12.14.22 Inflation on the Decline; Evergreen’s Robert Lipston on Hiring in a Downturn; Fed Decision Day

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Here in Southern California for the California MBA’s Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference, the topics include RESPA, marketing services agreements and Section 8(a), and compliant low income and affordable housing lending. Speaking of which, Here’s a lousy headline to wake up to: “KeyBank Promised to Increase Low-Income Lending, Then Did the Opposite.” In other news lenders are watching, I don’t care if you don’t believe in climate change. And you don’t care whether or not I do. The point is, insurance companies, pension funds, private MI companies, and investors in mortgage-backed securities do, and the pricing and availability of mortgages, and insurance, in those areas is changing as well. Yet people are flocking to areas plagued by fire, hurricanes, and bed lice. (I threw that last one in to see if you were reading.) (Today’s podcast has an interview with Evergreen’s Robert Lipston on why now is the time for businesses in this industry to put their foot on the gas rather than retreat, particularly in terms of hiring. This week’s is sponsored by Appraisal Logistics, a full-service AMC licensed in all 50 states. AIM-Port’s robust integrations, custom automations, and granular reporting tools are delivering gains in efficiency and cost savings to lenders across the country.)

Employment

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“The holiday season can be a stressful time for many on the personal side add to it time-off requests and holiday shutdowns and the result is many workplace projects and initiatives fall by the wayside until the new year. However, forecasting and planning by leaders can’t be put off. Our team here at Pezian Search Group is hard at work planning and discussing our client’s goals for the new year so they can hit the ground running once the holidays come to a close. Have you booked your free planning session with our team yet? Email our team directly and ensure a smooth start to the new year in the office. Please also follow us on LinkedIn, and we welcome ALL job seekers to reach out to us as well. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at Pezian Search Group.”

Academy Mortgage has expanded its national footprint into the Kansas market with the recent addition of Area Manager J.R. Rohr. The culture, people, and growth opportunities are just a few of the things that aligned J.R. with Academy. The company is diligently pursuing prospects to expand in various markets across the country, welcoming over 60 new sales team members to the organization in the past six months. As part of Academy’s strategic growth initiative, the company is also actively seeking acquisition opportunities with companies that share similar values. “History has shown that Academy tends to be a safe harbor during challenging times. We have great potential to bring new organizations and people to Academy over the next year,” said CEO James Mac Pherson. “We’ll be actively pursuing those opportunities.” If you are looking to join a company that delivers stability, strength, culture, growth, and vision, contact EVP of Production Justin Harris to confidentially explore opportunities with Academy.

Lender and broker software, products & services

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Do you know your 1004 from your 1073, 1025, or even your 2075 or 2090? Even seasoned mortgage lenders may need a reminder course on Appraisal Forms from time to time. There are major forms, add-on forms, and multi-purpose forms. Here’s a quick reference guide: Know Your Forms. Brought to you by Triserv, a 50-state AMC that has client-specific, dedicated teams on both coasts offering high-touch, personalized service. To find out more, contact Triserv Appraisal Management Solutions.

Looking for an easy, affordable, and accessible way to ensure compliance, workplace safety, and supervision for remote employees? ActiveComply’s newly launched Remote Office Inspection Software utilizes a series of checks and balances including IP address confirmation, network quality assessments, and geolocation tracking to ensure remote worker compliance. It’s customizable survey even enables organizations to remotely inspect branch offices to ensure they have the proper signage, business license display, and adequate security, saving the expense of sending someone out to do a physical inspection.  This product is the newest addition to ActiveComply’s range of mortgage compliance resources to protect financial institutions from costly compliance mistakes. Learn more about managing your compliance confidently with ActiveComply and schedule a free demo today!

