I admit that I’ve become jaded over the years. Another potential government shutdown comes and goes. As always, our industry, and more importantly those with insurance, must deal with the potential uncertainty of the flood insurance program (NFIP) being caught up in the budget negotiating. So late last week we received, not a one-year extension, not a 6-month extension, not a one-month extension… a 7-day extension? Really? And this helps homeowners how? (A while back I asked someone in Congress about it, and they replied, “It’s complicated.”) To end on a more interesting note, I remember, back in high school days, a hypnotist coming to school and hypnotizing a couple students to act like there was a flood in the locker room or they were newly hatched chickens. What is also hypnotizing (for folks who like numbers) is watching this population graph of the states since 1900. (Thanks to Jeremy P. for sending this.)

Lender Products and Services

CLOES.online is now offering the newest format for online education designed for mortgage loan originators. Deb Killian, CRMS presents a full video, NMLS approved, online pre-licensing and continuing education classes that will change the way you think about online education. “These recorded presentations provide students with the information they need to succeed as mortgage originators. The courses are available 24/7 and not available anywhere else. Hear the rules and best secrets from a professional who was personally responsible for over $1 billion in loan originations. Get information you need to know about originations and why. Hear, read the material and see full video presentations. Receive accurate information the first time and get it right. CLOES.online is operated by Charter Oak Systems, LLC, NMLS Provider #1405047. Contact Deb Killian, CRMS for information on using CLOES.online to supplement your company training programs. We teach MLO competencies and we prove it.”

With the proliferation of POS systems, it’s easy to see the consumer direct model is a prime candidate for new technology. While it's important to acquire new business, are we losing sight of the long-term relationship? What happens after the loan closes? “It’s important to provide the borrower with digital tools to support them throughout the process,” John McCrea, SVP of Business Development at MortgageFlex Systems said. “In 2 years will they still talk about a great online application process? Or will they mention that their mortgage rarely crosses their mind as the process just happens.” In addition to POS, MortgageFlex has also been making investments into servicing technology, looking to provide a better experience where the long-term consumer relationship is cemented. Moving servicing to the cloud and adding a fully functional portal are a couple of ways we are improving the consumer experience.

The Decision Science team at BBM has created an advanced suite of propensity data models that help professional origination marketers identify homeowners who are actively in the market for FHA, VA, Jumbo and Non-Agency loan options. BBM is a professional origination strategy and data driven marketing firm focused exclusively on helping direct to consumer lenders recalibrate their marketing spend towards equitable clients that will help your firm regain market share and profitability. If you are looking to expand into profitable areas of conventional and non-agency originations then BBM may be just the answer you are looking for. We specialize in modeling big data attributes for predictable and probable outcomes and applicants that meet your enterprise profitability targets. Our average loan amount for active FHA/VA and Non-Agency applications exceed $350K and gross top line revenue of nearly $15,000. Let BBM show you how a targeted marketing strategy focused on propensity modeling and targeted revenue opportunity can change the trajectory of your company. Please contact Bill Senteno and visit www.bbm.company for more information.

Capital Markets

We’ll see the November jobs report this Friday. To refresh your memory, jobs and housing drive the economy. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 250,000 in October, higher than market expectations of +190,000. Adjustments to August and September netted no change and the average gain over the last three months was 218,000. The number of employed increased by 600,000 and the labor force increased by 711,000. While the official unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent, moving out one more decimal showed it increasing from 3.68 percent to 3.74 percent. Job gains were broad-based in October as Education and healthcare gain 44,000 jobs, Leisure and Hospitality gain 42,000 jobs, professional and business services gained 35,000 jobs, manufacturing gained 32,000 jobs, and construction added 30,000 jobs.   Wages continue to inch up, increased 0.2 percent for the month and 3.1 percent over the previous twelve months. With the continued strength in the labor markets and inflation near the Fed’s target of 2 percent, the expectation remains that the Fed will increase the fed funds target by 25 basis points at its December meeting and potentially twice more in 2019.

Interest rates? The U.S. 10-year closed last week yielding 3.01% as markets were captivated by a saturation of coverage of the G20 Summit and the uncertainty hanging over the Saturday dinner meeting between President Trump and President Xi to discuss trade matters. Speaking of the summit, President Trump, Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada, and President Nieto of Mexico signed the USMCA agreement, replacing NAFTA on Friday. Other international news of note included China's Official Manufacturing PMI for November which failed to meet expectations and registered a 28-month low. Eurozone preliminary November CPI was weaker than expected and piqued concerns about slowing growth. And the Bank of Korea raised its key interest rate for the first time in a year by 25 basis points to 1.75%, as expected.

We’ve begun the final month of 2018 and have a decent chunk of economic data for markets to digest and much Fed speak. Today kicked off with an interview between Vice Chair Clarida and Bloomberg. Fed Governor Quarles participates in a moderated Q&A later this morning. We will also have New York Fed President Williams and Governor Brainard speaking at the same conference this morning, before the day rounds off with Dallas’ Kaplan speaking in Plano. As far as releases go, final November Markit manufacturing PMI kicks off the data calendar at 9:45am followed by October construction spending and November ISM manufacturing PMI.

Tomorrow, we receive Auto and Truck Sales for November before the usual MBA Mortgage Applications Index on Wednesday, which also brings the latest ADP Employment Change for November; Revised Q3 Productivity and Unit Labor Costs; ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for November; and the Fed's Beige Book. Thursday brings the jobless claims and October Factory Orders before Friday reveals University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment for December; and Wholesale Inventories for October. The week begins with rates higher: the 10-year is back up to 3.04% and Agency MBS prices are worse nearly .250.

