Tag Archives: Wells Fargo

Mortgage brokers, originators, and other loan production personnel continue to face a tough jobs market as two mortgage giants slashed their payrolls, according to second-quarter employment numbers released by MortgageDaily.com. The mortgage Web site predicted that bad loans and invitingly low mortgage rates could create the pickup needed for lenders to hire more brokers and loan officers. The results follow much worse numbers from the first-quarter over 2011.

Another week rolled by with more instances of mortgage fraud, as reported by several news outlets from around the country. Defendants alternately received indictments, pled guilty, and submitted to their sentences from courts as a result of allegations and convictions stemming from mortgage fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money-laundering activities. The alleged activities resulted in millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained money from lenders.

Big lenders are set to unload up to $5 billion in commercial mortgage bonds, with planned securities offerings scheduled in September and October. Participating financial institutions include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Co., Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The upcoming bond sales are largely attributed to the effects of struggling U.S. employment numbers, the European debt crisis, and the resistance against debt.

The Mortgage Bankers Association came out Thursday with a list that ranks commercial and multifamily mortgage servicers on the basis of their loan size, financial balance, and amount lent to borrowers midyear 2011. Wells Fargo achieved the number-one spot for both master servicing and commercial mortgage-backed securities. According to a statement, the MBA said that Wells Fargo, PNC Mortgage Real Estate, and Bank of America topped the master and primary servicing list for commercial and multifamily CMBS loans.

Spurred by ongoing fears about a global economic slowdown and the spreading European debt contagion, the Dow Jones Industrial Average replayed the daytime drama previously seen last week by plunging by over 400 points. As before, the nosedive crashed a party exclusive to mortgage banks and homebuilding companies, gutting their stocks and closing shares at new lows. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo saw their stocks drop, mirroring sharp losses for Beazer Homes, D.R. Horton, KBH Homes, and Lennar Corp.

The market remains a dim one for new single-family homes, according to an index jointly released by Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders. The index registered confidence at 15 on a 0-to-100 scale, staying largely the same since July. The low confidence follows a hit taken by homebuilding companies in the stock market last week. Analysts and economists weighed in with MReport about how slowing momentum in home construction and sales, as reflected by homebuilder confidence, impacts job creation and consumer confidence.

Wells Fargo has a new leader for its consumer-lending business in Avid Modjtabai, and additionally, Wells confirmed that Mike Heid will take over as president of its mortgage unit. Modjtabai was formerly the head of Wells├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó technology and operations, and his new role will encompass mortgages, home-equity, and student loans under the Wells Fargo Consumer Lending division.

On Monday the National Association of Home Builders reported an increasingly sunny outlook among single-family homebuilders, with a Housing Market Index jointly released by Wells Fargo signaling a 13-point rise in homebuilder confidence-an uptick from the three-point plunge in June. In July two of the three indexes saw surges, up from steady declines over May. Current sales conditions went up to 15 from two points-the same as in May-as sales expectations for the next six months jumped by 22 points.

After a contentious suit, Wells Fargo agreed to settle with a group of pension funds and investors over allegations the mortgage giant dropped the ball on the risks involved with mortgage-backed securities.

HUD and the Treasury Department jointly released the June edition of the Obama administration├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Housing Scorecard, offering mixed results as home sales crested on a slight uptick and an oversupply of foreclosed properties remained in place. According to the Scorecard, existing home sales jumped slightly over June, trending from 25,100 to 26,900. Mortgage rates elevated the new home sales by staying low, with a number of borrowers refinancing their mortgages to recoup losses and boost their savings.