6.6.23 Data Breaches; Technotree’s Matt Sanchez on the evolution of AI; Pause or Skip for the Fed

Thanks to Built Technologies. Join BuiltTechnologies on June 20th at 12 PM CST for an exclusive webinar that will dive into proactive portfolio monitoring as Built’s experts share best practices for achieving greater visibility into your construction portfolio. 

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Well, what should we start with today? How about how California and Texas ranked highest on the United States Postal Service’s annual list of states with the most dog bites against its employees? Or how ‘bout Freedom Mortgage Corporation filing a notice of data breach after learning that confidential consumer data entrusted to the company was subject to unauthorized access, the result of a cybersecurity incident at one of the company’s vendors, Mortgage Industry Advisory Corporation (“MIAC”)? Data is critical in so many things, whether it is closing a branch, not caring if an LO heads to another company, or in determining that people can save money by buying books at Amazon instead of the local book shop. Along those lines, Saturday’s Commentary, noting the CFPB’s use of its funding to determine that different companies charge different prices, received, as you can imagine, a lot of responses. Think residential lenders have too many regulators looking over their shoulders? Too many regulatory bodies and regulations in general? (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Built Technologies. Join Built Technologies on June 20th at 12 PM CST for an exclusive webinar that will dive into proactive portfolio monitoring as Built’s experts share best practices for achieving greater visibility into your construction portfolio. Today’s includes an interview with Technotree’s Matt Sanchez on the evolution of AI from his work as the leader of IBM Watson Labs to its practical implications in the mortgage space today and in the future.)

Lender and broker products, software, and services

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Your database is an appreciating asset. Optimize it. The latest episode of ICE Mortgage Technology®’s Breaking the ICE series focused on strategies to help lenders maximize this year’s homebuying season as Dan Catinella, Chief Lending Officer at Total Expert, highlights data as the key to effectively identifying opportunities and building loyal customer relationships. By having access to more data in real-time, you can enable your team to automatically deliver communications that keep you top of mind when a borrower is ready to take the next step in their homeownership journey. Click here to watch the full episode. If you’re an Encompass® customer, Encompass Data Connect® is a valuable solution that can help you analyze your LOS data using the business intelligence tools you already have in place.

“Automation 101! Zoral’s proprietary, cloud-based, AI powered automation platform delivers results! Reduce your Processor’s underwriting prep time from days to minutes. Reduce your Underwriter’s analysis and calculation of income, employment, and assets from hours to minutes. Our SaaS based system accurately reads, analyzes, and calculates eligible income from paystubs, tax returns, 3rd party verifs’, bank statements etc. and delivers outcomes in minutes. For the past 18 years, Zoral has created the most advanced automation solutions for financial institutions around the world. Stop tinkering with headcount at every whim of the market. Maintain and improve turn-times. Zoral’s best in class automation will drive down your cost to originate. Contact Dan Sussman to discuss or demo.”

Are you totally tired of some CRM’s pricing, marketing misfires, or distribution process? Vacate the others with Velma! Velma CRM has all the tools you need at an affordable price! Auto-send drip emails? Got it. Open house flyer creation? Check. Customizable closing gifts? You betchya. Contact management? Of course, it’s a CRM after all… Whether you are a boutique lender upping your marketing game or a company leader looking to automate marketing for all your LO’s, we have the right solution for you. Leave your competitors’ content in the dust: get Velma CRM and start marketing like a machine!

Servicing options

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“You’re Stronger with Cenlar Subservicing! The U.S. housing market has been anything but predictable in the last few years. Cenlar is prepared for the volatility of this environment and is committed to helping you succeed. As both a bank and a subservicer, Cenlar is uniquely positioned to assist you as the mortgage landscape shifts. We can offer you the benefit of economies of scale, create customized mortgage servicing solutions, provide an outstanding homeowner experience, and manage regulatory compliance so that you can always focus your efforts on growing your business and staying competitive in the marketplace. Let’s discuss how Cenlar can meet the mortgage servicing needs of your organization. Call 1-888-SUBSERV (782-7378) or visit us. We want to be your trusted partner, each and every day.”

“Seeking stability during these uncertain times? PHH Mortgage is your safe port during the storm! PHH delivers solutions for the entire mortgage lifecycle: subservicing, non-delegated, best efforts, mandatory, bulk MSR, reverse and all co-issue options, including Fannie SMP, Freddie CRX, and Ginnie PIIT. No other servicer in the U.S. is as highly decorated over the past 2 years as PHH after being recognized by Fannie, Freddie, and HUD for outstanding servicing two years in a row. Email us for information on correspondent lending or Christopher Sabbe for information on subservicing.”

