Hedge fund giant Cerberus Capital Management has quietly purchased a nonbank mortgage company based in Georgia and plans to use the firm to grow it into a national player in residential finance, according to industry sources close to the deal. One official inside of Cerberus confirmed the purchase to Inside Mortgage Finance as well as some of the growth plans, but declined to identify the company. Cerberus, which makes investments worldwide, operates dozens of funds, many of which target specific sectors or projects. The sale was facilitated...
It appears that Cerberus is going down the mortgage aisle one more time. Let's hope it doesn't end like GMAC. Meanwhile, jumbo MBS market seizes up, temporarily.
Over the past two weeks, mortgage lenders have seen their application volumes and origination pipelines get whipsawed by rising interest rates. But its not the run-up in rates, per se, that set off alarm bells in the industry. Its how fast rates climbed. As Inside Mortgage Finance went to press this week, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was at roughly 2.60 percent. On a historical basis, thats an attractive rate and as many lenders have pointed out: consumers can still obtain a 30-year fixed-rate conventional loan at 4 percent, depending on the points paid. But a month ago, the 10-year Treasury was...