PHH Changes; Bank Branch Trends; Upcoming Events; Hispanic Ownership Trends
It is hard to argue with nationwide demographic trends, especially when it comes to Hispanic borrowers & first time home buyers in some parts of the nation. Did you know that the three most common last names in California and Texas are: Garcia, Hernandez, and Lopez (California), and Garcia, Smith, and Martinez in Texas? Between 2010 and 2030 it is estimated that there will be 17 million new household formations, of which 40% will be Latino. (And if you’d like some food trivia, tortillas now outsell hamburger buns, and salsa is the #1 condiment sold in the U.S.) More on this trend below, and an upcoming event of note.
The number of announced bank mergers and acquisitions has died down somewhat in August, but it is noteworthy to take a quick look at bank trends. The latest FDIC supervisory insights report finds that of the more than 1,000 new banks formed between 2000 and 2008, 634 institutions were still operating as of September 2015, holding $214 billion in total loans and leases. Still, the failure rate of banks established between 2000 and 2008 was more than twice that of small established banks. Of note, out of 1,042 de novo institutions chartered between 2000 and 2008, 133 (12.8%) failed, representing more than double the failure rate of 4.9 percent for established small banks.
USBankLocations.com reports large banks that have closed the most branches since 2011 in percentage terms are Bank of America (-17%), SunTrust (-14%), PNC (-10%), Regions (-8%) and Fifth Third (-7%). The FDIC reports US banks have reduced the number of bank branches by 6%, since hitting the high water mark in 2009 (total number of branches open at the end of 2015 was 93,283, the lowest level in 10 years), while the number of FDIC insured banks has declined 25% over the same period.
On the non-depository side of things, M&A for mortgage companies and production teams is still significant. Low rates, consumer demand and a slightly improved economy has swelled the pipelines for mortgage companies, which equates to higher volume numbers to bolster sales prices and purchase multiples. "I've been contacted by several companies in the last several weeks, looking for potential buyers", says Dr. Rick Roque, founder of MENLO a boutique investment and M&A firm for Mortgage Banks, "They aren't necessarily looking to "sell", but they are looking to organize a capital partnership that can provide them with access to more legal, regulatory resources and technology tools along with a wider array of products". If you are interested in inquiring about finding a capital or acquisition partner, email Dr. Rick Roqueor call 413.297.6895.
Se habla Espanol? Or, more importantly for lenders, do your hiring practices mirror the ethnic make-up of the area? For the first time since 2009, the Hispanic homeownership rate and the number of owned Hispanic households increased, while overall homeownership rates in the U.S. decreased for the 12th time, according to data from the State of Hispanic Homeownership Report put out by the Hispanic Wealth Project and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic homeownership rate averaged 45.6% in 2015, .2% higher than in 2014. However, in the 12 months ending December 2015, the increase surged from 44.5% to 46.7% - the largest one-year spike in more than a decade. As noted in the top paragraph, the Urban Institute predicts that Hispanics will account for 52% of new homeowners between 2010 and 2030.
While the Hispanic population increased in California, it also increased in non-traditional markets in Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee. While I'm on this subject, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) has its annual convention in Los Angeles in September. 3-4 thousand real estate professionals will be there, and certainly all the "who's who" of Latino professionals in the biz.
(By the way, NAHREP Consulting Services will be there to meet with businesses who want to do a better job at acquiring and servicing diverse, Latino home buyers.)
For those hiring, XINNIX, the Mortgage Academy is hosting a Leadership Webinar event hosted by Casey Cunningham, on September 7th from 2-3PM EDT. "With so many new professionals entering the mortgage industry, there has never been a better time to acquire new talent for your organization! Join Casey Cunningham, founder and CEO of XINNIX, The Mortgage Academy, as she shares valuable insights and practices to help you find, recruit and assimilate new Loan Officers to build your best sales team yet. Find 5 simple sourcing ideas for finding new LOs, tactics for screening, assessing and interviewing candidates, and insights to help you train and assimilate your new Loan Officers.
September also brings Essent's newest class offering: "How to Avoid Mortgage Application Blow Up!" This class is geared toward Loan Officers wishing to avoid delays in the Origination process by providing LOs information needed for asking the right questions upfront. Visit Essent's website to check out all of their September training classes.
Did you know Trended Data represents the most significant addition to credit reports since the inclusion of FICO Scores? OMBA is offering a Trended Data interactive workshop on September 7th developed to provide essential information on the transition to using Trended Credit Data for mortgage underwriting.
Are you registered for the Texas Mortgage Round-Up on September 14th? Now is the time, don't miss out on this years' conference and trade show.
On Sept. 15, October Research, LLC will provide a 60-minute webinar on CFPB's recent proposal to amend its TRID rules. The program features attorneys Phillip Schulman, Holly Spencer Bunting and Charles Weinstein of Mayer Brown LLP. The trio will provide an in-depth review of the CFPB's proposed changes and discuss the bureau's response to key questions raised by mortgage, title and settlement industry professionals in the months following TRID implementation.
There are plenty of FHA training classes available in September: FHA Underwriting training on September 12th in Fort Worth, FHA Appraiser training on September 15th in Chicago, and FHA Appraiser training on September 20th in Atlanta.
myCUmortgage® announced that it will hold its 12th Annual Partner Conference on Oct. 18-20 in Dayton, Ohio. The conference is an ideal opportunity for credit unions to learn about the latest news and trends in the mortgage industry, exchange information with fellow credit union mortgage representatives, pick up best practices and tips for working with members, and network with industry leaders.
