There’s always “stuff” going on in residential lending, right? Capital markets folks have noticed that the big banks are re-entering buying jumbo loans from correspondents. BAML’s pass through channel, Wells Fargo, Redwood Trust, Chase, Citi remind us that banks and investors are cash rich and seeking to put assets on their books at the right price and LTV. Many lenders are concerned about retaining their Ops/fulfillment staff, and what they had to pay them in 2020 to keep the competition from stealing them away. Staffing and technology is critical. Our industry continues to work primarily from home, and IT staffs are ever vigilant about data security and consumer privacy while HR watches the health and safety of employees for those who have come back into the office. The pandemic has driven innovation, which will have long term economic consequences, including equity innovation as lenders go public. Before this, who knew what a SPAC was? Here’s a primer.) Congratulations to UWM’s ringing the bell Friday morning at the NYSE opening. With ticker symbol UWMC it joins others like GHLD, RKT, PennyMac, and many others involved in residential lending. Will Home Point Capital Inc., which aims to sell about 12 percent of the company in an IPO, be next?

Lender and Broker Products

Overwhelmed by your resolutions already? MGIC may not be able to help you finally organize the basement, but it can help you get organized to meet your 2021 mortgage industry goals. Whether you’ve resolved to work more efficiently, grow referral partners, or find new ways to help homebuyers get to the closing table (or all 3) MGIC has tools that can help you do it. Consider this official permission to procrastinate on the basement and focus on what really matters: growing your business.

GREAT NEWS! PRMG announces its new partnership with BrokersUnited. This is an exciting opportunity for Mortgage Broker Partners to be able to access the same cutting-edge technology and resources normally enjoyed by larger lenders. Now PRMG Broker Partners can take advantage of state-of-the-art automation through SocialSurvey reviews, requests, and sharing workflows on every loan closed through PRMG—All designed to optimize and enhance your borrower’s experience! Get Started Today! Sign up through PRMG.

TMS Subservicing starts off 2021 strong with immense growth and honorable accomplishments following last year’s. TMS received an official Fitch Rating, was announced as the 4th largest GNMA subservicer, and has been elected to participate in Fannie Mae's 2021 Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards™ (STAR™) Program. Find out why so many servicers have partnered with the industry's fastest growing subservicer today.

Changes keep coming and servicers continue to pivot and prepare for the next wave of challenges caused by the pandemic. Computershare Loan Services (CLS) just released a new episode of “Servicing in the Post-COVID Era,” a webcast series that addresses the servicing demands caused by COVID-19 disruptions as well as strategies to consider moving forward. Access the webcast now to hear Jeff Johnson, CLS' Chief Operating Officer, and Dave Vida, CLS' EVP of Enterprise Sales, discuss the volume of extensions, reinstatements, and delinquencies that they are seeing, how CLS is minimizing runoff and improving the borrower experience, and how 3rd party servicers like CLS can help improve business. (Spoiler alert: cutting your costs in some areas could end up costing you more!) Contact Dave Vida to learn how CLS can help you protect your servicing portfolio.

Service 1st (S1) clients receive 80+% of all tradeline supplements completed in 24 hours or less. 49% of all VOE/VOI files completed in 12 business hours or less. S1 is the mortgage industry’s preferred credit and verification partner for rapid, technology-forward solutions. As needed, S1 VOEs quickly cascade through 35+ employment databases to expedite accurate results. Leverage multiple configurations for blending financial data via S1’s Income+ solution portfolio. S1 credit reporting clients can blend monitoring, attribute, and tri-merge solutions within our “More Than a Handshake” program. Pilot opportunities are open for this February! Contact S1 at srv1st.com/contact to start a conversation with our team today.

After a year of unprecedented growth, the Freedom Mortgage Wholesale Division has invested to bring you the scale and expertise of a platform that will help you win in 2021. Freedom’s comprehensive purchase and refinance product suite features recently enhanced conventional and government base pricing, plus a new .250 LLPA Purchase Incentive for government and conventional loans. To learn more, check out our rate sheet or email to have an Account Executive contact you.

Training and Virtual Events 

The California MBA’s Mortgage Technology & Marketing Committee (MTAM), sponsored by Insellerate, will host the free “People vs. Automation: Creating a Frictionless Transformation in 2021” (registration link) on January 26th, featuring Anthony Galiano, VP – Mortgage Solutions and Casey Hughes-Wade, VP Relationship Manager – Mortgage, both of SLK Global Solutions, and Paul Gigliotti, COO of Pinnacle Home Loans. 

