If anyone ever asks you, the average parking space is 180 square feet, which works out to 242 parking spaces per acre. Reuters reports that, due to Volkswagen buying back cars in the wake of its emissions scandal, there are 294,000 cars parked around America. That’s 1,214 acres.

Trainings and Events

The NAMB Swarm is coming up on Wednesday April 4th in Phoenix. This day-long event is filled with a variety of speakers that will provide great information and useful tools to help grow and improve your business. Panel discussion will include Young Mortgage Professionals: Refueling the Mortgage Industry Through Attracting, Connecting and Educating (ACE) Millennials. The Cost for this session is only $40 per person and includes breakfast and lunch.

Join Plaza on April 4th for a webinar as a panel of title and settlement experts provide insightful information surrounding Trusts & POAs and offers guidance that can help you avoid future oversights.

Other people use Twitter besides Donald Trump. Plaza Home Mortgage is offering a complimentary training webinar on “Twitter Strategies” Monday, April 9th at 11AM PT.

On April 5th Mountain View Financial Solutions is providing a 30-minute presentation to obtain critical insights on managing, valuing, acquiring and selling MSRs.  

Register for FHA’s free two-day, on-site, instructor-led training April 17th and 18th in Boise. Training will cover a wide-range of topics, including: FHA’s Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1; underwriting the FHA appraisal; endorsement protocols; Loan Review System (LRS); and much more. This free two-day, on-site, instructor-led training will cover a wide-range of topics, including: FHA’s Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1; underwriting the FHA appraisal; endorsement protocols; Loan Review System (LRS).

Register for October Research’s National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) to hear the Keynote address delivered by Flagstar Bank President & CEO Alessandra DiNello. NS3 will include industry experts from the FTC, Fannie Mae, Wells Fargo, BankUnited, IBM and more. Meet national regulators and experience a LIVE eClosing featuring a remote online notarization demo by attending NS3this June.

This year’s MBAH Annual State Conference, “Loan Rangers” is scheduled for June 28th and 29th at The Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki in Honolulu. Presentations by key speakers will discuss the mortgage industry, the local economy and what to expect in 2018. Click here for conference details and registration information.

“Mortgage Professionals Academy is interested in teaching your employees their Continuing Education for 2018, offering live classes for mortgage Continuing Education and Pre-Licensing.  If you are a manager, owner, broker, AE., compliance officer or office manager who is hoping to have us come to your office to teach your employees, please reach out to us for a competitive bid.  We offer a live, classroom setting in lieu of online learning, and in one day. We are flexible and can teach half day or evening classes. If you are interested, reach out to Corey Moser (800-746-1961). We have a 5-Star Rating from our students.”

Capital Markets

Who “owns” LIBOR? ICE does. So it is of no surprise that Hester Serafini, president of ICE Clear US, is being quoted saying the London Interbank Offered Rate will exist after a 2021 target date to shift to alternatives. "The very strong feedback we're getting from market participants is that they really want Libor to continue and that they want Libor to continue to exist post-2021," she says.

Speaking of short-term rates, the latest FOMC rate increase was as expected, but cross winds were evident in the text. The 2018 “dot chart” of future rate expectations remained at three for the year and the economy language in the statement was downgraded, while GDP was raised from 3.1% to 3.4% in 2020 and a fourth rate hike was mentioned in the text. As we’ve seen, long-term rates have actually dropped since the announcement, and stocks have dropped significantly. Investors are not convinced that economic prosperity is ahead.

Economic data last week remained consistent with recent trends and was generally positive.  The Federal Reserve’s rate increase was widely expected and priced into the markets. The Trump administration clarified its stance on the steel and aluminum tariffs as well as announced additional tariffs on Chinese goods.  China responded by targeting US steel pipe, fresh fruit, wine, pork, and recycled aluminum for a 15 percent tariff.

Looking at Monday’s bond markets, the risk-free 10-year U.S. T-note closed lower for the third day in a row, causing many to ask how rates are edging lower despite the Fed signaling another two, possibly three rate hikes this year. Market levels are based on expectations as much as actual events, so when everybody knows rates are going to rise, they may rise past what the market can currently support, causing slight corrections like what we have seen over the last week. Yesterday’s drop in rates was assisted by outflows from the stock market, pushing down the 10-year yield to a level not seen in two months. Amazon stock was the big news of the day, as the company was the focus of several Trump tweets discussing their cost to the U.S. taxpayer due to post office subsidies.

As far as actual economic releases go, total construction spending was up 0.1% in February following an unchanged level for January, despite expectations for a half-percent increase. The February report featured a 0.7% increase in total private construction spending and a 2.1% decline in total public construction spending, showing construction spending growth continues to run at a relatively slow pace, inhibiting stronger overall growth. The ISM Manufacturing Index read 59.3 for March, down from an unrevised reading of 60.8 for February and below 60.0 expectations. However, the Prices Index hit its highest level since April 2011, with price increases registered across 17 of 18 industry sectors.

