I received this over the weekend: “I just want to make enough money to live a life that doesn’t include Microsoft Teams in my work life.” Many people in residential lending began their careers before Teams even existed, and I love it when I am listening to someone in their 60s or 70s talking about a lack of people in their 20s and 30s entering our biz. One could make the argument that people in their 60s or 70s are holding onto jobs that someone in their 30s wants or would be better at… But experience is important. Speaking of time and money, recall that it has already been four years since one of the biggest effects of the financial crisis rolling off: Those who had short sales and foreclosures in 2009-2010 reached the end of the 7 year no-mortgage period and became eligible to borrow again, in time for this huge increase in appreciation. Capital is certainly being deployed: Just look at Softbank investing $500 million in Better Mortgage. (By the way, the audio version of today’s commentary is available here and is sponsored by FBX, an Informa Financial Intelligence business.)

Employment

2-hour underwriting turn times! Recently named a Top 10 Large Mortgage Company to Work For by National Mortgage News, Geneva Financial Home Loans is filling Branch Manager and Loan Officer positions in 44 states. With in-house operations, Division Manager Breton Macdonald is actively delivering 2-hour UW turn-times with purchase transactions closing in as fast as 10 days and is looking for branches and LOs to replicate the model nationwide. Pair the operations speed with GenevaGO Human Friendly Homebuying™ Mobile Mortgage App and highly competitive rates and Geneva and you’ll be closing your deals rapidly while getting paid 175+ BPS! Geneva was also recently named the #1 Mortgage Lender by consumers in Arizona, home of its Corporate Office, on the annual Ranking Arizona Consumer Poll of best businesses. Explore Branch and Originator opportunities.

Assurance Financial is continuing to grow production, add retail branch offices, and expand its production reach into the midwestern U.S., particularly the Colorado, Arizona, Kansas, and New Mexico markets. “We are searching for an established Regional Production Manager to help create and develop mortgage origination branches in the new midwestern territory, someone who is an outstanding talent and proven retail sales leader with a demonstrated track record of hiring and managing multiple production offices across several states. We are a profitable and well-capitalized full-service mortgage banker offering an entrepreneurial, customer-focused sales support environment, FNMA/FHLMC/GNMA direct status, and well-positioned to compete for more growth with state-of-the-art operations/support technology. This new Regional Production Manager position will report to the CEO. If you are interested in joining a dynamic group of mortgage bankers and building a dynamic production team, please contact Paul Peters, CMB or visit AssuranceMortgageLO.com to learn more.”

Lender & broker products and services

Imagine how productive you could be if you started each morning with the day’s game plan already mapped out by a team of professionals! With Top of Mind’s Surefire CRM, LOs never have to wonder where to start. Surefire has poured more than 450 years of industry expertise into developing artificial intelligence that helps LOs focus on their most valuable leads first, every day. See for yourself during MBA’s Spring Conference & Expo next Wednesday, April 21 (the Tech Solutions showcase starts at 12:30 pm). Prefer a firsthand look under the hood? Request your 1:1 demo here.

Some things leave an impression. It’s been more than 40 years and residents of Petaluma, California, are still talking about Christo’s Running Fence. And Bank of England Mortgage felt such an impact from their first 90 days with Sales Boomerang, they’re still talking about it, saying “We recovered $45M in closed loan volume over the first 90 days… That could have been closed by a competitor but were saved thanks to Sales Boomerang’s timely data intelligence.” Lenders using Sales Boomerang see an average 20-40% lift to loan volume and 65% borrower retention rate for around $299 per acquired loan: a 20x ROI. Make a mark on your pipeline today.

“The refinance market is more competitive than ever, and Caliber Home Loans gives our brokers the edge with Sprint. The innovative program uses groundbreaking technology to streamline the underwriting process and gets qualified borrowers refinancing quicker and easier than ever before. Consider it the fast lane for simple, easy-to-use conventional loan refinancing. Caliber Sprint is a win for you and your customers. Email Caliber today to find out how to become an approved wholesale lender.”

The old adage “March winds and April showers bring May flowers,” highlights the beauty that can emerge when two forces work together. Similarly, within a lender’s servicing efforts, servicing/subservicing operational reviews and servicing QC should be working together to create a comprehensive servicing risk management strategy. A comprehensive servicing risk management strategy might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re thinking of beauty, but for MQMR and its sister firm Subsequent QC, the Holland tulip fields (which are in bloom right now) don’t hold a candle to a comprehensive servicing risk management strategy. In fact, this free white paper outlines the ways in which a lender can plant the seeds to ensure their servicing risk management strategy blooms bright and strong.

Enjoy 3 business day priority purchase underwriting and a (.250) LLPA incentive for all Conventional, VA, and FHA purchases with the Freedom Mortgage Wholesale Division’s Big Spring Purchase Tee Off! Offer a hole in one experience with every new Conventional, VA, and FHA purchase! Plus, offer more buying power for your Jumbo VA borrowers with no maximum loan amount and no down payment for eligible* VA borrowers. To learn more, check out Freedom’s rate sheet or email [email protected] to have an Account Executive contact you. *Subject to credit approval, requires full entitlement; for purchases and cash-out refinances only and not applicable for loan amounts<= $144,000. For IRRRLs, VA will continue to guaranty 25% of the loan amount without regard to the Veteran’s available entitlement and/or county loan limits.

When your borrowers need assistance, who do they turn to? How does your team enable borrowers to get the information they want, when they need it? Mortgage companies such as AmeriSave, APM, and PRMG turn to Capacity to ensure borrowers find the information they need and receive a more personalized experience. By connecting to your knowledge base and disparate information, Capacity provides 24/7 level-0 support for borrowers. Capacity correctly and instantly answers more than 84% of all prospective and current borrower questions without any human intervention. Bottom line, Capacity allows you to take care of borrowers with superior customer experience and 24/7 automated support. Deploy within 30 days. Request a demo.

Events & training

5 demos, 3 stack shares, 1 convenient session! No need to spend hours researching vendors. No headache around scheduling multiple demos. We built OriginatorTech to bring you the best in the industry, in a way that works for you. The rapid-fire format ensures you make the most of your time, so you can move on to making more business. Hear from Mortgage Cadence, Capacity, Sales Boomerang, Zenly by Calyx Software, and Blueprint Solutions as well as directly from your peers. Register here to join tomorrow, Tuesday, April 13 at 11AM ET.

 

Join MIAC on Thursday, April 22 at 2:00 PM EST for its latest webinar: Understanding MSRs in Today’s Volatile Market. With rising rates having such a positive impact on MSR values, liquidity is at a high, with prices not seen since 2018. In this webinar, you will learn how to navigate the MSR market in this rising rate environment. Topics include current MSR values, MSR liquidity, the pandemic’s lingering impacts on the MSR market and expectations for 2021. This webinar will feature presentations and discussions by MIAC’s experts: Dick Kazarian, Managing Director of MIAC’s Borrower Analytics Group, with Mike Carnes and Jennifer Howell, Managing Directors of MIAC’s MSR Valuations Group. Hosted by MIAC Analytics. Webinar registration is complimentary: Reserve your spot today!

As you know the market is changing and with fewer refi’s, Lower inventory, and tougher competition from Fintech, mortgage lenders and agents are faced with several challenges with buyers. Barry Habib and Real Estate Connection (REC) will be working together to provide a path for lenders to “Pivot to Purchases” and grow their business in the new digital mortgage environment. We are hosting the first of several webinars and training on May 3rd, at 12PM ET, in which we will go over both tactical and practical strategies for the future.

Registration is now open for the second annual virtual Mortgage Industry Pandemic Summit (MIPS 2.0) hosted by Altisource^® in partnership with Five Star, MBA, IMN, and HousingWire. It is now one year later since the first MIP Summit, and the mortgage industry continues to undergo numerous changes, some good and some bad.  Now, as vaccinations continue to be rolled out and moratoriums come to a close, this summit will address what this will mean for the industry over the coming year. The second annual full-day virtual event will be held on May 6, and feature numerous insightful sessions and panels addressing the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have on the mortgage and real estate industry. Over 30 industry leaders will discuss what to expect in originations, servicing, government, and the single-family rental market as we move toward both a health and economic recovery. Register now.

