Underwriting is teamwork, and teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to achieve uncommon results, provided they don't mind you calling them "common people". MBA's July 10^th chart of the week highlights retail mortgage applications per underwriter with a ten-year trend in average monthly underwriter productivity for the retail production channel. For large lenders, generally in the top 25 nationwide, u/w productivity is 5 times lower than it was ten years ago, dropping to 33 applications per underwriter in 2014 from 165 applications per underwriter in 2005. Productivity for mid-sized lenders, originating an average $1.2 billion in 2014, has dropped to 37 applications per underwriter in 2014 from 135 in 2005.

Let's take a look at what vendors, MI companies, and others have been up to, in no particular order. Certainly their presence in residential lending as increased: many view them as cost-effective resources that specialize in tasks and processes that a lender may not possess.

Altisource Portfolio Solutions, a marketplace and transaction services provider for the real estate, mortgage and consumer-debt industries, announced it is acquiring CastleLine Holdings, a specialty risk management and insurance services firm.

Zillow Group is set to acquire DotLoop, a Cincinnati-based company that boasts it can simplify real estate transactions by enabling brokerages, real estate agents and their clients to share, edit, sign and store documents digitally.

Private mortgage insurer National MI announced that Standard and Poor's (S&P) Ratings Services assigned its "BBB-'' financial strength and long-term counterparty credit rating to its mortgage insurance operating company, National Mortgage Insurance Corporation and issued a "stable" outlook for the company. National MI joins Arch, Essent and United Guaranty as one of only four private mortgage insurers to receive an investment grade rating from S&P.

Mortgage Currentcy compared FHA's 4555 to the 4000.1 and found 56 major changes. Mortgage Currentcy suggests loan officers review FHA's 171-page FAQ to review new rules that have been either added or updated regarding the HUD 4000.1 Handbook. These new rules, will effect, in particular, pre-qualifying borrowers who plan to purchase a home within the next few months. Just a reminder that the changes will go into effect for all case numbers ordered on or after September 14, 2015.  Some of the latest published new rules include real estate commissions used toward funds to close, prior ownership review when property is sold within 12 months, shared well feasibility, non-traditional credit or authorized user accounts as credit references, and case number transfer timeline.

Arch MI unveiled its new TRID Information Center. Arch's dedicated site provides clarity specifically on how mortgage insurance will be treated under TRID as well as how and where to disclose this information.

Mortgage Builder announced its new TRID-Ready loan origination system, Architect 5.0, to simplify compliance for Mortgage Bankers. Architect 5.0 software simplifies TRID compliance by automating key processes including: tolerance tracking, timing requirement management, and closing disclosure processes. Click the link to read Mortgage Builder's TRID-Ready software news.

Simplifile, a Provo Utah based company; has opened registration for its two new services, Collaboration and Post Closing. The new services enables lenders and settlement agents to share, validate, and collaborate on loan documents, fee data, transaction details, and more, facilitating compliance with the TRID regulatory changes ahead. With the addition of Collaboration and Post Closing, Simplifile now connects lenders, settlement agents, and counties, making electronic collaboration possible from loan application through final title policy delivery. The two new services are free to settlement agents, and interested parties can now register for Collaboration and Post Closing or attend webinars to learn about Simplifile's new services.

U.S. Mortgage Insurers, USMI, provided a link to view to a bipartisan letter from a group of Senate Banking Committee members urging the FHFA to expand and better define the development of the credit risk transfer programs at the GSE's.

Last month MGIC made changes and clarifications to its underwriting requirements. Its complete customer announcement can be viewed by clicking the link.

As was noted in the commentary recently, vLoan, an online and mobile mortgage company backed by 40 years of experience from Union Home Mortgage, launched and its goal is to help millennials and people who like to transact online complete the entire mortgage process online with vLoan.

American Land Title Association announced a 12-state tour aimed to educate homebuyers and real estate professionals about new mortgage closing disclosures that go into effect on August 1. The tour will begin in Texas on June 18 and end in Missouri on September 26.  Click here for more information on ALTA 12-state tour.

Arch MI has created an online TRID information Center. The information center questions about the new rules for the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) and how mortgage insurance (MI) should be disclosed under TRID.

Yes, TRID is pushed to October, yet DocMagic spread the word that it will be fully TRID compliant by Aug.1.

"Moody's is finally admitting it made an error in calculating the ratings of hundreds of subprime, alt-a and other mortgage bonds that were issued in the run up to the financial crisis. The announcement was made in a routine ratings update earlier this week, one of many that the credit agency issues daily, and went unnoticed. The mistake has not been previously reported." What will be the intended and unintended consequences? We'll see if that opens up the door to future class action lawsuits and legal action.

Credit Suisse spread the word that it has not added to funds set aside for a U.S. probe about whether the Swiss bank deceived investors in risky mortgage-backed securities it had issued in the run-up to the financial crisis.