Freddie Mac is offering series of webinars on Mondays throughout the first quarter of 2021: Moving Forward: Loan Product Advisor and the Redesigned URLA Monday, January 25th, 2–3:30 PM EST / Register. Introduction to The Redesigned URLA and New ULAD Monday, February 8th, 2–3:30 PM EST / Register. Redesigned: The Loan Product Advisor Feedback Certificate, Monday, March 8th, 2–3:30 PM EST / Register.

MBA Education has online offerings! Best Execution Analysis in the Secondary Mortgage Market on January 26th Register now. Register for The State of the Mortgage Industry: Building a Sustainable Operating Model for 2021 and Beyond on Thursday, January 28th for a look at the state of the mortgage industry and building a sustainable operating model for 2021 and beyond. Rohit Kapoor, CEO of EXL will be interviewing Stan Middleman of Freedom Mortgage, Sanjiv Das of Caliber Home Loans, and Paul Anastos of Guaranteed Rate.

The new 1003/Universal Residential Loan Application is here. Register for CoAMP’s January 27th Educational Event to learn more.

Register for live webinar of Tavant FinDecision and Auto Disclose on Wednesday, January 27th.

Buckley LLP will explore Foresight 20/21 on Wednesday, January 27th. Register to hear this Webcast: What’s next for privacy and data security in 2021 and beyond?

And on January 28th, the California MBA’s Mortgage Quality & Compliance Committee (MQAC), sponsored by The Compliance Group, will present two leading experts discussing the impact of the new QM rule.  Hear from Joseph Lynyak, Partner at Dorsey & Whitney, and Angela Cheek, VP and Counsel, Product Compliance at ICE Mortgage Technology.  Click here to RSVP, and go to the California MBA website for details about all upcoming webinars and conferences.

National MI’s February training line-up options include: Tuesday, February 2 - How to Plan and Attack Each Week, with Bruce Lund, Ph.D. Thursday, February 11 - Appraisal Reviews - Changes, COVID, & What’s Ahead. Wednesday, February 17 - Voicemail Strategies to Get Prospects to Return Your Calls.

Looking for strategies to win builder business? Join Nicollette Chapman (VP of National Sales) to discuss the best strategies to win builder business in this February 4th Webinar. Q&A with all-star builder originators include special guests Dave Macke, Mike Kenevan and Kelley Hailstone.

Register for an FHA DE Underwriting Live Training led by Marianne Collins, Diehl Mortgage Training & Compliance on February 6th, 13th, and 20th.  Normally the cost of this 12-hour training, including handouts, unlimited Q & A, and a certificate of completion, is $499/person. However, MBAC Members will receive a $100/person discount by entering the Coupon Code of: FHAUWT100.

Join Dan Smith, Senior Vice President with ComplianceEase, a SitusAMC Company, and Teresa Blake, Principal with KPMG on February 9th for a 55-minute Webinar on mortgage borrowing in the year ahead.

On February 11th, Join MMLA Southeast Chapter for a webinar discussion on digital closings, remote online notarization and what it means to Michigan. Hear from Elizabeth Blosser at the American Land Title Association and Nicole Booth at Notarize on what and how of RON at a digital closing table.

Register to join MBA of Florida and National MI on February 18th. for a webinar to discuss NextGen Sales in a New Era of Customer Experience.

TMBA is bringing the Virtual Southern Secondary Market, February 22-23, directly to you. Register for Rethink, Rebuild, Renew now.

SimpleNexus has opened registration to and announced the agenda for its third annual SimpleNexus User Group (SNUG) conference, which will be held virtually on February 22-24.

Capital Markets

Economic data continues the reflect the impact of increasing COVID cases as well as concern that frustrating vaccine distribution will push recovery further into the year. Both mandated social mitigation policies as well as consumers who choose to refrain from patronizing close-contact services and travel will continue to weigh on the businesses hardest hit by the pandemic. The Biden administration will push for an additional $1.9 trillion in fiscal stimulus as well as nearly $2 trillion for infrastructure spending, but the details will be up to Congress. The call for additional government spending as well as the need to fund it via increased government debt has prompted market participants to think the potential effect of increasing inflation. The Federal Reserve has maintained that the data has far to go prior to any significant change in monetary policy, but that will not stop the market from pricing in its own view. It may depend on whether one views the stimulus as merely propping up a fragile economy or potentially super charging an already improving one. At the moment there is only a small probability of a fed funds increase being priced in for the fourth quarter.