Register for Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions upcoming webinar on Tuesday, April 13^th “Learn To Save Deals And Increase Referrals With Non-QM”. This webinar focuses on each individual non-QM product offered by Angel Oak.

On Wednesday, April 14^th, discover how to give Real Estate Investors the tools and flexibility they need to start or grow their real estate investment business with recent enhancements to Carrington Investor Advantage. Register for Non-QM Course 104: Getting The Advantage With Investment Loans.

Join the Build for Rent Expert Panel on April 14^th at 10:00AM PT as they discuss the BFR market and different strategies to acquire, build and grow rental portfolios in 2021 and beyond.

 

Lunch and Learn with AzAMP: on April 14^th for a Social Media Training. This training will count towards one hour of RI credit. Register HERE and get ready to learn. *This class is free to AzAMP members and $10 for non-members.

Register for the Federal Reserve of Atlanta webinar “Light at the End of the Tunnel??” on April 15^th Key Discussion Points will look at economic recovery, dynamics impacting CRE, what is driving the rise in 10YR Treasury yields and will it impact CRE Cap Rates?

Ameris Bank Wholesale invites you on April 21^st at 4:00 PM EST/1:00 PM PST to a Zoom webinar with Shelley Golden, Personal Branding Image Consultant & Zoom Makeover Expert. Shelley created a timely and innovative 5 step ZOOM MAKEOVER process to improve your online screen presence. This Zoom Makeover will help companies, professionals and speakers transform and improve their online presence for business, speaking or videos by increasing trustworthiness, improving engagement, and elevating your personal brand.

Vice Capital Markets will be sponsoring the next Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Rich and Rob, featuring Chris Bennett. Rich Swerbinsky, the COO of The Mortgage Collaborative, Chris, and I will be discussing current events in the mortgage market for 30 minutes on April 23^rd: “The Rundown with Rob and Rich.”

Register for the TMBA Southern Secondary Market Conference, May 2-4 at the Omni Ft. Worth Hotel, Ft. Worth, Texas. Industry-related speakers, numerous networking opportunities, priceless industry information and updates at THE “must attend” event of 2021. Keynote Speaker Michael Lewis, Best Selling Author of The Fifth Risk, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and The Big Short.

Register here for the Mortgage Action Alliance. And a link to register for the May 11-12 National Advocacy Conference can be found here. The MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance (MAA), the mortgage industry’s grassroots lobbying effort, has grown to over 70,000 members, nearly tripling in size in 2020! We must keep the growth and engagement going with many key industry issues on our plate now and coming at us. MAA “Action Week” is May 3-14 and coincides with the National Advocacy Conference on May 11-12. MAA Action Week is an industry-wide, dedicated campaign aimed at getting real estate finance professionals involved in advocacy. Contact MAA Chairman Steven Plaisance or Rosie Sheehan at the MBA.

Capital markets

Black Knight, a premier provider of integrated technology, services data, and analytics, is seeking a senior level secondary markets professional to maintain and grow strategic client relationships. The Senior Hedge Account Manager will work with Black Knight’s clients employing Compass Analytics’ robust, market-leading hedging solution, CompassPoint, to oversee trade execution, risk management, best execution analysis and loan sales. This role will also act in a leadership capacity by mentoring junior trading analysts and providing clients with strategic guidance, model training and hedge advisory services. The ideal candidate must have a strong background in secondary marketing, pipeline hedging and securitization. Please click here for the detailed job description and to apply or contact Bridget Drumm for more information.

Turning to the economy, and therefore interest rates, recently released economic data reflected a rapidly improving U.S. economy as more people become vaccinated, social mitigation restrictions are lifted, and stimulus hits bank accounts. The ISM Services Index jumped in March, which is a record headline number dating back to the inception of the series in 1997. Similar to data from the manufacturing index, services are also facing significant price pressures, strong demand, and supply chain constraints. Job openings were also strong at 4.9 percent, the highest since the series inception in 2000. Openings were predominantly high in professional and business services, healthcare and leisure and hospitality. One negative from last week was that initial jobless claims increased to 744,000 although many market participants looked past this number given the other positive news surrounding the economic rebound. Mortgage applications fell for the week ending April 2 as the average rate for a 30-year fixed ticked up. Lastly, meetings from the last FOMC meeting indicated that most members view the present inflationary pressures as temporary, however they cautioned that data towards the end of the year will determine if they will be forced to change monetary policy.

On Friday U.S. Treasury yields ended last week rising slightly, though little was attributed to a delayed PPI report for March showing a significant increase in inflationary pressure at the producer level. On a year-over-year basis, the index for final demand was up over 4 percent, the highest since September 2011, while processed goods for intermediate demand posted the largest jump since August 1974 and the index for unprocessed goods for intermediate demand surged to its highest since November 2006. The talk now will be if or when we see those inflationary pressures potentially spill over into consumer prices.

Before Fed Chair Powell appeared on 60 minutes last night, Vice Chair Clarida had a wait-and-see message for investors, saying the central bank is looking for “hard numbers” on reaching price stability and employment goals before adjusting rates.

This week’s economic calendar includes CPI tomorrow, the Fed’s Beige Book Wednesday, retail sales on Thursday, and Michigan sentiment on Friday. There are a few housing-related releases as well with homebuilder sentiment on Thursday and housing starts and building permits on Friday. Supply should be the main story today, with a $38 billion 10-year Treasury note auction this afternoon. On the demand side of the equation, today’s MBS purchase schedule by the Desk of the NY Fed is tied for the smallest daily support on the current schedule at $4.8 billion over two operations. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices down/worse a tick or two from Friday and the 10-year yielding 1.67. Lastly, for those that like forecasts, Dallas Fed President Kaplan said Friday he wouldn’t be surprised to see 10-year Treasury yields rising to pre-pandemic levels of 1.75 percent to 2 percent as the economy recovers.

For some fun on a Sunday, I went skydiving yesterday for the first time.

This guy strapped himself to me, we jumped out of the plane.

As we plummeted, he yelled over the wind, “So… How long have you been an instructor?”

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, “Ops: Reducing Friction for the Borrower”. The Commentary’s podcast is live and at any place you obtain your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify).

qoɹ

(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 2021 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.)

Source: Rob Chrisman

John Travolta tested negative for coronavirus last week. Turns out it was just Saturday night fever. He’s healthy as a horse. How healthy is your pipeline? From what I hear, pipelines are still relatively substantial but new locks are slowing somewhat and lenders are working hard on closing loans locked before March. Sure enough, according to FBX, March 2021 mortgage rate-lock volume was down 13% year over year and up 1% month over month across all channels, while funded volume increased 78% over 2020’s March and 26% over February 2021. Rates are still fine on an historical basis: The average 30-year conforming retail funded rate in March was 2.98%, 7bps higher than February and -73bps lower than the same month last year. FBX sources a statistically significant data set directly from lenders to produce these benchmark figures.

Saturday Company Spotlight: First Community Mortgage (FCM): “Giving back and helping others within the community.”

 

In 3-5 sentences, describe your company (when was it founded and why, what it does, where, recent growth and plans for near-term future growth).

First Community Mortgage is privately held and headquartered in Murfreesboro, just outside Nashville. Our 19-year-old organization does business across 46 states, and last year we announced the acquisition of a Mortgage Boutique, continuing the growth, strength, and expansion of our Wholesale Division. We funded over $3.5 billion in home loans in 2020. Our CEO, Keith Canter, who also is one of the founders, says “people-focused” sums up FCM’s approach. (First Community Mortgage is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS ID 629700.)

 

Tell us about what type of volunteer work employees are encouraged to engage in, or charities your company supports, and why.  

