The lending world has plenty of truly very busy people. (Or maybe that is what they tell their bosses.) How best to communicate with them? Here’s an article that might be of interest to some: "How to Send Emails to Very Busy People".

Events & training

Join TMBA's Southern Secondary Market Conference on February 6 & 7, 2017 at The Westin Houston, Memorial City in Houston, Texas. Sponsorship, exhibits (DEADLINE DECEMBER 1st FOR EARLY RATE) and registration is available for those who want insight to "Liquidity in the Market: Bears Float and Bulls Swim."

Take a deep dive into regulatory and supervision trends that will impact you in 2018. Topics include Richard Cordray's exit from the CFPB, co-marketing and affiliated arrangements, cybersecurity, TRID 2.0 and HMDA implementation. Join Ballard Spahr's Rich Andreano, Hudson Cook's Jed Mayk and Ballard Spahr's Kim Phan from 2 - 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 7th.

As margins tighten, more M&A activity is expected in 2018 and beyond. Get an expert analysis of the status of mergers and acquisitions with MBA's popular annual workshop. Taking place January 22 on Florida's beautiful Amelia Island, MBA's Mergers & Acquisitions Workshop 2018 features a streamlined and targeted program with five+ hours of in-depth content.

Be a part of the MBA's Summit on Diversity & Inclusion, December 4th -5th in D.C. Don't miss the opportunity on December 4th from 4:00-5:00 to join "Empowering Women to Lead," an inspiring session and networking event. MBA's Chief Operating Officer, Marcia Davies, leads a panel featuring accomplished industry women in a discussion about their successful careers in real estate finance. Representing different career stages and different business models, learn how each recognized opportunities and navigated change along the way.

Register for the MBA of Metropolitan Washington's December 15th Annual Meeting and Holiday Luncheon (Residential & Commercial) at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel. Members will vote on the slate for the 2018 Board of Governors (listed below) during the business portion of the program.

As the end of the year rapidly approaches, many businesses are challenged by the prospect of year-end tax planning. On November 29th join Clark Schaefer Hackett, CPA and Advisors for its Business tax strategies to consider prior to year-end webinar. In this webinar CSH's Dan Fales and Tony Schweier will assess the current state of tax law, what changes could be imminent and what you can do before the calendar turns to 2018.

Year-end tax planning could be particularly challenging this year. Major tax reform could happen at any time and if proposed legislation becomes law, what will that mean for you and your personal taxes? Join Clark Schaefer Hackett, CPA and Advisors on December 1st for its Individual tax strategies to consider prior to year-end webinar. In this webinar CSH's Mark Gaudet and Larry Powell discuss what you can do before year-end.

Flagstar Bank announced that its first stage of Loantrac upgrades are effective immediately. ("Navigate our simplified, streamlined new fee summary page without having to browse through multiple pages to find the information you need. Save your commonly-used business contacts within the system to reduce the need to re-enter information manually. Input lump-sum credits easily.") Flagstar also announced a series of quick tutorials on how to use the new features or register for a live training here: Fee Summary Redesign: Overview , Service Providers , Credits , Change of Circumstance , Closing Request . If you have any questions, please contact the Lending Service Center or your account executive.

In January, NEXT Mortgage Events LLC is offering unique to the lending business: NEXT is the only women's event focused on the technologies that are changing the mortgage industry. Agenda items are centered on the technology and tools that can influence business outcomes, fast-paced tech demos, an integrated expo hall, and networking events. Register at NEXTMortgageConference.com. Questions can be addressed to co-founders Molly Dowdy or Jeri Yoshida.

The Mortgage Collaborative will host its 2018 Winter Conference at the Grand Del Mar hotel in San Diego, CA Sunday, February 11th through Tuesday, February 13th. TMC's conferences provide a format that is almost exclusively lender-led discussion based sessions on very specific industry issues and topics, and attendees walk away feeling like it was productive time well spent outside of the office, and armed with very actionable ideas and initiatives that they can implement into their businesses upon returning home. Contact Rich Swerbinsky for more information.

Remember the only thing better than a closed loan is a free party...work hard, play harder!  The National Mortgage Professional Magazine and Mortgage News Network Complimentary Workshops and Holiday Networking Party returns to Irvine, California on Tuesday, December 5 at the Atrium Hotel! As always, there will be informative workshops sponsored by Carrington Mortgage Services, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions and REMN Wholesale followed by the networking party. Click here to register for FREE and to see the agenda and more information. Music, food, prizes and a heavy dose of holiday cheer. It's the most wonderful (free!) party of the year!

Lenders' programs and tax underwriting

Freddie Mac has re-entered the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) market. LIHTC, the leading federal program for encouraging the investment of equity in affordable rental housing, will support the creation and preservation of affordable rental housing for low- and very low-income households. Freddie Mac's LIHTC investment initiative is designed to provide liquidity and stability to the market. It expects to close its first investment in January 2018. Freddie Mac's LIHTC investment initiative has been developed as part of Freddie Mac's Duty to Serve (DTS) plan, which is intended to address some of the country's most persistent affordable housing problems. Freddie Mac's DTS plan goes into effect in January 2018.

