Mortgage banking profits fell during the first quarter of 2006 even though most margins on new loan production increased, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Profitability. A diverse group of 27 major mortgage lenders reported a combined $2.76 billion in earnings on their mortgage operations during the first quarter of this year. That was down 8 percent from the $3.01 billion these same firms reported in the fourth quarter of 2005. … [One data table included]
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Fair value accounting is very close to becoming a reality for mortgage firms as the Financial Accounting Standards Board is now considering comment letters, the last step before adopting the proposed statement, “The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities.” Countrywide supports the proposed rule as does the Mortgage Bankers Association. The guidance would “lead to greater transparency” for those who read and use financial statements, Countywide’s Anne McCallion, senior managing director of…
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Chase has inked a deal to power the mortgage center of BuySide Realty, an online buyers’ agent, which has just been launched. It is just the kind of alliance that Thomas Garvey, vice chairman of Chase Home Finance, is looking for these days, since the leads generated from the Web site are “warm handoffs.” Those are shoppers who have telephoned BuySide expressing an interest in buying a home, which they have found without the help…
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The mortgage industry has a checkered reputation, whether deserved or not. Yet one company is standing out and it is because HomeBanc Mortgage puts its employees first, even before the consumer. The Georgia-based lender placed 14th this year on Fortune Magazine’s best 100 companies-to-work-for list and was ranked No. 1 as best place to work in Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Raleigh, NC, by those cities’ respective business journals. …
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PHH Mortgage is preparing for life after its spin-off from Cendant with a business strategy that focuses on outsourcing and strategic partnerships. But how much business is there to be had from those relationships? Apparently not much, if you believe analysts at Morgan Stanley. “The outsourcing niche may be viable, but it does not appear to be large,” the investment bank said in a recent report initiating its coverage of PHH’s stock. …
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