 

Most First Community volunteer and philanthropy work is through FCM Cares, our nonprofit foundation run by our employees. We believe that giving back and helping others within the community is one way we can make real our mission statement of being the lender of choice in communities we serve.

 

Our largest FCM Cares event is our annual TMO Golf tournament; last year the tournament included 66 teams,103 sponsors, and raised $65,000+ for local charities. There are many other community events throughout the year where our employees are actively engaged in serving their communities.

 

Our team members also participate in and lead community and business organizations.

What does your company do to help elevate your employees’ growth? Describe any mentoring programs, outside classes or training, in-house training. How does the company help people develop? 

 

Our FCM Leadership Academy is an internal, comprehensive, and innovative leadership curriculum open (by nomination) to any employee seeking to improve their leadership skills. We of course have other training opportunities, both standard offerings and more individualized opportunities.

Tell us how your company maintains its culture in the office, or in a work-from-home environment if applicable. 

 

Pre-covid, we always had get-togethers designed to enjoy time with one another. During the pandemic we have been sending periodic packages to staff. Individually, some teams hosted various events on Microsoft Teams to stay in touch. One week, Keith (our CEO) even called every single employee personally, making sure they and their families were healthy.

Things you are most proud of that don’t have to do with sales.  

 

From our CEO, Keith: I am probably most proud of how our team members were so incredibly agile and dynamic in the face of the pandemic throughout 2020. Their performance was truly remarkable. I am also proud that employees lead our philanthropy and community outreach efforts through FCM Cares.

 

Fun fact about First Community Mortgage.  

 

A lot of customers think we are a local organization because of our tailored, people-centric approach, but we originate in 46 states.

Is there anything else you’d like to share along these lines?  

 

In 2020, we recruited an experienced financial services pro to head Community Engagement, building on our already successful Multi-Cultural Lending Initiative.

(For more information on having your firm, employee growth, and your charitable side featured, contact Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt.)

Agency survey

Clearly what Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (GSEs) do impacts every lender, and I received this note from Refinitiv’s Michael Ehrlich. “Over the past few days, I have been on the phone with over a dozen lenders, discussing the GSE caps on 2nd Home and Inv Property Loans and the impacts felt due to the speed of implementation. Please participate in this survey; individual respondents will not be disclosed in survey results. This survey should only take a few minutes to complete. The results will be presented at the next MBA Secondary and Capital Markets Committee call for those who are members. I will also send the survey results directly to all who participated. Please contribute to the discussion!”

Vendors: working hard, playing hard

Okay, maybe not so much play. Vendors do a lot more than make up odd company names where middle letters are capitalized and that create spellcheck speed bumps. Or putting “e” in front of words. Services and products are always in demand by residential lenders who’d rather scale up or scale down using vendors rather than hiring and firing employees. Who is doing or writing what?

Milliman has summarized key trends in the PMI industry and relevant management comments discussing business trends and outlook. The Private Mortgage Insurer (PMI) market trends and highlights, 4Q 2020 report includes summaries of Trends in NIW, IIF performance, Delinquent inventory, Forbearance/foreclosure moratoriums, Loss reserving, Recent capital markets ILN issuances and Additional excerpts from earnings calls.

Insellerate announced the delivery of key data insights for lenders through its Data IE™ solution. “Turn your borrower data into actionable insights and intelligent engagement. Insellerate’s Data IE solution enables loan officer’s to craft the right message at the right time with the right offer leading to more timely engagement, higher conversions, and enhanced borrower retention.” (To learn more, contact Insellerate.)

Spruce announced the launch of its new underwriting model, providing a fully underwritten title commitment in minutes and bringing the company one step closer to its mission of building the one-click checkout for real estate transactions. The automated underwriting model is being launched in conjunction with Spruce’s partnership with American Digital Title Insurance Company, which is owned by Digital Partners, a Munich Re company.

Top of Mind has introduced an integration between its Surefire CRM and the LendingPad® suite of loan origination solutions (LOS). The direct API connection enables real-time sharing of contact records and loan milestones between LendingPad and Surefire CRM, which in turn allows lenders to automate the delivery of personalized communication. For instance, originators can use Surefire CRM to dynamically generate and deploy interactive content that walks first-time homebuyers through what to expect during the loan process.

Blend released its new toolkit for loan officers, LO Toolkit, offering a streamlined workflow across the entire loan process. Key features include significantly reduce time of loan cycles, entire loan process from start to finish is managed in one workflow, flexibility to work on the go, from home to the office to on the road, and to collaborate with borrowers in a digital environment built in the cloud. Read more information here.

The  Sprout Mortgage “BROKER AdvantEDGE” is a series of operational improvements that will continue to evolve over the balance of 2021 and beyond. The first phase of BROKER AdvantEDGE streamlines fee management. Brokers can gain increased accuracy by controlling data input, immediately access compliance results prior to loan submission, fill out fewer forms and worksheets, and preview loan estimates before submitting loans for disclosure.

Agency deals help keep borrower rates low

Originators tend to have their heads in the primary market, working with borrowers and funding loans. Why should an MLO care what happens in the secondary markets? The Agencies (aka Freddie and Fannie) continue to help borrowers both the primary and secondary markets, hoping to achieve competitive pricing in the secondary market while limiting risks borne by taxpayers. It’s a function of supply and demand, and if someone wants to own risk, why not sell it to them?

Both Fannie and Freddie are very active in the secondary markets. Freddie is known for its “K Deals” featuring “a range of investor options with stable cash flows and a structured credit enhancement. K-Deals include guaranteed senior and interest only classes. The related underlying private label trust includes unguaranteed mezzanine, subordinate, and interest only bonds.” Let’s take a random look some of Freddie’s deals just for one month, their sizes, and their parameters to show originators what investors are interested in. Finding investors for securities is a great way to help keep rates low for borrowers.

Freddie Mac priced the new $535 million K-SG1 offering of Structured Pass-Through K Certificates which are multifamily mortgage-backed securities. K-SG Deals are sustainability bonds from which the proceeds will be used to finance multifamily properties that (a) finance affordable housing to low-to moderate-income families, (b) may have features, or be located in areas, that further economic opportunity for residents and (c) may include certain environmental impact features. Pricing for the deal is as follows. Class A-1 has $55.500 million of principal, a weighted average life of 6.53 years, a spread of S+27, a coupon of 0.799%, a yield of 0.79272%, and a $99.9949 price. Class A-2 has $480.151 million of principal, a weighted average life of 9.71 years, a spread of S+40, a coupon of 1.503%, a yield of 1.16822%, and a $102.9988 price.

Yes, Freddie Mac has been busy pricing K-deals, which transfer a portion of the risk of losses away from taxpayers and to private investors who purchase the unguaranteed subordinate bonds. On October 5, Freddie Mac priced a new offering of Structured Pass-Through K Certificates (K-117 Certificates), which are backed by underlying collateral consisting of fixed-rate multifamily mortgages with predominantly 10-year terms. The company expects to issue approximately $1.1 billion in K-117 Certificates, which are expected to settle on or about October 13, 2020. Pricing for the deal is as follows. Class A-1 has $116.000 million of principal, a weighted average life of 5.97 years, a spread of S+27, a coupon of 0.697% a yield of 0.69039% and a $99.9979 price. Class A-2 has $931.422 million of principal, a weighted average life of 9.80 years, a spread of S+38, a coupon of 1.406%, a yield of 1.07657%, and a $102.9908 price. Class A-M has $128.743 million of principal, a weighted average life of 9.91 years, a spread of S+43, a coupon of 1.138%, a yield of 1.13275%, and a $99.9983 price.

Freddie Mac priced a $986 million offering of Structured Pass-Through K Certificates (K-F86 Certificates), which includes a class of floating rate bonds indexed to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). The K-F86 Certificates are backed by floating-rate multifamily mortgages with 7-year terms, which are currently LIBOR-based, and settled on October 13. K-F86 includes one class (Class AL: $536.049 million, coupon is 1-month LIBOR + 29 bps) of senior bonds indexed to LIBOR and another class (Class AS: $450.000 million, coupon is 30-day SOFR average + 32 bps) of senior bonds indexed to SOFR. Freddie Mac will provide a basis risk guarantee on Class AS that covers any floating interest rate basis risk if the value of SOFR exceeds the value of LIBOR. Both classes have weighted average lives of 6.47 years and $100.00 prices.