Fannie Mae has resumed its low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) activities to provide a reliable source of capital for affordable rental housing and underserved markets. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) approved Fannie Mae's re-entry into the LIHTC market as an equity investor effective immediately. Fannie Mae's return to the LIHTC market will expand the company's efforts to increase and improve affordable housing stock and help those markets most in need of support.

Citadel Servicing Corp. released the Verification of Employment (VOE only) program for W2 borrowers. This program is designed to streamline the lending process for borrowers with a 75% or lower LTV and a 650 plus credit score.  No longer will tax returns, 4506T, W2 or paystubs be a requirement.  All that is required is a fully executed VOE showing two years employment, plus year to date earnings completed by the owner or officer of the company.  Loan amounts up to $3,000,000. Contact sales@citadelservicing.com for more information. 

For all new and active loans, NewLeaf Wholesale has reduced the Tax Service Fee from $75.00 to $65.00. The Loan Estimate must include the $65.00 Tax Service Fee made payable to "NewLeaf Wholesale".  The $65.00 Tax Service Fee must be marked as an APR Fee in Section- A Origination Charges of both the Loan Estimate (LE) and the Closing Disclosure (CD).

The Tax Service Fee for loans less than $500,000 was updated due to increases in Pacific Union Financials' contract with the vendor.  All fee templates that previously included the Tax Service Fee were updated, as follows, with an effective date of 9/1/2017: The Correspondent Tax Service Fee is $76 (previously $69). The fee for loan amounts equal to or greater than $500,000 continues to be the current Tax Service Fee plus an additional $10 per each $100,000 or portion thereof.

Capital markets

I talk a lot about the yield curve, and U.S. 10-year T-note, and the NY Fed's MBS holdings. Thinking globally for a minute, foreign currency markets are more sensitive to yields on long-dated bonds than interest rates, making it more difficult for the Federal Reserve to control the value of the dollar as it works to unwind its balance sheet. Traditionally, short-term interest rates weighed most heavily on currency values, but foreign investment in long-dated US Treasury securities has upset the usual balance.

In our bond markets, U.S. Treasuries ended Tuesday on a mixed note: The 2-yr note yield rose while the 10-year yield moved a little higher. We had a better-than-expected Existing Home Sales number for October (5.48 million on an annual basis). As every LO and real estate agent knows, notable supply constraints remain, which will continue to act as a drag on overall sales due to the limited inventory and the high prices on available inventory that is crimping affordability.

The 2s10s spread narrowed by three basis points to 59 bps after compressing to 57 bps intraday. For its part, the 2s30s spread is now down to 99 bps from 104 bps yesterday and 202 bps at its post-election high. In fact, it is at its most compressed levels in a decade) as the long bond outperformed on the curve. The 10-year note closed slightly better in price to yield 2.36%.

The two big domestic headlines overnight concerned monetary policy (Fed Chair Janet Yellen expressed doubt and caution over the state of inflation, although she signaled that the Fed would still proceed with Fed Fund hikes in the near-term) and tax (the Senate math continues to improve ahead of a likely vote on Friday, 12/1).

This morning we've had the MBA mortgage applications data for last week (purchases +5%, refis -5%, so flat). Also, we've had the release of October Durable Goods (-1.2%, ex-transportation +.4%) and weekly jobless claims (down to 239k). Coming up are the final November University of Michigan Sentiment Index, and later is the Fed's release of the minutes from the October 31/November 1 FOMC meeting. In the early going, before everyone heads for the exits, the 10-year risk-free T-note is yielding 2.36% and agency MBS prices are unchanged versus Tuesday's close.

Employment news

Assurance Financial, headquartered in Louisiana, "is continuing our aggressive company and branching growth. We are looking for good markets and great people in all attractive locations across the country. Specific to Charlotte, North Carolina, we are seeking a producing branch manager and talented MLOs to build a dynamic production office while partnering with the 'closing on time' support from our existing Charlotte loan operations center. In addition, we are seeking an experienced Eastern Regional Production Manager to assist us with supporting and expanding existing Eastern Time Zone branches as well as bringing on new branch opportunities in this territory. For immediate consideration and more information, please call or write Paul Peters, CMB, Recruiting Manager (225-239-7948)."

From running world-class organizations to pushing innovation's leading edge, female leadership helps shape culture, brand experiences, and the premium products that enhance the lives of customers every day across the nation. To both recognize their amazing accomplishments and to put a spotlight on the importance of women in its business, loanDepot is sharing the engaging stories and views of female leaders in its video series Women in Leadership. The series features exclusive interviews with top leaders where they share tips and experiences that have helped them rise to the top of their respective fields. You'll learn how these exceptional women of loanDepot are shaping the future of lending, technology, customer experience, and oversight. loanDepot, empowers each of its team members and they remain focused on growing, nurturing and supporting these groundbreaking women as their leadership and guidance helps transform the future of mortgages in America. If you're interested in being part of this growing team, speak with Shane Stanton. 

Cloudvirga, maker of digital mortgage POS platforms, has appointed Steve DeSantis as its new CFO. DeSantis has had a long and successful career in the tech sector.