market, the subprime issues are spilling over."
Posted by S. Germain at 09:11 AM | Comments (0)
New Century Unloads Slate of Unfunded Mortgage Loans
New Century Financial Corp. has disposed of all of the unfunded mortgages in its inventory, according to a regulatory filing submitted on Friday to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The troubled subprime mortgage lender based in Irvine, Calif., said the loans were ready for funding, or were in other phases of the underwriting process. State regulators helped New Century return the loans to the mortgage brokers who originally provided the loan applications so that borrowers could find new financing deals with other lenders; and the company also worked with other lenders to transfer loans sold through its retail mortgage unit. New Century, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, stopped making loans in March.
Posted by S. Germain at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)
April 06, 2007
Existing Home Sales
Posted by S. Germain at 08:36 AM | Comments (0)
BayRock Mortgage Corporation Deploys ComplianceEase Automated Compliance
ComplianceEase®, a leading provider of compliance and risk management solutions, has announced that BayRock Mortgage Corporation (BMC) has deployed ComplianceEase's ComplianceAnalyzer® after completing a two-week beta test. According to BayRock, the results have been beneficial.
BayRock Mortgage is the first Mortgage Builder Software, Inc. user to leverage ComplianceAnalyzer since it was integrated into the Mortgage Builder processing, underwriting and closing solution.
ComplianceAnalyzer is a web-based compliance solution that automates the compliance auditing process. It is easy to use, requiring only a few simple clicks, and powerful enough to examine each loan within seconds.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:33 AM | Comments (0)
NewAlliance Bank Signs Merchant Processing Agreement with FIS
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. today announced a five-year agreement with NewAlliance Bank to provide a full array of merchant processing solutions.
With $8 billion in assets, NewAlliance is the sixth-largest bank headquartered in New England and the third-largest bank in Connecticut. FIS will provide transaction authorization capture, online debit, and associated services for new and existing merchants.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:31 AM | Comments (0)
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. Announces 1st 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 1st quarter 2007 earnings after the close of regular market trading on Wednesday, April 25, 2007. A conference call will follow on Thursday, April 26, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Those wishing to participate via the webcast should access the call through FNF's Investor Relations website at http://www.fnf.com. Those wishing to participate via the telephone may dial-in at 888-428- 4472(USA) or 612-332-0932(International). The conference call replay will be available via webcast through FNF's Investor Relations website at http://www.fnf.com. The telephone replay will be available from 1:30p.m. Eastern Time on April 26, 2007, through May 3, 2007, by dialing 800-475- 6701(USA) or 320-365-3844(International). The access code will be 869684.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:29 AM | Comments (0)
LandAmerica Announces Dates for First Quarter 2007 Results & Conference Call
LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: LFG - News), a leading provider of real estate transaction services, announces that it will release its preliminary operating results for the first quarter after the market closes on Tuesday, April 24, 2007. Additionally, the Company will sponsor a conference call on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, at 10:00 AM ET to discuss the preliminary results.
Those wishing to participate in the live call should dial 1-877-407-0782 and request to be connected to the LandAmerica conference. Additionally, the call will be simultaneously broadcast over the internet via LandAmerica's website (http://www.landam.com). Click Investor Information > Financial Information > Webcast events. Investors can also access the webcast at http://www.InvestorCalendar.com.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:28 AM | Comments (0)
Advantage Credit Becomes First in Nation to Offer CreditXpert Solution Suite in All Modes
CreditXpert Inc., a credit analysis and management solutions provider, and Advantage Credit, a credit reporting and loan origination services provider, today announced that Advantage Credit has officially become the first company in the nation to launch the entire CreditXpert® Solution Suite of products that runs in all modes.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)
DPS eMortgage Studio(R) Supports eSigned PDFs
Document Processing Systems, Inc. announces today the immediate ability to fully sign, close, and register eNotes using the just-released MISMO® eSigned PDF Guidelines v1.0 and the draft MERS® eRegistry PDF Guidelines.
Using the DPS eMortgage Studio®, lenders and title companies now have a choice between using SMART Docs(TM) or Adobe's PDF file format for loan documentation being closed electronically. The PDF format is in many industries and businesses the de facto standard by which to preserve the exact look of a document in a device-independent manner. While also available using SMART Docs, lenders have become comfortable using PDF's inherent form fields, which provide such features as checkboxes and initials sections. That comfort level also extends to PDF's ease of document set-up and support of intelligent workflow management systems.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)
Quicken Loans Crosses $2 Billion Milestone in Monthly Closing Volume
Quicken Loans announced today that for the first time in its nearly 22-year history, the company has surpassed closing $2 billion in home loan volume in a single month -- closing $2.1 billion in home loans for the month of March, 2007. Not only is this an all-time company record for Quicken Loans, it's also the largest amount ever closed by an online lender in a single month in U.S. history.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:09 AM | Comments (0)
Austin Logistics Provides Risk Mitigation for Beleaguered Mortgage Lenders
Austin Logistics’ ActionSelect, based on predictive analytics and action decisioning, gives lenders the innovative tools they need to remain ahead of the risk curve.