Freddie Mac priced a new $999 million offering of Structured Pass-Through K Certificates (K-739 Certificates), which are backed by underlying collateral consisting of fixed-rate multifamily mortgages with predominantly 7-year terms. Pricing for the deal is as follows. Class A-1 has $80.979 million of principal, a weighted average life of 4.11 years, a spread of S+18, a 0.521% coupon, a yield of 0.5132% and a $99.9991 price. Class A-2 has $796.747 million of principal, a weighted average life of 6.64 years, a spread of S+32, a 1.336% coupon, a yield of 0.8592% and a $102.9953 price. Class A-M has $121.532 million of principal, a weighted average life of 6.89 years, a spread of S+37, a 0.9370% coupon, a yield of 0.9302%, and a $99.9952 price. The K-739 Certificates settled on November 5, 2020.

Freddie Mac priced a $1 billion offering of Structured Pass-Through K Certificates (K-F90 Certificates), which includes a class of floating rate bonds indexed to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). The K-F90 Certificates are backed by floating-rate multifamily mortgages with 10-year terms, which are currently LIBOR-based. K-F90 includes one class (Class AL – $564.255 million, coupon of 1-month LIBOR+33 bps) of senior bonds indexed to LIBOR and another class (Class AS – $450.000 million, coupon of 30-day SOFR average+38 bps) of senior bonds indexed to SOFR. Both classes have a weighted average life of 9.61 years and a $100.00 price. Freddie Mac will provide a basis risk guarantee on Class AS that covers any floating interest rate basis risk if the value of SOFR exceeds the value of LIBOR. The K-F90 Certificates settled on November 5, 2020.

 

And to wrap up that month, Freddie Mac priced a $1.1 billion offering of Structured Pass-Through K Certificates (K-118 Certificates), which are backed by underlying collateral consisting of fixed-rate multifamily mortgages with predominantly 10-year terms. Pricing for the deal is as follows. Class A-1 has $94.500 million of principal, a weighted average life of 6.44 years, a spread of S+25, a 0.788% coupon, a yield of 0.78141% and a $99.9967 price. Class A-2 has $977.893 million of principal, a weighted average life of 9.83 years, a spread of S+37, a 1.493% coupon, a yield of 1.16216% and a $102.9976 price. Class A-M has $119.155 million of principal, a weighted average life of 9.91 years, a spread of S+42, a 1.223% coupon, a yield of 1.21757% and a $99.9978 price. The K-118 Certificates settled on October 29, 2020.

Every wonder…
Why is the letter W, in English, called double U? Shouldn’t it be called double V?
Maybe oxygen is slowly killing you and it just takes 75-100 years to fully work.
The word “swims” upside-down is still “swims”.
Intentionally losing a game of rock, paper, and scissors is just as hard as trying to win.
110 years ago everyone owned a horse and only the rich had cars. Today everyone has cars and only the rich own horses.

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, “Ops: Reducing Friction for the Borrower”. The Commentary’s podcast is live and at any place you obtain your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify).

qoɹ

(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 2021 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.)

Source: Rob Chrisman

What’s new out there? Queen Elizabeth’s husband Prince Phillip has passed away this morning at age 99. Wealthy people in New York seem to be fleeing to live in other states with a lower tax rate. Both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae released QM loan information that maps out their policies. Any lender originating Agency loans should be aware of their requirements and their effective dates related to their purchase of loans subject to the Qualified Mortgage (QM) Rule and originated relying on the GSE Patch. And tongues are wagging about the proposed CFPB RESPA Servicing Rule with protections for borrowers affected by the COVID emergency. Industry players are questioning the regulatory authority to issue a blanket prohibition on foreclosure through the end of the year and are concerned that the contractual disruption for investors might lead to lawsuits against the agency. Attorney Brian Levy, in his latest Mortgage Musings, “boldly goes where no man has gone before” with a Star Trek reference-laden questioning of CFPB’s psychoanalysis of the US borrowing public. And lenders are working on a lower cost structure ahead of changing volumes and lower margins: the audio version of today’s commentary is available here, sponsored by Candor, the dynamic, adaptive underwriting engine, and features an interview with CMO Brandie Young on how underwriting productivity can be increased, saving money.

Employment

Indecomm has a National Sales Director opportunity! Are you a high-performing, experienced mortgage automation and technology sales executive? If so, this opportunity is for you! Indecomm is looking for a National Sales Director to help meet its customer acquisition and revenue growth objectives for its Automation Solutions. This remote position will be responsible for developing and executing all key growth sales strategies, tactics, and action plans required to achieve sales goals. Experience selling automation solutions includes, but not limited to LOS, Servicing, data digitization solutions, Robotic Process Automation, Workflow/Business Process Management and Machine Learning. If you are interested in learning more, email Linda Bomar.

“Ready to join a team that values your contributions and celebrates your accomplishments? At Citizens Home Mortgage, we seize every opportunity to recognize our colleagues’ efforts and commitment. Between our annual corporate Home Mortgage Rally and individual business line rallies throughout the year, we make it a priority to celebrate our top performers! Additionally, senior leadership stays connected with colleagues through virtual fireside chats, interactive Q&A sessions, and online presentations, so every colleague has the opportunity to make their voice heard. We are a team of forward-thinking mortgage professionals who are passionate about transforming the way we do business, and we’d love for you to consider being part of our winning team. Visit jobs.citizensbank.com to see all of our openings today!”

Guardian Mortgage is excited to announce and welcome Jay Affleck as the Pacific North West Regional Manager. A 20-year seasoned veteran to mortgage, Jay brings knowledge, expertise, and a passion for helping clients make sound financial decisions. Jay has a wealth of experience and his hiring will help solidify our commitment to the growing Spokane area. Jay will be responsible for leading Guardian’s growing business and tactical plan. He understands that each client has unique financial goals and there are several ways to accomplish their dreams and specializes in a strategic approach to developing client-specific, custom solutions to homeownership. Part of Jay’s success in the mortgage industry is to fully understand loan products and become an expert at specialty programs including construction lending. Jay will lend his extensive expertise and his vast knowledge of structuring transactions providing additional support to the teams in Spokane, West Linn, and Northern California.

“Nations Lending has strengthened its retail growth in the western U.S., now doubling down on our Denver-area expansion. We are proud to welcome two new branches: Darren Hunstad (North Metro, CO) and Andy Scripter & Matthew Collett (Jefferson Park, CO). These new sales partners join our established, high-performing, mile-high teams of Don Riggs (Westminster) and Thurston Rosenlund (Castle Pines). “Together with two of our top-performing branches already established in the Denver area, we believe Darren, along with Andy and Matthew, help us exponentially grow our footprint in Colorado and further west as well,” said Corey Caster, EVP of National Production. Want to be part of our rapidly growing team, provided with the tools and resources to succeed from day one? Contact VP of Recruitment Doug Opdycke (Updike) at (623) 734-5747 or Nino Saso, Division Sales Manager (Western Region) to learn more about branch opportunities at Nations! #JoinTheNation.

Arcus Lending, one of the best hybrid banker/broker mortgage companies in America is excited to further expand its team of mortgage professionals. As one of the fastest-growing companies in the country, Arcus has been recognized as one of National Mortgage News’ 2021 Best Mortgage Companies to Work For along with being National Mortgage Professional’s Top Mortgage Employer in 2021. At Arcus, operations, technology, and training are custom-designed by CEO Shashank Shekhar, one of the top 15 Loan Officers in the country. Arcus’s unique hybrid model means a bigger paycheck for loan officers by way of more lender options and the control of in-house underwriting, processing, and closing. Ready to transform your career? Get in touch at [email protected] or check out www.arcuslending.com/work-with-arcus/. For more information on Arcus Lending, contact (650) 793-6833. For licensing information, please click here.

