Huh? Uber has a new update that allows users to file a lawsuit against the company directly in the app? What will they think of next? In a more serious vein, convictions, lawsuit, & settlement news continues - see below. And we have news of a Baltimore real estate agent pleading guilty to mortgage fraud. It isn't hard to see why the public's opinion of the biz is tough to change.

In legal news, a federal jury has cleared two former Thornburg Mortgage executives of five counts and could not reach a decision on five others. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit in 2012, alleging that Thornburg leaders Larry Goldstone, Clarence Simmons III and Jane Starrett hid the company's deteriorating financial condition at the start of the housing market collapse by issuing misleading statements. They also were accused of hiding a $428 million loss in a 2007 annual report. Starrett reached a settlement with the commission and agreed to pay a penalty. As for Goldstone and Simmons, the commission could retry the counts on which jurors couldn't agree. An attorney for the two says the verdict sends a message about the weakness of the case.

Yet we continue to hear about lenders surrendering large sums of money to government bodies in the form of fine and penalties. The latest big one involved HSBC which ponied up $1.6 billion to end a 14-year mortgage-lending lawsuit. The lawsuit stems from questionable mortgage lending undertaking more than a decade ago.

But wait! At the end of June investors & bondholders learned that they can dismiss a $1 billion Lehman lawsuit. As Kenneth Pringle with Bloomberg put it, "Holders including banks, hedge funds and mutual funds can avoid lawsuit that sought to recover $1 billion paid out to them in wake of Lehman Brothers' 2008 bankruptcy, according to a ruling dismissing the 2010 lawsuit filed in a Manhattan bankruptcy court...U.S. bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman says Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc. failed to state claim under which recoveries could be granted."  Apparently, distributions were made in connection with the early termination of hundreds of swap transactions to which LBSF was counter-party and triggered by LBSF's default.

On the "constructive" side of the ledger, Ben Slayton, a veteran Chief Compliance Officer and Publisher of Mortgage Compliance Magazine, and Burton Embry, Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer with Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc., announced the launching of Mortgage Compliance Professionals Association of America (MCPAOA), a new compliance association for Compliance Professionals by Compliance Professionals. Burton will serve as the association's new President. Membership is free - click here to join the organization. Among other things the association's mission is to provide a forum for members to enhance their professional skills and keep up with current trends, and peer-to-peer sharing to exchange ideas and best practices.

Jonathan Foxx of Lenders Compliance Group has just published another article on advertising compliance, this time dealing with risk assessments. He discusses three compliance tools: the Advertising Manual, with a host of supporting forms; Record Retention, containing all advertisements and reviews; and Forms and Checklists, constituting all loan products and origination methods. Advertising compliance is a big section on federal and state banking examinations - head over to Lenders Compliance Group and download the article.

Turning to the capital markets, no one is complaining about these rates, aside from anyone who bought loans (and servicing) any time since 2012 and expected to keep them on their books for any length of time.Wo to those who were paying up big time for servicing late last year and early this year and don't have portfolio retention programs. Rates dropped again Tuesday with the 10 and 30-year yields touching all-time lows (1.35% and 2.13%, respectively) as the British pound sterling hit a 31-year low and traders continued to adjust to a post-Brexit world. Heck, it will take years for the UK to extract itself - and who knows what might happen during that time period!?

In an interview with MarketWatch, San Francisco Fed President Williams said that he expects that Brexit's effect on the U.S. real economy will be limited and that the Fed will resume its path of gradual rate hikes to prevent financial imbalances from emerging. Really? Williams also said that he believes the May jobs number (+38k nonfarm payrolls) was artificially depressed by good weather over the winter which moved economic activity forward.

Tuesday we learned that U.S. factory orders declined more than expected in May, which helped rates slide lower. The 10-year treasury yield set a new all-time low of 1.367% yesterday on increased risk aversion caused by global growth worries, further weighed by the UK vote to exit the EU, weak data from China, and a nearly 5% drop in US crude oil - take your pick! At the 3pm close the 10-year note was marked higher by .875 to yield 1.37% and the 5-year note was up nearly .375. Mortgage-backed securities lagged somewhat, as you'd expect with the uncertainty and the prepayment risk, although Fannie 2.5% securities rallied .625.

This morning we've already had the MBA's survey of retail applications (+14%; purchases +4% and refis +21%!). We've also had the May Trade Balance figures (wider than expected at $41.1 billion); coming up are some June ISM Services figures of little consequence but later are the June FOMC Minutes which could move things around a little.

Anyone trying to guess where rates sheets will be should know that the 10-year closed Tuesday at 1.37% and this morning is at 1.35% with agency MBS prices better by .125.

Training and Events

Nations Direct Mortgage & Motive Lending are hosting a Grand Opening Networking Event at their new Dallas Operations Centers on Thursday, July 14^th, from 4-8pm CDT.  If you're in the TPO origination space, you are encouraged to attend, even if you aren't necessarily ready to make a career change. Private meeting times will also be available upon request. Thanks to explosive growth nationwide this year, Nations & Motive are welcoming new members into their family to continue their skyrocketing success. There are openings for all operations and sales staff.  This is an opportunity to learn about the company and meet executives, including the CEO and COO!  The Grand Opening Event will be held at the office location of 14110 Dallas Pkwy, Suites 240/250, Dallas. Thompson Reuters recently named Nations Direct Mortgage & Motive Lending in the top 25 Wholesale FNMA and FHA issuers. For additional information, please contact Alex Falas, Recruiting Manager. 

