Yogi Berra, when asked about staying in a particular hotel, replied, “The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.” I’ve attended my share of conferences in the last few months (no towels were purloined), and the two big general concerns for lenders everywhere are a) providing the best products, price, and service to clients, and b) the general economic and interest rate climate and its impact on their business model. Regarding the second topic, mergers and acquisitions are on fire, and a good starting point in evaluating deals and how to structure them is the current STRATMOR blog, “Mergers and Acquisitions Continue On.” In product news, the use of Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC) and closed end Home Equity Loans (HELOAN) has skyrocketed recently as consumers need liquidity but want to keep their low rate first mortgage in place. STRATMOR Group is conducting a very brief survey to better understand the key decisions driving len
Remember: April is National Procrastination Month! I could tell that my cat Myrtle was displeased the other morning. She’s very secretive about her finances, but my guess is that she’s “long” residential lender stocks and procrastinated selling them. Nearly every lender’s stock price is near all-time lows, making the sellers of these companies during the last few years look like timing geniuses. Earning notes on UWM and Rocket are below, but loanDepot shares have lost about 43.8% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of -16.3%. Finance of America, which had a management shakeup in mid-March and moving President Bill Dallas to an advisory role, reported a net loss for the quarter of $64 million, but improving from a $1.33 billion loss in the previous quarter. (FOA acquired Parkside last year.) Guild Mortgage saw only $32 million Adjusted Net Income, and its stock is trading near an all-time low. Retail, wholes