Tue, Aug 1 2017, 9:16 AM
August already? Time flies, and we live in an age where we must prove to machines that we are not machines. What about watching artificial intelligenc...
Mon, Jul 31 2017, 9:36 AM
How much would you pay to drive a cab? In New York City, in 2014, the price of a Taxi Medallion hit $1.3 million. With Uber and Lyft, Medallions are n...
Fri, Jul 28 2017, 9:18 AM
We’re a couple months into the North Atlantic hurricane season which lasts to November 30. It has been 12 years since the US was struck by a major hur...
Thu, Jul 27 2017, 10:10 AM
Have you been chipped yet? A Wisconsin company is holding a “chip party” to implant chips into its employees so they can buy snacks with a wave of the...
Wed, Jul 26 2017, 9:17 AM
We’re in the midst of state fair season, and with it all the wonderful organic health food. Have you tried deep fried butter? Have a hankering for fri...
Tue, Jul 25 2017, 9:33 AM
Lenders cutting margins in a diminishing mortgage marketplace. You bet. Does one lender want 100% market share? Perhaps. Here’s the latest example: Al...
Mon, Jul 24 2017, 9:10 AM
What should lenders and loan officers be concerned about? What’s threatening their livelihood, besides all cash buyers, venture capital firms buying h...
Fri, Jul 21 2017, 9:34 AM
Under the heading, “What’ll they think of next?”, especially for aging Boomers, comes stairs that store energy and help the next person walk up them! ...
Thu, Jul 20 2017, 9:34 AM
This morning we’ve had the usual Thursday initial jobless claims economic release. At the other end of the teeter totter, here’s an amazing stat to ta...
Wed, Jul 19 2017, 9:50 AM
In a broad generalization, when people have money to invest they usually think about stocks, bonds, or real estate. (Yes, I know there are other asset...
Tue, Jul 18 2017, 10:28 AM
How much would you pay to keep your job, or find a new one? Political analysts forecast that two wealthy contenders for the 2018 Illinois governor spo...
Mon, Jul 17 2017, 9:22 AM
There’s plenty of talk about real estate agents, appraisers, and loan officers being replaced by artificial intelligence or robots. In legal news, JPM...
Mon, Jul 17 2017, 8:42 AM
The excitement of buying a new home has worn off fast for almost half of Americans. Forty-four percent of homeowners have some regrets about their cur...
Fri, Jul 14 2017, 9:16 AM
Today are Q2 earnings numbers from JP Morgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and PNC – a look at the mortgage numbers in Monday’s commentary. What may be of m...
Thu, Jul 13 2017, 9:27 AM
As Abraham Lincoln said, “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.” But I turned to the internet to find out how many languages there are in...
Wed, Jul 12 2017, 9:28 AM
Millions of parents around the nation will be sending their ex-high school seniors off to college this autumn. And what better thing to teach them is ...
Tue, Jul 11 2017, 9:21 AM
Besides 7/11 being “Free Slurpee Day,” we’re in the middle of “home buying season” (if there are actually listings) and loan officers are currying the...
Mon, Jul 10 2017, 9:52 AM
Fannie/Freddie, Both Conforming and Conventional News In Freddie Mac news, "To ensure we continue to provide responsible financing options, we will ch...
Fri, Jul 7 2017, 8:55 AM
If you are a residential lender doing business in Nevada, would you ever lend on a condo or residence that has a Home Owner’s Association? Good luck. ...
Thu, Jul 6 2017, 9:32 AM
HUD is recommending that Fannie Mae tweak upward its affordable housing goals for 2018-2020. The news prompted one industry vet to send, "Although thi...
Wed, Jul 5 2017, 9:31 AM
The U.S. Treasury Department recently issued a report titled “A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities-Banks and Credit Unions.” In addi...
Mon, Jul 3 2017, 9:40 AM
We’ve sailed through half of 2017 already. (“Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.” Since many folks...
Fri, Jun 30 2017, 9:20 AM
Huh? The year is half over? Didn’t 2017 just start? Time has a way of flying by. Via rocket ship. July starts tomorrow… and we hear of a new marketing...
Thu, Jun 29 2017, 9:35 AM
Housing, Rates, and the Economy Following the NAR's recent report that existing home sales rebounded in May, Brad Walker, CEO of Income& , sent on not...
Wed, Jun 28 2017, 9:31 AM
Transitional licensing, where a bank LO can move to being a non-depository LO and still can originate? Yup.Contact your rep in Congress to support it ...