JPMorgan Chase has appointed 17-year Chase vet Bhavesh Patel to its Correspondent Lending division as the Director of Client Management, moving in from responsibility for coverage of non-bank mortgage originators, mortgage REITs and mortgage servicers throughout the nation. Bhavesh will lead the client-facing teams that support Chase clients every day. (Terry Lindsey is the head of Correspondent Lending for Chase.)

Lender and broker services & products 

At this very moment, nearly 20 million Americans are strong candidates for a financially advantageous refi. Each is an opportunity to capture repeat business… Or lose out to a competitor, as happens a shocking 82% of the time. In a new white paper, Sales Boomerang studies how 19 lenders have cracked the code to borrower retention, turning refis from a game they mostly lose to one they mostly win. Get your free copy and find out how a borrower intelligence system can keep loans in your pipeline, too.

For some lenders, developing a comprehensive servicing risk management strategy feels like finding a unicorn: impossible. But everyone knows rhinos are just unicorns in hiding. And in honor of National Unicorn Day today, MQMR has some tips and tricks in this free white paper for lenders looking to track down servicing unicorns. By combining servicing/subservicing operational reviews with loan-level servicing quality control (QC), lenders can create a powerful risk mitigation program that not only ensures compliance with even the most stringent of regulatory requirements, but also delivers the exceptional level of customer service expected by regulators and consumers alike. For more information on how to find your servicing unicorn and developing a comprehensive servicing risk management strategy, join MQMR’s Julie McCurley and Lisa Butler for a TMConnect Webinar titled, “Cover Your Assets,” on April 13 at 4 p.m. ET.

2021 has already been a year of uncertainty, especially in the lending space. Lenders need to prepare for all scenarios including, early signs of distressed borrowers, uncovering undisclosed liabilities (including HOA) and preparing for an uptick in new purchases, let alone finding the right partner to work with. How can lenders keep up when the lending landscape is constantly changing? Join First American Data & Analytics experts as they share how our industry-leading solutions leverage public, private and proprietary data sources to uncover early indicators of risk, research discrepancies and verify borrower and property information in a free DataDriven webinar: 3 Tools Lenders Need to Navigate an Ever-Changing Environment.

Curious how Connector by Velma® can solve your ECOA – Adverse Action headaches? Learn how Connector reduces risk, rescues at-risk prospects, eliminates hassles, and saves time for your sales and operations teams. Oh, and you will never need to print out and stuff another NOIA letter again!

Looking for solutions to add to your tech stack that can help streamline your mortgage process? Calyx has your covered. Spring into action at this year’s virtual MBA Spring Conference & Expo and discover Path, Point Central, and Zip. Calyx’s solutions are developed by mortgage professionals, for mortgage professionals, and designed to improve the loan process experience and enhance your results. Contact [email protected] to schedule a meeting and stop by the Calyx booth for your chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card or a PhoneSoap Pro UV phone sanitizer.

Luxury Mortgage Corp.^®, a leader in Non-QM lending, is at it once again! This time it’s a real game changer with the official launch of their brand new, full doc agency eligible program with agency compatible pricing, “SimpleMae” for investment properties and second homes. Don’t let the agencies recent announcement limiting these properties continue giving you the winter blues. It’s a bright new day and Spring is here with SimpleMae for both Wholesale and Correspondent. Click Here to inquire about becoming an approved wholesale broker or correspondent seller.

A quick note that Equilibrium Solutions will be sponsoring today’s Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Rich and Rob, this week’s featuring Paul Campbell. Rich Swerbinsky, the COO of The Mortgage Collaborative, Paul, and I will be discussing current events in the mortgage market for 30 minutes starting at 3PM ET: “The Rundown with Rob and Rich.”

Politics

The changes that are being made by the FHFA, and carried out by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, go against a portion of what the Biden Administration has promoted. During the campaign Joe Biden certainly addressed housing, along with publicizing plans directed at affordable housing. For example…

The Biden Administration is planning to help ease the housing shortage by providing incentives to local governments to permit apartment buildings in areas zoned for single-family residences only. Essentially, if local governments ease zoning restrictions, they will get grants from the Federal government for building schools, etc. Seeking to “ease” (there’s really no “ending” is there) a national affordable housing shortage by pushing local governments to allow apartment buildings in neighborhoods that are currently restricted to single-family homes.

It’s not just about existing supply but also about creating new housing opportunities.  The Biden Administration including housing in the overall Infrastructure bill. As Jeremy Potter puts it, “I’ve often said housing IS infrastructure because of the role housing plays in stable communities. First-time home buyers are reliable consumers. Want to support small businesses? Create more customers. Stable housing is economic stimulus and economic development for all businesses. The Biden infrastructure plan appears to focus on affordable housing units, housing supply and public-private partnerships. While there are details to work out, housing as infrastructure is an economic driver.”

Capital markets

Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities ended Thursday with a modest rally on the back of scant news. Sentiment was dominated by a dovish Fed. Fed Chairman Powell delivered remarks during a virtual G-20 summit of central bankers and finance ministers, but provided no new insight, but saying he would like to see a string of positive payrolls reports and reiterating he expects any inflationary price pressures to be temporary. Initial jobless claims actually increasing, instead of declining, by 16k to 744k showed the U.S. economy still has a long way to go before the Fed will become any less accommodative.

 

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported slight a decrease in fixed mortgage rates after seven consecutive weeks of increases. The 30-year rate fell 5 bps to 3.13 percent, but remains nearly .5 percent above the survey low in early January. The Mortgage Bankers Association released its monthly Mortgage Credit Availability Index for March which recorded slight easing in lending standards. While the index remains well below 2020’s pre-pandemic high, it is nearly 6 percent above August’s print that showed the tightest conditions since February 2014.

It’s just a couple economic releases to close out the week, starting with the Producer Price Index (PPI) for March being delayed for technical reasons. Of note, beginning in this report the year-over-year numbers are going to be impacted by comparison to the pandemic’s initial 2020 impact. Later this morning brings wholesale inventories for February and remarks from a sole Fed speaker, Dallas’ Kaplan. Today’s MBS purchase schedule sees two operations by the Desk for $5.3 billion across GNII and UMBS30 2.0 percent and 2.5 percent. We start the last day of the official workweek with Agency MBS prices worse/down .250 and the 10-year yielding 1.67 after closing yesterday at 1.63 percent.

Are you as confused as I am by the various “cookie” notices every time you visit a website? You’re not alone, as shown in this humorous, short video.

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, “Ops: Reducing Friction for the Borrower”. The Commentary’s podcast is live and at any place you obtain your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify).

qoɹ

(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 2021 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.)

Source: Rob Chrisman

“’i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’” has finally been disproved by science. Does “machine learning” equal “Artificial Intelligence (AI)”? Nope. And did you know that over the past 12 months, in the U.S. there has been a net loss of 2,563 bank branches (3,585 branches shuttered while 1,022 were opened) per S&P Global? Although the pandemic has definitely had a hand in speeding some of these closures along, lenders are concerned about how the post-pandemic world will affect depository bank and mortgage bank branch levels. Lenders are also concerned about how HMDA data, sifted through by the CFPB, may be construed. It is generally thought that the lowest cost, most efficient producers will rise to the top, and the commentary has some notes on back-office changes below. In addition, the audio version of today’s commentary is available here and is sponsored by Candor, the dynamic, adaptive underwriting engine. It features an interview with CMO Brandie Young on how mortgage marketing has changed over the years.

 

Lender and broker services 

Quick borrower care in good times and bad: There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to caring for your borrowers, especially in a K-shaped economy. Providing equal attention and guidance to both stable and struggling borrowers is critical to customer retention. Sagent CARE (formerly Account Connect) allows your customers to easily manage their mortgage loan with self-service care and on-demand human help accessible from any device. See CARE in action here and learn more at sagent.com.

