New Mortgage Products, Vendor Updates, Wholesale News; Can Powell Avoid Spooking Markets?

Whether it is independent mortgage banks or companies with the largest market caps in the world, new products are being developed and rolled out to help drive growth. Apple unveiled new iPhone models, versions of the AirPods Pro, and several smartwatches yesterday. Closer to home, lenders are also exploring new products to drive volume. Newrez announced a 40-Year IO option, designed to increase purchasing power for homebuyers by offering a 40-year loan term with interest-only payments for the first 10 years. The longer loan term does lower monthly payments, though I received a couple reader comments saying the CFPB will certainly be keeping its eye out for any predatory lending practices. Government is omnipresent in the financial industry, and often for the better. New guidance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) regarding multiple re-presentment nonsufficient funds fees suggests that banks eliminate the fees altogether. (Today’s podcast is available here and is sponsored by Candor, home of the One Touch Underwrite, supporting lenders from Point of Sale to Post Close QC. Reduce repurchase risk, increase underwriter productivity by 400 percent, and decrease turn-times by 10 days.)

Vendor Happenings

You Can Count On MBA! The MBA Membership renewal period is open through September 30. MBA is at the forefront of legislative and regulatory developments impacting your business. We are dedicated to advancing meaningful solutions for you, the communities you serve, and the good of the industry. You can count on us to act swiftly to drive positive outcomes for our members. We work tirelessly to find, implement, and communicate effective solutions to an array of emerging public policy issues that impact the heart of your business. MBA fights every day to keep your company strong. When your organization renews its membership by September 30, you will receive exclusive early renewal benefits including complimentary access to 16 self-study courses and one registration for a flagship course through MBA Education. We have a new addition to our Member Advantage Program, Winnow, a comprehensive compliance database and research tool is offering MBA members a special promotion for a limited time. Our voice is louder when we stick together. Be part of the 2,300 MBA member community! Contact Laura Hopkins for any membership information.

When Oprah famously gave away almost 300 cars, she did so to an audience full of people who desperately needed them. Credit unions may not hand out free cars, but they do attempt to delight members by meeting their needs in unexpected ways. To all my credit union lenders out there, what if you could know your members’ needs BEFORE they walk in the door? On Sept. 13 at 2 pm ET, join ACUMA’s Peter Benjamin, Sales Boomerang + Mortgage Coach’s Alex Kutsishin and Dave Savage and Canvas Credit Union’s Andrew Martin as they discuss how technology can help you stay in tune with what your customers need. Find out how you can meet more of your members’ needs today.

Why should lenders focus their cost-cutting efforts on the appraisal process? We can give a few hundred reasons per loan file why. Learn how lenders can reduce their cost per loan file by $258 and other benefits from appraisal management technology in the Reggora white paper, Why Mortgage Lenders Should Optimize The Appraisal Process Now.

In today’s market, lenders need every advantage to lower production costs and optimize the manufacturing process. Lender Toolkit's PowerTools™️ are the perfect fit to optimize the mortgage manufacturing process by reducing time and clicks, improving efficiency, increasing compliance and accuracy, reducing costs, and much more! One of our most popular tools, BizRuleAnalyzer, allows LOS administrators to search business rules by indexing all business rules and presenting them on a single screen. The user interface displays both overall context and specific details to allow users with a powerful tool for analyzing system business rules. The increased visibility and transparency allow users to more efficiently and accurately make modifications and create new Business Rules, Calculated Fields and Form Code. These gained efficiencies can allow for rapid diagnosing, correction, and prevention of system errors. Interested in a more efficient LOS? Get PowerTools™️ schedule a demo today with one of our experts!

A lender's ability to offer HELOCs is becoming a more valuable solution with the record home equity many homeowners currently have. Members of HouseCanary’s executive team recently held an in-depth webinar to discuss HELOCs, and how HouseCanary’s HELOC solution can help lenders evaluate leads and pre-underwrite immediately with granular mortgage and property analytics. View the webinar and see if HouseCanary’s HELOC Analytics Solution is right for you. Home rentals have become more desirable in recent years as consumers have been either priced out of home purchases or are drawn to the flexibility of a rental. However, renters hoping for relief in 2022 have been met with little solace as demand persists, prices for homes have continued to grow and supply remains squeezed. Check out HouseCanary’s inaugural National Rental Report which explores the pricing and supply trends shaping the U.S. rental market.

Citibank N.A. remains committed to sustainable growth and responsible expansion of Correspondent Sellers. “Our current focus is building Correspondent relationships with Non-Delegated, Best-Efforts lenders who have a passion for supporting consumers in underserved markets. Following a significant investment in our Non-Delegated platform featuring enhanced capabilities and increased capacity, the Citi Correspondent Channel is excited to help create opportunities for smaller Mortgage Bankers who are looking to make a sustainable impact in their local communities.” With a robust set of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) pricing incentives that can be brought point of sale through Optimal Blue and ICE’s EPPS pricing engines, Citibank N.A. continues to lean in on Correspondent, regardless of the overall market landscape. Learn more about this and other exciting products and programs Citi Correspondent has in flight by contacting the National Client Services Team or completing our Prospective Correspondent Questionnaire.

