Aug. 2: AE, LO, mgt. jobs; broker, U/W products; Freedom/J.G. Wentworth deal; vendor news; how ’bout dem rates!
The FHA & VA know a little something about risk, and don’t want to stick out too much from Freddie and Fannie, resulting in adverse selection. Lenders are buzzing about HUD’s actions “designed to reduce risk associated with cash-out refinance lending. The changes preserve homeowners’ ability to convert home equity to cash via a government-sponsored mortgage but also improves the risk profile of HUD’s housing finance programs… the FHA will lower its maximum LTV requirements for cash-out refinance transactions from 85 percent to 80 percent. This policy change will be effective for loans with case numbers assigned on or after September 1, 2019 and aligns with the maximum cash-out LTV allowed by the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs).” And Ginnie Mae issued All Participants Memorandum 19-05 (APM 19-05), which is the implementation of changes to pooling eligibility requirements for VA insured, or guaranteed, mortgages.
Jobs
Stearns Wholesale Lending is in its 30th year supporting the Mortgage Broker community. “Hear from our customers about how Matt Helfrich, Yvonne Weiss, Charles Ryan and all our Account Executives create a ‘Personal Touch’ and put our brokers first. Stearns Wholesale Lending is poised for growth and prepared to serve the Mortgage Broker for another 30 years! For opportunities in this amazing Wholesale and Non-Delegated Correspondent culture, please email Melissa Richardson.”
PCMA is seeking an experienced WHOLESALE SALES MANAGER with a track record of success. “At PCMA, we’re building a unique company focused on Non-Bank Private Client Lending programs for the Mass Affluent (MAI) and High Net-Worth (HNWI). PCMA is positioned to dominate this highly lucrative client category. Private Client Lending in the Era of NQM. We are looking for that special someone who can contribute in leading this company to the top of our category and set the standard for how a Big Idea platform should be built. Are you a strong facilitator for the recruitment and development of team member talent? Lastly, are you bold in nature and looking to be a part of the next big idea; if so then we may be looking for you? Compensation commensurate with experience and capability. Send confidential resumes to staffing@pcma.mortgage.”
Citizens Bank is excited to announce Chace Gundlach as its National Sales Director for Retail loan officer channel. He will oversee production for over 600+ sales colleagues we have across the 28 states. With almost 30 years in the mortgage business and more than a decade with Citizens Bank, Chace has a proven track record of building high-performing sales teams. To find out how Citizens Bank and Chace Gundlach are winning in the mortgage marketplace and having a record breaking year, apply at Citizens Bank.
PRMG Retail continues to grow across the nation with the opening of 2 new branches in the month of July! Along with the drive and ambition to bring the American Dream of Homeownership to all cities across the country, PRMG opened doors in Elizabethtown, PA and Debary, FL! PRMG is Built by Originators for OriginatorsTM and is devoted to continuously growing its retail platform. Consistently ranked in the top mortgage companies throughout the country, PRMG is on its way to becoming a billion dollar a month company with over $700 million funded in the month of June. If you are a Motivated Loan Originator who wants to be Progressively Better, contact Chris Sorensen at 909.262.0452.
Lender products & services
Volly and Botsplash have formed a strategic partnership to provide lenders and borrowers with a seamless interaction across multiple messaging platforms. Botsplash, an omnichannel digital conversation platform, is now available exclusively on the Volly Platform suite of solutions. The strategic partnership allows for borrowers and lending agents (loan officers, processors, underwriters) to converse across multiple messaging channels, providing unified access to all engagements. The omnichannel service spans across email, SMS text, Webchat, Facebook and other social media platforms. “Borrowers are looking for product and service offerings supported on multiple sites and social media platforms,” said Jerry Halbrook, CEO of Volly. “Botsplash combined with the Volly Platform allows our clients to design complete end-to-end customer journeys, and to be able to communicate with consumers seamlessly with real-time messages across multiple platforms combining voice, email, text and social media into a single experience.” To learn more about how the Volly Platform can generate more closed loans, visit www.myvolly.com and schedule a demo today.
