The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month… Do the veterans in your life a favor by forwarding them this list of discounts around the nation. Speaking of the military, for those of you who say that you never learn anything from this daily commentary, did you know that George Washington is protected from being outranked by any other military officer, by law, even now. If we ever have a 6th star general, Washington would posthumously be promoted to a 7th star general to maintain the top rank. American Public Law 94-479 posthumously promoted Washington to “General of the Armies of the United States” which scholars say means that Washington might be considered America’s only six-star general, since the army has had five-star generals throughout history. How does this tie into residential lending? It doesn’t, but ever heard of Lincoln Military Housing, which owns 36,000 military family homes across the nation? It is an affiliate of Lincoln Property Company, out of Dallas, which has quite a history.
Employment & transitions
Citibank, N.A. is excited to announce the hiring of Kat Cunningham as the Correspondent Lending Account Executive covering Alaska, Northern California, Pacific Northwest and the Mountain Region. Kat is an industry veteran of over 30 years, possessing an impressive track record of driving territory growth through a client centric, solution-based approach. The addition of Kat is just the latest example of how Citi’s Correspondent Channel is focused on creating a best in class seller experience. With a 2021 implementation roadmap of new products and programs supported by technology designed to make loan delivery simple and efficient, Citi Correspondent is looking to build on the past 18 months of channel expansion. Learn how to be a part of this exciting growth through developing a correspondent relationship with Citi by contacting our National Client Services Team at 800-967-2205 or completing the Prospective Mortgage Correspondent Questionnaire
Hamilton for Heroes: Hamilton Home Loans, a residential mortgage lender headquartered in South Florida, provides home financing assistance to military members, nurses, police officers, firefighters, EMTs and physician assistants through its Hamilton for Heroes program where Active and retired Heroes who are eligible for the program receive a no lender fee offer with savings up to $1,590 on their purchase or refinance transaction. Howard Vernick, SVP National Production, stated, “Hamilton for Heroes helps us give back to the Heroes who make our country and communities safer and healthier places to live. We believe it’s important to make home financing more affordable for these Heroes.” Eligible Heroes also receive dedicated guidance from the Hamilton team throughout the mortgage process. To learn more about Hamilton for Heroes or other products, services and opportunities offered by Hamilton Home Loans, contact Anna Beltran or Ashlee Cragun.
MISMO® announced that Seth Daniel Appleton is its new president. Appleton currently serves as the Assistant Secretary, Policy Development and Research, for HUD and as the Principal EVP of Ginnie Mae. He will join MISMO on December 1.
Bell Bank has hired Jesse Schwab as executive vice president/chief risk officer, with oversight of all non-credit related risk management for Bell Bank and its divisions. He will implement additional risk management processes and policies, important as Bell approaches the $10 billion asset threshold.
Terry Lindsey, currently Chase’s National Sales Manager, has been named Head of Correspondent Lending for Chase and will have responsibility for the channel including Sales, Operations and Underwriting.
Planet Home Lending, LLC has tapped Michele Kryczkowski as SVP, national fulfillment, responsible for expanding the growth of Planet’s fulfillment unit supporting distributed retail sales channels.
Congratulations to Dave Gottfried, at BondXN. BondXN allows mortgage bankers to more efficiently streamline and auction specified pool lists.
Nashville’s Guaranty Home Mortgage Corp. hired Charles Hoving as its new chief compliance officer.
Interfirst Mortgage announced three key new executive hires. Kendall Berry is its new VP of Wholesale Operations responsible for overseeing Interfirst’s management of its mortgage broker relationships. Nadina Bradescu is the new VP of Retail Operations managing all aspects of retail operations from origination to closing with a focus on strengthening the retail channel loan quality and reducing origination costs to the benefit of customers and investors. And Russ Therrell is the new VP of Underwriting overseeing all aspects of the underwriting process and managing a team of 30+ underwriters.
Lender services and products
In honor of those who have served, AFR Wholesale will donate $100 for each VA loan closed in the month of November to the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation. The mission of this foundation is to provide college scholarships and educational counseling to military children who have lost a parent in the line of duty. VA loans offer up to 100% financing to qualified veterans, active service members, and surviving spouses. AFR offers a variety of VA loan products, from Renovation and Refinance options, to One-Time Close and financing for Manufactured Housing. VA IRRRLs provide an efficient, fast approval refinance from one VA loan to another to lower monthly payments; no appraisal or credit underwriting package required. Plus, AFR pays the required VA Sponsorship fees for brokers and correspondents on all AFR-related VA Loan submissions! For more information about becoming a partner, go to www.afrwholesale.com, email sales@afrwholesale.com or call 1-800-375-6071.
