Mid-sized commercial banks are starting to turn up as potential buyers of mortgage banking franchises again, a trend that has not been seen in years, according to investment bankers that ply their trade in the space. “I’m working on two deals right now where the buyers are well capitalized commercial banks,” said Larry Charbonneau, a principal in Charbonneau & Associates, a boutique advisory firm based in Spring, TX. Charbonneau said he cannot identify the buyers due to non-disclosure agreements, but hopes to eventually. He noted that both banks have assets in the $2 billion to $3 billion range. “One of the banks isn’t...
Varde has been looking for an investment in the non-QM space for the past year and finally found Deephaven. “They’ve approached others as well,” one source told IMFnews.
More clarity on the matter is expected later this month when Ginnie is set to release new guidance at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Industry observers expect that last week’s announced go-ahead to merge the Federal Home Loan Banks of Des Moines and Seattle will be a “one-off” as the remaining 10 FHLBanks are still in sound enough financial shape. Talk of a proposed merger between the FHLBank of Des Moines and the smaller, troubled FHLBank of Seattle was first made public in July and approved unanimously by both Bank boards last week.