GMAC Hires Goldman To Sell Mortgage Unit In a story from the New York Post, GMAC has hired Goldman Sachs to start the process of selling Res Cap. Between GMAC being mostly owned by the government ($17 billion for 56%), and Res Cap losing billions of dollars, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owning a sizeable
Industrial Production
‘The Situation’ On Jersey Investment Fraud If you ever thought Jersey Shore’s Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino was giving Jersey a bad name, consider this situation: Last week in New Jersey Wayne D. Puff, who ran a huge Ponzi scheme from 1998 through 2005, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison and ordered to pay
My 86-year old Dad caught me taking a nap over the weekend. Not one to miss an opportunity, he said, “You practically invented lazy. People should have to call you and ask for the rights to the word “lazy” before they use it.” That’s my Dad… Lock Desk personnel are seldom lazy, and in fact
Once again, things turned grim in mortgage banking. First, Taylor, Bean, & Whitaker went belly up. Not only did this impact their own employees, but its warehouse problems were widespread. In addition to that, it is rumored that hundreds of smaller banks either use/used TBW’s website help in originating mortgages on their website, or sold
“Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.” Crime is everywhere! According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a division of the Treasury Department, they are notifying the mortgage industry that it is considering whether to move ahead with proposed anti-money laundering and suspicious activity reporting regulations. In other words, cash
When I was in high school I was dating a deaf girl. One night I went to pick her up and found her in the arms of my best friend who was also deaf. I should have seen the signs. Rates Better on Weak Economic News What “signs” are the economy showing which may help
I want to warn people from Nigeria that if you get any e-mails from Washington DC asking for money, it’s a scam. Don’t fall for it! Or maybe from Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s been a while since I have seen anyone use the word “hoodwinked” in a sentence, but this reporter did in describing a
Stocks, Especially Banks, Rally On Stress Test Results I am the first to admit that if I had to make a living as a day trader, I would be bankrupt within a month. Yesterday was a perfect example. Bank stress test results have been leaked out, showing, for example, that Citi, Bank of America, and
Thomas Jefferson said, “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.” Maybe he would be proud of the demonstration that my daughter and I saw on the banks of the Savannah River yesterday in Georgia, which apparently was taking place in many cities around the
GM wants $17 billion more. One trader from Cantor Fitz mentioned that, “GM seems like a pension plan that occasionally makes a car somebody occasionally buys.” Citi Loan Changes First things first. Yesterday I mentioned that “CitiMortgage now requires the following minimum FICO scores on all FHA and VA loans, including FHA Streamline and VA
With lots of time on my hands, I decided to start a mink farm. Of course, I could never kill one of them, but letting them lose in the neighborhood – one per week – appeals to me. The first steps include acquiring knowledge of the mink, including life cycle, breeding cycles, vaccinations, and nutritional
Life of an Ex-Mortgage Banker What do ex-Secondary mortgage guys do? One wrote to me last week and said, “Last night I placed an incendiary device in a bucket of water, in our living room. I wrapped it good and tight with electrical cords, plugged it in, then hung tin and wood figurines from it…………..for
If you’re a skilled mortgage professional, don’t ever let anyone tell you that you don’t have options in life! “Your time is now!” Congress Probes TARP Plan: Bernanke, Bair, Paulson Someone wrote to me and said that, “I’m hearing that Treasury is about to announce its support for another vital industry through a new vehicle
It was one year ago today that First Magnus threw in the towel. Hopefully all those folks have landed on their feet, either through StoneWater Mortgage or other lenders… INVESTMENT BANKS DOWNGRADE EACH OTHER “I’m a vegetarian not because I love animals, but because I hate plants.” Can’t investment banks just get along? Goldman Sachs
MORTGAGE ROUND-UP Good news, there’s a new 90% No Income, No Asset loan rolling out today. Just kidding – sorry. It sure has a catchy ring, and hearkens back to “the good old days”. Most folks still in the business feel that many of the “bad apples” have left the industry, whether they are companies
Fixed rates are even this week and ARMs are up about .125%, due mostly to a bond market selloff late last week. When bonds prices drop during a selloff, bond yields (rates) rise and so do the mortgage rates that are pegged to those yields. This week is full of consumer, manufacturing and housing data
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