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Inside Mortgage Trends

October 30, 2009

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Mortgage Banking Profits Decline Again in Third Quarter of 2009

Mortgage banking profits fell again in the third quarter of 2009 as production volume dropped sharply and lenders continued to cope with rising credit-related costs, according to a new Inside Mortgage Profitability analysis. A diverse group of 19 mortgage lenders reported a total of $6.074 billion in earnings from their mortgage banking operations during the third quarter. That was considerably... Read More

Independent Mortgage Banks Face Uphill Struggle

Independent mortgage banking companies have some inherent advantages in a market dominated by huge national aggregators, but their operational edge may mean less as the regulatory playing field becomes more lopsided. Independent mortgage bankers are generally more nimble and in closer contact with their customer base, said Craig Focardi, a senior research director at TowerGroup, during a panel discussion... Read More

Average Profit Margins Improved in 2Q09

Mortgage bankers earned an average profit of $1,358 per loan during the second quarter of 2009, as heavy refinance activity boosted overall productivity, according to the quarterly performance report recently released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Lenders participating in the MBA survey were able to close an average of 5.5 loans per production employee each month during the second quarter... Read More

Getting a Better Handle on Your Data is Critical

In today’s increasingly competitive landscape and toughening regulatory environment, being on top of one’s mortgage data has never been more essential, according to Wil Armstrong, CEO of software developer Blueberry Systems. There are three big technology challenges facing mortgage bankers these days, according to Armstrong. “There are three issues: data, data and data,” he said... Read More

BB&T Builds on Colonial’s Warehouse Platform

BB&T Corp. is beefing up its warehouse lending operation after taking over Colonial BancGroup, which flamed out in August along with its major business partner, Taylor Bean & Whitaker. BB&T swooped in to acquire $22 billion of Colonial’s assets from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in August. Now, BB&T is welding its own small warehouse division to Colonial’s, a move in which the company sees a... Read More

Mortgage Network Moves Shrewdly

A “cautious opportunist” is how Brian Koss, executive vice president in charge of production at Mortgage Network Inc. (MNET) in Danvers, MA, describes his company these days as the firm retrenches and repositions itself from a $4 billion national wholesaler to a $2 billion regional retailer. The company has been making about a dozen broker acquisitions in the last two years – with a few more on the... Read More

Profitability Briefs

Skyline Financial, an independent retail direct mortgage lender, recently selected Ellie Mae’s Encompass360 Mortgage Management Solution as its technology for managing the mortgage process and expanding its origination business. Skyline Financial says it is acquiring several mortgage companies and enabling them to become direct lenders by providing them with “the powerful... Read More

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