With plenty of texts flying around regarding the MBA's conference in San Diego that starts today and thus the early commentary, here is an "exciting" tidbit - text messages are old enough to be college graduates. The first text message was sent on this date in 1992 - 22 years ago. It was sent by Neil Papworth, an England-based software developer. "Merry Christmas" was the first text. It is rumored that the second text was, "who dat?" Yes, technology has come a long way, and Millennials demand it. Sometimes LOs have difficulty explaining to borrowers why a residential loan can take weeks or months to process when places like Lending Club can make a decision in a matter of seconds.

I guess if you want job security, HUD is the place to be. It seems that HUD has a very low rate of firing anyone - which means that management excels at hiring the right people in the first place, right? Right? (One thing that comes out of Haiti periodically is a leader that declares himself "president for life." I think that the last one - Jean-Claude-Duvalier, the self-proclaimed "president for life" of Haiti whose corrupt and brutal regime sparked a popular uprising that sent him into a 25-year exile, died in October.)

Capital markets folks, and ARM originators, are still talking about "being charged to use LIBOR" - but there is still confusion out there about it. As a reminder, ICE Benchmark Administration recently announced a new licensing framework for users and redistributors of LIBOR. The changes can be found here. Included in the new framework is a discounted fee for smaller institutions that use LIBOR only in the context of a single currency. The MBA's Dan McPheeters is hosting a call to hear directly from ICE Benchmark Administration on what this means for your company. "Please join us Tuesday, December 9th at 12PM EST to learn more about current and planned developments with LIBOR and to ask questions regarding the licensing fee or the rate itself." The call is primarily for MBA members, but it is open to others - contact Dan McPheeters to sign up.

Yes, there continue to be a lot of upcoming events and training for folks. In no particular order...

Chase Correspondent is offering a webinar on lending tools and resources available to help mitigate on December 4th. Also available on December 10th, underwriting training information to help you overcome any underwriting challenges you may face today. Information and registration for either webinar is available here.

Would you like to be a member of Colorado Mortgage Lender Association's Leadership development forum? As a member you will learn Personal Leadership Development Plans, Change Management, Coaching Skills & Conflict Management, Project Management, Building Winning Teams, and other management, leadership & coaching issues you face each day. To request information, view its CMLA forums.

The MBA is coming to Los Angeles on January 29th providing the next set of RESPA-TILA Integration Forums to help you and your company prepare for the August 1, 2015 compliance deadline. Additional details and registration information can be viewed here.

MBA is gearing up for its National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo 2015. The conference will be held in Dallas TX on February 23rd-26th. Details and registration information can be viewed here.

MGIC is offering both live and recorded webinars covering topics such as appraisal training, basic MI, self-employed borrowers, and income and assets. For complete details, visit MGIC's training site.

Mortgage Bankers Association of New Jersey is conducting its Compliance Summit 2015: Managing Risk and Compliance in the New Regulatory Era on December 11th. The event is free and includes breakfast and lunch. Register now.

Radian offers various trainings spanning topics such as schedule C, MI, quality applications, social media, and unusual income types. For details, check out its training calendar.

Radian announced NAR will present the 2014 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers annual survey for its customers. Speaker Jessica Lautz, Director of Member and Consumer Survey Research, will discuss the latest industry trends, data on home buyers and sellers, and why consumers are making the choices they are making.  This Webinar on December 10th has limited space available, register now.

Texas Mortgage Bankers Association's 2014 Education Webinar Series: Market and Valuation Trends for Mortgage Servicing Rights, is scheduled for December 11th with speakers from MountainView Servicing Group. The registration form and additional information is available by clicking here.

BuckleySandler chairman Andrew Sandler will discuss the expansion of lender liability under the TRID rule, and partners Clint Rockwell, Joe Reilly, and Ben Olson will discuss the key implementation issues and the latest guidance provided by the CFPB. If you would like to register for the December 11th free webinar regarding update on the CFPB's New Mortgage Disclosure Rule, click here.

On December 4, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. ET, K&L Gates and PayBefore will present a complimentary webinar discussing what the CFPB's Prepaid Proposal means for your business. The focus will be on the practical impact the rules will have on prepaid accounts, and what they may mean to prepaid issuers, program managers and processors. The goal will be to give listeners information and tools to evaluate how the rule will impact their business and provide practical advice on how to address concerns about the rule with the CFPB. Follow the link for registration information.

Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas is providing The Summit Broker Focused training on Dec 16, 2014. This event will enable you to learn from other Brokers in the State, meet legislative leaders who will make a difference, share business challenges, and the opportunity to speak with your Banking Commission about the MARs report, register now.

Join Mark Reeve, Plaza Home Mortgage's Reverse Mortgage National Director. This webinar is designed to learn how to present a reverse mortgage to your borrowers. Follow the link if you would like to register for this December 4th webinar.

Any entity investing in the bond market has plenty of choices: Treasury debt, mortgage-backed securities, municipal bonds, bonds issued by foreign countries, and so on. Here in the United States companies angling to get ahead of rising interest rates have sent U.S. corporate-bond sales in 2014 to an annual record: $1.5 trillion. Hey, if you're Exxon or IBM and can borrow a yields below 4%, why not?