“Rising interest rates and inflation causing a dip in originations? Maximize your portfolio reach with HELOC options designed to help your customers tap into their home value to remodel kitchens, fund education, and more. LoanCare has a comprehensive understanding of the special nuances involved in servicing HELOCs such as knowing what's required to appear on monthly statements, ensuring that interest calculations are accurate, and setting up the HELOCs correctly when the loans are on-boarded. We can accommodate segmented, fully amortized, and interest only HELOCs. Contact LoanCare today!”

IDC Financial Publishing exists for a sole purpose: Rate the safety and soundness of banks, savings institutions, and credit unions. Having rated these institutions since 1985, it’s become an industry standard to which financial institutions are held to. The IDC rates institutions on a scale of 1–300 and Allied First Bank, sb dba Servbank, one of the nation’s only bank subservicers, has just received a perfect 300 score. This perfect score bolsters Servbank’s already proven track record of rigor, proactivity, and regulatory strength and further conveys the surety and stability that they uniquely offer for the marketplace… And why Servbank’s clients readily place such unwavering confidence in it. Ready to learn more? Partner with Servbank today.

Company sponsored training & webinars fast approaching

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Get ready to elevate your origination game at Black Knight’s Originations Tech Talk TODAY at 1 PM ET! This eye-opening webinar series will offer you a deep dive into the latest insights, trends and advancements shaping the mortgage industry. Today’s can’t-miss episode will center around mastering performance metrics and using data to boost your bottom line. Nick Belenky, Wes Horbatuck, and special guest Bethany Williams can’t wait to share their proven strategies to thrive in the digital age of origination with you. Don’t delay! Register now and take your origination skills to the next level. 

On Wednesday, June 21, at 1 p.m. ET, join Covius and Rocket Mortgage Servicing leadership, along with Allan Weiss (founder of Weiss Analytics & co-founder of the Case-Shiller-Weiss HPI), for a webinar on the state of today’s housing market. Panelists will take an in-depth look at home values, where borrowers are most at risk for negative equity, the current regulatory environment and how to digitize the loss mitigation experience for the best borrower outcome. Register here.

A Capital One survey found that 42 percent of Americans believe all adults automatically have a credit score, indicating a need for lenders to improve their financial education strategies to serve homebuyers more effectively. Countless consumers have set aside their dreams of homeownership because of myths surrounding mortgage insurance (MI) in particular. However, with the help of a mortgage advisor well-versed in MI, borrowers can qualify for a mortgage with a smaller down payment and lower credit score, making financing a home possible! Want to become the MI master your community trusts? On June 21 at 1 PM ET, join CrossCountry Mortgage's Gina Myers, Enact's Amanda Richardson, and TrustEngine's Dave Savage as they tackle the most prevalent MI misconceptions. Register and seize this golden to help your clients access sustainable homeownership in a high-cost market.

Complete your 8-hour 2023 SAFE Continuing Education requirements with Trainer, Ken Perry. Use code "DALLAS2023" for 15 percent off at checkout and share the code with your friends and colleagues! The Knowledge Coop and Ken are so excited to be coming to Dallas!

Enact will host multiple live courses to help grow your business and positively impact homebuyers. June courses will help you succeed in the current market with the latest trends and tips on fraud as well as tips on creating more business. Critical areas of purchase transactions and review of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac renovation loan programs will be examined. Browse the Enact course catalog of on-demand webinars, just have your company or individual NMLS ID handy when registering.

When planning for retirement, reverse mortgages can be an effective way to create diversity and flexibility in a portfolio. Join Mark Reeve, Plaza VP, Reverse Mortgage Division, for a one-hour learning event, Financial Planner's Guide to Reverse Mortgages on Wednesday, June 7th 11:00 AM PET / 2:00 PM ET. Designed to help financial planners and loan professionals to better understand how Plaza’s Reverse Mortgage can be used as a vital part of an overall retirement strategy and not just a loan of last resort.

Join Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions Product Webinar Series on individual non-QM programs and how to market each one. The first step in the series, no-income DSCR program that includes Investor Cash Flow and Foreign National loans. Thursday, June 8th | 1:00 PM EST | 10:00 AM PST.

