Jan. 19: Retail & wholesale jobs; ALTA’s opinion of “Know Before You Owe”; FHA HECM training; piece on CFPB’s enforcement actions
Pretty much everyone knows that today is considered a legal holiday and cannot be included in the 3-day rescission period. The bond markets are closed, but plenty of lenders are open with their workers commuting in. If you think that the oil price decline is all rainbows and unicorns, think again. Yes, it is cool to spend less than $50 to fill up a gas tank. But its impact will be felt in many states such as Alaska, Texas, North Dakota, and Alabama. And around the world things will change – just last week this caught my eye: “Oil industry supplier Schlumberger to axe 9,000 jobs” – it seems the company is having a workforce reduction of 7% following big spending cuts by energy customers.
But on the mortgage side companies are growing! Bayview/Lakeview wholesale lending continues its rapid growth and expansion by adding industry veteran George Andrews as its Western Regional Wholesale Manager. Wholesale AEs interested in joining the Bayview team can contact George. Bayview/Lakeview specializes in traditional conventional, government, and non-QM portfolio products. “Our portfolio products expand originators opportunity to close more loans. Bayview companies are well established in the mortgage investment and servicing industry with experience in managing mortgage assets since 1995. We support mortgage bankers through our correspondent channel and mortgage brokers through wholesale. Correspondent sellers can contact Jeff Lemieux and wholesale brokers can contact Gary Manfredi. (Bayview Asset Management is minority-owned by affiliates of The Blackstone Group, L.P (NYSE: BX).)
And due to success in its Washington DC location the United Nations Federal Credit Union is looking for retail loan officers in New York, Virginia and the mid-Atlantic region. Talent Acquisition Specialist Nicholas Ug asks, “Are you an experienced Mortgage Loan Officer seeking a new career challenge in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced financial services organization that has a proven track record of success? Are you a self-motivated and independent sales professional looking for your next big move with a growing global portfolio lender, waiting to create your own plan to develop a network of referral sources such as Realtors and financial planners? Do you want to join an organization that competitively rewards employee performance? If yes, we’d like to hear from you! The United Nations Federal Credit Union is a full service, innovative global financial institution offering a wide array of products (conforming & jumbo, niche, HELOC, and portfolio or both domestic and foreign buyers) and services to meet the financial needs of our members and expand our membership.” Contact Nicholas Ug for more details and confidential inquiries.
Congrats to California’s First Mortgage. In late 2014, California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) published a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Single Family Master Servicer to originate loans through its network of qualified mortgage brokers. CalHFA is pleased to announce that First Mortgage Corporation’s Master Servicer proposal has been selected. First Mortgage Corporation is headquartered in Ontario, California and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fin-West Group, a California corporation. “CalHFA is excited to partner with First Mortgage Corporation. The inclusion of brokers in our origination community will greatly enhance our ability to serve low and moderate income families.”
Potentially at the other end of the spectrum BofI management cannot be happy to have read a report suggesting it may be the focus of regulator attention: ThankGoodnessForCallerID. (Read fast or be prepared to obtain a subscription.)
The MBA reports that the OCC issued an updated booklet for its regulated entities on TILA compliance. The booklet provides updated guidance and procedures to examiners in connection with recent changes made to Regulation Z, primarily with regard to mortgage lending, replacing a similarly titled booklet issued in December 2010. The booklet’s examination procedures apply to all national banks and federal savings associations that offer consumer credit products covered by TILA.
But wait! “ALTA Says New CFPB Mortgage Forms Disclose Inaccurate Fees”! “The American Land Title Association (ALTA), the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, released the following statement from Chief Executive Officer Michelle Korsmo in response to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray’s speech at the Brookings Institution:
“’ALTA and its members support Director Cordray’s efforts to help consumers gain greater control and understanding of their real estate transaction, however, we remain concerned with the Bureau’s new Closing Disclosure, which goes into effect Aug. 1, 2015, and replaces the current HUD-1 Settlement Statement. The Closing Disclosure misleads consumers about the actual price of their title insurance policies,’ said Michelle Korsmo, ALTA’s chief executive officer. ‘We urge the CFPB to take swift action to ensure consumers receive the most accurate information about their mortgage costs, including title insurance premiums and settlement services.’
“’Unfortunately, the current Know Before You Owe forms will create confusion at the closing table for many consumers. In nearly half of the country, title companies are required by state law to charge title insurance premiums and discounts in a manner different than the Bureau would have them disclose those fees to the consumer. The Bureau must take steps to disclose accurate costs of title insurance premiums and settlement services to meet their goal of educating consumers of the true costs of owning a home.’
“Title and settlement agents will have to provide additional disclosure forms to consumers at closing to show the actual title insurance premiums charged and to prove compliance with state law governing industry-filed rates. We support a cleaner real estate transaction but not at the expense of consumers understanding of their actual mortgage costs.’
“’We agree with Director Cordray that an educated consumer is a more confident and empowered consumer. Our economy can speed up its recovery if we provide more stability, growth and affordability in the mortgage market. We will continue to work with the CFPB and our industry partners toward commonsense solutions that decrease consumer uncertainty and bring demand back into housing market.’”
Attorney Philip R. Stein with Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP wrote a piece on the CFPB’s aggressive enforcement actions.
Vin Biscoglio with Village Mortgage writes, “Rob – regarding the CFPB and the Rate Checker tool, One would wonder, if the CFPB had spent money to develop a tool called ‘Cost to Rehab Our New Headquarters’ Building’ prior to them spending $114 – $145 million to renovate their downtown HQ, how much they would have been able to save? This agency continues to show their cards as to what their agenda truly is. By selecting only chosen companies and not disclosing costs and APR’s, a suspecting taxpayer should wonder where the protection is from the agency started to do just that.