Speaking of which, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced the assessment of a civil money penalty of $140 million against Banamex USA, Century City, California, for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations. In a concurrent action, the California Department of Business Oversight (CDBO) assessed a civil money penalty of $40 million. The FDIC's penalty of $140 million will be satisfied in part by the CDBO's penalty. The FDIC's penalty will be paid to the United States Department of the Treasury. In taking this action, the FDIC determined that the bank failed to implement an effective BSA/AML Compliance Program over an extended period of time. The institution failed to retain a qualified and knowledgeable BSA officer and sufficient staff, maintain adequate internal controls reasonably designed to detect and report illicit financial transactions and other suspicious activities, provide sufficient BSA training, and conduct effective independent testing.

Few can argue that housing is not doing well - we're certainly having a different discussion than we were having a few years ago.

Freddie Mac reported further improvement in the housing market in May via its Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi). The index rose 0.71% to 79.2, which is indicative of a weak housing market; however, it is just shy of breaking into the "stable" range of 80-120. Year-over-year, the index has improved 4.35% and since its all-time low in October 2010 has rebounded 34%. 26 states plus the District of Columbia have MiMi values in the stable range, while the remaining 24 states remain weak.

And James Chen, a senior market analyst at www.cityindex. com. sg, wrote, "The National Association of Realtors reported on Wednesday that sales of existing homes in the US rose in June to the highest level in more than eight years, while home sales prices surged to hit an all-time high. Sales increased by 3.2% to an annual rate of 5.49 million home units, the strongest since 2007, while the median sales price for existing homes was $236,400. This was 6.5% above the median price a year ago and well above the previous all-time high established in mid-2006. This unexpectedly positive economic data helped prompt a surge in the US dollar on Wednesday, as evidence of healthy home sales has wide-reaching ramifications for the US economy.

"The data reflects a strong job market and a significantly improving economic picture overall in the US. It also reflects the fact that mortgage rates are rising and Americans are opting to buy homes sooner rather than risk facing even higher rates going forward. An improving economy as reflected in brisk home sales also may have an effect on keeping the Federal Reserve to its stated intention of raising interest rates this year. The US dollar has been rising significantly because of this rate hike expectation, and could continue to rise if this expectation is met."

Continuing on with the economy, the jobs market is doing well, the housing market is on fire, Leading Economic Indicators was strong, nearly everyone believes rates are going to go up, and Greece is out of the headlines for a while, so you'd think rates would have gone up already. But they haven't - why not? We've seen a rally as the appetite for risk (also reflected in stock prices) declined on lower oil prices and disappointing earnings news. Thursday the 10-year rallied by .375 and agency MBS prices improved by .125. The Fed continues to buy billions of MBS every week - certainly helping rates.

Don't look for a big move today, as it was quiet overnight and the only scheduled news of note is June's New Home Sales at 10AM EDT. We closed the 10-year Thursday at 2.28% and this morning we're sitting around 2.26% with agency MBS prices better a smidge on a summer Friday.

Jobs and Announcements

Endeavor America Loan Services is currently looking for Wholesale Account Executives and Regional Managers who are looking to join a winning team. Endeavor is licensed in 48 states, service 100% of their loans and are a direct seller servicer to Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. "Here is a great question you should hope your lender is asking your clients after you close a loan for them: 'On a scale from 1 to 10, would you recommend our services to a friend or colleague? Endeavor prides itself by interviewing participants in 80% of their transactions every month and asks their brokers exactly what they think of their service. In 2014 Endeavor interviewed 3976 of their brokers and asked them this very question. What were the results? 3176 of their brokers (8 out of 10 of their customers) gave them a score of 9 or 10, giving EA one of the highest customer loyalty scores in the entire country. This is known as NPS or net promoter scoring. If you are interested in joining a team that truly cares about delivering amazing service and is willing to prove it month in and month out email your resumes to mike@ealoans. com

In retail, Assurance Financial Group has made substantial gains in production and growth over the last year. Paul Peters, CMB, Sales Recruiting manager, says, "We are expanding our branches in all of our licensed states and currently looking to fill producing branch manager and MLO positions in our Southeastern markets. We have an immediate need for branch managers and LOs in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas and South Carolina. This is your opportunity to join an established full-service mortgage banker who will support your sales efforts in every way; provide aggressive marketing support; give you state of the art technology; pay you with aggressive compensation plans; and, help take care of your family with medical/dental/vision and matching 401K." Assurance, based in Baton Rouge, has a 15 year history of demonstrated growth, competitive operations and staying power. For a confidential interview or more information, contact Paul Peters, CMB.

And a thousand miles away, V.I.P. Mortgage, Inc. is focused on growing its California footprint and has opportunities for branch managers, LOs, processors and other support personnel.  V.I.P. is an agency direct lender headquartered in Scottsdale AZ. "We fund in excess of $1B annually, while staying nimble and maintaining a small company feel.  Our culture is centered on HEART and the care of our people. V.I.P. uses cutting edge technology, has an obsession for innovation, has been voted Best Place to work three years in a row and grown 72% since 2011 while maintaining a 98% customer satisfaction rating. If you're looking for a company with HEART that is committed to fulfillment and growing its people, then you should come grow with us."  For more info regarding the opportunities contact Rick Mount Sr. Vice President - Regional Manager.