TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
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THE LATEST ORIGINATION Fed Speaks Out on Credit and Recovery Issues The chairman of the Federal Reserve says tight credit continues to hamper housing, economic recovery. Hundreds of Employees Depart MetLife for Caliber As MetLife leaves the forward originations business, Caliber Funding takes on 300-plus personnel from within the company's ranks. I nitiating a major expansion into four new regional markets, Caliber Funding LLC recently announced the hiring of more than 300 mortgage professionals. Caliber's personnel addi- tions will serve to staff the company's operations in New England; the Great Lakes area; the Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware area; and greater Washington, D.C. Caliber's aggressive march into new markets will enhance its presence around the U.S., positioning Caliber for what the company hopes will be significant growth. Texas-based Caliber also revealed that it will continue tak- ing on more personnel throughout the first quarter of the year. Capitalizing on MetLife Inc.'s decision to exit the forward originations business, most of Caliber's 300-plus new staffers will be joining the company from previous positions with MetLife's home loans division. The hiring binge is set to double the size of Caliber's existing mortgage lending team. 38 | THE M REPORT CEO of Caliber, Brian Simon, said of the company's plan to broaden its reach, "This is a game-changing announcement for Caliber. This expansion significantly enhances our operations, accelerates our growth profile, and unlocks substantial business opportunities by positioning Caliber solidly in four additional, highly attractive markets." Continuing his commentary, Simon noted, "The sales leadership that we are bringing to Caliber is among the best in the business. With this influx of highly skilled and seasoned talent, Caliber will be even better positioned to deliver an improved experience to our customers and business partners in wholesale and retail mortgage services." Located in Dallas, Caliber is known as a wholesale and retail originator for conventional, conforming, and government mortgages. The company currently boasts a presence in 46 states around the country. N egative equity, tight mortgage credit, and an overhang of foreclosed properties conspire to delay a full-fledged housing rebound and economic recovery, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said in a recent statement. Addressing an international show convened by the National Association of Home Builders in Orlando, Florida, the central banker tied problems in job growth and household finance to downward pressure from market forces in the housing sector. Bernanke said that the "state of housing and mortgage markets may be holding back the recovery of our financial system and the normalization of credit conditions." He highlighted Bernanke cited a contraction in mortgage credit outstanding for U.S. homes by about 13 percent, with mortgage originators "reluc- tant" to lend to otherwise eligible borrowers able to meet under- writing standards set by GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He said that fewer than half of lenders offer mortgages to bor- rowers, even those with FICO scores of 620 and down pay- ments of 10 percent. The central banker attributed a dry spell for mortgage credit to several possibilities, including the inability of some borrowers to "[C]urrent lending practices appear to reflect, in part, obstacles that are limiting or preventing lending even to creditworthy households." a wave of mort- gage delinquencies that stay high despite a surge between 2007 and 2009, "imposing losses on lenders, mortgage insurers, and investors," signaling their ramifications for household equity and job growth in the broader economy. He also said that the inabil- — Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman secure private insurance, con- cerns by lenders about delinquent mortgages, and uncertainty over representations and warranties. He said that "[p]otential first- ity—or unwillingness—of lenders to lend puts the brakes on much- needed activity by first-time and repeat homebuyers. "[C]urrent lending practices appear to reflect, in part, obsta- cles that are limiting or prevent- ing lending even to creditworthy households," he said. time homebuyers have been dis- proportionately affected by the very tight conditions in mortgage markets," with the number of young adults obtaining their first mortgages at lower points now than in the past decade. Bernanke said the Fed would likely continue to explore incentives available to the central bank in the form of monetary policy changes. SECONDARY MARKET ANALYTICS SERVICING ORIGINATION