Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, who owns about 10% of Wells Fargo, announced that it is investing $5 billion in Bank of America. $100,000 per share for 50,000 shares…as one would expect, BofA’s stock is up over 20%. Buffett stated that BofA is a “strong and well-led company.” That is a big chunk of change, and [...]

It’s been more than eight years since I was at a global bank and navigating a big machine was second nature. I’m a bit rusty as my current boutique bank grows so, for reference, here are the core personality types we all encounter. When lots of smart people work together, it’s impossible for everyone to [...]

Warren Buffet released his Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder letter today, which is widely read for signals on the broader economy. Here’s what he said about housing: “A housing recovery will probably begin within a year or so. In any event, it is certain to occur at some point.” A bit open-ended. And CalculatedRisk noted that [...]

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 [...]

Buffett Warm On Housing, Cold On Bank Tax Berkshire Hathaway has big stakes in Wells, Goldman, BofA. These firms fall under Obama’s bank tax.

Warren Buffet Quote on Bank Tax In an interesting quote, Warren Buffett weighed in on the plan to tax banks. “I don’t understand plans for a bank tax – it just doesn’t make any sense to me that banks should be taxed to cover losses at other bailed-out companies, such as automakers, Fannie Mae, or [...]

Treasury’s Unlimited Fannie/Freddie Backing Regardless of whether or not it is good or bad for our industry, or the debate about the timing of the announcement, on Christmas Eve the U.S. Treasury agreed to provide Fannie & Freddie unlimited capital as needed over the next three years. It is an effort to reassure the investors [...]

Ring ring. “Hello?” “Hey Warren, this is Ben over at the Fed. You know how you already own 10% of Wells Fargo? Well, I have a little favor to ask…” Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs, and shares of Goldman rose 6.5% following the announcement yesterday. Berkshire will buy $5 [...]

Will lenders soon be implementing fees for originators to lock a loan? This practice was almost standard decades ago, but got lost along the way. Some investors already charge mortgage bankers and brokers a fee, typically credited back at the time of purchase. This is especially prevalent with “lower tier” originators: those that have a [...]