So, how does the Federal Reserve affect mortgage interest rates? Questions like this come up all the time in the secondary market and there’s no better place to get your questions answered than by the seasoned professionals. In MCT®’s most recent post, “How the Federal Reserve Affects Mortgage Interest Rates,” MCT discusses the structure of the Federal Reserve, how the FOMC supports the economy, and how the Fed influences the demand of the three monetary policy tools. No matter where you’re at in your stage of growth, MCT’s Learning Center can help. Join MCT’s newsletter now so you can stay up to date on the latest market updates and educational content as they come out.

Has newcomer Candor cracked the code? The unpredictable nature of underwriting requires dynamically adaptive technology, and ~400,000 underwrites by Candor prove the concept. You could be using Candor in 30 days but first you need to get a demo.

It’s disappointing when a potential borrower ghosts you and goes with another lender. Luckily, lenders using Sales Boomerang avoid that disappointment. They see an average 65% borrower retention rate and 20-40% lift to loan volume for around $299 per acquired loan — a 20x ROI. In fact, lenders working with Sales Boomerang not only avoid getting ghosted by borrowers, their phones are blowing up with calls and texts from frontline LOs. Max Masters of Alpha Mortgage says, “Within 48 hours of going live with Sales Boomerang, my loan officers were texting me about picking up loans thanks to Sales Boomerang alerts. Now my loan officers are driving me crazy and texting me every day because Sales Boomerang has made it incredibly easy to share success.” Reach out to Sales Boomerang today and watch your phone blow up with LO appreciation.

Polly, a leading provider of innovative SaaS solutions for the mortgage industry has raised $15 million in Series A funding. Through Polly’s state-of-the-art pricing engine and loan trading exchange, mortgage originators optimize revenue on each loan, reduce costs by streamlining workflows, and have customized analytics at their fingertips. The Series A financing comes at a time of major momentum for Polly, which now processes tens of thousands of lock requests and nearly $3 billion in loans every month. To learn more or schedule a demo email Jacob Gerson or visit www.polly.io.

Loan products 

There’s been a lot of recent changes in the competitive landscape of Home Equity lending. Spring EQ Wholesale, the industry’s leading home equity lender, is committed to our partners and their clients’ and is growing rapidly. The CLTV’s on our adjustable HELOC product were increased to 97.5% to match our fixed rate offering, and margins were lowered. We recently launched an AVM only product (no appraisal) on select FICO and CLTV buckets. Swing your appraisal to us on a recently closed transaction and add a stand-alone home equity loan. “Break-up” your purchase & refinance business to avoid Jumbo and High balance pricing. Cash-out to 97.5% to avoid MI and LLPA’s. Spring EQ offers both fixed rate and adjustable rates for piggybacks and stand-alone 2nds, e-sign technology, and is the only lender in the industry who offers LPC and BPC compensation up to 2%. For more information visit Spring EQ Wholesale.

It’s time to Spring forward into renovation — and increased profits. Planet Home Lending, LLC has the products and the experts to give you the renovation edge. Give Jim Bopp a call at 518-348-6426 to see how Planet can increase your volume.

Do you have a borrower with a unique loan scenario? Not sure if there are mortgage financing options? Get answers from the Non-QM experts at Sprout Mortgage during the Scenario Station Webinar on Wednesday, April 14^th at 9:00 am PT, where a variety of loan scenarios will be reviewed. In addition, we’ll discuss the common misconceptions and best practices of non-QM underwriting. Expand your pipeline to include Non-QM programs and become the lending professional with a “can-do” approach for your clients. Non-QM business is abundant, and Sprout offers powerful technology and a streamlined loan process for maximum efficiency. Try our Premier Jumbo program, the simplest full-doc jumbo in the industry. Bank statement program for borrowers whose income is best document by bank statements. And investor programs for N-O-O properties (including foreign borrowers). Then watch your pipeline grow! Register now!

“Caliber Home Loans always goes BIG for our brokers and we’re excited to announce the return of Caliber Jumbo. When your borrowers are in the market for higher-end, luxurious homes, a typical loan amount might not work. Many times, the home value will exceed the typical Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan servicing limits. Jumbo loans provide your borrowers a solution to get the funds they need so they can purchase the home of their dreams. Fixed and ARM options, up to a 90% LTV, and $2.5M max loan amounts are all part of this huge offering. Available for Purchase or Refinance, Caliber Jumbo is a flexible solution for your customers. Step into greater opportunities with Caliber Jumbo! Reach out today or click here to find out how to become an approved wholesale lender.”

Rocket Pro TPO is a trailblazer among lenders offering new jumbo products after the recent QM rule change that went into effect March 1. On that day, Rocket unveiled Jumbo Smart, a brand-new program that focuses on two things: speed and simplicity. What makes this a powerful product is that it conforms to Fannie Mae guidelines and is run through DU, making this more streamlined than previous jumbos while being just as prudent as conventional loans. Rocket Pro TPO is unleashing Jumbo Smart at the perfect time. With purchase season underway and high-value refi candidates stuck on the sideline for the past year, partners can leverage this product to ensure they are assisting all client types at this key time in the housing market. Contact your Rocket Pro TPO AE for more details on Jumbo Smart.

Correspondent news

As was announced in mid-February, Western Alliance Bank entered into a definitive agreement to purchase AmeriHome Mortgage Company. The group is excited to announce that as of today, AmeriHome Mortgage is officially a subsidiary of Western Alliance Bank! You may be wondering what this means for AmeriHome Correspondent’s valued clients, future clients and the many valued business partners. Western Alliance Bank, one of the country’s top-performing commercial banks, gives AmeriHome access to significant capital and a faster pathway to growth for Delegated and Non-Delegated Correspondent channels. Management is confident this combination will be both seamless and highly beneficial for clients. AmeriHome’s value proposition is not changing, only strengthening, and it will continue to offer consistently competitive pricing, industry leading service and support, and a full and growing slate of products, all with their unwavering commitment to be relationship-focused in everything they do.

AmeriHome also looks forward to introducing new Non-Agency portfolio products as well as expanding the value of Western Alliance Bank’s warehouse lending capabilities for its clients. It will continue to operate under the current name as AmeriHome Mortgage, a Western Alliance Bank company, and will retain its current business model, leadership team, people, and locations, ensuring continuity for their clients. Should you have questions about doing business with AmeriHome reach out to [email protected].

PenFed’s correspondent channel offers up a line-up of Jumbo, High Balance, and Super Jumbo programs.

MSA 42220 for Santa Rosa has been removed from Citi Correspondent Lending’s CRA Premium Schedule. View/print the updated Best Effort CRA Schedule (CL244) here. Citi is in “the midst of transitioning to a new digital based LOS, Empower, which is intended to help with Citi’s growth plans over the next few years. We also have new product offerings to roll throughout 2021 that are designed to provide additional liquidity to the marketplace for all our approved sellers.”

And Citi announced that Vanessa Sanchez has joined Citi Correspondent Lending team as its Client Service Consultant/CSC for the New England Region. Congratulations, Vanessa!

PennyMac Correspondent Group is offering Weekend Lock Availability for Delegated and Non-Delegated locks. Weekend pricing will be based off the previous business day’s last rate sheet.

Caliber Correspondent’s Lending Portal (CLP) has been enhanced to allow you to download multiple Purchase Advice (PA) Reports to a single Excel worksheet. You can also download and print your Caliber Sellers Scorecard.

With the expiration of QM Points and Fees Cure Provision, covered transactions with consummation dates after January 10, 2021, where the total points and fees exceed the applicable limits, creditors or assignees will no longer be allowed the option to cure the transaction and bring it into QM compliance. Any impacted loan will not be eligible for purchase by AmeriHome.

How is the overall channel doing in the government sector? IMF reports that, “Correspondent production of FHA/VA loans increased 7.6% from the third to the fourth quarter, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis. That’s compared with a 2.7% quarterly increase in total government-insured lending by a group of 40 lenders that provided detailed survey data to Inside Mortgage Finance. As a result, the correspondent share of new FHA/VA lending edged up to 32.5% in the fourth quarter — still a drop from 41.8% for all of 2019 and 57.8% back in 2015.”

