Think you have problems? What if you owned a mall and your main tenant is Toys “R” Us? As in the Toys “R” Us that declared bankruptcy. You aint alone: about $5.5 billion in CMBS (commercial mortgage backed securities) are exposed to Toys "R" Us bankruptcy. Like so many other retailers that are grappling with a significant amount of debt, Toys "R" Us formally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 18th attempting to "resolve" roughly $400 million in debt that will mature by 2018.

Training and Events

Wells Fargo Funding, in cooperation with Fannie Mae, is hosting an in-market, first-time homebuyer/affordable product events in Philadelphia, PA (Oct. 4). The event runs from 11:00-3:30 p.m. Pacific (including lunch) - and is focused on helping lenders gain market share in the affordable/first-time homebuyer space, including details about homebuyer demographics, Fannie Mae's HomeReady and in-depth insight into the Philadelphia market. LOs, sales/production/affordable lending managers, underwriters, and marketing teams should consider attending. Approved and prospective Wells Fargo Funding clients are welcome. If interested, contact a member of your regional sales team or send an email to CorrespondentDiverseSegments@wellsfargo.com.

The following webinars were previously announced in FHA INFO #17-40 on September 13, 2017. Please note that the session description has been revised to specify that content will only cover FHA policies related to forward mortgages. FHA will schedule a separate webinar at a future date to cover servicing policies related to its reverse mortgage program, the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. Servicing FHA-Insured Forward Mortgages in Presidentially-Declared Major Disaster Areas (PDMDAs) online free webinar. Please also note that the registration process for this webinar has changed. If you have previously registered for either of the sessions, you must re-register. Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM (Eastern) OR Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM (Eastern).

Mortgage Action Alliance's Action Week is a week-long national campaign aimed at growing its grassroots ranks and will be held the week of October 2-6. The goals during this year's Action Week are to surpass our year-end MAA membership goal of 20,000 and to exceed 1,000 downloads of the MAA App.

Join MBA St. Louis to expand your professional network, catch up with colleagues and enjoy some relaxation on Thursday, October 19th at the Blue Sky Tower Grill Loft on Brentwood.

Join MBA of Missouri on October 10th for a discussion on the state of the mortgage industry in Missouri. Meet other Mortgage Bankers Association of Missouri members and hear from professionals regarding several aspects of the mortgage industry. This is a free event for Missouri MBA members. Please RSVP to Kim Akin via phone at (573) 634-4898 or email kimakin@gallagherconsultants.com

Plaza's October training calendar is ready for viewing and registration. October webinars include: MI Cancellation and Termination on the 27th. Preventing Mortgage Fraud on October 9th. Seizing the Market Share on October 3rd.

The Mid-Atlantic Mortgage Conference on October 12th in Waterford at Fair Oaks 8:30 am-9:00 pm is a full-day conference, trade show, charity happy hour and after party hosted by MBA/MW's Future Industry Leaders. This event includes guest speaker Bill Killmer, Senior Vice President for Legislative and Political Affairs / Mortgage Bankers Association. Conference schedule and registration is available now.

ReverseVision will host its third annual user conference February 6-8, 2018, at the Kona Kai Resort and Spa on San Diego's Shelter Island. UserCon 2018 will deliver three days of educational programming, evidence-based sales training, software demonstrations, networking and vendor exhibits designed for users of ReverseVision technology who are new to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) industry as well as practiced HECM loan originators and operations personnel.

Capital Markets

Sometimes people make the mistake of stating, "The only securities coming out of residential mortgages are Ginnies, Fannies, and Freddies, backed by the same ol' 30-year loans." That isn't true. Friday Freddie Mac priced a new offering of Structured Pass-Through Certificates (K Certificates), backed by fixed-rate multifamily mortgages with seven-year terms. Fannie Mae priced its ninth Multifamily DUS REMIC in 2017 totaling $772.5 million under its Fannie Mae Guaranteed Multifamily Structures (Fannie Mae GeMS) program on September 14. Fannie Mae priced its first GeMS REMIC backed exclusively by its Green MBS collateral in August in what was believed to be the first issuance of its kind in the U.S. market (as Green DUS MBS). ) Freddie Mac recently priced a new offering of Structured Pass-Through Certificates (K Certificates), which are backed by underlying collateral consisting of fixed-rate multifamily mortgages with predominantly 7-year terms. The company expects to issue approximately $1.2 billion in K-727 Certificates. This month Freddie Mac priced its SB38 offering, a multifamily mortgage-backed securitization backed by small balance loans underwritten by Freddie Mac and issued by a third-party trust. The company expects to guarantee approximately $233 million in Multifamily SB Certificates (SB38 Certificates), with loan size generally ranging from $1 million to $6 million and are backed by properties with five or more units. Freddie recently priced a new offering of K Certificates backed by floating-rate multifamily mortgage bonds with a ten-year term. The $550 million in K Certificates (K-SKY Certificates) is backed by Sky Apartments in New York, NY, the largest residential tower in the U.S.

Looking at the bond markets, again the weekly news pales in comparison to whatever happens overseas, especially in North Korea. And the Fed's decision making is clear, and it would take a lot of surprising news to shift that. The 33-year old dictator is certainly impacting the world. German Chancellor Angela Merkel secured a fourth term in Sunday's federal election, but the mandate wasn't overwhelming.

The 10-yr yield rose six basis points for the week, but that masked flattening in the yield curve. Granted, the 2s10s spread remained unchanged for the week at 82 bps, but the 2s30s spread compressed to 136 bps from last week's 139 bps and the 5s30s spread contracted to 93 bps from last week's 97 bps. And a flattening yield curve suggests traders think the economy will slow.

