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Inside Mortgage Trends

November 30, 2007

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Countrywide Executives Strive to Dispel Concerns About Long-Term Prospects

Even though Countrywide Financial recently reported its first quarterly loss in 25 years, top company officials see plenty of reason for optimism. David Bigelow, managing director of investor relations, this week highlighted for participants at a Friedman... Read More

Flagstar Positioned to Survive the Downturn Despite Subprime Exposure and Wholesale Focus

Flagstar Bancorp has survived numerous financial crises and CEO Mark Hammond says it is well positioned to weather the subprime mortgage market unrest of 2007. “One of the questions I keep getting is: ‘Is Flagstar going to survive? Is it a survivor?’” analyst Paul... Read More

Thrifts Reap Increasing Profits from Servicing, Even as MSR Balances Remain Comparatively Low

The market forces that have all but stalled mortgage originations have increased the profitability of the mortgage servicing business. Thrifts’ servicing income for the first three quarters of 2007 was up 200.7 percent compared with... [Includes one chart and one graph] Read More

Freddie Mac Suffers $2 Billion Third Quarter Loss, Forcing GSE to Raise Capital and Slash Dividend

A record $2.0 billion loss for the third quarter is forcing mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac to sell $6 billion in preferred stock and slash its dividend in half in an effort to bolster its capital – the first cut since the company went public in 1989. Freddie Chairman... Read More

H&R Block Still Trying to Sell Option One as CEO Resigns; Wells Fargo Reports Home Equity Losses

The pending sale of Option One Mortgage took another turn last week, as Mark Ernst resigned as chairman, president and CEO of H&R Block, its corporate parent. While no official reason was given, it is suspected that troubles at Option One played a large part. Interim... Read More

HSBC Moves Troubled SIVs to its Balance Sheet, Raising Speculation on a Parallel Move by Citigroup

HSBC Holdings PLC announced this week that it would put two funds with mortgage exposure on its balance sheet and earmark $35 billion to keep them afloat, generating speculation as to whether rival Citigroup should — or can — follow suit. HSBC, Europe’s largest... Read More

Mortgage Profitability Will Continue to Decline in 2008, S&P Analysis Predicts

The chaos in the mortgage markets is only going to get worse in 2008, which will be the worst year for mortgage banking profitability since at least the 1990s, a report from Standard & Poor’s predicts. “Negative home price trends, the shutdown of... Read More

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