So last week the fixed-income markets responded to a couple economic releases and general new-strain coronavirus concerns. Flash Manufacturing and Services PMI readings from major economies were mixed relative to expectations, but domestically, Flash Manufacturing PMI rose in January from December, as did Flash Services PMI. Existing home sales increased 0.7 percent month-over-month in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.76 million, above 6.50 million expectations. Total sales in December were up 22.2. percent from a year ago, and 2020 total sales (5.64 million) mark the highest level since 2006. The current market sees existing homes at an all-time low, a pressure point that feeds higher prices, hurting first-time buyers, but aiding the prospects of new home sales.

For the holiday-shortened week, the Desk purchased the maximum ($23.9 billion - 39.3 percent of overall supply - 67.0 percent Class A, 12.4 percent Class B, 20.6 percent Class C) for the first time since the holiday-shortened week ending December 23. The MBS basis closed mixed and U.S. Treasuries rallied a couple bps in curve-flattening fashion at the end of what was otherwise a quiet week. Investors are now awaiting the potential extending the eviction and foreclosure moratorium one more month to the end of March in the wake of President Biden's executive action. That would mean mortgage insurer stocks are hurt and G2/FN 2.5s would likely be sold as well.

Starting this week’s month-end economic calendar was the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for December (+.52, up strong versus December). Later this morning brings Dallas Fed Texas manufacturing for January and a Treasury auction of $60 billion 2-year notes. Other releases of note this week include the latest FOMC events along with the month-end economic data, including regional Fed surveys, durable goods, housing figures and personal income and spending. Today’s schedule sees the Desk targeting up to $7.8 billion, including over $6 billion UMBS30s. The remaining $1.6 billion is in GNIIs. We begin the day with the 5-year Note and Agency MBS prices better/up nearly .125 and the 10-year yielding 1.06 after closing last week at 1.09 percent.

Jobs and Transitions

Track record of long employee tenure = Assurance Financial. Best tech stack in the mortgage marketplace = Assurance Financial. Exemplary record of servicing purchase money market MLOs = Assurance Financial. Incredible entrepreneurial branch manager business model = Assurance Financial. Community-service oriented in all markets with St. Jude as a philanthropy partner = Assurance Financial. Founded in 2001, licensed in 43 states, all agency approvals, not controlled by private equity, and growing in all markets. If you are an aggressive producing branch manager or senior mortgage loan officer considering another opportunity, contact Paul Peters, CMB to discuss a mutual opportunity or visit assurancemortgage.com to learn more!

“Guardian Mortgage is thrilled to announce the promotion of Jed Anantasomboon to Texas Regional Sales Leader. Jed joined our sales team as an Area Manager this last September. With 14+ years of mortgage experience with major retail companies, Jed has proven himself to be a successful loan originator and leader. His background in real estate gives him an overall understanding of how to improve customer satisfaction, and the ability to motivate his team. What is also evident is Jed’s commitment to our bank and customers, regardless of if he benefits personally. Jed’s philosophy is to “treat every client like he is doing business with a family member.” He always does what is best for the customer. As a Producing Regional Manager, we are excited to see what Jed has in store for the Texas market in 2021!”

“Caliber Home Loans is the #1 volume lender in Washington state for third year in a row! How did we achieve this recognition in the Pacific Northwest? We’re first in Washington because we have the products, technology, and team to make the dream of affordable home ownership a reality for our customers. Our diverse loan products help us tailor financing to specific needs, whether it’s a desired housing type, neighborhood, or economic background. Caliber’s technology is intuitive and streamlines the end-to-end loan process. And our team members are customer-centric with decades of mortgage industry expertise collectively. Caliber is a great company to work for. Join our team! Visit our website today to view open opportunities. To be immediately considered for Operations or Sales positions, email Jonathan Stanley or Brian Miller, respectively.”

Credit Plus has elected Greg Holmes as President and CEO, succeeding Steve Grant who has moved to an advisory role. “Mr. Holmes has more than 25 years of mortgage industry experience and joined Credit Plus 15 years ago.”

SitusAMC Holdings Corp. has brought on Eric Torigian as its Chief HR Officer where he will lead all aspects of human resources for SitusAMC, including training and development, compensation and benefits, talent acquisition, and employee experience.