Documentation and back-office developments

Wells Fargo Funding is no longer requiring documentation to show that a mortgage affected by a natural disaster or declared disaster, as indicated on the credit report, is/was not in forbearance prior to the date printed on the Note. Effective for loans purchased on and after March 30, 2021.

Wells Fargo Funding has new reserve/post-closing liquidity (PCL) requirements for Non-Conforming Loans: Reduced the minimum standard reserve/PCL requirement to 12 months’ principal, interest, taxes, and insurance (PITI) (was 18 months). Removed the minimum 30 months’ PITI reserve/PCL requirement when self-employed income or loss is used for qualifying (standard reserve/PCL requirements now apply).

Wells Fargo Funding is expanding Non-Conforming policy flexibility on Self-employed income documentation requirements. Additionally, borrowers can now use rental income from investment properties, commercial properties, and other units in owner-occupied multifamily properties to qualify for Non-Conforming Loans.

FAMC updated its Disaster Counties Requirements with additional guidance and clarifications. These updates are not new requirements. Details have been added to assist customers with meeting specific agency guidelines and FAMC policies.

For loans delivered to AmeriHome Mortgage on or after May 1, 2021, Sellers must include the new IRS Form 4506-C.

loanDepot Wholesale’s NEW Jumbo Advantage Express does not require any second signatures or investor approvals. Loan amounts starting at $1 above Conforming loan limits. Click here to view the Product matrix. And loanDepot’s March 22 – Weekly Announcement includes information on its program expansion for Select Conforming and High-Balance / Super Conforming transactions and borrower eligibility updates in its Jumbo Advantage Lending Guide.

PennyMac Correspondent is reinstating the requirement for tax transcripts effective with loan applications on or after June 17, 2021. Read Announcement 21-22 for information.

The MMLA issued a Member Alert regarding a new Bulletin issued by The Department of Insurance and Financial Services specific to the CPI-Adjusted Regulatory Loan Act Loan Processing Fee that supersedes Bulletin 2020-04-CF.

Capital markets

Minutes from the March FOMC meeting showed expectations among policymakers that making substantial progress on policy goals will take “some time.” What does that mean for mortgage rates though? Not much, as Treasuries ended Wednesday mixed and the MBS basis moved a little tighter as reaction to the minutes was muted. Separately, prepayments (refinance speeds) again exceeded expectations with the weighted average CPRs on FHLMC30s, GNIIs and FN15s all hitting new highs. FN30s came up just short of October’s record. So someone is out there refinancing, pushing investors in MBS to reinvest that money somewhere.

Today’s economic calendar got underway with weekly jobless claims: Initial claims for the week ending April 3 were +16k to 744k. Later this morning brings Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending April 8 and a Treasury announcement of the auction sizes for next week’s mini-Refunding consisting of 3s and reopened 10s and 30s. Today’s Fed speakers include St. Louis’ Bullard, Chair Powell, and Minneapolis’ Kashkari. The scheduled Desk support of MBS purchases is tied for the smallest on the current schedule at $4.8 billion across UMBS15s and UMBS30s. We begin Thursday with Agency MBS prices up/better by .125 from Wednesday night and the 10-year yielding 1.65.

Computer programmer’s credo:

“We do these things not because they are easy, but because we thought they were going to be easy.”

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, “Ops: Reducing Friction for the Borrower”. The Commentary’s podcast is live and at any place you obtain your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify).

qoɹ

(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 2021 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.)

Source: Rob Chrisman

Does the CFPB have jurisdiction of all mortgage-related agencies, borrowers, and servicers? We’ll see, as yesterday, and this proposal should not come as a surprise to any mortgage servicer, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposal that would broadly halt foreclosure initiations on principal residences from August 31, 2021 until 2022, and change servicing rules to promote consumer awareness and processing of Covid-relief loss mitigation options. This article spells out some of the reasons. I will not opine, but you should ask the head of your servicing department what they think. The devil is in the details. The proposal comes as the housing market is strengthening, loans in Covid-related forbearance are dropping, the unemployment rate is ticking down, and the nation’s vaccination program is gathering momentum.

Employment & transitions

Spruce, a digital title & closing startup with national reach that was recently named to the 2021 HousingWire Tech100, is looking for experienced and driven Enterprise Account Executives to join its fast-growing team. “Our platform enables fast, frictionless, and transparent real estate transactions, and we’re seeking ambitious sales professionals to introduce our innovative services to clients across the lender and buyer segments. If you have a track-record of success in institutional-level sales to enterprise clients and you thrive in a dynamic entrepreneurial environment, please visit here to apply.”

Evergreen Home Loans™ is empowering mortgage loan officers by providing training and coaching programs combined with innovative products to help them build better relationships and close more loans. Loan Officers can engage with local and national experts to develop new skills, stay ahead with market insights, and enrich their business. In addition to their suite of core products, Evergreen also offers USDA One-Time Close construction, a guaranteed homebuyer program, bridge loans, recasts, and more! If you want to join a company that believes in changing the world one relationship at a time, Evergreen has the tools and people to make it happen. Check out the Careers Page to learn more.

2-hour underwriting turn times! Recently named a Top 10 Large Mortgage Company to Work For by National Mortgage News, Geneva Financial Home Loans is filling Branch Manager and Loan Officer positions in 44 states. With in-house operations, Division Manager Breton Macdonald is actively delivering 2-hour UW turn-times with purchase transactions closing in as fast as 10 days and is looking for Branches and LO’s to replicate the model nationwide. Pair the operations speed with GenevaGO Human Friendly Homebuying™ Mobile Mortgage App and highly competitive rates and Geneva and you’ll be closing your deals rapidly while getting paid 175+ BPS! Geneva was also recently named the #1 Mortgage Lender by consumers in Arizona, home of their Corporate Office, on the annual Ranking Arizona Consumer Poll of best businesses. Explore Branch and Originator opportunities.

ReadyPrice is excited to announce the newest team member, and VP of Lender Sales, Donna Varnell. Donna comes to ReadyPrice as a well-connected veteran in the mortgage industry, having spent time most recently as a top producer in mortgage insurance. She is excited to begin partnering with wholesale lenders across the country, empowering them to work more efficiently with their broker partners to close more loans faster while growing their book of business! Connect with Donna and schedule your ReadyPrice lender demo today!

Dallas-based lender Supreme Lending had a record number of Loan Officers and Producing Managers named 2021 Scotsman Guide Top Originators. Congratulations to the nearly 200 Supreme sales professionals included on the publication’s Total Dollar Volume and/or Most Loans Closed lists based on their 2020 production. In a year where refinance loans made headlines, this group of producers remained committed to Supreme’s long-term strategy of serving their real estate partners through purchase business. Their extraordinary performance led Supreme to fund $8.42 billion in purchase volume in 2020: A 51% increase from $5.58 billion in 2019. Comparatively, purchase volume increased by 18% in the industry overall. Focusing on purchase business provides a solid, sustainable foundation for Supreme and its 1,100 Loan Officers to grow their business and prepare for the future. If you’re interested in working with a lender that makes purchase business THE top priority, contact Ryan Baxter, Director of Recruiting, or follow Supreme Lending on LinkedIn.   

Florida’s Renaissance Home Loans named Jeff Mack as its chief operating officer.

And Embrace Home Loans announced that Jason Will has been named SVP of Market Growth, a newly-created role at the company, where he will be responsible for helping to increase the company’s market share, expanding its affiliate partnerships, and establishing a team of regionally based vice presidents of market growth.

