Seven More Banks Fail, 2009 Tally At 140 Wanna buy a bank? Now is a good time to give that someone special a little something special – like a failed bank. Seven U.S. banks were taken over on Friday, and the FDIC could not find buyers for three of them. It brings the total to [...]

Mortgage Banker Average Pay Is your company making more or less than $902 on each loan? The MBAA reports that independent mortgage bankers made about 50 basis points, or $902, on average, during the third quarter. This is down from the $1,358 profit during the second quarter. The lenders which make up the MBAA’s study [...]

Here we are on the 68th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day, with the mortgage banking business facing unprecedented new regulatory reforms, and what are the folks in the trenches saying? “Does anyone get the feeling mortgage banking is a ghost ship, to sail the seas endlessly, with a crew of the damned? Didn’t Disney make [...]

I usually try to keep my opinions out the daily commentary. But I am really becoming irked by the press. One day they complain about our industry having foreclosure problems and the credit crisis here in the US and in the world. And then the next day they complain about the declining rate of mortgage [...]

Ah, inflation – at all levels. During the life of a 30-yr fixed-rate mortgage, there are bound to be periods of inflation. It is debatable, in the market of mortgages, whether or not borrowers and lenders take inflation into account. Certainly ARM loans do to some extent. But bond prices (aside from TIP securities, some [...]

Market Roundup Before we launch into the plethora of investor updates, let’s take a look at the market. With the absence of any bond-market news, the focus continues to be on stocks. Asian stocks rallied last night back to levels last seen in October. To many, in spite of the poor earnings results by many [...]

Last Friday was the first day of spring. Congratulations, you made it through winter – now if only your savings had… Conforming To $729k? What is the word on when the conventional $729,250 will be rolled out? Hah! Call me “out of the loop”, but I have none. There are reports that big banks’ retail [...]

The economy is not good. I’ll tell you how bad the economy is. I was in Beverly Hills yesterday, and I saw a guy driving an American car! All CA Lenders Must Have License # On Card If you’re located in California, be prepared to order new business cards for everyone. Starting on July 1st [...]

Rates Set By Markets, Not The Fed I love it when folks think that the US Government sets our mortgage rates, and not the supply & demand in the markets. It would sure make life easier for everyone in the business, especially secondary marketing & pricing folks. Market Cliche Storm I was standing in the [...]

AmTrust Bank In Trouble The Office of Thrift Supervision issued simultaneous cease and desist orders against AmTrust Financial Corp. and unit AmTrust Bank. The orders require the holding company and its nondepository subsidiaries to: Seek prior approval from the OTS before incurring, issuing, renewing or rolling over any debt, increasing any lines of credit or [...]