Blog Talk Radio Show Summary November 8, 2010: Election’s Effect on Mortgage Industry

2017-12-20T17:34:15+00:00 November 9th, 2010|Categories: BlogTalkRadio Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Glen Corso, Managing Director of The Community Mortgage Banking Project, joined the show today and offered his “inside the beltway insights on the effects the change of control in the U.S. House of Representatives may have on the mortgage industry.  According to Glen, the single biggest effect will come from Barney Frank no longer being the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.  Barney has been such a significant influence over mortgage related legislation that without him in the Chairman position, future legislation will likely be less hands-on.  Glen said to expect some technical corrections to the Dodd-Frank Bill.  The corrections may be a little more than technical corrections, but far short of wholesale changes the Republicans would like.  He expects little to be done about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now that the Republicans control the House.  The two parties are very far apart in their belief about the proper course of action for Fannie and Freddie and without Democratic control of both the House and the Senate neither party is likely to succeed in pushing their plan.  Glen reminded everyone that funds have already been committed to Fannie and Freddie to replenish their capital as losses continue to [...]

BlogTalkRadio Summary July 12, 2010: Q&A on Mortgage Issues in DFA (Dodd-Frank Act)

2017-12-20T17:34:16+00:00 July 14th, 2010|Categories: BlogTalkRadio Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Glen Corso, Executive Director of  The Community Mortgage Banking Project, joined the BlogTalkRadio/Lykken on Lending show again today and was kind enough to answer a series of questions from the hosts about the content of the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA).  Glen has lobbied on behalf of the industry as this bill progressed through the legislative process.  The DFA is expected to pass the Senate soon and will then be signed by the President.  It has several provisions which, when implemented, will have a significant impact on the mortgage industry.  Its implementation is many months down the road, but its content needs to be understood to the extent possible.  Many of the provisions in the DFA will not be fully understood until regulators have finalized the Bill’s implementation rules. Click on the attachment to read through an extensive Q & A on these topics. Click PLAY to listen to the podcast of this week’s BlogTalkRadio/Lykken on Lending with Dave Lykken and MBSQuoteline’s Joe Farr: Listen to internet radio with David Lykken on Blog Talk Radio MBSQuoteline supplies the essential market information necessary for effective decision making by Originators when assisting borrowers during the loan origination process, and for secondary marketing departments while managing pipelines. For additional [...]

BlogTalkRadio Podcast, June 28, 2010

2017-12-20T17:34:16+00:00 June 30th, 2010|Categories: BlogTalkRadio Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Mortgage companies and mortgage originators will be significantly affected by what Congress does in the final Financial Reform bill.  The bill made it through the House and Senate Conference Committee last Friday.   Glen Corso, Executive Director of the Community Mortgage Banking Project, returned to the show today to describe what the bill now looks like.  He focused on the two provision directly affecting the mortgage industry: Risk Retention and Loan Officer Compensation. The current Risk Retention provision actually improved in the conference committee.  There is still a requirement for originators to retain 5% of the risk on the loans they originate and sell.  This would be devastating for the industry, except for the fact they the bill exempts almost all of the loans being made today.  The bill says that the requirement to retain risk does not apply to government guaranteed loans (FHA, VA, and USDA) and all other loans “well underwritten.  Well underwritten loans are loans that are fully documented and have reasonable ratios, are not negative amortization loans or loans with large payment adjustments possible.  Most Fannie and Freddie qualifying loans would meet this definition.  Glen believes the bill will allow an allocation of the retained risk between [...]

BlogTalkRadio Podcast – June 21, 2010

2017-12-20T17:34:16+00:00 June 23rd, 2010|Categories: BlogTalkRadio Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Wouldn’t it be nice if Congress would extend the “close-by deadline for those trying to get the Homebuyer Tax Credit?  Sure it would. Wouldn’t it be even nicer if they did it now, June 21st,  before we all break our backs trying to get the thousands of  transactions closed by June 30th?  Any anxiety out there right now? Glen Corso, Executive Director of The Community Mortgage Banking Project and an industry advocate, brought to the BlogTalkRadio show today an up to the minute status report on HR 4213, the bill being considered by the Senate which, if passed, will extend the “close-by deadline to qualify to receive the Homebuyer Tax Credit from June 30th to September 30th.  According to Glen, there is very little controversy on whether or not to extend the deadline. Most are in favor of it.  The rest of the bill, though, includes significant controversy and because of it, might not pass any time soon.  As a result, this is not a time to relax.  Push to close all the purchase loans that you can before the existing June 30th deadline. Glen also provided a shocking update from the House and Senate Conference Committee working on the [...]

