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Archive for September, 2011

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Deloitte & Touche LLP, one of the so-called Big Four accounting firms, was sued for failing to detect a fraud that allegedly led to more than $7 billion in losses at defunct mortgage lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp.

Deloitte, which audited Taylor Bean’s financial statements from 2002 to August 2009, ignored red flags in the company’s books, allowing the lender’s former chairman Lee Farkas to orchestrate a fraud that toppled the company, according to the complaints filed today in state court in Miami. Taylor Bean’s bankruptcy trustee, Neil Luria, and its Ocala Funding unit are seeking more than $7.6 billion in damages.

Monday, September 26th, 2011

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York plans to concentrate purchases of new agency mortgage-backed securities to the To-Be-Announced market as per the central bank's decision to reinvest principal from maturing agency debt back into agency MBS.

The NY Fed, which conducts open market activities for the Federal Reserve, published a list of frequently asked questions to address the monetary policy decision by the Federal Open Market Committee last week.

Only fixed-rate, agency MBS guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae are eligible for purchase. The NY Fed said these assets include, but are not limited to, 30-year and 15-year securities.

The NY Fed will begin the agency MBS purchases next Monday, Oct. 3, and stop reinvesting principal from agency debt and agency MBS into Treasury securities. The Fed's trading desk plans to buy about $10 billion in agency MBS between Monday and Oct. 13, which will be about equal to the amount of principal payments from agency debt and agency MBS expected to be received over that period.

The central bank expects its decision to "help support conditions in mortgage markets."

"This policy will contribute to a stronger economic recovery and help ensure that inflation over time is at levels consistent with the Federal Reserve's mandate to foster maximum employment and price stability," according to the NY Fed.

Write to Jason Philyaw.

Follow him on Twitter: @jrphilyaw.

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau adviser Elizabeth Warren prompted a plethora of diatribes when she sounded off against big business.

The architect of CFPB — who was once in the running to be America's top mortgage cop — suggested in an impromptu speech available on the Web that corporations are using America's infrastructure and labor, while not paying enough in taxes.

Rich Lowry of the Boston Herald published complete coverage of the latest Warren controversy, proving once again the professor's lightning-rod persona.

In response to her class warfare cry, critics blasted the CFPB architect for picking on job creators at a time when Americans are desperate for jobs. Warren also is taking hits for suggesting the current economic malaise is not the result of bad policymaking among career politicians – many of whom have never run a business themselves.

In short, her plan to beat the politicians is to become one. That's not a good idea considering the reputation of politicians. All the while, Warren fails to mention the key factors stalling the economic recovery: jobs and the housing market.

When Jay Brinkmann, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said jobs would be a catalyst for a true housing recovery earlier in the year, he wasn't kidding. He also warned regulators about excessive rules hurting the economy, but I suppose no one in Washington heard him.

Fed Chair Ben Bernanke also wasn't kidding when he highlighted the importance of stabilizing housing in many of his speeches. Yet, you seldom hear politicians discuss housing for longer than two seconds. Why is this exactly? Rather than admit new laws are thwarting growth, it's easier to rail on taxes. Taxes are controversial and everyone knows what a tax is.

Terms such as loan-to-value, adjustable-rate mortgage, conforming loan limits and debt-to-income ratio lose people, so when you become a politician, stick to taxes.

It seems Warren's main initiative for a long time was ensuring the CFPB and Dodd-Frank took effect to regulate mortgages, but fast-forward a few months and she's now another politico with a tax beef.

To be fair, those who take the bait and jump in the fray are really no better for limiting public discourse to this back-and-forth nonsense.

Instead of focusing solely on jobs, so jobs can create housing, the railing elites continue to focus on tax policy while ignoring the larger elephants in the room. Warren is just the latest lightning rod to give cult-like followers a savior to follow, while the economy races to the bottom.