Lender services and products

National #NoHouseworkDay is the perfect occasion for lenders to say goodbye to the ongoing chore of managing incentive compensation plans using spreadsheets. At FirstBank Mortgage, where up to 12 individuals earn commissions on a single closed loan, managing compensation was not an easy chore. It took two employees four days to calculate loan commissions and another 4 days to field questions and disputes. Since automating incentive compensation with LBA Ware’s CompenSafe, FirstBank’s commission process has become a “set it and forget it” breeze that takes a single employee just one day per pay period. According to FirstBank’s Lee Townsend, CompenSafe “streamlines processes, improves communication and builds trust. It’s more than a process improver; it’s a game changer.” See all the ways CompenSafe changed the incentive comp game for FirstBank in this free case study.

Next Tuesday, April 13^th at 11:30 CST, Stearns Wholesale will hold its monthly annual Town Hall webinar with special guest, Victor Ciardelli, CEO of Guaranteed Rate. This upcoming Q&A session will be hosted by Jonathan McCash, Stearns EVP of Wholesale Sales, and will cover a variety of informative and exciting topics, including an overview of Guaranteed Rate’s history in the industry, leadership tips and business tactics, and Guaranteed Rate’s recent acquisition of Stearns Lending. Victor Ciardelli will also break down this decision to enter the Wholesale Lending space and provide the goals and expectations of this exciting move for 2021 and beyond. If you’d like to register for this upcoming Stearns Town Hall, you can sign up here. If you’d like to partner with Stearns or learn more, click here to be contacted.

RM Analyze is designed for mortgage lenders and implemented by experts with extensive mortgage experience. In a changing competitive landscape, you need more than reports; you need business intelligence that helps you take action. You also need direct access to real-time data from all of your internal data sources. Finally, you need actionable insights that are easy to interpret and send out as needed. Richey May can connect today to your systems and more to get accurate, up-to-date reports. Contact us today for a personalized demo.

How does JFQ Lending continue to grow and scale? With better direct mail marketing from Monster Lead Group. John Kresevic, JFQ’s president, said, “Somebody can charge me half as much as you guys do, but I can’t get beyond the level of your results. For me, service means a hell of a lot and the results speak for themselves.” If you want consistent phone calls and predictable results from your direct mail, regardless of the market, then schedule 20 minutes to talk with Monster. Or learn more at monsterleadgroup.com.

Appraisal ordering doesn’t have to be a long and tedious process. With Reggora’s appraisal management platform, mortgage lenders get unprecedented efficiency, control, and agility, from order placement to delivery. It’s powerful enough to increase capacity. Smart enough to reduce human error. And flexible enough to support unique workflows and processes. Interested in learning more? Request a demo here or email the team at [email protected] to speak with an appraisal workflow executive.

Who you partner with as a subservicer can either be a headache or a help. Even the smallest thing, like whether your customer gets their questions answered on the first phone call can make or break how they feel about you. You want someone who delivers exceptional service and represents you well. That’s why TMS Subservicing makes such a trusted partner. They have a 90% first-call resolution rate, escalations are handled quickly, and data/reporting are first-rate. No wonder TMS Subservicing has a 98% customer satisfaction rate. Partner with us.

Events

Today! “Automating Middle-Office Operations” free webinar hosted by Indecomm on April 7^th. As mortgage banking technology evolves, most of it continues to remain focused either on the borrower front-end or the loan originator. Middle-office operations, however, are where technology can make the biggest impact! Historically any technology in this space has been specialized and disjointed. DecisionGenius introduces all decision-making components into one place, comparing application data to sourced data to investor guidelines. DecisionGenius™ is the latest release in Indecomm’s mortgage automation product suite, which includes two predecessors: AuditGenius™ and IncomeGenius®. What you will get from DecisionGenius is a clear recommendation on a file’s ability to close before it goes to underwriting! Join Indecomm’s industry experts, Rachael Harris and Narayan Bharadwaj, today to learn how DecisionGenius™ can improve Underwriter productivity by 60%, reduce Underwriter touches by 50%, and improve Processor productivity by 50%.

If you know you need to do more videos on social media and don’t know where to start, you can attend the Colorado Mortgage Lender’s Virtual Conference and learn from Sue Woodard, Total Expert, and Ginger Bell, Edumarketing. They will be offering a virtual session titled, “Stand OUT and Educate on Social Media and YouTube”. Their session is on Thursday, April 8th at 12PM MT.

Equilibrium Solutions will be sponsoring this Friday’s Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Rich and Rob, this week’s featuring Paul Campbell. Rich Swerbinsky, the COO of The Mortgage Collaborative, Paul, and I will be discussing current events in the mortgage market for 30 minutes starting at 3PM ET: “The Rundown with Rob and Rich.”

Join National Mortgage Professional on Thursday, April 8 as its hosts Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions for a Virtual Town Hall focusing on the current and future state of non-QM. Register and submit your questions here.”

FHA, VA, Ginnie: Government product news

The most recent MBA application figures show that the FHA share of total applications decreased to 10.2 percent from 11.3 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 13.8 percent from 10.3 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.5 percent from 0.4 percent the week prior. So all told, about 25 percent of new business falls into this bucket.

Recall that last week HUD Secretary Fudge announced the decision that, “We have no near-term plans to change FHA’s mortgage insurance premium pricing.”

FHA released technology updates to FHA Catalyst. These enhancements give mortgagees the ability to delete incorrect appraisal submissions for documents in the FHA Catalyst: Electronic Appraisal Delivery Module, a component within the FHA Catalyst: Property Valuation Module. Upgrades that enable users to access compliance rules and view hard stop and error messages on the appraisal details page were also deployed.

Ginnie Mae released its latest Capital Markets Live podcast, which takes an in-depth look at the effect mortgage delinquency and associated loss mitigation and servicing activities are having on the mortgage-backed securities market.

Flagstar Bank posted product and overlay enhancements & reinstatements listed within the announcement for its government products.

Capital markets

The rest of the world seems perfectly willing to buy our debt. And if the growth in the economy is faster than the growth in debt, everything is okay, right? How long will the Federal Reserve continue to support the U.S. Treasury?

Tomorrow we have the weekly jobless claims number, but last Friday we learned that U.S. payrolls added 916,000 jobs in March and January and February’s results were revised upwards for a combined 156,000 more jobs than previously reported. The unemployment rate declined to 6.05 percent and U-6 unemployment declined to 10.7 percent as labor force participation inched up to 61.5 percent. While the unemployment rate averaged below 4 percent for the two years preceding the pandemic, since 1980 US unemployment has averaged 6.25 percent.

And elsewhere, manufacturing data showed the sector expanding at it quickest pace since December 1983, according to the ISM Manufacturing Index. Seventeen of eighteen industries reported growth in March despite widespread concerns about supply chain bottlenecks and price pressure. Given the yearlong increase in the personal savings rate combined with the recent stimulus, consumers are in a strong position to continue to spend.

Treasuries and MBS rallied yesterday in what was otherwise an uneventful day. There wasn’t much economic data and the move was in response to last week’s pullback as much as anything. Job openings increased to 7.4 million in February from a revised 7.1 million in January. Attention now turns to the recent prepayment surge and the rest of the week’s Fed support average at less than $5 billion per day, neither of which help investor sentiment.

 

Things are already underway today. Mortgage applications decreased 5.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 2. During the reporting period, mortgage rates rose, with the Bankrate 30-year rate 5 bps higher to 3.3 percent and the Mortgage News Daily’s 30-year rate up 3 bps to 3.4 percent. The February trade deficit came out (a record $71.1 billion), and later are remarks from four Fed speakers. Perhaps the most market moving potential, however, will come when the minutes of the March 16/17 FOMC meeting are released in the afternoon. The Desk will purchase up to $5.3 billion 2 percent and 2.5 percent across GNIIs and UMBS30s. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices roughly the same as Tuesday night and the 10-year unchanged, yielding 1.66 percent.

In political news, the CEO of IKEA was just elected president in Sweden.

He should have his cabinet together by the end of the week.

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, “Ops: Reducing Friction for the Borrower”. The Commentary’s podcast is live and at any place you obtain your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify).

qoɹ

(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 2021 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.)

Source: Rob Chrisman