Notary Product, New Correspondent Lender; Events and Training for September

By: Rob Chrisman • Mon, Sep 17 2018, 9:03 AM

Given plenty of warning, and evacuations, the deaths in the Southeast from Florence have people wondering, “Why do residents stick around?” It is complicated, ranging from stubbornness to not having enough money to buy gasoline, but this NY Times article does a good job summarizing it.

Upcoming September Events

Momentifi CEO Gibran Nicholas is hosting a series of webinars this week to help loan originators create fourth-quarter sales momentum and generate purchase business from referral sources other than real estate agents. The lead topic is, “How to Generate 10 Extra Loans from Financial Advisors in the Next 90 Days.” Click here to sign up and forward the link to your loan officers. Separately, Momentifi is excited to launch its new enterprise API and sales technology that helps mortgage sales teams leverage enterprise CRM to create an extra $4 million in annual revenue from your tech stack and digital mortgage strategy. Click here to see a short overview. Gibran will be at the Digital Mortgage Conference today and tomorrow and you can reach out to him directly to schedule a meeting or demo.

Register now for the next FREE webinar, Customer Experience in the Digital Era, from the California MBA's Mortgage Technology & Marketing Committee, on September 20th at 11AM PT. This month's webinar is hosted by Charles Warnock of The Content Marketing Factory, and will feature Joe Dahleen, EVP & Chief Strategy Officer at MortgageHippo, Mikhail Cook, SVP Sales, EXOS Technologies at ServiceLink, and John Seroka, Principal of Seroka Brand Development. You'll learn how to create and deliver powerful customer experiences and bring the "lender for life" concept closer to reality.

On September 20th, Plaza is providing a complimentary training webinar: Financial Planner's Guide to Reverse Mortgages.

FHA is offering an online webinar, September 20th, on FHA Approval and Recertification Requirements.

Register for the California MBA Legal Issues Committee Webinar on September 20th. The presentation will include CFPB update, What’s new with Attorney-Client Privilege: Perspectives from Inside and Outside Counsels and impact of Perez vs Wells Fargo.

On September 23rd, MBA Education's Advanced Risk Management Concepts Workshop is a must-attend course for any mid- and senior-level mortgage risk professional looking to solidify their skillset and bolster their industry knowledge. The course occurs in conjunction with MBA's Risk Management, QA and Fraud Prevention Forum (RMQA18) in Los Angeles, attend both to save on registration fees* and get a comprehensive overview of the risk topics you need to be familiar with to succeed.

Register for the Ellie Mae live webinar on September 25th: Navigating Mortgage Mergers & Acquisitions: People, Systems, Culture.

And we have the September 27th Mortgage Quality & Compliance Committee (MQAC) webinar on "Advertising and Social Media Compliance".

Capital Markets

Regarding natural disasters and economic conditions, Hurricane Florence is expected to impact things the same way as other events. At first weekly first-time unemployment claims will rise. September auto sales will fall, but October sales will spike due to buyers replacing flood damaged cars. Similarly, September employment growth will weaken, but will probably be upwardly revised the following month. Housing will also be temporarily depressed. Things tend to bounce back.

Rates are still expected to creep higher. The U.S. 10-year closed Friday at 3% after the release of an August Retail Sales report that was below estimates but contained an upward revision to the July reading. The news cycle centered around reports that President Trump is seeking to impose tariffs on another $200 billion worth of imports from China despite the recent efforts to revive trade talks. Other news of note includes Mary Daly becoming the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on October 1. And we learned that the preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for September was the second-highest level since 2004 as positive sentiment was widespread across all major socioeconomic groups, a good sign for consumer spending activity.

There are several central bank decisions including the BoJ on Wednesday with the SNB and Norges Bank on Thursday. In the U.S. today's calendar is light with only the September Empire State manufacturing Index (-6.6 to 19, whatever those mean). Tomorrow things pick back up slightly with the September NAHB Housing Market Index and July Net Long-Term TIC Flows. Wednesday brings the usual weekly MBA Mortgage Index, August Housing Starts, Building Permits, Q2 Current Account Balance, and weekly crude inventories. Thursday is Weekly Claims, the September Philadelphia Fed Survey, August Existing Home Sales, and August Leading Indicators. The week begins with rates a shade higher than Friday with the 10-year at 3.01% and agency MBS prices worse almost .125.

Lender Products and Services

11 MORTGAGE (Eleven Mortgage) announced the launch of its wholesale and correspondent lending platform. The management team averages 25 years of wholesale and correspondent lending experience and extensive relationships across the nation. The veteran sales management, account executives and support staff are powered by a proven operations team and a modern lending portal. 11 MORTGAGE is pleased to announce the nomination of Thomas Michel as the EVP head of wholesale and correspondent lending. Michel stated, “11 MORTGAGE is setting a new standard in the mortgage market. Our business is built on relationships, precision, and unparalleled service to make mortgage transactions easy for brokers and customers alike. Unprecedented speed and service beyond your expectations are at the heart of every loan. On a scale of one to ten, we are eleven… 11 MORTGAGE.