Meanwhile, the real cause-and-effect paradigm of the economic crisis is continually obscured by talking heads. Warren says corporations should be taxed because they use workers the rest of us educate, but that's not exactly true.

Earlier this year, HousingWire published the insights of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. The firm studied demographic trends and found many younger Americans are delaying or avoiding new home purchases. In fact, they are more inlined to be long-time renters. This age group used to have a great time when home prices plummeted, giving them affordable home buying options, but today they are nowhere to be seen.

It's not tax policy stalling them, it's jobs and excessive education debt.

"Part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along," Warren states in the video. It's a great idea and it should start with her.

Instead, you don't hear Harvard Law professors railing against the student loan bubble, and the high professor salaries that are cushioning it. The Harvard Law Website shows tuition for a degree at Warren's school to be $47,600 per year. Multiple that times four years and those students could've bought a home instead. Granted, it's possible they fare well in the job market, but nothing is certain in today's climate.

If high-profile profs cut their salaries, would those tuition figures go down nationally, allowing students more flexibility to buy homes, thereby stimulating the economy? Or is it only popular to pick on CEO salaries in down times? So when Warren says we are educating the workers that CEOs get for free, she is pointing out how much she misses the modern paradigm. Students are actually paying more to educate themselves, allowing schools to pay professors more and build their own infrastructures. When those students end up in debt, they don't buy houses.

It seems Warren's foray in politics has made her … well, a politician. When you dig far enough, politicians can't help contradicting themselves whether they mean to or not.

But through all of this, it is important to remind Warren about what voters will ultimately be after. This is something that remains constant through rich times, recovery or recession. To quote the Lil' Wayne song "She Will:" And today I went shopping and talk is still cheap.

Write to Kerri Panchuk.

Monday, September 26th, 2011

The Securities and Exchange Commission could issue a civil injunction against Standard & Poor's for allegedly violating securities laws when rating a 2007 offering of collateralized debt obligations tied to subprime mortgages.

S&P's parent company, The McGraw-Hill Cos. (MHP: 46.90 +0.11%), reported the possibility of an SEC injunction in a securities filing Monday.

McGraw Hill said in a statement the Wells notice it received from the SEC "is neither a formal allegation nor a finding of wrongdoing."

However, the firm said the SEC is considering an injunction against S&P complete with civil penalties, disgorgement of fees and other relief to make the parties whole. The company can now respond to the regulator's request for information regarding the $1.6 billion Delphinus CDO 2007-1 issuance before the SEC brings charges.

Write to Kerri Panchuk.

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Immediate elimination of loan-level price adjustments charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would help stimulate a housing recovery, according to Genworth Financial.

The Raleigh, N.C.-based mortgage insurer laid out the LLPA reduction scenario along with several other recommendations in its response to the government's call for ways to improve the REO disposition programs of the GSEs and the Federal Housing Administration.

Nearly 4,000 responses to the government's request for information were received.

"The current LLPA scheme unnecessarily drives up the cost of homeownership and has the greatest adverse impact on first-time homebuyers and borrowers who cannot afford a high down payment — borrowers who will be central to any housing recovery," Genworth said in its RFI.

Rather than digest "these punitive 'risk-based' fees, the enterprises could simply increase guarantee fees by a modest amount" (about 5 basis points) on all loans they purchase, the company said.

Genworth sets out an example using a borrower with a 719 FICO score, a 5% down payment and a $250,000 loan. Such a borrower now pays about $2,500 for loan-level price adjustments, the company said. The same borrower would pay $90 annually or about $630 assuming a seven-year loan life if guarantee fees were increased.

The ultimate impact to the GSEs would be the same under either approach, keeping with the Federal Housing Finance Agency's obligations as conservator of Fannie and Freddie, Genworth contends. The current loan-level fees, the company argues, put the revenue burden on the backs of the borrowers least able to bear it.

The GSEs steadily increased g-fees since conservatorship, and that is likely to continue, Edward DeMarco, acting director of the FHFA, said in a recent speech at the American Mortgage Conference.