If populating your marketing and sales automation system with quality content seems like a daunting task, it doesn’t have to be. Seroka’s team of strategists and copywriters specialize in creating content that is customized and branded – definitely not cookie cutter. And because its niche is the mortgage industry, Seroka understands your target audiences and can help you ramp up your content quickly. Check out this video to learn more. For more information about how Seroka can help you develop compelling, quality content for your marketing and sales automation systems, reach out today!
An appraisal is not just an appraisal. There are a wide variety of appraisals available to provide flexibility given the challenges of this year, and some appraisals can even be waived. In addition to traditional, exterior-only and desktop appraisals, there’s a veritable alphabet soup of flexible offerings available, ranging from AVM (Automated Valuation Model) to BPO (Broker Price Opinion) to MACR (Marketing Analysis & Condition Report). To find out more, visit Triserv or contact Triserv Appraisal Management Solutions: learnmore@triservllc.com. Triserv is a 50-state AMC that has client-specific, dedicated teams on both coasts offering high-touch, personalized service.
Lower rates (plus lower payments) for the win! Becoming or joining an independent mortgage broker lets you offer borrowers the lowest rates possible. With multiple lenders at your disposal competing to get your business, you can bring your customers ultra-low rates in the 2s. Plus, lower interest rates mean smaller payments, making homeownership more affordable for your customers. They won’t forget it, and they’ll tell their friends, too. To learn more about what wholesale lending can do for you and your clients, visit BeAMortgageBroker.com/Contact.
Whether someone is starting a family, growing a family, or looking for some extra space; these milestones require jumbo loans! At Stearns Wholesale Lending, the Gold Select 80 Jumbo Loans can cover these special life moments. These loan amounts go up to $1.5 million for experienced homeowners and require 80% LTV, 720+ credit scores, and DTI which includes 40% for wage earners and 35% for self-employed borrowers. As is the case with all of Stearns jumbo programs, borrowers will experience timely decisions and a streamlined process when they apply. If you want to learn more about the benefits of these jumbo programs, or partner with Stearns, click here to be contacted.
Freddie and Fannie’s Ripples Around Our Biz
Fanns of Fannie (like that one?) learned yesterday that, effective March 1, 2021, “only the new IRS Form 4506-C will be accepted through the Income Verification Express Service (IVES) to provide tax transcripts to third parties. This means mortgage lenders will need to have borrowers sign Form 4506-C to give permission for obtaining their tax transcripts.” Stay tuned for Fannie’s December Selling Guide for more news.
And “Fannie Mae has performed the required assessments for the Classic FICO credit score model, and Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Finance Agency have approved it for continued use. This is an incremental step while Fannie Mae continues to assess additional credit score model applications.”
Fannie Mae updated Automatic Reclassification of Delinquent MBS Mortgage Loans with Lender Letter (LL-2020-13) to provide process requirement details for servicers related to the 24 month delinquent MBS loan reclassification that will be effective January 2021.
Don’t forget that in late September the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which is chaired by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, voted unanimously to endorse Calabria’s plan to recapitalize and release the GSEs by executive action – with the caveat that even more capital may be required than the FHFA has called for.
Ed DeMarco, who ran the FHFA until 2014 – six years ago, had some thoughts on the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s comments on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s proposed capital rule. “The Financial Stability Oversight Council’s recent comments on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s proposed capital rule for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reinforced aspects of the proposed rule but left market participants uncertain about key issues.
“For instance, FSOC’s endorsement of FHFA’s use of bank-like regulatory capital definitions and structure suggests that this approach will be retained in the final rule. FSOC also observed that the capital ‘buffers’ in the proposed risk-based framework should be risk-based, as they are in the bank framework (a point made by many market participants).
“However, elements of FSOC’s statement raise questions for market participants trying to anticipate a post-conservatorship secondary mortgage market, should the incoming Biden Administration’s FHFA go through with the GSEs’ exit from governmental control. Three stand out.
“First, market participants are concerned with FHFA’s and FSOC’s intentions with credit risk transfer, a critical housing finance reform made in conservatorship. By selling credit risk to investors, CRT diversifies the sources of private capital and broadens the universe of investors that absorb credit losses. CRT investors monitor and assess mortgage credit risk so the financial system is not solely reliant upon the risk management judgments of the GSEs. Further, CRT permits pricing transparency previously absent in the GSE market… CRT can reduce both systemic risk and the amount of common equity to be raised while expanding the investor base focused on mortgage credit risk. It should also lower the GSEs’ overall cost of capital, thereby lowering mortgage rates for homebuyers.” (More on this in my usual Saturday commentary.)
