Florida is sometimes called, “God’s waiting room.” The area, tragically, has seen its share of destruction & death this month, but the airports are back up and running. “In the old days,” one would go to the airport to fly. And only to fly. Nowadays, there’s fine dining, rocking chairs, dog walking areas, art, shops, activities for the kids, and so on. Reinvention? According to Credit Suisse, between 20-25% of American shopping malls will be shuttered in the coming 5 years. In response, mall owners are reinventing the mall experience to include apartments, hotels and greater entertainment such as bocce ball and bowling. Is something similar happening with residential lenders as they visit, or re-visit, SBA, non-QM, reverse, renovation, USDA, or bond programs? Others are renewing their focus on service: doing everything precisely, exactly, repeatedly, correct.

Training and Events

On September 20th, join the Buckley Sandler webcast designed to help mortgage companies navigate complex and time-sensitive issues as they work to aid borrowers in disaster-affected areas while still meeting their compliance obligations.

The Mortgage Bankers Association of St. Louis (MBA St Louis) will welcome representatives from Fannie and Freddie to a luncheon on Thursday, September 21st. Click here for more information.

The first annual Colorado Mortgage Summit event is happening next week on Sept 19th.

On September 20th join Strategic Compliance Partners for an informative webinar on escrow fraud. Hear from industry leaders Tom Linehan, EVP of Bank United, and Tom Cronkright, Co-Founder of CertifID, as they discuss how Lenders are in jeopardy of cybercrime and theft of escrow - and how they can protect themselves. 

Join RESPA expert Phillip Schulman, partner at Mayer Brown, for Marketing, Entertainment and Educational Activities under RESPA, a live event produced by October Research and sponsored by SoftPro 2-3 p.m. on Sept. 20th. He will break down the latest HUD and CFPB interpretations of this complex regulation and answer questions affecting lenders, compliance attorneys, title and settlement agents and underwriters. Topics will include office rentals, co-advertising, marketing service agreements and much more.

On September 18th, learn about Plaza's newest underwriting feature with regards to asset depletion, which allows a borrower to use their assets to establish monthly income for qualifying. Register now.

FAMC has published its September Wholesale "Monthly Customer Training Calendar".  This month's calendar offers a variety of training opportunities such as "Analyzing Appraisals", "Income Analysis for Salaried Borrowers", "Calculating Rental Income", "Preventing Mortgage Fraud", and "Optimizing LinkedIn".

Sun West Mortgage Company, Inc. posted its webinar schedule for September. In this series, you will benefit from presentations on: What are Reverse Mortgages? Processing a Reverse Mortgage and Learning How Easy it is to Submit a Loan in Sunsoft Online.

Register for Mortgage Quality & Compliance Committee (MQAC) September 28th webinar on the "Latest Developments on Per Diem Interest Compliance".

To help support Wells Fargo Funding clients' implementation efforts, a recording of our Uniform Closing Dataset (UCD) Q & A session is now available. Login and go to News from Wells Fargo section.

OMBA and Freddie Mac are providing a free webinar on November 16th to discuss smart ways to combat mortgage fraud.

Hear what servicers need and want to know most at MBA's National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo 2018. This conference leverages the power of servicer-to-servicer learning and networking with abundant opportunities to engage with industry leaders and peers.

Register for MMLA Southeast Chapter Luncheon - Appraisals in the New Economy on October 2, 2017.

Join the Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals on October 6-7, 2017, at the Wild Horse Pass Casino & Hotel for an extraordinary event.

On October 6th, BakerHostetler's Financial Services team and the Ohio Bankers League will present "The Future of Financial Services" in Columbus, Ohio. The program will feature CFPB Director Richard Cordray and U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, who will discuss industry developments in a "fireside chat" format with our own Steve Dettelbach and Mike Ferguson. The panel will also feature observations and insights from industry-leading attorneys and business people.

Join AEI in Washington D.C. for a two-day conference, October 11th and 12th, highlighting the latest insights from several mortgage and collateral risk measures, along with new research on the anatomy of risk metrics and loan pricing. Experts from a variety of backgrounds will share lessons learned from their efforts to objectively measure housing risk and apply it to today's market conditions. If you aren't able to attend in person, To watch live online, click here on October 11 at 7:45 AM ET. Registration is not required.\

Capital Markets

Bond prices are certainly influenced by supply and demand. The question is occasionally asked, "Who wants to own a 30-year fixed-rate bond?" Well, Austria will soon sell bonds coming due 20 September 2117, making it the first eurozone member to offer 100-year government bonds. Buyers submitted offers for more than €11 billion of the century bonds before the government closed the offering.

Economists are certainly interested in disasters, and their impact on the economy. The destruction of private wealth and public infrastructure from Harvey & Irma is estimated at $200 billion. The impact on GDP growth will critically depend on how fast refineries in Houston and tourism in Florida recover, along with how much insurance money and government disaster assistance arrives, and when. GDP for the 3rd quarter will take a hit, but will boosted as rebuilding occurs. The long run effects will be close to zero. 