Clear to Close Podcast: How to Beat the Market with Non-traditional Loan Products, ft. Chris Ledwidge of theLender. While lenders nationwide struggle with market challenges, Chris Ledwidge of theLender is thriving. A fast-growing wholesale mortgage lender headquartered in California, theLender just landed at an impressive #11 on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list. Its secret to success? Leaning into non-traditional loan offerings that cater to underserved borrowers. Especially in today’s climate, where traditional volume is tapering off and the competition for vanilla loans is rapidly tightening, Chris and his team have found profitability in niche products. Tune into this episode of the Clear to Close podcast from Maxwell to learn how Chris and his team differentiate themselves with a wide array of loan offerings, ways he connects with potential customers, and the lessons he’s learned about the industry that have helped create a meteoric growth rate for theLender. Listen to the Clear to Close podcast’s new episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or your browser.

Candor Technology Wins Patent for Cutting-Edge Underwriting Technology! Candor’s CogniTechTM Expert System brings quality, speed and repurchase risk mitigation to mortgage lenders. Using Candor’s Loan Engineering System (LES), Candor clients have reported increased underwriter productivity by 400%, decrease turn-time by at least 10 days and increase pull-through by 15%. With this data, Candor estimates the reduction in repurchase exposure goes from 12bps to 1bps with the use of Candor’s technology. “At Candor we strive to create best-in-class technology to benefit the consumer, the lender and the mortgage investor,” said Candor CEO Tom Showalter. “Receiving this patent on the technology we have spent years perfecting is tremendously rewarding, as it propels us forward in our goal to break down barriers to homeownership by bringing greater ease and efficiency to the mortgage loan process.” Contact us today to see the technology in action!

Wholesaler News

NEXA Mortgage, one of the largest brokerages in the nation and the biggest by MLO count, abandoned the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) this week, claiming the association has allowed renegade cliques of brokers to “terrorize” larger broker shops. NEXA CEO Mike Kortas said Thursday he tried to get AIME to address the issue by creating an ethics committee, but claims he “never heard back” from the organization. “Unfortunately, AIME will not support the big brokers,” Kortas said. “There (is) a small group of brokers in the association that control it and are terrorizing people. If you don’t think the way they do, they’ll terrorize you online to no end.”

Pennymac TPO announced that they are raising conforming loan limits to $715,0001. “Pennymac continues to support you by providing choices and more options to stay competitive in today’s market. Our strength and stability as a Top Wholesale Lender allows us to fund these loans so you can originate with confidence.” Increased loan limits are effective for new registrations and locks starting on September 9, 2022. Conventional loans only. Government loan limits remain unchanged. Loans with AUS Approve/Ineligible (Ineligible for loan limits only) are acceptable but will not be eligible for appraisal waivers. Appraisal waivers with AUS Approve/Eligible will be accepted.

Capital Markets

Mortgage rates continue to rise: this week’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey from Freddie Mac saw mortgage rates hit their highest levels since 2008 and 2009, depending on the mortgage type. Fed Chair Powell made comments yesterday that did little to stem the selloff when he emphasized the need to make sure inflation expectations are anchored and admitted the clock is ticking for short-term expectations amid concerns that the public will incorporate higher ones into our thinking. Unsurprisingly, he reiterated that the Fed prioritizes price stability and without that, its other mandates (full employment and moderate long-term interest rates) will be unattainable. He also pointed out that the Fed’s eventual balance sheet will be far larger than in the past. The subject of active sales of MBS was not brought up. Overseas, the European Central Bank hiked interest rates by 75-basis points, a historic amount, and President Lagarde hinted it could do the same again as part of “several” future moves to escalate officials’ attack against inflation.

Today’s economic calendar contains just one release, July Wholesale Inventories, due out later this morning. We also have a bevy of Fed speakers making remarks, including Chicago’s Evans, Fed Governor Waller, and KC Fed’s George. With no MBS purchase operation today, the Desk this week purchased the $1.264 billion maximum. 60 percent was in Class A, 10 percent in Class B, and 30 percent in Class C. Next week sees the Desk conducting the last two operations on the current schedule and the last for the foreseeable future with paydowns in the Fed’s portfolio expected to be below the $35 billion tapering cap. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices better by a solid .125 and the 10-year yielding 3.27 percent after closing yesterday at 3.29 percent.

Employment

As a Loan Officer, we know how important it is to work for a company that has your best interests in mind. At Caliber Home Loans, we service a large majority of our loans in house, excluding some Jumbo and bond products, which helps you continue to build upon your relationship with the customer via monthly statements and key alerts. We know that you’ve worked hard for those relationships, which is why we have tools and analytics in place to protect them and give those clients back to you. We’ll even notify you when it might be time to refinance your customer, so you don’t miss out on any opportunities. With an enormous, combined portfolio, we have the size and stability to allow you to focus on what really matters. Ready to make the move? Apply now or contact Brent Lubahn.

Help is here for those impacted by the wave of mortgage-related layoffs! Collectively, mortgage lenders have laid off thousands of employees in 2022 with no end in sight. LenderImplosion was created by seasoned mortgage veterans to help mortgage professionals who have been laid off. The newly launched website allows users to submit their information, which will be made available to their mortgage recruiter network. It also provides links to thousands of mortgage-specific jobs. Leadership from the new site added, "We started this project to help people get into a better position during this crushing market. So many experienced and skilled mortgage professionals are currently unemployed and we want to bridge that talent-rich pool with new employment opportunities." For inquiries and recruiters wanting to join the network, please email info@LenderImplosion.com. The site is 100% free for everyone - job seekers and recruiters alike.