Tag Archives: Wells Fargo

More mortgage professionals received a desk and day job as hiring rose and layoffs fell over the third quarter, according to a recent study. In releasing the Third-Quarter 2011 Mortgage Employment Index, industry data offered up a net gain of 2,738 jobs for mortgage lenders and other professionals. New hires leapt ahead to 5,240 over the third quarter, offering considerable contrast to 2,502 layoffs over the same time frame. Of these last third-quarter gains, Texas emerged as the state with the most at 699 job gains.

Political trouble in Greece sent stocks and shares for major mortgage lenders tumbling Friday, even as the world's 20 wealthiest nations placed eight U.S. banks on a list that may require systemically risky institutions to shore up their capital reserves. The decision revealed the degree to which events overseas continue to shake U.S. mortgage lenders in an increasingly interdependent global economy, where international players fear the potential for a double-dip recession and ripple effects from systemically risky institutions.

Multiple news reports faulted MF Global with fallout for stocks and shares among major lenders Monday as the New York Federal Reserve delisted the embattled securities firm. The Dow Jones industrial average spun into a 276-point tailspin to hit 11,955 points by end of day, taking with it the shares for several mortgage lenders that lifted last week when European leaders announced a bailout package for debt-ridden Greece. At least one news outlet said the downfall of MF Global lent credibility to the Volcker Rule.

Litigation fees, bold restructuring moves, and new regulation helped shape earnings figures over the third quarter for the nation's largest lenders and financial institutions in October. Along with numerous other banking holding companies and investment firms, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo released their reports to the media and investors over the past two weeks. The results: more mortgage lenders continue to exit the business, while financial institutions stepped up the public debate against onerous regulations.

Wells Fargo has a new face to celebrate with the addition of Federico Pena to the board of directors for the major mortgage lender. Increasing the board├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós size to 16, Pena will serve on the audit and examination committee for Wells, according to a statement released by the lender.

The nation's four biggest mortgage lenders recently signed up for modifications to the Home Affordable Refinance Program, adding credibility to a mass refinance opportunity that met with cheers and criticism this week. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced this week that it would lift the 125-percent loan-to-value ratio for mortgages, do away with risk-based fees for borrowers with short-term loans, and extend the lifetime of the program until 2013. B of A, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo all came forward.

Bank shares lifted in the enthusiastic market response to news that European Union states reached a grand bargain to save the euro, but analysts speaking with MReport pare jubilation with forecasts for fewer refinance applications and home purchases. After two years of time spent in a debt crisis, European leaders cobbled together a third bailout measure to salvage debt-ridden Greece and prevent further peril for the continent├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós common currency.

The meeting cancellation before a major summit of European Union state leaders spooked the markets Tuesday, according to multiple news outlets, leading the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a 207-point nosedive and slashing stocks and shares for the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós mortgage lenders. The investor selloff wiped clean three days of otherwise solid gains for bank stocks and shares, which deflated on news that troubled economic heavyweights Greece and Italy may still tumble.

Rising homebuilder confidence seen Tuesday coupled with news of a surge in multifamily housing development ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the sector typical for rental construction ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô reported Monday. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac offered up the data and analysis in an October 2011 Economic and Housing Market Outlook, with the consensus that tenant-occupied properties are on track to continue outpacing homeownership rates. New construction starts rose this year with a minimum 20 dwellings.

Stocks and shares for mortgage lenders and homebuilding companies got swept into a market updraft following news reports that major European economies had agreed to bail out their Mediterranean counterparts. Several weeks of speculation trail the news, with investors fleeing, then returning to shares and stocks on wobbly notions that Europe├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós two biggest economies, France and Germany, will pull debt-ridden laggards Greece, Italy, and potentially others away from a default scenario.