As we head into the last week of the month and the quarter, for scheduled U.S. news this week we have some Chicago Fed number this morning. Tomorrow we can look forward to the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, September Consumer Confidence, August New Home Sales, and a $26 billion 2-yr auction. Wednesday has the weekly MBA Mortgage Index, August Durable Goods Orders (did you buy a refrigerator?), August Pending Home Sales, and a $34 bln 5-yr auction. Thursday we'll have the 3rd estimate of Q2 GDP, weekly initial jobless claims, August Advance International Trade, and a $28 billion 7-year note auction. Friday holds August Personal Income & Consumption/Spending, and August PCE Deflator & Prices. The week starts with the 10-year yielding 2.24% and agency MBS prices a couple ticks better than Friday night.

Jobs and Opportunities 

Heads Up! DepthPR, a reputation management and marketing services consultancy serving mortgage innovators since 2006, is again sponsoring Source Media's Digital Mortgage conference in San Francisco this week by providing the HeadsUp! Headshot Studio for professionals to refresh their headshot. Agency founder and president Kerri Milam, a 25-year veteran practitioner with global firms such as Ketchum, Porter Novelli and KPMG, as well as Georgia's housing finance agency, urges attendees to drop by and take advantage of this money-saving on-site studio. "Your headshot conveys your personal brand on your website and social media, and is always a plus when you are mentioned in the press," she reminds us. DepthPR also gives a shout out to the following 8 demo presenters: Cloudvirga, FormFree, LBA Ware, Lender Price, Matic Insurance Services, ReverseVision, Simplifile, and TRK Connection. Milam says, "I believe that the #digitalmortgage is our industry's future, and we are honored to represent firms that are spearheading the charge."

Gateway Mortgage Group is excited to announce its partnership with the Texas Veterans Land Board & its awarded administration over loan originations in the Veterans Housing Assistance Program (VHAP). This unique program is designed to assist eligible veterans who are purchasing a home with a competitive, low-interest rate loan in the state of Texas and reduced down payment requirements. Disabled veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for an interest rate reduction of 50 basis points, or one half of 1% of the available VLB Rate. Gateway is Passionate about Strengthening Families and is proud to support and work with the servicemen and women who have given so much to our country. For more information on the TX VLB program & becoming an approved Correspondent Lender with Gateway, please contact Elizabeth Robertson or Jared Edmonds.

How many data points are needed to completely and accurately quote the consumer's cost of a residential mortgage loan?  Ask the experts at MortgageCTO who have launched Loanbot, a SaaS solution providing "The API for Compliant Loan Quotes." The Loanbot engine provides Fees, MI, APR and Compliance results on demand and securely via an application programming interface (API). The platform is hosted in the cloud, built on a contemporary technology stack and boasts a scalable architecture. Loanbot offers unparalleled administrative control over a lender's content and calculations, accessible anytime and from any device. (www.loanbot.com or www.mortgagecto.com) Contact Rob Withers or call 1-833-LOANBOT to schedule a demonstration. Visit MortgageCTO and learn about Loanbot at Booth 1219 during the MBA Annual Conventional in Denver, October 22-25.0

As you know, I've been getting a lot of feedback after my recent comment about a lack of training programs for new loan officers in the industry. Well, I've been made aware of a new training platform for "new-to-the-business" Loan Officers launched by American Pacific Mortgage. LaunchPad is an accelerated loan origination training program that delivers sales training, NMLS pre-license education, a working knowledge of mortgage industry basics and mentorship. It's a year-long program. The first 90-days is a paid, full-time intensive training program after which the participant continues success coaching and branch mentoring to ensure growth. The training highlights service to others and information on how the participants can propel themselves to their maximum income potential. Classes begin every few months. Upon completion, these newly licensed loan originators have the fundamentals to build a successful mortgage career in a fraction of the time.

Cassandra Fraulino, VP of Retail Ops for AMERICAN ADVISORS GROUP (AAG) is looking for a dozen talented LOAN PROCESSORS for its newly opened Austin, TX location. "AAG is the leader in reverse mortgage lending and is dedicated to helping American seniors access home equity to fund their retirement needs. AAG is looking for driven and ambitious team players who can process FHA applications, organize/track loan docs, and work with various stake holders throughout loan processing. These positions will report to Rob Maddox, Director of Processing in Austin, TX. If you have at least one-year processing experience, apply today and be a part of our growing Austin team!

After building on its string of record-breaking months in August, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions is continuing its aggressive hiring spree by adding Wholesale Account Executives in markets across the country, specifically in Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Raleigh and both Northern and Southern CA. To continue to deliver an extraordinary customer experience while realizing record monthly volumes, it is also hiring underwriters and other operations positions in its Atlanta headquarters. As more companies realize the benefits of offering non-QM products, it only makes sense to work with the leader in this space. Visit JoinAngelOak.com or learn more about what it's like to work for Angel Oak by watching the Top Mortgage Employer's interview from the Mortgage News Network.

According to the ARMCO's Q1 2017 Mortgage QC Industry Trends Report, the leading critical defect categories for Q1 2017 were Borrower and Mortgage Eligibility, Income and Employment, and Credit, which continues a trend that started emerging in Q4 2016. While early 2016 was dominated by Legal/Regulatory/ Compliance defects that were driven by lender implementation of the October 2015 new TRID requirements, more recent industry trends show a return to findings typically associated with heavy purchase-driven markets. View the full report.