DeMarco also said loan-level price adjustments, representations and warranties, valuation requirements, and portability of mortgage insurance coverage are being considered on potential revamps to the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program.

But he also noted "HARP is not a mass refinancing program; it was designed to address a particular segment of borrowers with loans guaranteed by the enterprises."

Genworth, in its RFI, advocated several changes to HARP, including eliminating the 125% loan-to-value cap and cut-off dates, and not restarting the clock on reps and warrants.

The company also advocates use of principal writedowns and adjustments to the Home Affordable Modification Program.

Write to Kerry Curry.

Follow her on Twitter @communicatorKLC.

Monday, September 26th, 2011

The latest effort by the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates down through the purchase of longer-term Treasurys and agency mortgage-backed securities may be coordinated with recent White House efforts to boost refinancing activity.

Sarah Bloom Raskin, a governor on the Federal Reserve board, said in a speech Monday at the University of Maryland that recent monetary actions – such as the first two rounds of quantitative easing and the ongoing minimal interest rates at the Fed's borrowing window – have kept interest rates for consumers at record lows. But they've failed to translate into economic growth.

"Although these monetary policy tools have been successful in pushing down interest rates across the maturity spectrum, the magnitude of the transmission to economic growth and employment has been somewhat more muted than I might have expected," Raskin said.

Analysts at Bank of America (BAC: 7.229 -0.97%) Merrill Lynch caught on in a research note released Monday. They pointed out the timing of the Fed action with President Obama's recent mention of the need to refinance underwater borrowers into more affordable mortgage payments.

"If the Fed acts on a standalone and uncoordinated policy basis, where the many frictions associated with refinancing are not specifically addressed, it is difficult to see what the benefits of the Fed policy might be. Therefore, the risk of coordinated action appears high to us," the analysts said.

Raskin said an overhang of housing inventory and the continued lack of access to credit for borrowers and businesses continues to thwart any Fed action. In August, the Obama administration called for plans to address both: a new way to sell and possibly rent out the supply of REO held by the government and a new plan to refinance Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers out of negative equity.

"The slow progress in repairing and restructuring households' balance sheets may also be lowering the normal responsiveness of consumer spending to a decline in market interest rates," Raskin said. "In particular, lenders continue to maintain relatively tight terms and standards on credit cards and, to a lesser extent, other consumer loans."

The most likely action to help some of the 11 million underwater borrowers in the U.S. would be changing the fundamentals of the Home Affordable Refinance Program. More than 800,000 Fannie and Freddie borrowers moved through the program so far, and Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward DeMarco said the regulator is considering changes.

But the analysts at BofAML said such a move faces many challenges. HARP loans are shrinking, providing fewer fees to lenders. Loan-to-value ratios are moving higher due to still falling home prices. Average FICO scores are dropping, and borrowers are showing less in savings, which would make a refinance less likely. Representation and warranty claims will need to be waived as well, which in the current climate, may be a long shot, many claim.

"While the Fed is intent on improving the rate incentive for these borrowers, virtually every other factor that contributes to prepayments is worsening," the analysts said.

Write to Jon Prior.

Follow him on Twitter @JonAPrior.

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Volatility in the mortgage insurance space is not stopping Radian Group (RDN: 2.46 -5.02%) from pursuing strategic growth opportunities.

The insurer is partnering with the National League of Cities to explore the possibility of creating a new public finance mutual bond insurance firm. The nonprofit said it saw an opportunity to form the "next generation bond insurer," which will provide bondholders "with a superior level of credit enhancement, while allowing municipal issuers to benefit from lower-cost financing."

Bond insurers such as MBIA Inc. (MBI: 12.07 +0.58%) and Ambac Financial Group crumbled under the weight of soured mortgages the past few years, and many companies stopped writing new insurance for municipal bonds, which often fund infrastructure improvements like new roads, bridges and schools.

