Regulators Have the UWM Affair on Radar; Large MSR Flow Deal - IMFnews

Share Register Advertise March 18, 2021 State Regulators Take Notice of the UWM Brouhaha mvolkova@imfpubs.com United Wholesale Mortgage’s recent fee-driven edict to loan brokers regarding business fealty — if you do business with Rocket Mortgage or Fairway Independent Mortgage you can’t table-fund through UWM — has caught the attention of Michigan’s Department of Insurance and Financial Services. In a statement issued to Inside Mortgage Finance this week, the DIFS said, “We are closely monitoring to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations.” As for details, there weren’t any. However, it marks the first tangible sign that regulators are watching the intra-industry drama unfold. UWM is headquartered in Pontiac, Rocket in nearby Detroit while Fairway hails from the neighboring state of Wisconsin. As one mortgage market consultant quipped: “It’s sort of like watching the Hatfields and the McCoys.” For the full story, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Finance, available online Thursday afternoon. A Large ‘Flow’ MSR Deal Hits the Auction Circuit pmuolo@imfpubs.com Phoenix Capital is in the market with a new flow auction that could net the buyer upwards of $18.0 billion per year in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights. As usual, the seller/originator was not disclosed. The run-rate is based on “funded production” from November 2020 to January of this year. The range on the Fannie/Freddie portion is $800 million to $900 million per month with the Ginnie flow coming in at $200 million to $300 million.   The geography includes California, Florida, New Jersey, Texas and other desirable states. Bids are due March 23. GSE Servicing Rights Grew By A Robust 13% in 2020 jbancroft@imfpubs.com Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the main drivers in the growth of the single-family mortgage market in 2020, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. The two government-sponsored enterprises had a combined $5.716 trillion of single-family mortgage debt outstanding at the end of the year, nearly all of it tied to mortgage-backed securities. The GSE servicing market grew 13.3% over the course of the year and 4.2% in the fourth quarter. The Federal Reserve late last week reported that single-family mortgage debt outstanding rose 4.3% in 2020 to $11.666 trillion. Of that total, $8.104 trillion, or 69.4%, was committed to mortgage securities. For the complete analysis and exclusive tables on the topic, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Finance, available online Thursday afternoon. CFPB Worries that Debt Collectors, Financial Institutions will Nab Stimulus Payments lburden@imfpubs.com Possible intercept of the latest round of stimulus payments is on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s radar screen but the regulator hasn’t announced an intent to undertake any enforcement actions. At least not yet. The CFPB said Wednesday it will monitor consumer complaint data and other information to keep track of instances where stimulus payments are taken by financial institutions and debt collectors.  Acting Director Dave Uejio said in a statement the agency is looking carefully at the payment that many are now receiving because of the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the $1.9 trillion legislation recently enacted to speed up recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the economy. “The Bureau is concerned that some of those desperately needed funds will not reach consumers and will instead be intercepted by financial institutions or debt collectors to cover overdraft fees, past-due debts, or other liabilities,” he said. Short Takes: The Fed Speaks / $7 Trillion and Growing / A Thirst for MBS / The UWM Firestorm, Week Three / Taking Sides pmuolo@imfpubs.com First the good news: The Federal Reserve made perfectly clear midweek it has no intention to hike rates this year. Then again, no serious human being thought they would. The bad news: Treasury yields keep rising, and so are mortgage rates. And yes, gain-on-sale margins for residential lenders are being eroded like a sand castle in a mild breeze: a little at a time... And then there’s this: The yield on the 10-year Treasury hit a new 52-week high this morning of 1.76% compared to a low of 50 basis points. The Fed’s balance sheet, meanwhile, is north of $7 trillion (that’s not a misprint), with agency MBS accounting for $2.1 trillion. At least, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae don’t have to worry about having some place to sell their securities... The brouhaha ignited by United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia against competitors Rocket Pro TPO and Fairway Independent Mortgage continues to garner the industry’s attention. (See our lead story today regarding regulatory interest.) Earlier in the week, Rocket issued a media release accusing Ishbia and UWM of making false statements in their communications. Specifically: “In the release, sent to the media and distributed to brokers across the country, UWM claimed 10,000 ‘broker shops’ are partnering with UWM – attempting to mislead the broker and business community in order to show strength where little exists,” Rocket said... The lender continued: “The real facts are that we are aware of many brokers who didn’t even receive an addendum, let alone the ‘broker shops’ – meaning the actual brokerage firms – that they claim in the headline of their press release. To believe that 10,000 broker-owners bent the knee to UWM is laughable”... Rocket, which is part of number-one-ranked lender Quicken Loans, added: “At Rocket Pro TPO, 22 of our 25 largest partners have rejected UWM’s ultimatum and have elected to continue working with our company – many of which did more business with UWM before they were forced to choose”... Late last week, UWM said “a majority of the largest independent mortgage broker shops across the country have signed the UWM all-in addendum representing over 90% of broker shops who will no longer work with Rocket Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation...” The dustup began two weeks ago when Ishbia, speaking live on Facebook, accused his two competitors of harming brokers, a charge they said was ridiculous. Spread the Word: Please Pass Along IMF’s Salary Survey to Your Colleagues Inside Mortgage Finance is looking for more respondents to our annual survey tracking compensation — including salary, commission and incentives, and benefits — in the mortgage industry. Please click here to answer some questions about your job function, salary, benefits and career satisfaction … and if you’ve already filled out Salary Survey 2021 (thank you!) please forward it to a colleague. - To ensure delivery to your inbox, add news@imfpubs.com to your address book or safe sender list. Home | Update Your Account | Mortgage Data | User Agreement | Unsubscribe © Copyright 2020 Inside Mortgage Finance Publications 7910 Woodmont Ave., Suite 1000, Bethesda, MD 20814 Tel: (301) 951-1240; Fax: (301) 656-1709

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