To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends,  Regulators hate brokered CDs, but in the past month, one-year CDs were paying only 50-65 bps.  Sure, they’re not core deposits, but it’s still pretty cheap money.  We have a fair number of friends who are now working for the FDIC resolution division that deals with failed banks.  If you’re out of work, there are worse ways to make a living.  The compensation seems pretty good, they pay all hotel and travel expenses, ... Read Full Story

They are 90%+ of the mortgage market …..  (BC)   No Money Down Mortgages Continue – Eric Falkenstein – …  FHA is aggressively promoting lending with only 3.5% down, and the $8k tax credit for buying a house less than $200k…. A person who can’t afford a down payment should not be in a home. One needs capital to pay for routine maintenance, and most importantly, if something major happens, like if a heater breaks. A renter is someone who d... Read Full Story

  A co-worker recently asked me about “instant messaging”. I told him that the only instant messaging that I do is with my middle finger. (Illustration not necessary.) In a move that other states may take note of, in North Carolina, the N.C. Office of the Commissioner of Banks (NCCOB) is sending a message by announcing that it is proposing mortgage rules to help reduce foreclosures, to improve consumer protection and the functioning of the mortgage market, and to implement the S... Read Full Story

  To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends,    An interesting juxtaposition in foreign policy circles:  (1) Jimmy Carter’s onetime National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski says that if Israel planes take off to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, we should shoot them down.  But (2) Hillary Clinton warned the Iranians that if they launch a nuclear attack on Israel , we will “obliterate” them.  It’s interesting that when we ask mortgage bankers about t... Read Full Story

   Technical Analysis: 2 videos from Market Club – by Adam Hewisonadam121.  Weekly Trade Triangle Indicates Exit All Long SP 500 Positions 2.  The Decoupling of Gold  ———— Gold and Oil are the New Mecca – has logic – … It is my belief that oil will remain around current levels or pull back for a mild correction as weakening demand and increasing supply weigh in on the price rather than the current fixation on a... Read Full Story

  Credit woes continue – Posted by Prieur du Plessis – … The chart below, courtesy of economist David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff & Associates, shows that credit is still contracting as banks go through the painful process of repairing their balance sheets.  … – Investment Postcards from Cape Town ———— The Puzzle of Asia’s Rapid Rebound – By Anoop Singh – … One part of the answer is the powerful meas... Read Full Story

  Yesterday was a special day. In the late afternoon I visited Costco, which some people feel simultaneously represents everything that is both bad and good about the retail channel. The change in time over the weekend had made it so the setting sun shone through the front entrance, illuminating the Samsung 46 inch plasma, the flannel shirts, AND the pre-lit Christmas tree boxes all at once. It was a tender moment. What are Fed Funds? These are cash balances held by banks with their ... Read Full Story

    << from T2 Report also has T2 report – The performance of the FHA’s loan portfolio - Tim Iacono – … compliments of T2 Partners fine (and lengthy) report on the U.S. housing market that you can download … – themessthatgreenspanmade  ———— Ginnie Mae and the government sponsored mortgage machine – good explanation how GNMA’s “double guarantee” works - Sober Look Blog —̵... Read Full Story

  My boss told me that I should take an “anger management” class in 2010. I told her that I was already angry enough with management. How much money are mortgage bankers, including management, making? According to the MBAA, average profit per loan is up nicely versus the first quarter moving to over $1,300 on each loan originated in the second quarter. In addition, production volumes were up and average pull through went from 67% up to 73%! Check out: http://www.mortgagebankers.... Read Full Story

      Walking Away? – State by State Chart -  Richmond Fed on the GSE’s – “They Encourage Defaults” – Submitted by Bruce Krasting – … The report includes a State-by-State breakdown of the rules for defaulting. – …“I owe this mortgage to the Feds. Even though they have the right to go after my bank account to pay this off I know they will not. So screw them, I‘m not paying. There is no downside”.  … – Zero Hedge... Read Full Story