Today’s calendar of schedules news, besides continuing with 2nd tier information that typically doesn’t move rates, starts with the Redbook Same-Store Sales Index, due for release at 8:55AM ET after previously being up 0.1% MoM and 3.6% YoY. We have two “dovish” Fed speakers: Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari participates in a moderated Q&A session, and Fed Governor Brainard speaks in New York on "Financial Stability.” We then close out the light calendar with March Auto and Truck Sales, previously 4.13 and 9.08 million, respectively. The day starts with rates a shade higher than Monday’s close: The 10-year is currently yielding 2.75% and 30-year agency MBS prices are worse .125.

Employment and Promotions

Rey Maninang has joined Nations Direct Mortgage as the Executive Vice President of Production. “In this role, Rey will use his proven expertise to expand our footprint as we continue our 2018 initiatives of becoming the broker community’s lender of choice for Government, Conventional, and Non-QM products nationwide,” states Martin Warren, long-time partner at NDM. Established in 2007 and currently licensed in 36 states, Nations Direct Mortgage is solely focused on Wholesale and Correspondent partnerships with brokers and bankers. The company prides itself on employing highly skilled industry experts who are dedicated to delivering an exceptional experience for its partners and its customers. If you’re interested in learning more about joining this exceptional team, please contact Rey Maninang.

Calabasas, California based lender Priority Financial Network (PFN), has expanded into wholesale lending. President Marc Shenkman noted, “PFN will leverage our industry leading proprietary technology, exceptional customer service, product expertise and operational acumen into a new wholesale lending strategy. Our platform is built by Originators for Originators. We believe ‘It’s Personal Again’”. Priority Wholesale Lending (PWL) is led by PFN Vice President, Anthony Amini, and industry veteran, Pete Roeske and has introduced a full suite of agency, government, Jumbo, Non-QM and special purpose products. The company is approved in AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, IA, IN, KY, LA, MD, MI, NV, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, and WA and expects to be approved in 13 additional states in the immediate future. Ryan Hughes is directing the sales effort as National Sales Manager and Jamal Ransford and Gerald Brannon have joined as Regional Sales Managers. PWL is seeking wholesale customers demanding a better experience, product expertise and account executives that can deliver. Please contact Ryan, Jamal, or Gerald, or click here for more details.

Stearns Wholesale: “Where great people are magnetic and attract great people.” “The people of Stearns Wholesale are important and we invest in them as they are what make us different and better. Great people push the world forward. They create better processes. They make the industry better. We were founded on this ideology and it’s the foundation that has built 29 years of a strong history and a bold future. Watch how our people came together to Rise Up by lifting others at our Stearns Wholesale Rally here. If it leaves you inspired and you want to know how to be a part of our people, please reach out.”

In the mid-Atlantic region Colonial Mortgage recently expanded into Virginia and Maryland. Colonial Mortgage Service Company of America is growing and is searching for retail loan officers as well as management (or groom originators from within) to achieve its aggressive goals. Colonial’s CEO Joe Splendido notes, “Colonial is a place where LO’s opinions are heard, and where the CEO puts you first. Founded 25 years ago, Colonial was originally a family business and now still maintains a family friendly culture as well as being very originator-centric. In an industry where there are few loan product differentials, we’ve focused on relations with portfolio investors that typically add an extra 2-4 loans a month.” Located in Montgomeryville, PA, Colonial is licensed in PA, NJ. DE, MD, and VA, and offers a full suite of products including Conventional, FHA, VA, Non-Agency, non-warrantable condos, and USDA GUS. Interested parties should contact Colonial’s CEO Joe Splendido.

Synergy One Lending announced the appointment of Aaron Nemec as National Head of Production. “Aaron’s proven track record of successfully leading and growing a productive sales force along with his prior experience in working with our President, Steve Majerus, led us to the conclusion that it was the right time for us to add Aaron to the leadership team at the company. We are very excited about the dynamic that Aaron adds to the team as we grow,” said Torrey Larsen, CEO of Synergy One Lending. Synergy One Lending is FNMA/FHLMC/GNMA approved lender, licensed in 45 states, and distributes its products through local loan officers in strategic market locations. (For job inquiries, go to www.JoinSynergy1.com.)

Citi announced several management changes. David Smith is now the Chief Operating Officer of U.S. Retail Bank and Mortgage where he will “drive business strategy, operations and financial planning across Citi’s newly combined business. He will also continue to lead the launch of digital end-to-end mortgage originations capability. Most recently, he has served as CitiMortgage’s Head of Originations Operations.” Ranjit Bhattacharjee is now the Head of U.S. Mortgage and will “lead the growth of Citi’s Mortgage business in close partnership with Retail Banking to deliver a best-in-class customer experience that drives new acquisitions and deepens client relationships.  He is currently Mortgage’s Head of Capital Markets and Correspondent Sales.” And Brad Wayman is now Citi’s Head of U.S. Mortgage Sales where he will lead Citi’s Mortgage Sales teams.

Namit Sinha has joined Angel Oak Capital Advisors as head of mortgage strategies. “In his new role, Sinha will focus on managing non-qualified mortgage investments for Angel Oak strategies. He will also explore opportunities in prime jumbo mortgages, reperforming loan (RPL) strategies, mortgage servicing rights, and other areas.”