Mortgage Banking October 15, 2008

→   Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 10, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 489.3, an increase of 5.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 465.5 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5.4 percent compared with the previous week and was down 17.0 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,Sarah Tinsley,Washington District of Columbia  10/15/2008



→   Expert Group, Inc. Expands Mortgage Broker And Telemarketing Staff To Increase Loan Originations
Expert Group, Inc. (Pink Sheets: EXPT) is pleased to announce that the Company has added in-house telemarketers to its retail real estate operation and increased the number of employees in its brokerage division. -- Expert Group, Inc. ,Investor Relations,Miami Fl  10/15/2008



→   Rapid Reporting Announces Employmentchek, The Industry`s First Third-party Employment Verification Using Verbal Verification Of Employment (vvoe) Vvoe Boosts Reliability Of Employment Verifications, Traditionally One Of The Most Difficult And Challenging
Rapid Reporting, an award-winning innovator of income and identity verification products to the mortgage industry, has announced the upcoming release of EmploymentChek, the mortgage industry’s first third-party employment verification service offering verbal verification of employment (VVOE). VVOE picks up where automated employment verification services leave off by providing confirmations that come from live, person-to-person contact with the employer. With EmploymentChek, lenders and brokers can get definitive answers on a borrower’s employment in 24 hours or less, thereby protecting themselves in one of the most challenging aspects of fraud detection. -- Rapid Reporting Verification Company,Ray Pella,Fort Worth Texas  10/14/2008



→   MBA Reports Multifamily Lending Hit $147.7 Billion In 2007; Leading Lenders Part Of Industry Consolidation
In 2007, 2,739 different multifamily lenders provided a total of more than $147.7 billion in financing for apartment buildings with five or more units, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Lenders closed 48,577 individual loans, with an average loan size of $3 million. The average lender made 18 multifamily loans over the course of the year. -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,Sarah Tinsley,Washington District of Columbia  10/14/2008



→   MBA Comments On Fdic`s Simplification Of The Coverage Rules For Mortgage Servicing Accounts
John A. Courson, Chief Operating Officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued the following statement after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced an interim final rule clarifying that deposit accounts maintained by mortgage servicers in escrow for a borrower`s principal and interest payments will be based on the borrower as the owner of the escrow account and not the investor. -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,John Mechem,Washington District of Columbia  10/13/2008



→   MBA Supports Fasb Decision To Adopt Recent Guidance On Fas 157 Into General Accepted Accounting Principles
John A. Courson, Chief Operating Officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued the following statement regarding today`s decision by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to adopt their recent clarification of FAS 157 as part of the body of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which will allow firms to adjust affected assets to reflect intrinsic values when no active market for a security exists. -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,Jason Vasquez,Washington District of Columbia  10/10/2008



→   Gregg & Valby Unveils Mortgage Fulfillment Solutions For Banks
Gregg & Valby Mortgage Services is a transactional cost alternative for community banks, mortgage bankers, and credit unions to increase their loan closing capacity while reducing risk, errors, and overhead costs. -- Gregg & Valby, LLP ,Casey Jones,Houston Tx  10/10/2008



→   Freddie Mac Temporarily Suspends Foreclosures In Texas, Louisiana Disaster Areas Hit By Hurricane Ike
Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today announced it is ordering servicers to suspend all foreclosure sales on properties with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages in the federally declared disaster areas caused by Hurricane Ike in Texas and Louisiana. Freddie Mac is one of the nation's largest investors in residential mortgages. -- Freddie Mac,Brad German,Mclean Va  10/10/2008



→   Meta Financial Group Unscathed By Subprime Mortgages; Remains Well Capitalized
Meta Financial Group (NASDAQ:CASH) said today that the Company remains well capitalized by federal regulatory standards and continues to be unscathed by the steep decline in valuations in the national subprime mortgage markets. -- Meta Financial Group ,estor Relations,Storm Lake Iowa  10/10/2008



→   New Experian Research Highlights Shifting Consumer Delinquency Trends
Trends may require lenders to change traditionally accepted risk strategies -- Experian ,Cynthia Baker,Costa Mesa Ca  10/10/2008



