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Inside Mortgage Trends

May 12, 2006

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An Era Ends with ARM Pioneer Golden West Merging with Wachovia in $26 billion Deal

Such a market moving deal is rare these days, but Wachovia has struck an agreement to buy option ARM lender Golden West Financial for $25.5 billion. The merger would catapult Charlotte-based Wachovia well into the top 10 ranking of mortgage originators. For the first three months of this year, Wachovia was the 10th largest originator, according to our affiliated newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance. … Read More

Lenders Collect $753 Million in MI Premiums Through Captive Reinsurance Units in 2005

Mortgage bankers last year pulled in a record $753.2 million in mortgage insurance premiums ceded by private MIs to their sponsored captive reinsurance vehicles. The total amount of mortgage insurance premiums ceded to captive reinsurance entities last year represented a 7.4 percent increase over the $701.1 million recorded in 2004, according to a new analysis of MI regulatory filings by Inside Mortgage Profitability. … [One data table included] Read More

Lenders Looking to Remain Competitive Should Consider Sending Some Work Offshore to India

If lenders want to maintain, at least, or improve profits, a new TowerGroup report suggests offshoring at least some parts of their business operations. “Innovative chief information officers are increasingly looking to offshore outsourcing as a way to get more for their money,” wrote Craig Focardi, an analyst with TowerGroup and author of “IT Services and BPO Offshoring to India: From Leading-Edge Strategy to Mainstream Activity.” … Read More

ebank Financial Wants to Leverage its Thrift Charter and Become a National Mortgage Lender

Tiny ebank Financial Services, which owns the Atlanta-based online retail bank, ebank, figured it could leverage its nationally recognized Web technology to become a significant player in the origination game, so it started up a new mortgage company called ebank Mortgage. It might be true that the mortgage market is pulling back from the heady refi boom days, but it does not make any difference to ebank. “The mortgage market is cyclical and has… Read More

IndyMac Sees Greater Profit Potential for Its Reverse Mortgage Line by Taking the Unit Public with an IPO

California-based lender IndyMac plans to raise capital to grow its reverse mortgage business through an initial public offering of stock. “We see the reverse mortgage business as one that demographically has enormous growth potential,” said Michael Perry, IndyMac chairman and CEO, explaining the rationale behind a planned spin-off of the company’s Financial Freedom unit. … Read More

Volatile Earnings Force NetBank to Sell Its Servicing Business, Will Use Cash to Invest in Profitable Lines

Shaky earnings from its servicing operation have forced NetBank to offer its servicing platform and most of its servicing portfolio for sale. NetBank said selling the servicing unit will free-up between $20 million and $35 million in risk-based capital for the online bank to invest in more profitable initiatives. … Read More

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