The MBA’s servicing conference is taking place, and it is an important subject, along with the impact of the 30bp cut in MIP for FHA borrowers. Owning servicing rights certainly helped the bottom lines for many lenders last year, some would say it “saved their bacon.” There are always those warning us of impending doom and gloom scenarios regarding the trillions of mortgages outstanding. But really, come on. We may see an uptick in delinquencies and foreclosures, possibly because the numbers are so low now there’s nowhere to go but up. Borrowers have outstanding credit quality, and huge amounts of equity. And investors and the government offer many loss mitigation options. The industry has other things to worry about. Meanwhile, owners of mortgage servicing rights continue to sell packages, large and small, for various reasons, not the least of which is to raise cash. For the uninitiated who’d like to know exactly what a “servicing package
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, traditionally associated with love. But on the opposite side of the spectrum, an Ohio animal shelter is offering to write your ex’s name in a litterbox, and let its adoptable cats “go to town.” Someone there knows good PR. Did you know that some countries never know who won the Super Bowl? As the pre-printed “Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl 2023 Champs” t-shirts are shipped off to places like Guatemala or El Salvador, in this country bond market traders and investors are focused on inflation. The Consumer Price Index report for January is tomorrow and forecast to show a 0.5 percent month-over-month rise with energy prices higher again. The headline year-over-year inflation reading is expected to drop to +6.2 percent from +6.5 percent in December. We probably won’t see inflation back in the 2 percent range unless the labor market softens considerably, and that is not evident. Too much inflation will k