In The News: Loan Officer Compensation and Senate Bill 3217

2017-12-20T17:34:18+00:00 May 21st, 2010|Categories: In The News|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is being reported that Senate Bill 3217 Restoring American Financial Stability will soon pass out of the Senate.  There are many things in this bill which will effect the mortgage industry.  In an earlier blog post I discussed the likely impact of the "Skin in the Game" provisions of this bill.  In this post, I will discuss the provisions in this bill which will restrict Loan Officer compensation. Glen Corso, Executive Director of The Community Mortgage Banking Project, discussed on the BlogTalkRadio/Lykken-on-Lending show on Monday that the amendment to Senate Bill 3217 which, among other things, prohibits loan originators from receiving compensation based on the terms of the loan.  He explained that the amendment was introduced late Tuesday evening May 11th and was passed on Wednesday morning May 12th, giving himself and other industry advocates no chance to weigh in on the amendment.  The intent of the amendment is to remove any incentive for an originator to charge more in origination fees to a borrower or to give a borrower a higher mortgage rate than the basic rate and price as established by his or her origination company.  So this amendment essentially prohibits companies from paying loan officers a [...]

BlogTalkRadio Podcast – May 17, 2010

2017-12-20T17:34:18+00:00 May 20th, 2010|Categories: BlogTalkRadio Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Senate Bill 3217 Restoring American Financial Stability was the focus of discussion on the show Monday, particularly two recently passed amendments which are of great interest to the mortgage banking industry.  The amendments deal with risk retention and loan officer compensation.  One is good for the industry and the other is not.  Glen Corso, Executive Director of The Community Mortgage Banking Project, joined the show to bring a first hand understanding of the amendments and their status. The amendment that is good for the mortgage industry deals with the risk retention provisions of the original  bill.  The original bill would have required mortgage originators to retain “skin in the game.  It would have required originators to retain 5% of the risk on all the loans they originated and sold to investors.  The amendment exempts from the 5% risk retention requirement certain mortgage loans which meet the definition of Qualified Mortgage Loans.  Since 90% or more of today’s loans will meet the definition of Qualified Mortgage Loan, the amendment significantly reduces the number of loans on which originators will be required to retain risk. The amendment that is not good for the mortgage industry restricts how loan originators are to be [...]

BlogTalkRadio Podcast – May 3, 2010

2017-12-20T17:34:18+00:00 May 5th, 2010|Categories: BlogTalkRadio Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

“Skin in the game.  Most mortgage bankers, especially those who have experienced a loan buyback, feel like they have some.  If Senate bill S3217, Restoring American Financial Stability Act, is passed in its current form mortgage bankers will learn what “skin in the game means to the current Administration.  This bill calls for mortgage bankers to retain the risk on 5% of the loans they originate.  The language in the bill is not clear, but some have suggested that retaining risk means funding a reserve with cash.  Lets do some math.  If a mortgage company is really efficient, it might earn 1% on the loans it originates and sells.  If they are required to hold 5% as a risk reserve, it will not take long for mortgage bankers to originate themselves into bankruptcy.  Who would participate in this business? Glen Corso, Managing Director of Community Mortgage Banking Project, joined the show today to discuss his efforts to lobby the Senate to add an amendment to the “skin in the game provision of S3217.  The amendment would exclude “well underwritten loans from the risk retention requirement.  Think Ginnie, Fannie, or Freddie loans.  They cannot be defined that way because we may [...]

BlogTalkRadio Podcast – Apr 12, 2010

2017-12-20T17:34:19+00:00 April 22nd, 2010|Categories: BlogTalkRadio Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

MBS prices are up nicely this morning, up 9/32nds.  No economic data was released this morning.  The Dow is also up.  It is above 11,000 for the first time in 18 months. Last week was a great week for the mortgage market.  MBS prices improved about 24/32nds during the week.  Most of the improvement followed a very strong 10 yr Treasury auction.  Strong demand and foreign participation fueled a rally in Treasury prices, which spilled over to MBS prices.  Also kind to MBS prices during the week were the minutes from the 3/16 Fed meeting.  The minutes showed that the Fed was nearly unanimous in their belief that Fed funds rates need to stay very low for an extended time and that inflation was not a concern.   Next week will be full of significant economic announcements.  On Wednesday both CPI and Retail Sales for March will be released and on Thursday Industrial Production will be released. Glen Corso, Executive Director of the Community Mortgage Banking Project, joined the show to discuss further the need to voice concerns about the 5% risk retention provisions in the current Financial Reform bill before the Senate.  Glen described that passage of the bill with [...]

BlogTalkRadio Podcast – Apr 5, 2010

2017-12-20T17:34:19+00:00 April 22nd, 2010|Categories: BlogTalkRadio Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

MBS prices are lower this morning after a stronger than expected ISM Services Index was announced at 8:30 a.m. et and then at 10:00 a.m. et a much better than expected Pending Home Sales number was released.  This followed a week last week that saw MBS prices fall by about 1%.  Last week included the end of the Fed’s MBS purchase program, but the end of the program cannot be the sole blame for the drop in MBS prices.  Treasury prices fell as well and stocks improved.  Generally, the economic announcements during the week, including the Nonfarm Payrolls, were better than expected increasing the need to build in yield to cover longer term inflation.  The spread in yields for 10 yr Treasuries versus mortgage-backed securities did widen but only by 15 to 20 basis points. The focus of the mortgage industry regarding pending legislative and regulatory issues is now placed squarely on the Senate Finance Committee’s passage of the Restoring American Financial Stability Act.  This Act contains many provisions which if passed will impact mortgage companies, but possibly none as significantly as a provision which will require mortgage originators and/or security issuers to retain 5% of the risk of the [...]