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THEMREPORT.COM Pick 6! 1. Citigroup Announces Departure of 2 Executives As Citi loses both its CEO and COO, analysts and investors are raising ques- tions as to why the leaders resigned. Following the release of third-quarter findings that represented better-than- expected earnings, Citigroup announced the resignations of CEO Vikram Pandit and President and COO John P. Havens. Pandit's sudden and unexpected announcement has some analysts and inves- tors baffled. Michael Jones, chairman and chief invest- ment officer of Riverfront Investment Group, LLC, told Reuters he thinks the move raises "red flags everywhere." 2. PNC Reports Growth in Originations Recording income gains during the third quarter, the company credited its growth to rising loan volume. Growth in mortgage originations helped spur PNC Financial Services to overall income gains in the third quarter, according to recent- ly released findings from the company. PNC recorded net income of $925 million in Q3, an 11 percent year-over-year increase from $834 million. PNC's total net income for the first three quarters was $2.3 billion, down from $2.6 billion in the same period last year. Part of PNC's quarterly 8 | THE M REPORT 4. Stronger Traffic Boosts Builder Confidence MReport's online readers wanted high-profile headlines this month, gravitating toward six top stories on surprising leadership changes and industry statistics. Increasing interest from potential buyers drove homebuilder confidence to the highest level on record since mid-2006. After jumping 11 points in three months, builder confi- dence inched up one point in October to 41, remaining at its highest level since June 2006, the National Association of Home Builders reported, match- ing economist expectations. The October boost was due entirely to a surge in home- buyer traffic in October, as other elements of the index were flat from September. The traffic index—which had been revised downward in September to 30, from an originally reported 31—leapt to 35, its highest level since April 2006. 5. Pricing Gains Generate tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending, rose to 3.53 from 3.27 in August. A substantial 10.5 percent bump in housing prices accounted for much of the overall increase. "The sizable increase in home prices may overstate the strength of the real estate market, though on a positive note, the declines may be over and the market stabilizing," said Carl Steidtmann, chief economist at Deloitte and author of the monthly index. 6. HARP Projections Hit the 1M Mark The FHFA revealed that the number of borrowers served by HARP could reach 1 million by the end of 2012. More Consumer Spending A new report from Deloitte attributes September's rise in consumer spending to improving home prices. increase can be attributed to a rise in residential mortgage banking revenue, which grew $35 million "due to higher loan sales revenue driven by higher loan origination volume partially offset by lower net hedging gains on mortgage servicing rights," the company said. 3. Default Rates Continue Deep Decline With findings among first and second mort- gages falling to new lows, default rates reached a post-recession best. The default rate for first mortgages now stands at a post-recession low, and the default rate for second mortgages is at the lowest level in its more than eight- year history, according to data through September from the S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian for the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices. The first mortgage default rate fell to 1.36 percent in September, the lowest level since the end of the 2007/2009 recession. Three cities reached post-reces- sion lows in September: Chicago (1.82 percent), New York (1.28 percent), and Los Angeles (1.45 percent). A significant increase in home prices helped push Deloitte's Consumer Spending Index up in September, the company reported. The index, which Nearly 99,000 homeowners refinanced their mortgages in August through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), according to a report released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The federal govern- ment's HARP initiative, which is applicable for borrowers with loans owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, has put 618,217 homeowners into new mortgages with lower interest rates since the beginning of this year, when a broader group of borrow- ers was made eligible for the program. According to FHFA, HARP is on target to reach a million borrowers in 2012. Are you an origination news junkie? Go to TheMReport.com and sign up to receive MReport news daily! We feature the top headlines and stories breaking daily via the MReport Daily newsletter, webcasts, and social media. If you need more, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.