→   Mortgage Lenders With Seriously Delinquent And Defaulted Mortgages Have New Option To Tackle Most Difficult Loans
Wingspan Portfolio Advisors launched to turn the most challenging defaulted loans into re-performing assets -- ,Marketing Department,Carrollton Texas  10/09/2008



→   Regulatory Counsel Group, Inc. Announces Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System Deadlines
As experts in mortgage licensing and the NMLS system, allow RCG to simplify your licensing process and keep your company in compliance. -- ,Scott Scher,   10/09/2008



→   Comergence™ Partners with BasePoint™ to Improve Risk Detection and Compliance Monitoring
Leverages BasePoint’s renowned fraud analytic expertise -- BasePoint Analytics,Info,CARLSBAD ca  10/08/2008



→   MBA Study Shows Mortgage Industry Production Profits Fell Again in 2007
Mortgage companies lost an average of $560 on every loan they originated last year, a drop from the $50 per loan they lost in 2006, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) annual cost study. While loan origination and ancillary fees grew on a per-loan basis, they did not keep pace with increases in production operating expenses, which grew seven percent to $3,663 per loan. -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,Sarah Tinsley,Washington District of Columbia  10/08/2008



→   Mortgage Applications Increase Slightly In Latest MBA Weekly Survey
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 3, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 465.5, an increase of 2.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 455.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 2.2 percent compared with the previous week and was down 28.6 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,Sarah Tinsley,Washington District of Columbia  10/08/2008



→   MBA's Courson: Negotiators Need to Regroup, Find Common Ground on Economic Stabilization Package
John A. Courson, Chief Operating Officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today issued the following statement following the House of Representatives' failure to approve HR 3997, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,John Mechem,Washington District of Columbia  10/06/2008



→   Lenders One National Alliance of Lenders picks Avista Solutions as first loan origination software partner
Alliance of 125 mortgage lenders levels the loan origination playing field for mid-tier companies -- Avista Solutions,Rosalie Berg,Columbia South Carolina  10/03/2008



→   Mortgage Applications Decrease In Latest MBA Weekly Survey
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 26, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 455.4, a decrease of 23.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 591.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 23.4 percent compared with the previous week and was down 28.4 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,John Ferber,Washington District of Columbia  10/03/2008



→   MBA Applauds SEC and FASB for FAS 157 Clarification
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) hailed yesterday's announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) permitting the use of discounted cash flow fair value measurements under FAS 157 when no active market for a security exists. -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,John Ferber,Washington District of Columbia  10/03/2008



→   FNC Offers Clients Access to IntelliReal AVM Product for Value-Added Service
Partnership gives FNC's clients another option for automated valuation models -- FNC INC.,Charles Hurst,Oxford Mississippi  10/03/2008



→   ELLIE MAE ACQUIRES ASSETS OF STEWART LENDER SERVICES’ ONLINE DOCUMENTS, INC. BUSINESS
Ellie Mae, the award-winning provider of innovative software and services for the mortgage industry, announced today its acquisition of the assets of Online Documents, Inc., one of the industry’s leading providers of guaranteed compliant mortgage documents, from Stewart Lender Services, Inc. -- Ellie Mae Inc.,David Lewis,Pleasanton California  10/02/2008



→   MBA's Kittle Testifies on HUD's RESPA Rule
"Proposed RESPA Rule Will Not Give Consumers What They Need" -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,John Ferber,Washington District of Columbia  10/01/2008



→   MBA's Courson Applauds Senate Passage of Economic Stability Package
John A. Courson, Chief Operating Officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) tonight issued the following statement following the Senate passage of H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,John Ferber,Washington District of Columbia  10/01/2008



→   Residential Finance Begins Planned Expansion, Announces Hiring and Promotions
Growing mortgage company hires and promotes executives to support expanding nationwide sales -- Residential Finance Corporation,Info,COLUMBUS oh  10/01/2008



→   Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding Continued to Grow in Second Quarter
Most investor groups increase holdings, CMBS declines -- Mortgage Bankers Association of America,Jason Vasquez,Washington District of Columbia  09/24/2008



→   Residential Finance Appoints Jessica Manna as Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer
Accomplished Marketing Executive Appointed to Lead Marketing Strategy and Brand Development for Fast-Growing Mortgage Banking Firm -- Residential Finance Corporation,Info,COLUMBUS OH  09/17/2008