Jobs and Layoffs

New Penn Financial is looking for aggressive, knowledgeable and hard-working loan officers to fill key positions in its industry-leading Joint Venture channel. Partnered with some of the best real estate companies and builders in the nation, New Penn has openings within the following markets: Columbus and Cleveland, OH; Charleston, SC; Southeast, Southwest, and Central FL; Indianapolis, IN; Pasadena, CA; and Atlanta, GA. “New Penn is uniquely positioned to provide LOs with a captive audience,” said Corey Caster, Senior VP JV Retail. “We are very fortunate to have strong real estate and builder partnerships throughout the nation.” To learn more about how to augment your business with an in-house opportunity, and additional opportunities available for LOs and producing managers throughout the country, contact Vincent Daino, VP of Recruiting and Business Development.

Congratulations to Al Velasco, PrimeLending EVP and Western Division Manager, on being named one of HousingWire’s 2018 Vanguard Award winners! This prestigious recognition is given to select number of executives whose leadership has made a significant impact on their company and the housing and mortgage industry as a whole. Al’s countless intangible gifts and strengths add up to tremendous measurable benefits for PrimeLending. Across PrimeLending, Al has had a powerful and lasting effect as a big picture thinker, problem solver, talent developer and culture setter. This year, Al has played a key leadership role in PrimeLending’s branch expansion initiative, resulting in the addition of more than 30 new branches and 250 new LOs. He is an inspirational coach and team-builder known for guiding and mentoring young leaders. If you’re eager for the chance to discover your best by working with award-winning leaders like Al, contact Brian Miller today.

The Correspondent team at Home Point Financial is pleased to announce that Dan Sheehy has joined the company as Correspondent Institutions Manager. In this role, he will work with Home Point’s Delegated Correspondent clients in Maryland, Delaware, Northern Virginia and Washington DC.   Commenting on Mr. Sheehy, Steve Landes, Senior Managing Director – Correspondent Division said, "Dan is focused on providing our clients with the products and strategic solutions they need to maximize their growth. We are excited to have him join the team and build our presence in the Mid-Atlantic region. To congratulate Dan, drop him an email. Looking to give yourself the gift of a new career this holiday season with a fast-growing company? Check out Home Point’s career page to learn more.

Want to start a WHOLESALE channel or make your existing wholesale much more profitable?  Do it on the fly for a fraction of the cost of fancy, heavy, “legacy” platforms with ReadyPrice. The ReadyPrice retail & wholesale enterprise-strength LOS with an embedded multi-investor PPE and proprietary “error trapping” tech is the answer for any sized lender (or brokers wanting to become bankers). The ReadyPrice all-in-one RETAIL AND WHOLESALE platforms are fully configured out of the box, are up to 80% less expensive than heavy, “mature” competitors, come complete with D1C, deep Fannie DU, EarlyCheck etc. integrations and can be stood-up in a couple of weeks. Or, you can easily and inexpensively customize / configure her to easily fund thousands of loans per month from thousands of MLO’s or brokers, for example. The ReadyPrice LOS/PPE has funded over 300k units for $70 billion and is leading the way forward for today’s mortgage bankers as we utilize essential mortgage tech. Call (408) 357–0931 or email hello@readyprice.com to receive a free demo today.

Compass Analytics, a leading provider of pricing and hedge analytics platforms, is pleased to announce the addition of Frank Poiesz as the company’s Chief Revenue Officer. “Frank’s decades of experience in delivering financial services technology solutions to the mortgage industry, including pricing, eligibility and valuation technology, is a great match for Compass as we expand market share in pricing technologies for lenders and investors,” according to Rob Kessel, Managing Partner. Adds Frank, “I’m very excited to join the Compass team who bring to market the only full-featured capital markets platform from point-of-sale through the booking of servicing. Compass fills a crucial need of driving more profitable originations at a crucial time for our industry.” Be on the lookout for more news about Compass Analytics soon on LinkedIn.  

"Due to growth, SocialSurvey is looking for Regional VPs of Business Development to open our Southwest, Midwest, and Southeast regions. Candidates must have proven success selling tech or services into the mortgage vertical. SocialSurvey, known for its mortgage reviews platform, now offers social media compliance monitoring as a part of our integrated platform. We create over 600,000 verified mortgage company reviews annually and share those reviews more than 4,000,000 times on social sites, Zillow, and Google to help boost online reputation. Social Survey also acts as an enterprise feedback tool that drives employee engagement and behavior. This is a great opportunity for somebody with the right experience and contacts. Are you ready for something different?" Send confidential resume and contact info to me for forwarding.

Evergreen Home Loans looks to build on the 100 loan officers hired so far in 2018 by seeking professionals looking to GROW their production and career. Professionals choose Evergreen due to its success growing Evergreen’s people (average production per Loan Officer at Evergreen increased 42% over the past 3 years) and high employee satisfaction. Recent awards include; #3 Best Workplace for women in 2018, a Best Medium Sized Workplace in 2018, and a Best Place to Work for Millennials in 2018 by Fortune and Great Place to Work. In addition, Evergreen was named the #1 company to work for on the list of Washington’s Best Workplaces by the Puget Sound Business Journal. Loan Officers who seek a company that provides the tools and culture to succeed – a place where 96% of employees surveyed are proud to tell others they work here, can find more information on the careers page.

Congrats to Dolph Meyerson and Steve Sofka who Supreme Lending (which will be 20 years old next year) has brought on as Area Managers. Supreme Lending has two hundred plus branches within the fifty states, has been regularly voted as one of the Top Places to Work.

“SoFi Is Cutting 7% of Staff and Will Revamp Its Ailing Mortgage Unit” is quite a headline for a company that other lenders feared a few years back. Three thousand miles away in Connecticut United Bank confirmed its own job cuts in a “reorganization” of the mortgage banking division.