You’re invited to National MI’s upcoming June 2023 webinar sessions, brought to you by National MI University. Sessions include the following webinars: Income Case Studies with Marianne Collins - June 6th at 1pm ET. How to Build Your Business by Understanding Today's Homebuyer ​​​​​​with Rebecca Lorenz, June 7th at 1pm ET. The Future of Homebuying: Insights from the 2023 Gen Z Homebuyer Report with Kristin Messerli, June 8th at 1pm ET. Halftime! Mid-Year Evaluation & Planning with Bruce Lund - June 14th at 1pm ET. Your Leadership DNA with Andrew Oxley - June 15th at 2pm ET.

With the year's second quarter in full swing, now is a great time to learn a new skill or refresh your industry knowledge with the free learning sessions from Plaza Home Mortgage®.

Check out sessions this month and sign up today. Even if you can’t make the session, sign up anyway, and receive a copy of the recording. How to spot and prevent mortgage fraud. Learning about Fannie Mae® HomeStyle® Renovation Loan Program. How to support U.S. military and Veterans with VA Loans. Plus, many more.

Lenders that support down payment assistance (DPA) are in high demand as a multitude of market conditions put a strain on affordability. To help more lenders win business by supporting consumers with DPA, the Mortgage Bankers Association is hosting the webinar Profit & Succeed with DPA on June 8 at 2 pm EDT. Best practice approaches to DPA lending will be shared by panelists Mark Hasson of Lennar Mortgage, Kate McDougall of Lake Michigan Credit Union and Down Payment Resource’s Veronica Khandelwal and Sean Moss. Registration is FREE for MBA members! Register now to turn up the heat with DPA programs this summer.

AmeriHome’s underwriting management team will be offering an appraisal webinar for both Delegated and Non-Delegated clients. Access AmeriHome Announcement Number 20230601-CL for Thursday, June 8th webinar details & registration information.

The HUD Office of Environment and Energy (OEE) and the Department of Agriculture published a Notice of Preliminary Determination “Adoption of Energy Efficiency Standards for New Construction of HUD- and USDA-Financed Housing: Preliminary Determination and Solicitation of Comment”. FHA program participants are invited to attend HUD’s OEE, in conjunction with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), virtual listening session on the Notice, Thursday, June 8, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM (Eastern). Attendees will have the opportunity to provide verbal comments on the Notice during the listening session.

Capital markets: The Fed is certainly not going to cut rates soon

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With America’s debt limit drama in the rearview mirror until the next national election, and along with it the potential for triggering a catastrophic default, we return to your regular scheduled programming of the global battle against inflation. The U.S. economy is not in the doldrums, and certainly doesn’t need the stimulus of a Fed rate cut. The Fed has achieved some progress and the U.S. economy is cooling down, but nonfarm payroll growth blew past expectations in May, increasing by 339k compared to a consensus forecast of 195k. The job market clearly hasn’t cracked under the Fed’s tightening; this good news for American workers is making the Federal Reserve’s life difficult.

Wage growth, the Fed’s primary focus for inflation, (though decelerating) remains strong and continues to exert inflationary pressure on the economy, with average hourly earnings growing at 4.3 percent year-over-year in May. Consumer spending, core capital goods orders and inflation also all picked up speed in April, making the Fed's task of getting inflation under control more difficult.

The Fed has now officially entered its quiet period ahead of next week's FOMC meeting, so there won't be any further “Fed speak” until after the upcoming rate decision. Last week, there were a number of Fed officials that highlighted diverging views on economic conditions and the appropriate policy path moving forward. Voting members that spoke voiced their preference for a “skip” of raising rates at this meeting, meaning they could raise again at a later meeting after allowing for more data.

The Fed doesn't have to hike at every meeting. While the “skip” is not a pause, it will allow the Fed to assess how the aggressive tightening cycle that started in March 2022 has impacted the real economy. Volatility could begin to trend downward once the Federal Reserve ends its current rate hiking cycle and investors come to terms with the central bank keeping rates elevated for much longer than previously anticipated.

This relatively data-light week this week, as is typical in the week after the jobs report, opened with minimal movement in the bond markets yesterday. Keeping with that trend, today’s scheduled calendar only has the non-market moving Redbook same store sales. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices roughly unchanged from Monday, the 10-year yielding 3.67 after closing yesterday at 3.69 percent, and the 2-year at 4.50.

Subject: Food for Thought (Part 2 of 5)

06. 110 years ago, everyone owned a horse and only the rich had cars. Today everyone has cars and only the rich own horses.

07. If people evolved from monkeys, why are monkeys still around?

08. Why is there a 'D' in fridge, but not in refrigerator?

09. As I've grown older, I've learned that pleasing everyone is impossible, but making everyone angry is a piece of cake!