ARMCO Reduces Lender Data Validation Times by 50 Percent with DataSure™ - Technology validates data and automatically communicates corrections back to LOS. ACES Risk Management (ARMCO), the leading provider of technology for loan quality and compliance testing, data validation and analytics, announced the launch of DataSure™, a quality control technology that increases data validation accuracy and efficiency, and reduces lenders’ data validation task times by 50 percent or more. In a matter of moments, DataSure validates loan data for thousands of key data points within a lender’s source system (i.e. loan origination system) by cross referencing those data points against data contained in loan documents. It then automatically communicates all corrected data fields back to the lender’s source system. This assures data consistency and accuracy at each step of the loan process. DataSure also provides robust reporting capabilities, so lenders can identify the root causes of their data discrepancies and adjust their practices going forward. Read the press release.

From NotaryCam comes the true-life story of Dana Jackson, an Army wife whose husband was reassigned from Washington to Georgia. The Jacksons found a buyer for their home, but the closing date posed challenges: Dana was in Illinois visiting family, and her mother-in-law (a cosigner on the home) was in Missouri. The family’s title agent recommended NotaryCam’s remote online notarization (RON) service. The Jacksons used iPads and laptops to join a Virginia-based notary in a virtual signing room. “We were all connected and looking at each other from four separate states,” said Dana. “At first everyone had a little uncertainty … but it was easy and took just about 30 minutes. Seriously, the hardest part was picking the time to do it. After that, it couldn't have run smoother." If you’ve faced similar challenges and wished you had a customer-friendly solution, check out NotaryCam’s demo tomorrow at Digital Mortgage or email founder Rick Triola.

In its 54th consecutive and uninterrupted year providing warehouse lines to mortgage bankers, Comerica Bank is proud to recognize its team members for their dedicated service to the industry and their customers. The individuals on the Comerica Mortgage Banker Finance team average over 16 years in warehouse lending and 20 years in banking. Comerica Bank is also proud of its employees for their participation in the industry through support, advocacy, and volunteer efforts from Main Street to Washington D.C. The team of bankers at Comerica Bank is eager to learn about your business needs and grow with you. If you’re looking to diversify your lines or work with a more sophisticated warehouse partner, let Comerica Bank raise your expectations of what a bank can be. Please contact Von Ringger (313-222-9285). Member FDIC. Equal Opportunity Lender. Loans subject to credit approval.

Employment, Wholesale Business Opportunity, and New Positions

Inc. magazine has named Homespire Mortgage Corporation to its Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies for 2018 for the second consecutive year. The list represents an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The company’s position at #1306 places Homespire Mortgage Corporation among an elite group of companies that achieved remarkable and sustained three-year growth and expansion. “To be named to this prestigious list for the second consecutive year is an incredible honor for Homespire Mortgage. It is a true testament to our sustained growth, our culture and our greatest strength of all, our people,” said Michael Rappaport, President & CEO. Since its formation, Homespire Mortgage Corporation has expanded its presence into 29 states and the District of Columbia. The company plans to expand its presence into new markets, including a national call center next year.

Nations Lending Corporation, a privately-owned mortgage lender headquartered in Independence, Ohio, has announced that Jordan Gerard has been promoted to the new role of Divisional Sales Manager. Gerard will oversee the company’s strategy to grow its retail footprint in all markets. Prior to this role, Gerard was a successful branch manager at Nations Lending running multiple offices in several states. “Jordan’s experience and success building several of our top performing branches from the ground up will serve Nations Lending well in his new role.” said Nations Lending CEO Jeremy Sopko. Nations Lending is a rapidly growing company that is looking to hire purchase focused originators across the country. For more information please visit the company’s website.

In MI news, Essent Guaranty is looking for Account Managers in the San Diego, CA and New England areas. Essent Guaranty, a leader in the mortgage insurance industry and a great place to work, is looking for a results-driven Account Manager to call on mortgage lenders, banks, and credit unions. Essent offers a very competitive compensation and benefits package and makes it easy for serious professionals to transition. As an Account Manager, you will drive profitable mortgage insurance business using a risk centric approach and a goal of delivering value and added credit enhancement solutions. If you have significant mortgage lending experience and a minimum of 5 years of relevant business development experience within the financial services, mortgage, secondary markets, capital markets or mortgage insurance industries, this may be the job for you. If you are interested in joining our team, please send a resume to Robyn Donnelly. Learn more about Essent Guaranty at www.essent.us.

“We have outgrown our parent – a Nevada-based wholesale division currently funding $50 million a month in 10 states looking to find a new home. We currently operate with healthy margins and are well into the black each month, our growth has been slowed by warehouse capacity and limited take out investor options. Our business mix is over 60% purchase and we break down with 60% Conventional 35% FHA/VA/USDA & 5% Jumbo NON/QM. If you think we might be a fit for you please email opportunity@wholesalemtg.com we look forward to talking with you.”

Congrats to David Akre who recently assumed the EVP of Capital Markets role at Sprout Mortgage. Sprout is one of top originators of non-QM loans and channels include wholesale, correspondent and direct to consumer. (He’ll also be moderating the Jumbo and Non-QM panel at the upcoming ABS East conference September 24th in Miami where panelists include members of senior management from Deephaven, Angel Oak, and SG Capital.)