Freddie Mac Single-Family is ALL FOR building the future of home. Affordable lending is evolving and Freddie Mac is ALL IN on providing solutions that enable emerging populations to achieve the dream of HOME. We are changing perceptions by developing products and resources that drive real opportunities for businesses while creating a renewed sense of access for borrowers. Read an Executive Perspective from Danny Gardner, Senior Vice President, Freddie Affordable Lending and Access to Credit, that highlights the value of education and strategic outreach to overcome barriers to homeownership. In addition, don’t miss Freddie Mac’s take on The Future of Affordable Lending in Housingwire. Learn more about All For HomeSM, Freddie Mac’s approach to affordable lending, and discover key insights to inform your business and take advantage of solutions and tools that will further enable your borrowers to make Home Possible®. All in. All of us. All For Home.
Caliber Home Loans, Inc.is excited to announce its Wholesale channel’s latest partnership, CoreLogic® Credco®. This partnership has created a fantastic opportunity for Caliber’s Brokers to access 3-Bureau Merged Credit Reports. Caliber Business Partners who sign up get preferred pricing – at $24.90 per month – for all credit report transactions and access to the nation’s most popular merged credit report system. Upgrades and supplements to credit reports are also available. This offer applies to Caliber Business Partners in “approved” status. More details on the instant merge reports from CoreLogic Credco are available here. Business Partners can sign up directly with CredCo by visiting the website, or calling 866.774.3282. For additional questions about this partnership, Brokers can reach out to their Caliber Account Executive.
GSF Mortgage Corporation’s (GSF) Managing Director of the Construction Lending Division, Rudy Marquez, will be speaking at the upcoming Lenders One Summit in Seattle, WA. Rudy Marquez will be part of a panel discussion for the session ‘Diversifying Your Product Set to Drive Sales’ at 2:30 pm on August 6th. He will be discussing the benefits of Single Close Construction loans over traditional construction loans and how to incorporate Single Close Construction loans into your programs. GSF is a Lenders One preferred provider. If you are interested in learning more about GSF Mortgage Corporation’s Construction lending philosophy, products, or culture, please reach out to Managing Director of Construction Lending, Rudy Marquez.
Deal making
Sure, many potential sellers of residential lenders have gone back to managing their fundings and profit margins instead of looking for a buyer. Others are happy to “exit the arena.” In the latest example, Freedom Mortgage is acquiring J.G. Wentworth Home Lending. The juicy details were not released, but the purchase adds an additional 570 employees and 35 offices nationwide to Freedom Mortgage while boosting its mortgage servicing portfolio by $6 billion.
Pennsylvania’s J.G. Wentworth Home Lending originates more than $6 billion in annual mortgage volume with a good chunk in the mid-Atlantic region. But Wentworth is licensed in 46 states, and the District of Columbia, offering the usual conventional, jumbo purchase, government-insured FHA, VA and USDA loans through its retail channel.
Vendor news
Are there more vendors than lenders? Perhaps at some conferences! They’re rolling out some interesting products. Let’s play some catch up on random news in that sector. Always more to follow on another day.
Make sure you don’t miss the next power-packed webinar from the California MBA’s Mortgage Technology & Marketing Committee (MTAM). This month the focus is on how to use technology to build stronger borrower relationships: the “homebuyer engagement head start”. Presenters will explore the modern homebuyer journey and how loan officers can benefit from using technology to form stronger relationships with borrowers at each stage of the process. The webinar will be held on August 6th at 11 am, and will feature Casey Hughes-Wade of SimpleNexus and Ben Teerlink of MobilityRE, with John Seroka, Seroka Brand Development, moderating. Click here to RSVP.
More than 1,000 mortgage lenders can now receive enhanced wire fraud protection thanks to the FormFree partnership with FundingShield. Wire Account Verification Service (WAVS) from FundingShield assures closing funds go to the right recipient’s verified bank account, reducing the risk of lost funds and closing delays for homebuyers, lenders, title insurance underwriters and realtors. FormFree will integrate WAVS into its Passport® all-in-one verification solution as a value-added service.
We have been hearing a lot about AppraisalVision by Theoris Software. (The company was founded in 2016 by Jim Cutillo, the founder and former CEO of Stonegate Mortgage.) AppraisalVision is the first AI powered platform that can verify the value of a home at time of application. The platform manages both traditional and bifurcated appraisals, while providing lenders, AMCs, and appraisers predictive and comparative analytics that result in financial, operational and quality improvements. To see it in action, contact Jim Cutillo.