Yes, there is a lot going on and the Collingwood Group has a new survey to help monitor things regarding the state of the Federal Housing Administration. With news breaking last week that President Obama has directed FHA to cut mortgage insurance premiums, FHA loans are poised to become more prominent in the housing market. What are your most pressing concerns for FHA moving forward? Here is the link.
Keeping on with what’s going on, we have plenty of training and conferences coming up.
Mountain West Financial, Inc. (MWF) is conducting monthly trainings to learn more about the Truth in Lending / RESPA Integrated Disclosures (aka TRID) that will be required beginning August 1, 2015. MWF’s training schedule is as follows: Tuesday, February 10: Loan Estimate Review, Tuesday, March 10: Closing Disclosure Review, Tuesday, April 14: Loan Estimate and Closing Estimate Timing Requirements, Tuesday, May 12: TRID Deep Dive, Tuesday, June 16: Closing Agent and Lender Relationship, Tuesday, July 14: Final Implementation Information. TRID information may be found in MWF’s Compliance Resource Center. The Compliance Resource Center is the 4th item in the Quick Links navigation bar on the left side of our wholesale homepage (MWFWholesale.com), or by clicking here. The TRID Compliance Highlights folder has useful information; however, to view the complete regulatory rules, open the CFPB Rules folder to see the rules effective in 2015.
If you’re in Oklahoma on February 12th, a partnership of the Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® (OAR), Oklahoma Mortgage Bankers Association (OMBA), Oklahoma State Home Builders Association and Oklahoma Land Title Association (OSHBA) provides great opportunities to network with other related industry professionals, exceptional lineup of high-caliber speakers you normally only see at national events, relevant content that affects the real estate industry as a whole and opportunity to help coordinate efforts to affect policy. The cost is $55 (lunch included). For registration to the OwnOK special event, click the link ok realtors.
Washington Association of Mortgage Professionals (WAMP) Legislative Day is Wednesday, February 25th. WAMP is looking for help with transportation, lunch and other sponsorships, in order to bring the largest possible contingency to Olympia, WA to meet with lawmakers. Your Support is needed! Below is a link to the page of its website which provides a full menu of sponsorship opportunities for this important event. Review the list and advise if there is sponsorship level that aligns nicely with your Company and its desire to help us create a stronger lending atmosphere in Washington State; click the Legislative Day Sponsor Opportunities link.
The FHA is presenting “Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Financial Assessment and Property Charge Requirements for Underwriters and Processors (HQ – Office of Program Development)” on Monday, February 2 from 2-3:30 EST for free. “This webinar will focus on the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) HECM Financial Assessment and Property Charge requirements, which were published in Mortgagee Letters 2014-21 and 2014-22. The webinar will include a detailed review of the HECM Financial Assessment and Property Charge Guide that was published on November 10…This webinar is targeted specifically to individuals within an FHA-approved mortgagee organization who are responsible for underwriting and/or processing a HECM. To maximize the effectiveness of this session, we encourage attendance by those that are familiar with FHA’s Financial Assessment and Property Charge requirements, and the details contained in FHA’s Financial Assessment and Property Charge Guide. We also recommend that attendees have access to a copy of the Guide to reference during the webinar, as there will be many references to this document as part of the presentation.
Join Ginger Bell for a Day of Compliance at the CAMP Sales & Marketing Conference in Hollywood, CA on Friday, January 30th at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City. This workshop will provide a roadmap for the changes coming with the new TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure, a fun and interactive “Train the Trainer” session to learn how you can train your Realtors and partners on the new changes and a Sales and Marketing Compliance session that will help you to know how you can marketing in a more compliant way in 2015. Details can be found by clicking the overview link.
The ABC’s of Mini-Correspondent with the CFPB and Friends Brian Webster, Originations Program Manager at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Jim Dunkerley, President of FirstFunding and Ginger Bell, Senior VP of Morf Media will cover “conducting business as a mini-correspondent”. Scheduled for Friday, January 23rd, this workshop will be held at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT., click the agenda link for details.
Regulatory Outlook 2015: Compliance, Enforcement and What’s Next Webinar, The Legal Description and Dodd Frank Update, have teamed up to provide this an in-depth 90-minute federal regulatory outlook Webinar for mortgage, title insurance and settlement service professionals on January 21st . This expert training features top compliance attorneys who will educate participants on the significant regulatory issues impacting the industry in 2015. For details and registration, visit October Research.
Silicon Valley CAMP Sales & Marketing Conference on January 29-30, 2015 will showcase products, companies, and networking that is necessary to succeed in today’s mortgage industry. Know your options, for details click here.
Join Texas Mortgage Bankers Association (TMBA) for the Southern Secondary Market Conference scheduled on February 2nd-3rd. This 5-session event will cover the following topics: New Product Strategies, Perspectives on the Market for Mortgage Servicing Rights, GSE and MI Update, The New Normal of Secondary Marketing, and Demystifying Affordable Housing Finance. Click the link for registration.
Attend MBA’s National Advocacy Conference on April 14 & 15 to find out what the industry issues are, learn how they affect your business, and get tips and talking points for discussions with lawmakers. Then join your colleagues on Capitol Hill for a day of democracy in action. Click the link for more information.
Turning to the markets… there are none! Many lenders are closed for the holiday. So take any rate sheet pricing with a grain of salt since most lenders will take Friday’s closing prices, incorporate what happened in Europe (like Moody’s downgrading Russian credit to near-junk bond ratings), put in a little cushion, and send it out.
This short video reminds us that one can’t always judge someone by the color of their skin.
Rob
(Copyright 2015 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.)