Tue, Jun 27 2017, 9:31 AM
Worries about Europe’s economies have, in most part, subsided. But rumors swirl regarding The Land of Lincoln. Illinois, it seems, isn't doing too wel...
Mon, Jun 26 2017, 10:06 AM
“Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive but what they conceal is vital.” We’re always watching home sales & construction – but it...
Fri, Jun 23 2017, 10:13 AM
Rumors continue to swirl, this time about Orange County’s Americash. Yes, the drop in refi volume is showing, and even if you made it through the bad ...
Thu, Jun 22 2017, 8:58 AM
This week’s Sindeo's closure reminds lenders of the basic premise: if you didn't make money in 2016, what makes 2017 any different? Your competitors w...
Wed, Jun 21 2017, 9:30 AM
Welcome to the first day of summer. Hey, I don’t where you’re going to be exactly two months from now, but on August 21, besides marking the anniversa...
Tue, Jun 20 2017, 9:28 AM
“People who don’t give up attract other people’s attention.” As do people whose humor is stuck in 4th grade – like mine usually is. For example . Reve...
Mon, Jun 19 2017, 8:59 AM
Winston Churchill said that, “If the present tries to sit in judgement on the past, it will lose the future.” No argument there in mortgage banking. U...
Fri, Jun 16 2017, 9:17 AM
What are we going to be talking about this summer? One topic is the economy, and the thought that rising short-term rates are a signal that the econom...
Thu, Jun 15 2017, 12:22 PM
The competition for housing is heating up along with the summer temperatures and continuing to set new records. The average house sold in May went und...
Thu, Jun 15 2017, 9:34 AM
In legal news, in Denver, the state's high court has ruled that HOAs can’t necessarily sue in construction defects disputes . A couple thousand miles ...
Wed, Jun 14 2017, 8:59 AM
Depository banks are in the business to lend, and are now concerned about commercial lending. What do Cleveland, Memphis, and Chicago have in common? ...
Tue, Jun 13 2017, 9:02 AM
How do you like these two headlines today, good news/bad news for lenders? “Fed set to shrink huge bond portfolio, pushing up interest rates.” And, “T...
Mon, Jun 12 2017, 9:15 AM
There is news out that Brian Brooks, general counsel for Fannie Mae, will be nominated as deputy secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Brooks worked at Cali...
Fri, Jun 9 2017, 9:38 AM
The House of Representatives voted to roll back some of the main regulations contained in the 2010 Dodd-Frank law. It was an almost perfect party-line...
Thu, Jun 8 2017, 9:26 AM
No one has a crystal ball, but CNBC makes the point that, as a nation, home prices won't fully recover until 2025 , and that "price gains during the l...
Wed, Jun 7 2017, 9:59 AM
Summer is here, school is out for many, and it’s time for vacation, right? Here’s a little trivia for your co-workers. What is number of available vac...
Tue, Jun 6 2017, 9:40 AM
I received this note/suggestion regarding broker business. " Is California dysfunctional? In California, brokers are typically regulated by the BRE , ...
Mon, Jun 5 2017, 9:02 AM
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) published a Press Release announcing an update to the Cybersecurity Assessment Tool . C...
Fri, Jun 2 2017, 8:50 AM
In celebration of National Doughnut, or Donut, Day, let’s talk about a subset of real estate agents. The typical Realtor , and there are 1.2 million o...
Thu, Jun 1 2017, 9:02 AM
Some may have the perception that no MI company has ever paid a claim, which isn’t true. USMI, the trade group for the majority of MIs, states that MI...
Wed, May 31 2017, 9:13 AM
It has been interesting talking to residential lending folks around the nation about their mix of business and how it has changed - if at all. It turn...
Tue, May 30 2017, 8:52 AM
Congrats to Indiana’s Ruoff Home Mortgage and president & CEO Mark Music. Why? The lender helped sponsor the winning Indy 500 car this weekend! Capita...
Fri, May 26 2017, 8:54 AM
Ready to rush off and join the blockchain rush? Not so fast. The implementation of blockchain technology in the financial-services industry is meeting...
Thu, May 25 2017, 9:50 AM
Montana may have its issues with politicians vying for the WWE title belt, but the state does seem to steer clear of cyberattacks. At least, it does i...
Wed, May 24 2017, 8:43 AM
Trends in New Home Sales "Pending" Home Sales, "Existing" Home Sales, and "New" Home Sales - take your pick. They all show something slightly differen...