Both Radian and the National League of Cities acknowledged their venture will likely "involve the support of private capital from third-party investors."

"Radian is an established and experienced bond insurer that has the resources, people, infrastructure, transparency, and vision to help NLC, its members, and the thousands of local governmental issuers that access the municipal bond market each year," said Donald Borut, executive director of nonprofit  advocacy group.

David Beidler, president of Radian Asset Assurance, said "a mutual bond insurance company with a public finance book of business would restore capacity that was lost in recent years."

Radian is reshaping its business strategy to compete in a shifting market. The Philadelphia-based insurer recently laid off 7% of its staff and terminated the employment of its chief operating officer Robert Griffith.

Write to Kerri Panchuk.

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Sales of new single-family homes dropped another 2.3% in August for the fourth-straight monthly decline and to the lowest level since February.

The Commerce Department said the seasonally adjusted rate of 295,000 units for August was down from 302,000 for July, which was revised upward by 4,000. The rate of August new home sales was 6.1% higher than the 278,000 a year earlier.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new homes for sale at the end of August was 162,000, representing a 6.6-month supply, which is flat with the prior month and at the lowest level in decades. A healthy housing market usually carries a six-month supply of single-family homes.

Briefing.com expected new home sales at an annual rate of 290,000 for August, and a survey produced a consensus analysts' estimate of 293,000.

The median sales price of new homes sold in August was $209,100, down about 5% from $220,000 in July. The average price of $246,000 in August was 8.7% lower than the prior month and at the lowest level since early 2009.

Write to Jason Philyaw.

Follow him on Twitter: @jrphilyaw

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Real estate financial services firm Ranieri Real Estate Partners and equity funds tied to WL Ross & Co. signed an agreement to purchase Deutsche Bank subsidiary, Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage, this week. 

Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage originates multifamily mortgages for the government-sponsored enterprises and the Federal Housing Administration.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The private equity fund involved in the deal is run by investor Wilbur Ross.

Ross' fund has already shown interest in growing its mortgage origination platform, with the firm investing $100 million in mortgage originator Capital Market Cooperative earlier this year. WL Ross & Co. is already the majority owner of American Home Mortgage Servicing.

With $28 billion in its multi-family loan portfolio, Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage (DBBM) is one of the largest originators of Fannie Mae-backed mortgages, according to a release on the acquisition. Founded more than 20 years ago, DBBM became a unit of Deutsche Bank in 2004.

The mortgage originator has 160 employees and seven offices across the country. Its current CEO Jeff Day will retain his position along with DBBM's current management team.

James Lockhart III, vice chairman of WL Ross, said, "We believe that multi-family is a fundamentally important and growing sector of the housing market. We have long been interested in this sector, and we are confident that we have identified the right vehicle and point in the real estate cycle to pursue an investment. We look forward to working with Ranieri Real Estate Partners to build on DBBM's strong performance."

The deal is expected to be finalized by year end as long as the GSEs and FHA approve of the transaction.

Write to Kerri Panchuk.

Monday, September 26th, 2011

First-time homebuyers are growing tired of short sales, which take nearly 17 weeks to complete, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance housing survey.

While first-time homebuyers acquired 54.1% of all short-sales in November 2009, the segment's share of acquisition activity fell to 39.7% in August with many buyers losing interest due to several factors slowing down the process, the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance survey showed. The August figure represented a "three-month slide and was the lowest level for first-time homebuyers ever recorded in the survey" of 2,500real estate agents.

The short-sale process is often delayed due to paperwork issues, challenges coordinating with multiple investors, slow appraisals and understaffing at mortgage servicing outlets, according to the survey.

Short sales do maintain some allure for first-time borrowers because the generally sell at prices 27% lower than non-distressed properties, the report said.

California remains a hot spot for short sale activity, with these transactions representing 31% of all home purchases in the Golden State in August.

In many cases, first-time buyers are making multiple offers on short sales to try and expedite the process, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance survey.

Write to Kerri Panchuk



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