MLO Jobs; Risk Reduction Products; Marketing, Workflow Tools; JP's Earnings, and the MBA's Take on 2020's Profits
Apr 14 2021, 8:08AM
"I wear a stethoscope so that in a medical emergency I can teach people a valuable lesson about assumptions.” People shouldn’t assume that all offices are made equal. People in our biz shouldn’t assume that “all lenders are the same.” Jim Cameron from the STRATMOR Group has noticed a difference between depository banks and independent mortgage banks. Namely, banks are not only awash in cash, which will help them with HELOCs and other portfolio products, but appear to have larger pipelines heading into this slowdown in volume/reduction in margin. IMB’s mindsets are on cutting overtime, watching expenses. One CEO even told me about a small “RIF” (reduction in force) for his company in the coming weeks. Even though the pandemic is still in the headlines, 2020 performance is in the rearview mirror, which may turn out to be the arguably the best year ever for residential lenders. The MBA tells us that its survey showed profits of $4,200 per loan; lots more below. Speaking of performance, the audio version of today’s commentary is available here and is sponsored by FBX, an Informa Financial Intelligence business, helping lenders understand their competitive price position and lending performance metrics. Today’s features and interview with Brandonn Dukes on margin changes and the cyclicality of mortgage earnings.