As the self-proclaimed home of "The Greatest Snow on Earth," Utah claims its snowfall is lighter, drier, and more frequent than other states, making it the ideal destination for deep-powder skiing. Don't believe it? SimpleNexus, an nCino company, invites you to find out for yourself at the 5th Annual SimpleNexus User Group (SNUG) conference on March 13-16, 2023, at the picturesque Snowbird Mountain Resort. The conference agenda includes sessions focused on helping mortgage lenders optimize their incentive comp plans, maximize the advantages with eClose, deploy a unified business intelligence strategy, increase partner referrals, and fully embrace SimpleNexus' entire platform solution. Plus, attendees can preview what's coming down the product roadmap and hear from key executives from SimpleNexus and parent company nCino during the opening keynote. Check out the full SNUG 2023 agenda and register now to lock in your early bird savings.

"In the face of sustained market uncertainty, we will continue to rally with those in this space and accelerate our pace of innovation. We will not only navigate the current market conditions, but also help position industry participants for ultimate success with a tech stack that works for them, and not against them. We will continue to redefine the mortgage capital markets space and lead by example, building the most revolutionary software available to the industry today.” There is no doubt that this year will stand out as one for the record books. Polly Founder and CEO, Adam Carmel, addresses 2022 industry accomplishments and resilience, as well as what to expect from Polly in 2023 and beyond. Read the full letter, here.

“As we head into the new year, do you have the business intelligence and comparative peer benchmarking to optimize your business in 2023 and beyond? Make 2023 the year to step up your game with Richey May’s RM Analyze, business intelligence designed by and for mortgage industry experts. Our platform consolidates data from every department and every piece of software you use. It provides just the right reporting from the C-suite to the front line, plus the ability to see how you’re performing against your peers in real time. Bonus: our analysts have deep mortgage experience, so you don’t need to train us on your business. Don’t wait any longer to set up the reports you needed yesterday. Cross-functional data. User-friendly dashboards. Real-time analysis. Contact us today for a walk-through and custom implementation plan.”

Candor - Automated Underwriting Decisions powered by Aerospace Technology. Candor’s patented CogniTechTM technology finally solves for the unquenched need to move beyond a finite rules engine model to a state-of-the-art platform that can handle an infinite number of loan scenarios. The system integrates inside the loan origination system and clears conditions backed by a warranty. With 5 years in development, $50 million in capital investment and 500,000 use cases, the engine and its corresponding data are unchallenged in the industry. Clients can jet into their ideal future state for POS, QA, Fulfillment, QC, all the way through to servicing.  Clients will have the ability to scale capacity in an instant to match fluctuating loan volumes, improve quality to mitigate repurchase risk, master process efficiencies, boost liquidity, and most importantly, gain market share. Sign up for a demo.

Product news: 2nds, non-Agency, DSCR training, commercial

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“70% of originators attending our Deep Dive webinar series have not closed a non-QM loan in the past 12 months. Is that because your referral sources don’t know about non-QM? That makes it more important than ever to choose the right non-QM lender. Angel Oak remains fully committed to the non-QM sector as account executives from Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions are ready and able to assist you with everything from structuring deals to helping you market non-QM to your referral partners. Click the link to view a testimonial from broker, Mario Galdos at Triton Group at Legacy Mutual Mortgage, who recently hosted a presentation to educate his realtors on Non-QM. Lastly, please join our “Deep Dive Into DSCR” this Thursday by registering here. For more information reach out to your account executive today. We are here to help grow your business!”

Start the New Year off with Correspondent Lending from LoanStream, the ONE Lender. LoanStream offers delegated and non-delegated underwriting options on our industry-leading conforming, government, jumbo and non-QM products. Best efforts, mandatory and bulk commitment options available. Interested in becoming an Approved Correspondent Lender? Talk with one of our Regional Sales Executives to learn more. Visit us here.

Carrington Mortgage Services recently introduced a Second Lien program that offers a unique opportunity for Carrington homeowners: The Second Lien product provides a welcome source of liquidity to existing CMS servicing customers who have seen an increase in the value of their homes, and now face a rising-interest-rate market in which they may not see a benefit accessing their home equity by replacing a low first-lien rate to obtain a cash out. Specially trained loan officers are presenting the Second Lien product exclusively to CMS homeowners in all states where CMS operates, with the exception of Texas, Maryland and North Dakota.