“Second, FSOC’s statements on the leverage requirement sent mixed signals. Consistent with current bank capital policy, FSOC poses that the leverage requirement should be a “credible backstop” to the risk-based requirements. Yet FSOC also noted that the final leverage and risk-based requirements should not be ‘materially less than those contemplated by the proposed rule.’
“The conflict arises because leverage is the binding, not backstop, capital requirement in FHFA’s proposal. Such a result creates adverse incentives for risk-taking. Solutions could include aligning the leverage capital buffer – an add-on component of the requirement – more with the bank framework or allowing CRT to count toward the buffer.
“Finally, FSOC notes that the risk-based capital charge for mortgage credit risk in the FHFA proposal is lower than banks face, creating an advantage for the GSEs that ‘could maintain significant concentration of risk with the Enterprises.’ This leads FSOC to ‘encourage FHFA and other regulatory agencies to coordinate and take other appropriate action…’
“Should market participants conclude that FHFA, across two very different Directors and after extensive modeling of mortgage credit risk, is under-estimating mortgage credit risk? Or are the current bank risk-based capital requirements excessive? Does this portend an increase in the GSEs’ risk-based requirements relative to the proposal?
“The Treasury’s 2019 report on housing finance reform stressed that “similar credit risks generally should have similar credit risk capital charges across market participants.” The Housing Policy Council agrees and believes that bank regulators and FHFA should seek parity in the treatment of mortgage credit risk.”
And Dave Stevens of Mountain Lake Consulting has some pertinent, comprehensive thoughts on the election’s impact on GSE reform, as well as why the GSE adverse market fee, already priced into rate sheets around the nation, is unwarranted.
Meanwhile, lenders and investors make Agency changes in the primary markets.
loanDepot’s Weekly Announcement MGIC COVID-19 update and FHA COVID-19 guidance updates.
U.S. Bank issued SEL-2020-078: Government Extension of Temporary Flexibilities Related to COVID-19.
Effective October 30 Flagstar Bank reinstated some products that were temporarily suspended earlier this year. View Memo 20109 for product details.
Plaza’s new Agency Express streamlined submission option offers brokers best-in-class initial turn times on eligible Fannie Mae® and Freddie Mac programs, and allows for closing in as little as 10-15 days.
PRMG posted numerous updates in its Resource Center. Topics include Eastern Region Underwriter Team Assignments, Lender Certification Form, VA Cash Out Refinance and IRRRL Worksheet, and Disaster Notices. QC updates include the addition of Multiple Loans for Same Borrower Questionnaire, Minimum Items Required Addenda for Multiple Loans for Same Borrower, Multiple Loans for the Same Borrower Information Sheet, Doc Order Forms (Wholesale), and Corona California Fulfillment Center Doc Order Form.
Capital markets
U.S. Treasuries didn’t muster any rebound yesterday following Monday’s large selloff. Money continued to pour into the stock market, helping to push MBS prices lower, tightening versus Treasury yields that moved marginally higher on the day. Market movement this week has revolved around expectations for improved economic activity in 2021 driven by the arrival of approved COVID vaccines/treatments, though I would caution you that the recent surge in coronavirus cases, continued lack of fiscal stimulus, and the uncertainty surrounding the transition of power to President-elect Biden are all reasons for Treasury yields to rally and rates drop going forward. In terms of economic releases yesterday, the October NFIB Small Business Optimism Index was unchanged from September, while September JOLTS – Job Openings were roughly unchanged as well.
The bond market is closed today, so question any rate sheets produced. We did learn, however, that mortgage applications decreased 0.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 6. With the bond market closed, we begin today with no updates on Agency MBS prices or the 10-year yield after it closed yesterday at 0.96%.
The Empty Chair Guinness Commercial salutes those who serve and while they might be out of sight they are not out of mind. (Warning: tissues may be required.) If you are ever looking for an easy way to pay respect to someone that serves in the military or community just buy them a beer or pay for their meal in a restaurant. They will be very grateful for your kind gesture and recognition of their service.
Visit www.robchrisman.com for more information on our industry partners, access archived commentaries, or to subscribe to the Daily Mortgage News and Commentary. If you’re interested, visit my periodic blog at the STRATMOR Group web site. The current blog is, “Time to Call the Landlord?”.
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(Market data provided in partnership with MBS Live. For free job postings and to view candidate resumes visit LenderNews. This newsletter is designed for sophisticated mortgage professionals only. There are no paid endorsements by me. For up-to-date mortgage news visit Mortgage News Daily. For archived commentaries, or to subscribe, go to www.robchrisman.com. Copyright 2020 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. Occasional paid job & product listings do appear. This report or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold, or redistributed without the written consent of Rob Chrisman.)
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