If you need more leads and you like the idea of knowing how to generate them without any marketing cost, you don't want to miss out on "5 High Impact No Cost Lead Generators," a complimentary webinar scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, July 7^th at 2 pm EDT.  Learn in only 45 minutes exactly how to master the strategies of generating quality leads, referrals, and business partnership relationships without spending a dime on marketing. This webinar will be presented by Ron Vaimberg, the Executive Director and Head Coach of NMP U as part of the National Mortgage Professional Magazine Webinar Series. There is limited space for this webinar.

A recent article from CBS News discussed using home equity for retirement consumption could be one possible solution for retirees who are "home rich and cash poor." Plaza Home Mortgage believes Americans are underutilizing this resource. If you are new to the Reverse Mortgage Market, check out Plaza's training webinars.

Jobs and Announcements

Network Funding, LP has launched The Giving Network, the charitable arm of the company. All funds given through The Giving Network will be matched, up to 100%, and distributed to a selected list of non-profits that work with homes and families. Visitors also have the opportunity to sign up for service projects where Network Funding will fund the stated amount on the website. "At Network Funding we're all about home and family; that's why we created The Giving Network. We want to make a difference in the lives of families and improve the homes in which they live," said Co-Founders Rex Chamberlain and Buzz Baker. Network Funding invites visitors to explore and learn more about The Giving Network at give.nflp. com. (Interested in working for a company that gives back? Visit www.join.nflp. com to learn more about Network Funding and its available positions.)

"Looking for an exciting new career opportunity? Join us at Reverse Mortgage Funding LLC (RMF), an industry-leading, customer-focused team that is committed to innovation, integrity, value and leadership. At RMF, you will work with a team of exceptional individuals who are committed to and passionate about enhancing the well-being of older homeowners. As a multi-state company, we are always looking for talented individuals to join our team in various departments!  Reverse Mortgage Funding is currently offering opportunities for Inside and Outside Loan Officers, DE Underwriters, a Compliance Manager, and Loan Processor. Our employment needs, like our company, are constantly growing. To inquire about these and other career opportunities with RMF, please send your resume to careers@reversefunding. com, EOE."

In personnel news Guaranteed Rate welcomes Tim Goslin as its new Regional Manager for Michigan. Goslin has 26 years of experience in the industry building high-performing sales teams and is already in the process of hiring both operations and production staff to expand multiple offices in the region as well as opening several new locations. Those interested in joining the growing Michigan team can visitwww.joingrnow. com to learn more about Guaranteed Rate or contact Tim Goslin directly at 248-566-6777. "Guaranteed Rate is one of the 10 largest home loan lenders in the U.S. We have approximately 180 offices and over 2,800 employees ready to serve our customers in person, online or by phone. With turnaround times in as little as two weeks, customized loan products to fit almost every need and a 95 percent customer satisfaction rating, we've helped home owners with funding more than $1.9 billion in loans in April alone."

And in the West Sierra Pacific Mortgage welcomes Joe Carroll as a Retail Regional Manager in Southern California who will be based out of Sierra's Regional Operations Center in Orange County. Joe comes to Sierra Pacific Mortgage with over 30 years of experience in the real estate and mortgage industries. "Joe has a depth of experience encompassing all areas of responsibility that he is charged with as a regional," said Sean Browning, VP of National Retail Production. Additionally, Trevor Hammond has been promoted from producing Branch Manager to Sierra Pacific's Northwest Retail Regional Manager. Based in Portland, Oregon, a veteran of the mortgage industry, Trevor is the co-author of "Borrow Smart, Retire Rich". On being in the industry, Trevor said, "I am constantly redefining what homeowners should expect from a mortgage company and specifically, a mortgage professional." It is this type of approach that makes Sierra Pacific confident in Trevor's ability to grow and strengthen the company's presence in the Pacific Northwest.

Speaking of origination, STRATMOR just announced that Summary Results for the April-May "Spotlight" Loan Originator Hiring Insights Survey are now available for purchase and download for a fee of $250 for survey participants and $500 for non-participants. Forty-three (43) lenders participated in the survey, including 28 Independent and 15 Bank/Credit Union lenders. Included among the many interesting and actionable results coming out of the survey (using a 5-point scale where 1= Very Unsuccessful and 5 = Very Successful) were lender responses when asked to rate the effectiveness of various recruitment methods.

STRATMOR's survey indicated that Branch Managers are the most effective resource at recruiting Experienced LOs (originators with more than 6-months experience as a retail LO when hired). While no method for recruiting Newbie LOs (originators with 6-months of less experience when hired) was deemed effective, the use of Inside Recruiters scored the highest. Survey results also include useful details as to the effectiveness of recruiting whole branches; the financial incentives that are most commonly used to recruit experienced and "newbie" LOs; the ramp-up period and minimum volume targets that lenders set for experienced and "newbies;" and, finally, the performance of new LO hires, in particular the percentage of experienced and "newbie" LOs that fail to meet minimum volume targets within the proscribed ramp-up period.