Comments on: Fifth Third Makes Wholesale Changes

By: Graeme

Graeme — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:45:01 +0000

I agree, douchebag. My name isn't Graeme.

By: Tom Vanderwell

Tom Vanderwell — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:56:07 +0000

I think we'll be fortunate to have only one of the “big ones” go down hard before this is all over.

By: morganb

morganb — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:50:40 +0000

It's definitely Fannie/Freddie too slow, although the mortgage insurance companies have been far too slow to date. They have little cash, tons of leverage and tons of downside. We'll see one of the big ones go down hard before this is all over.

By: Tom Vanderwell

Tom Vanderwell — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:47:11 +0000

I agree about the disconnect. Do you think the PMI companies are being too cautious or are Fannie and Freddie being too slow?

I think Fannie and Freddie are being too slow……

By: morganb

morganb — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:38:02 +0000

I don't think there is any blame in the above post. It was just an observation. The banks are being smart – it is just an interesting disconnect between the freddie/fannie offering and what can actually get done these days.

By: Tom Vanderwell

Tom Vanderwell — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:30:23 +0000

I believe that blaming Fifth Third for these cutbacks is misleading. If we can't get mortgage insurance, we aren't going to write the loan because Fannie and Freddie won't buy the loan without MI.

By: morganb

morganb — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:40:32 +0000

At least you man up enough to use your real name when bashing me – seriously though, it must be nice making up a screen name and calling people douche bags – I'm sure you feel good about it.

Anyway, I get that MI companies are eliminating the products. What I find interesting is that the GSEs are still buying these products. So it just points to the interesting disconnect between how the GSEs are limited in what they can do in terms of making liquidity available.

You have a good point about the LTV, I wrote the post in about three minutes while playing with my son, I didn't expect it to end up on the Implode-O-Meter and I really didn't think before I wrote it, so good calling me out – next time just don't be such a douche bag about it.

By: morganb

morganb — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:37:20 +0000

I'm not a proponent of 100% financing – I just think it's interesting that Fannie and Freddie designed these products to be conforming products, and now conforming products are being discontinued even those the GSEs will still buy them.

I agree w/you people need to be able to bring something to the table when buying a home – it's the only way that home prices will return to a decent level of affordability.

By: Utter Disbelief

Utter Disbelief — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:08:04 +0000

Morgan…do you have a clue how the mortgage business works? The banks are not eliminating these products, the MI companies are. As of today there is not a single MI company that will write insurance at 100% LTV period.

“Further, mortgage insurance is required on any cash-out refinance for a borrower utilizing expanded-approval with less than a 680 FICO score, I imagine regardless of LTV, which is an indication of just how cautious refinance lending has become out there.”

I imagine you don't do any fact checking before you post inane comments. The requirement is that the minimum score in order to obtain MI is 680…not that MI is required for scores <680. It's unavailable for scores <680. Furthermore, MI is NEVER required for LTVs of 80% or less, you moron.

By: JM

JM — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:34:46 +0000

Seriously? Borrower who want a home so bad cannot come up with 3% down now. Nothing in life is free and that is what we have done for borrowers for so long. 100% financing with no Home Buyers Education. Consumers can go to starbucks, out to dinner , buy cigs, go out drinking and spend all of this money over a year which if they saved probably would probably be there down payment.

We need to educate our borrowers on the what it takes to buy a home and make the payments every month. Not say owing a home is the great american dream and we will get you into it for nothing out of your pocket and not educate on how to manage there finances.

This is a bad article.