On Thursday, November 10th, join MBA for its Whole Loan Trading Workshop in Phoenix. This session will focus on the technological, legal, and other operational aspects of getting deals done as experts discuss the key challenges traders may face with prospective deal mechanics.
As a reminder, Zelman & Associates announced the availability of its The Z Report, a bi-weekly publication priced at roughly $100/month that is targeted directly to industry professionals offering unique analysis and insights of the housing market and related sectors. Unlike traditional newsletters, The Z Report is rooted in proprietary research and opinions and void of advertisements, focusing exclusively on rich content for executives and business leaders overlapping the apartment, banking, building products, homebuilding, home improvement, mortgage, real estate services, single-family rental and title insurance industries.
Turning our collective gaze to the bond markets and interest rates, on Friday the fixed-income markets finally saw some volatility due to Fed Chair Janet Yellen's speech at the economic meeting in Wyoming. Unfortunately for those who didn't lock in the previous three weeks, she said that the case for a short-term interest rate hike has strengthened. This increased the odds for a September rate hike from 24% Friday morning to 36% Friday afternoon with December odds increasing from 54% to 64%.
Fed Chair Yellen said that, "...in light of the continued solid performance of the labor market and our outlook for economic activity and inflation, I believe the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months..." Certainly the August jobs report (due out this Friday - right before Labor Day) will play a big role in the September FOMC decision.
But it isn't as if the U.S. economy is going gangbusters. On Friday we learned that U.S. Q2 GDP growth was revised down to a 1.1% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the second official estimate, and that gross domestic income grew at just 0.2% q/q in the second quarter. Sluggish business spending is one of the major risks to a U.S. GDP growth rebound in the second half of 2016. Regardless, on Friday the 10-year note worsened .5 in price to yield 1.63%, 5-year notes worsened .375, but current coupon agency MBS prices only sank .125-.250 in price.
It's a new week ahead of the Labor Day Holiday weekend - the bond markets will be closing early Friday, and the last few days of August - with lots of news including unemployment data on the 2nd. Jobs and housing constitute the lion's share of the economy, and it's a job news week. Today we've had July Personal Income and Spending (+.4 and +.3%, respectively) and July Core PCE Prices. Tomorrow are the June Case-Shiller 20-city Index and August Consumer Confidence.
Wednesday we can look forward to the MBA's Mortgage Index, August ADP Employment Change, August Chicago PMI, and July Pending Home Sales. Thursday will be the August Challenger Job Cuts, Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending 8/27, Q2 Productivity & Unit Labor Costs, July Construction Spending, and August ISM Index. We wrap up Friday with some trade data and July Factory Orders, but also the Big Daddy: August Employment Situation Report.
After the initial numbers this morning the 10-year is back down to 1.60% with agency MBS prices better by .125 versus Friday's close.
Jobs and Announcements
On the jobs front, Parkside Lending, a national wholesale and correspondent lender, is looking for a few exceptional, seasoned AEs in the following areas: Colorado, Florida (Miami, Jacksonville), Texas (Houston, Dallas, Austin), New Jersey and Massachusetts. "In addition, on the operations side we are seeking senior FHA/DE Underwriters. Our customers close more loans with our sensible approach to underwriting, innovative suite of mortgage products, and proprietary technology. Furthermore, because we don't serve the retail channel, our clients can be confident that we will not compete for their customers. And, once again, Parkside was named by National Mortgage Professional Magazine as one of the Top Mortgage Employers in America for 2016 based on employee feedback. If you or someone you know is interested in joining our team, please contact our Director of Recruiting, Rick Nelson."
On the management side of things Jordan Capital Finance is hiring a SVP, Sales & Marketing to lead a sales team and its marketing strategy. JCF provides private money financing for investors who buy, renovate, sell, and rent residential real estate, and offer lines of credit up to $7.5M and lend in 40 states. "We do not lend to home owners. JCF is extremely well funded by Garrison Partners, a premier New York private equity firm, and is on an aggressive growth path. We are a top 5 lender in our industry. Our management has closed $150 billion in mortgage volume. The SVP must have at least 7 years' experience, have a proven track record of exceptional senior sales management success, a degree from a top 4-year college, and be extremely savvy with marketing technology. The position requires a very strong work ethic and will receive a competitive salary, but a substantial portion of compensation will be incentive-based. The candidate reports to the CEO and should live in Chicago." For consideration, please contact President Mark Filler.
A few thousand miles away, a national mortgage lender is looking for a Branch Retail Production Manager to lead an existing retail, realtor-based $200M per year ($17M per month) team in the Seattle / Bellevue, Washington markets whose role will be to lead and support existing loan officers and act as a conduit between sales and ops/fulfillment. Compensation is a base plus override on existing production plus growth bonuses. The ideal candidate will have a $3-$5M/month branch to possibly merge with existing retail team to make one large fulfillment platform. There are strong growth goals for the Seattle market to reach $1B in 2017. Interested candidates, please respond to me with inquiries.
On the flip side, PHH announced job cutbacks in the Northeast. The layoffs stem from two issues: PHH has lost a portion of mortgage servicing business from HSBC Bank USA N.A. and, at the same time, it is shifting mortgage origination work currently conducted in Amherst to Florida.