Lenderful Solutions rolled out its PreQual Express, an automated prequalification tool for lenders that allows borrowers to generate a prequalification letter and cc to the loan officer in less than five minutes. Lenderful creates a customized landing page for each loan officer that can be shared with realtors, past customers and prospects. The white-labeled tool is powered by the lender’s rates, programs, and qualifications, and is fast, easy-to-use, optimized for all devices and available 24/7 for $100/year and $20/month for each loan officer. Contact Elizabeth Conlisk or Michael Goyne for more information.
“The Mortgage List, LLC, the most inclusive directory of all facets of the mortgage industry, announced its selection of Shred Media as their exclusive marketing agency. Shred Media will be responsible for all social media marketing management of The Mortgage List’s 1,500 plus vendors, online event calendar and podcast. The industry is seeing an increase in originators starting their own mortgage business and finding the vendors needed to start their operation is critical, Shred Media brings its expertise in social media management to help originators and vendors connect through The Mortgage List.”
Capital markets – cuz that’s where the capital is
Combine the Fed’s rate cut with the latest Trump tariff news, and the result is a huge bond market rally, most of which is based on the slowing impact of the tariff on the U.S. economy. The rate cut in response to global weakness, certainly not U.S. economic numbers nor Trump’s jawboning, but now it is more than jawboning. Using U.S. monetary policy as a tool to help foreign economies is not in the Fed’s job description. Critics ask if Trump is creating a problem that he will eventually solve.
Yesterday U.S. Treasuries across the curve posted lows for the year Thursday, the 2-year fell 16 bps, the 10-year fell 13 bps to 1.89 percent (the lowest since late 2016), and the 30-year fell 9 bps. That was due, in part, to President Trump announcing new tariffs of 10 percent on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese goods not already tariffed at 25 percent, and in part due to the Senate passing a bill suspending the debt ceiling for two years. Because the majority of the U.S. Treasury’s debt issuance is concentrated in bills, it had a drastic effect on levels of near-cash instruments. Lastly, both the ECB and President Trump voiced displeasure with Chair Powell’s hawkish ease on Wednesday. Rate cut expectations increased considerably, with the Fed Funds futures market showing above a 70 percent implied likelihood of a cut in September, which was just below 51 percent projected yesterday.
In Asia, North Korea and Hong Kong both increased geopolitical tensions through separate incidents, and economically China’s July Manufacturing PMI increased while Japan’s July PMI decreased, as did South Korea’s July Manufacturing PMI. And it was reported the 13th round of U.S.-China trade talks will happen in September. Eurozone’s July Manufacturing PMI beat expectations.
If anyone cares anymore, the highlight of today’s domestic calendar is the release of the July Employment Situation (payrolls) Report, which revealed stability. Nonfarm Payroll was +164k, in line with expectations, with a downward revision to June. Average hourly earnings were forecasted to rise 0.2 percent but were +.3%. The Unemployment Rate came in at 3.7%. We’ve also had the June trade deficit ($55.2 billion) near forecasts. Later this morning sees June factory orders and final July Michigan sentiment. The day begins with Agency MBS prices better by .125 versus Thursday’s close and the 10-year yielding 1.86%.
First world problems; part 5 of 5.
The lowest brightness setting on my iPad is still too bright to read in the dark.
Wes M. sent, “The wind blew some leaves in the pool, and the pool guy doesn’t come until tomorrow.”
My school banned girls from wearing yoga pants.
I forgot my old password, so now I have to reset it using an uppercase letter and a number.
I’d like to boycott Chick-Fil-A in light of their homophobic stance, but their food is just so good.
I accidentally drank some tap water.
(From Utah Jon Johnson offers a free Chick-Fil-A gift card to the first person who can reply with an accurate definition of “Second-World” and either (a) a list of 5 second-world problems, or (b) a list of 5 second-world countries. Write to him directly.)
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, “Residential Lending, Banks, and Market Share.” If you have both the time and inclination, make a comment on what I have written, or on other comments so that folks can learn what’s going on out there from the other readers.
Rob
(Market data provided in partnership with MBS Live. For free job postings and to view candidate resumes visit LenderNews. Currently there are hundreds of mortgage professionals looking for operations, secondary and management roles. For up-to-date mortgage news visit Mortgage News Daily. For archived commentaries, or to subscribe, go to www.robchrisman.com. Copyright 2019 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. Occasional paid job listings do appear. This report or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold or redistributed without the written consent of Rob Chrisman.)