Qualify for a 2nd Mortgage with Bank Statements. LoanWyse is offering a new 2nd Mortgage Loan Program, Equitywise. Highlights include no reserves or assets required, exterior only appraisal form 2055. Bank Statement max CLTV is 85%.

Unite Mortgage is home to the BEST Bank Statement Program in the business. Reach out today and find out why Mortgage Brokers are flocking to Unite Mortgage for all their NON-QM needs.

Lower your monthly payments with an Excelerate Capital Interest Only Loan. 40-year term is now available.

Waiting for a better rate? Save now when you buy with SoFi. NV residents will receive a 0.25% pricing special* on their home purchase, reflected on the lock confirmation received upon locking your interest rate. Plus, you’ll receive additional savings when you refinance your mortgage at a lower rate in the future, eligibility conditions apply.

Finance of America Commercial is going big with multifamily bridge financing for 10+ units and it's a HUGE deal. Reach out today to get all the details and find out if your multifamily property qualifies.

Due to reports of system implementation schedules by several Document Preparation Vendors, AmeriHome is rescinding the required loan delivery date of January 1, 2023, implementation of the new IRS Form 4506-C. See AmeriHome  announcement Number: 20221201-CL for details.

Capital markets: quiet after yesterday’s CPI number

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“On the first day of hedging, mandatory delivery gave to me: a bump from 20 to 40 BPS. Tis the season for improving your loan sale execution by making the transition to mandatory! According to the MBA’s latest Quarterly IMB Performance Report, the average pre-tax production loss was 20 BPS in Q3 2022, down from an average net production loss of 5 BPS in Q2 2022, and down from a gain of 89 BPS one year ago. Originators are getting squeezed on both revenue and expenses, but Optimal Blue is here to help. As a trusted hedging advisor, we’ve assisted numerous lenders in making the transition to mandatory so they can maximize profitability utilizing our industry-leading technology. Ready to learn more? Register for our upcoming Hedging 101 and/or Hedging 201 webinars to better understand the theory behind hedging and the different components that make up pipeline valuation, respectively.”

Turning to the economy, ahead of today’s Federal Open Market Committee event, the U.S. yesterday got the strongest sign yet that inflation may have finally peaked. Consumer prices rose 0.1 percent month-over-month in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Expectations were for a 0.3 percent increase, so this is very good news. The core rate, excluding food and energy, rose 0.2 percent month-over-month. On a year-over-year basis, prices are up 7.1 percent. Excluding food and energy, the CPI rose only 0.2 percent in November, the smallest monthly increase since August 2021. Some are calling it a promising sign that the central bank’s strategy is working.

The fed funds futures market still expects that a 50-basis point rate hike will be announced today, but the implied probability of 50-bps rate hike in February has dropped to less than a 50 percent chance. Before all the Fed events, we learned mortgage applications increased 3.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Today’s aforementioned Fed events, where a 50-basis point hike seems a near certainty, include the release of the Statement and updated SEP at 2:00pm followed by Chair Powell’s press conference. Ahead of the Fed, and aside from weekly mortgage applications, we had the non-market moving November import and export prices. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices worse a few ticks from Tuesday evening’s close and the 10-year yielding 3.52 after closing yesterday at 3.50 percent.

There are a lot of food ads on TV these days, what with the holidays and sports commercials. But things are not always what they seem. Whipped Elmer’s Glue? Soy sauce instead of coffee?

Visit www.robchrisman.com for more information on our industry partners, access archived commentaries, or to subscribe to the Daily Mortgage News and Commentary. If you're interested, visit my periodic blog at the STRATMOR Group web site. “The Secondary Market’s Focus” is the current blog. The Commentary’s podcast is live and at any place you obtain your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify).

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