Mortgage bankers of all sizes continued to report strong earnings on their mortgage banking operations during the fourth quarter of 2012, but the salad days may be over.
The mortgage banking industrys record level of profitability may have peaked, as gain-on-sale margins have already begun to slip and more dark clouds appear on the horizon, according to industry analysts.
Lenders One, the nations largest mortgage cooperative, is telling its members they need to get their Fannie Mae servicing approvals by the end of January to be eligible for discounts under an affinity deal it has with the GSE.
Most securities issuers and investors who attended this weeks American Securitization Forum ASF 2013 conference in Las Vegas were optimistic about the market. We are seeing demand that we have not seen in years, said Michael Binz, a managing director and business leader of North America ABS at Standard & Poors. Binz noted that the mood at the conference a year ago was starkly different, with fewer investors, diminishing supply and regulatory uncertainty. About 5,660 people registered to attend the conference this year, up from 5,000 last year, according to Tom Deutsch, executive director of the ASF. Deutsch noted...