A quick note about my periodic blog at the STRATMOR Group web site in the right-hand column. The current blog is, "Supply & Demand: Still Driving Mortgage Rates". The initial outlook for net supply in 2015 is just $85 billion based on an average of the major Wall Street firms' projections, similar to what is expected this year. Meanwhile, net demand from the Fed is projected at $6 billion, banks $40 billion, REITs $10 billion, while money managers should easily manage the remaining excess new issuance and paydown supply from the GSEs.

BofA Merrill Lynch published its "2015 Agency MBS Outlook: Scarcity Value." Their staff of bright MBAs and quant jock's findings includes mortgage valuations being priced to low volatility, which is their core view, due to minimal credit growth and net issuance of mortgage-backed Securities (MBS) being well behind the 2013 level. Credit still remains an issue, as the cost of credit is high and affordable credit through new programs is not available. BofA ML's forecast for 2015 net issuance is $65 billion, with net growth across all private MBS holders, with the opportunity for MBS to tighten if the post-crisis lows in volatility are achieved. The federal government's guidance on reinvestment agency MBS pay downs will be the focus in 2015 but the lack of capital and political action will restrain reform.

When I am helping companies with capital markets issues, occasionally someone (usually the CFO) will say that hedging involves using "derivatives" and that the board of directors will frown on their use and that accounting for them is rife with problems. A primer titled "OTC derivatives-A primer on market infrastructure and regulatory policy" just came out that may answer some of these questions and concerns, and discusses counterparty risk, tax treatment, trading, and so on.

I have a lot of time to listen to things as I travel the country. On a recent broadcast of Capital Markets Today sponsored by Neighborhood Stabilization Capital Management, Gregg Rand, CEO & Founder of OwnAmerica discussed the institutionalization of the single family rental industry. Rand stated that out of the crash, the single family rental industry has evolved to be a sophisticated and scalable industry. Rand goes on to point out that the industry is spinning off a non-distressed 8-12% cash on cash yield that is attracting Wall Street institutional investors. He further discussed barriers to entry, ways to invest, multi-borrower securitizations, data aggregation tools, demographics and evolutionary next steps. It's worth a peruse with an analytic eye....or ear.

Continuing with the market news, Paul Jacob with Wunderlich Securities summed things up: "We're keeping an eye on the situation in Washington regarding last-minute budget talks. (Are there any other kind?) Dec. 11 is the current deadline. At this point a government shutdown looks unlikely, though I wouldn't bet the farm. This situation will be an interesting preview for whether upcoming Congressional session will be about."

Yesterday we learned that Construction Spending during October rose 1.1%, 3.3% above the October 2013 estimate of $939.9 billion. This number doesn't move markets, but does give us a sense for what is going on out there. Speaking of which, the markets move lower Tuesday due to "rate-lock hedging of corporate deals, along with asset reallocation from Treasuries into the new corporate issuance" per Thomson Reuters.

Today, as folks including myself head to San Diego, we will have the MBA's app numbers for last week, the ADP Employment report for November (expected +230k private sector jobs), final Q3 productivity and unit labor costs (projected at +2.2% and +0.3%, respectively), the ISM non-manufacturing PMI for November, and the Fed's release of its Beige Book. When the dust settled Tuesday we had a 2.29% close on the 10-yr.

Jobs

For company news, Fidelity Bank is expanding the Wholesale and Correspondent Lending Division within the Southeast Region.  Industry veteran Craig Dodds was hired this year to manage the division and grow the channel. "We are now looking for AEs for both wholesale and correspondent lending in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Based in Atlanta, Fidelity Bank is a direct seller servicer to the agencies and provides AEs with access to wholesale and correspondent programs (both delegated and non-delegated) from a full menu of products. Please send your confidential resume to Craig (above), to resumes@lionbank. com, or mail to: Fidelity Bank, Human Resources 3 Corporate Square, Suite 110, Atlanta, GA 30329. EOE/M/F/Disabled/Veteran.

On the warehouse side, Preston State Bank (PSB) has successfully launched a "non-captive" mortgage warehouse lending division servicing both the mini-correspondent and correspondent channels in the state of Texas. PSB is a state chartered commercial bank, established in 2003, and its warehouse lending program has over 50 approved investors and provides flexibility to the mortgage banker in how they run their business. For more information contact Jim Harrison.

Lastly, "Do your lending partners obsess about turn times? When it comes to turn times and meeting close of escrow deadlines, not all lenders are created equal. Endeavor America Loan Services was recently named a 'Five-Star Lender' by MPA Magazine for its stellar turn times. How does EA do this? First, currently 91% of Endeavor America's fundings are purchases. In a recently measured loan cycle, EA looked at the last 1,166 purchase loans they closed - 37% (434 units) closed by or before the close of escrow date; 27% (308 units) within one-seven days of the COE; and 36% (424 units) closed over one week from the original COE. That means 64% of all purchases sent to EA closed before, on, or at worst, within one week of the close of escrow date including loan files where EA was the lender of second choice. That's some pretty impressive data to keep in mind when you choosing where to send your next loan." To learn how to become approved with Endeavor America, visit its wholesale or correspondent website.