A drop in GDP would certainly suggest that rates here in the U.S. may unexpectedly decline, once again proving the experts, who thought rates would be higher now, wrong. Yet a rise in bond yields that began this week might be not a blip but a developing trend that could catch investors unaware. Bond prices, buoyed by geopolitical fears and expected devastation from Hurricane Irma, are falling as realities of stagnant inflation and monetary policy set in. And as bond prices fall, rates go up.

Also of interest is what will happen to Treasuries when the Fed unwinds its balance sheet. The Federal Reserve is likely to decide next week to begin letting assets roll off its balance sheet as bonds mature, instead of reinvesting the proceeds. The fed funds futures market sees a 52.9% chance of a rate hike in December, up from 41.3% yesterday.

Not much happened in the bond market Thursday, and it spent the day "treading water" after a little volatility early in the morning caused by a strong CPI number. Consumer Prices were above expectations due to a 6.3% increase in the gasoline index and a 0.5% jump in the shelter index. The key takeaway from the report is that the year-over-year bump in headline inflation toward the Fed's 2.0% target will prompt the market to consider more carefully the prospect of another rate hike before the end of the year.

This morning we've seen August Retail Sales (-.2%, weak, directly impacting GDP) and the September Empire State Manufacturing Survey (up to "24.4," strong). Coming up are the industrial production and capacity utilization duo, July business inventories, whatever, those are, and the University of Michigan Sentiment Index. The yield on the 10-year, which ended Thursday at 2.20%, is 2.20%, and agency MBS prices are roughly unchanged versus last night's close.

Jobs and Products

First Cal is continuing its strong growth trajectory and is excited to announce that industry veteran Pete Butler has joined the Retail Channel to manage the Mountain West. "Pete has over 30 years of experience in developing people & growing businesses in all aspects of mortgage lending, and brings a wealth of knowledge and is a welcome addition to our team to further the momentum we are building across the country," said Joe McKone, EVP, National Production. To continue supporting growth, First Cal is seeking Managers and Retail Loan Advisors in AZ, CO, NM, NV and UT. The Company is a FNMA & FHLMC Seller/Servicer, GNMA I&II Issuer, as well as jumbo and non-QM lender operating across multiple platforms. First California Mortgage Company has been voted as one of Mortgage Executive Best Places to Work; Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies; and Mortgage Executive Top 100. Interested parties may contact Pete Butlerat pbutler@firstcal.net.

"If you liked Mastermind, you will love this event! The 5th annual AnnieMac Sales Summit at Caesars Atlantic City Hotel and Casino will be on Thursday, October 19th from 9AM - 6PM. AnnieMac Home Mortgage has emerged as one of the fastest-growing mortgage companies in the country so do NOT miss out on this event!  Seating is limited, register today here.

LoanCraft's popular Tax Return Analysis now has the Virtual Panel, which can help you identify which files can be quickly approved, and which may require more underwriter judgment. This is a report service, not software. LoanCraft does the work of scanning the data from returns and setting up the file. Simply upload tax returns and receive a full income analysis within four hours for a standard price of $25. Loan officers like it because it gives them immediate visibility about whether a self-employed customer will qualify. Underwriters like it because they receive a completed analysis without the back and forth in getting returns and K1s and filling in worksheets. Contact Lindsey Fougerousse or visit LoanCraft Tax Return Analysis. LoanCraft provides solutions for lenders related to Tax Return Analysis, Income Calculation, Loan Pricing Tools, Customer Interaction Tools, and Outsourced Processing.

"After 25 years our CFO is retiring and we are looking for a big picture, strategic thinker who wants to play a strategic role in helping our vision come to reality. If you want a fast-paced, strategic position at a highly successful entrepreneurial organization, this is the position for you. It's a hands-on role for a high caliber, smart, respected financial mind that can keep up with our rapid growth. It's not a position for the faint of heart, nor is it a position for the typical controller who thinks CFO is the next logical career move. You must have a true entrepreneurial spirit. Are you a fact-based, analytical deductive problem solver? Are you a strategic thinker who has always thought a little differently than most people in finance? Do you want to control your own destiny while helping a company scale? If this is you, CLICK HERE to apply. Position location New Orleans, LA."

Recent weather events are nothing but tragic, but as water levels subside, people will look to rebuild ASAP. HomeBridge Financial Services, the nation's top producing renovation lender, is now offering 203(h) renovation financing for borrowers who live in a federally declared natural disaster area and lost their home to a storm or flood. While many lenders shy away from renovation loans because of their complex nature, HomeBridge and its Renovation Concierge Team stand ready to help where reconstruction or replacement of a home is deemed necessary. To make the start of the recovery process easier, 203(h) loans also allow for 100% financing. As HomeBridge continues to grow, the company continues to look for loan originators and branch managers who understand its mission to be the most recommended mortgage company in the country. Click here to learn more.

Axia Home Loans is pleased to announce that "we are not only celebrating our 10-year anniversary but also our 1st full year as the only 100% employee owned and operated independent mortgage bank in the mortgage industry.  Axia transitioned to an ESOP on September 1, 2016 and we have already seen the share value quadruple! The employee owners of Axia wish to thank Gellert Dornay, our Founder and Director, for his foresight and leadership through the ESOP process."

The U.S. Senate approved the nomination of Pam Patenaude as deputy secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Congratulations Pam!