Today I head to Phoenix area for the AzAMP annual conference, and am reminded that, “Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.” The mortgage industry is constantly changing, although Freddie and Fannie have been a somewhat stabilizing influence. But explaining to someone not in the mortgage business what they, the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) do, is not easy, but in another one of his Mortgage Musings, attorney Brian Levy offers his thoughts on 15 years of being in conservatorship and whether that means it’s time to drop the “S” in GSE. Let’s just hope they don’t become another Amtrak. (Sign up for Musings here.) One topic that has come up at a few conferences, besides Agency buybacks, is demand for “LIP” and “VLIP” borrowers. Are F&F pushing hard for Low Income Purchase and Very Low Income Purchase business, and requesting high percentages of those products with the “t
“So, HBO Max is now just ‘Max.’ Your move, Peacock.” Lenders continue to cogitate on their next moves as rates remain stubbornly high and inventory available for sale stubbornly low, and neither appears ready to change much any time in the near future. As I continue to visit with groups of lenders and vendors, lender’s overhead, and how comp figures into that, continues to be a hot topic. STRATMOR’s current blog is titled, “Compensation: Ever Changing,” and I asked STRATMOR CEO Lisa Springer about what lenders are doing in that area. “Lenders in increasing numbers are reaching out to STRATMOR to advise on compensation strategies from a holistic point of view, seeing how changes fit within the entire company. Management teams are thinking about structural changes and capitalizing on the opportunity to create win-win comp programs for both the employees and the companies.” In housing and inventory news, a recent real e
The Ides of March… And college basketball time. Here in Kentucky (men #6 in the East, Louisville women’s team #5) I overheard someone on the phone. “Yesterday I saw a woman in Walmart with March Madness teeth. She was down to her final four.” March Madness is in full swing, whether it is hoops or bonds. Or bank stocks. Is this really a fundamental structural plunging of the United States’ financial system? Doubtful. Moody’s came out with a warning about downgrading certain banks in the United States. It is not 2008. How much of this is psychology? Tweeting causing a run on deposits? Banks everywhere are looking at their liabilities (deposits, since they owe their depositors money) and assets (the money lent out using their depositor’s money, or securities owned. “Lending long and borrowing short” works when banks can pay very little on their deposits (like checking accounts earning 0 percent) and take that money and earn 4
Raquel Welch, who passed away yesterday, was an icon in the 60s and 70s. Mick Jagger was as well, and sang, “Just My Imagination” many years ago. But it is not your imagination that residential lending is facing some renewed speedbumps. (Yeah, I know that’s a stretch, but it’s a cool song.) Last night in Spokane at the SMLA meeting, key topics including pricing and rates. It isn’t your imagination that lenders are rolling out the new conforming loan level price adjustments this week, given the delivery requirements from Freddie and Fannie, and despite the redisclosure and operations problems that will inevitably arise. It is also not your imagination that we are being hit by mortgage rates moving higher. Jobs, inflation, and retail sales data all point toward a solid economy, recession be damned, and as a result, higher rates. But for some good news, homebuilder confidence is improving, according to the NAHB, seeing the largest monthly increase for bu