September « 2011 « MBSQuoteline Blog

Below is a collection of articles, news, and announcements associated with our industry.

Archive for September, 2011

Blog Talk Radio Show September 26, 2011: Legal Considerations as You Change Companies

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

On today’s Lykken-on-Lending radio show Dave Souders, a partner at Weiner Brodsky Sidman and Kider, provided some things for a Loan Officer (LO) to keep in mind as he or she moves from one mortgage company to another. He said most moves have unique circumstances, but that in all cases a LO should make sure they are very much aware of and are complying with the terms of their existing employment agreement. This document could address what the company says you can and cannot take with you leave, like your customer data base, prior customer loan information, or your roll-a-dex of contact cards. He thought every company to which a LO moves should be aware if the restrictions contained in his or her prior company employment agreement as well. The new company will likely be involved in any litigation which may arise. Dave said that LOs who do not abide by the terms of their employment agreement have been pursued for damages by their prior employer and have even been pursued by the OCC. Branch managers who are negotiating with a new company to move their team of originators need to be mindful of State laws regarding duty of care. Managers employed who are negotiating to take originators with them to another company may be in violation of their duty to the company they are leaving. Dave hopes to join the show again to answer more specific questions about this subject. Please let us know if you have legal concerns about making a change from one mortgage company to another.

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

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Tags: Branch Manager Lending, Dave Sauders, David Lykken, Joe Farr, loan officer compensation, MBSQuoteline, mortgage bankers, Mortgage Banking Solutions, mortgage industry
Posted in BlogTalkRadio Podcasts | Comments Off

Understanding the Fed Announcement

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

Since the Fed released its statement yesterday afternoon, MBS markets have staged a very strong rally for several reasons. First, quite simply, the Fed confirmed that there are “significant downside risks” to the US economic outlook. Slower economic growth reduces inflationary pressures, which is favorable for MBS markets. Second, the Fed announced the widely expected Operation Twist program. This program will extend the average maturity of the Fed’s portfolio by purchasing $400 billion of longer-term Treasury securities and selling an equal amount of shorter-term Treasuries. The increased demand for longer-term assets is intended to help push longer-term rates lower. The third major element from the statement helping MBS markets was a surprise to most investors. The Fed will begin to reinvest MBS principal payments (from prepayments and maturing securities) in additional agency MBS. Until now, the Fed has been reinvesting the MBS principal payments in Treasury securities. With roughly $885 billion in MBS holdings in the Fed’s portfolio, these principal payments are expected to create a significant source of additional demand for MBS, and this measure is specifically targeted at keeping mortgage rates at low levels. As usual, the impact of the economic news was priced in very quickly, similar to the reaction to prior Fed announcements about purchasing MBS.

Tags: Fed Announcement, Fed Portofolio, MBS Markets, MBSQuoteline, mortgage backed securities, mortgage market, Treasury Securities
Posted in In The News | Comments Off

Blog Talk Radio Show September 19, 2011: Considering a Change?

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

Jon Traver, a mortgage industry consultant, joined the Lykken-On-Lending show today to discuss the issues and considerations associated with loan originators and mortgage branches shopping themselves to interested suitors. Jon believes an LO or a branch manager is not doing himself justice if he doesn’t do this. He may find that he is in a perfect place, but he owes himself the effort to find out. Jon has created a matrix of 100 things originators and the intended suitor should consider when trying to determine if the two are a good match for each other. Examples include the sophistication of the suitor’s marketing resources. This varies considerably and to some LOs it is vitally important. To others not so. The size of the suitor and its degree of oversight over the LO’s functions can vary significantly and can be a great thing for one LO but not so for another. Jon’s bottom line is get to know the person to whom you are talking. Consider far more than the surface stuff like product and pricing. These can be important, but there is so much more to know.

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

Tags: BlogTalkRadio, David Lykken, Joe Farr, loan officer compensation, mortgage bankers, mortgage branches, mortgage industry, mortgage loans
Posted in BlogTalkRadio Podcasts | Comments Off

Blog Talk Radio Show September 12, 2011: Obama Refi Plan

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Last Thursday evening in a speech before Congress President Obama announced, among other job creating ideas, a plan to make it easier for millions of people to refinance their loans. He provided no details. Since then other Administration officials have discussed the benefits of such a plan, but still with no details. Believe me, the devil is in the details. A massive refinance program could occur with just a few guideline changes by Fannie and Freddie. It would apply to only those loans already owned or guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie, but that is a lot of loans. Fannie and Freddie could eliminate LTV as a consideration. They could ignore debt to income limits. They could make it very easy. But they would need to waive the originator reps and warrants. Who would refinance a loan to earn a point or so, if they could be on the hook for a loan with a 175% LTV? The refi plan could go in a different direction. The Agencies could decide they will just modify their owned or guaranteed loans, leaving mortgage originators out of the process. I expect a formal plan will be put forth soon. It makes too much sense politically not to do this. Let’s hope the plan includes us.