Two of the key areas in which lenders can alleviate losses due to volatile market conditions are in risk and collections. The solution provides the ability to manage risk from early in the mortgage credit lifecycle through to collections, to help lenders reduce their back-end losses. Moreover, ActionSelect slashes operational time and cost of implementing risk strategies, giving lenders a more efficient, effective way to preempt losses.
ActionSelect for Risk and Collections Optimization shortens strategy design-to-deployment time using Action Analytics, Optimization and Simulation. Using ActionSelect, mortgage lenders can determine the best treatment for each account to achieve maximum impact, taking into consideration not only the account profile, but business objectives and resource constraints. It predicts the risk of default or delinquency plus profitability across many different treatment options, and then finds the best strategy to maximize ROI for a given business objective.
Posted by S. Germain at 08:05 AM | Comments (0)
Dallas Fed Chief: B&C Problems 'Contained'
Problems in the subprime market are "largely contained" and the economy will "weather this storm," Dallas Federal Reserve Bank president Richard Fisher says, but the outlook for the housing market isn't as clear. Last year, 40% of homebuyers were subprime or alternative-A borrowers, Mr. Fisher told the Austin Mortgage Bankers Association. With the contraction in nonprime lending, "housing markets may feel some short-term pain, making it less clear whether housing construction has bottomed and how long the housing downturn may last," he said. The Dallas Fed president also said the regulators are being very careful in setting credit standards because they don't want to compound the problems in the subprime sector or stifle innovation. "I think the recent subprime mortgage statement put out by the Fed and four other regulators gets the notion of sensible risk-taking just about right," Mr. Fisher said.
Posted by S. Germain at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)
Lenders Lighten Up on Borrowers
A growing number of lenders are helping cash-strapped subprime borrowers avoid foreclosure by modifying their loans. EMC Mortgage Corp. President and CEO John Vella says his company has made an effort to "be run like a counseling center," assigning 50 workers to the phones to calculate a new monthly payment that fits each borrower's budget. Vella notes that these employees are prepared to spend as much time on the phone with each borrower as necessary, even if it means they can speak to only a few people per day. Larry Litton Jr., whose Houston-based Litton Loan Servicing has boosted monthly loan modifications to 1,000 from about 400 over the last six months, says the ball is in the servicer's court. "If the servicers aren't flexible, then we're going to see credit losses like we've never seen before," he remarks.
Posted by S. Germain at 07:58 AM | Comments (0)
Jumbo Loan Delinquencies Jump 18 Percent
Moody's Investors Service Inc. reports that 0.35 percent of jumbo mortgages packaged into securities were delinquent in January, rising 18 percent from the same month in 2006. The 30- to 59-day delinquency rate slipped to 0.55 percent from 0.62 percent in the fourth quarter. Year-over-year, jumbo-loan foreclosure and real-estate-owned rates jumped to 0.11 percent and 0.037 percent, respectively, which are "still low in relative terms," according to Moody's Investors Service analyst Peter McNally.
Posted by S. Germain at 07:55 AM | Comments (0)
New Century Is Seeking Bankruptcy
New Century Financial Corp.'s run as one of the country's biggest mortgage lenders to borrowers with flawed credit ended on Monday when it officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing is part of a larger shakeout that is narrowing the subprime sector, which had become saturated with fast-growing young firms. New Century has outlined plans to axe more than 50 percent of its payroll and liquidate itself during the next 45 days in auctions for its three main assets: a mortgage-servicing business, its loan-underwriting platform and the stake it held in pools of loans sold to investors. Greenwich Capital Financial Products will purchase certain New Century loans and residual interests for $50 million, while Carrington Capital Management has agreed to acquire the firm's servicing assets and platform for $139 million.
Posted by S. Germain at 07:55 AM | Comments (0)
Credit Suisse Sues Several Lenders
DLJ Mortgage Capital--a subsidiary of Credit Suisse--is suing Sunset Direct Lending, Infinity Home and Netbank for more than $30 million. The subprime lenders allegedly failed to meet their loan obligations.
Posted by S. Germain at 07:54 AM | Comments (0)