The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by eight basis points to 5.75 percent from 5.83 percent one week earlier, with points remaining at 1.28 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.  

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped by seven basis points to 5.33 percent from 5.40 percent one week earlier, with points increasing to 1.26 from 1.20 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The average contract interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages decreased to 4.15 percent from 4.22 percent one week earlier, with points decreasing to 0.97 from 1.01 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. 

As a result, refinance applications increased by nearly 10 percent from the previous week, the survey found. The MBA seasonally adjusted Refinance Index increased by 9.8 percent to 2052.5 from 1870.0 one week earlier. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 39.3 percent of total applications from 38.0 the previous week.

"With a 9.8 percent increase in applications, refinance activity is at its highest level since March 11," said Michael Cevarr, director of member surveys at MBA.  "However, refinance applications volume is down 14.6 percent from one year ago."

The Market Composite Index of mortgage loan applications stood at 712.4, an increase of 5.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 672.6 one week earlier. The MBA seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased by 3.3 percent to 482.0 from 466.7 the previous week and is at its highest level this year. On a year-over-year basis the Purchase Index is up 3.9 percent overall while the Conventional Purchase Index is up by 7.3 percent. The ARM share of activity increased decreased to 34.7 percent of total applications from 35.4 percent the previous week.

Other seasonally adjusted index activity included the Conventional Index, which increased by 6.3 percent to 1066.6 from 1003.1 the previous week; and the Government Index, which increased by 0.4 percent to 121.3 from 120.8 the previous week.

The survey covers nearly 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations, and has been conducted weekly since 1990.  Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. 
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HUD also reported a new quarterly record for Hispanic homeownership of 49.7 percent representing 5.8 million Hispanic homeowners in the U.S.

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The Financial Institutions Group of InterFirst Wholesale Mortgage Lending, a division of ABN AMRO Mortgage Group Inc. (AAMG), Ann Arbor, Mich., offers Lock & Go to its customers, where community banks can lock the mortgage loan's interest rate on InterFirstlink.com prior to obtaining an executed purchase agreement from the borrower.

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First American CREDCO, a member of The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., will offer its Fast Alert screening report to new and existing customers. The report gathers all of the available fraud data from the three national bureaus in addition to other fraud information and consolidates the data into one report.

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Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago and Dallas are among the 13 cities targeted by a new Spanish-language fair housing radio campaign released by HUD. The campaign informs tenants, landlords, homebuyers, realtors, borrowers and lenders of federal law as prohibiting discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.

The campaign was the result of a combined effort between HUD and the Hispanic Radio Network. HUD has also targeted the ad for broadcast in Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh, N.C.; Orlando, Fla.; San Diego; Bakersfield, Calif.; Fresno, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Houston; Odessa, Texas; and Amarillo, Texas.
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"This move represents a tipping point in the private financial sector, where the three largest banks have now publicly recognized that a sound long-term economic strategy relies on embracing environmental sustainability," said Ilyse Hogue, director of the Global Finance Campaign at RAN. "The rest of the commercial and investment banks need to taker larger strides to confront their role in the environmental crisis facing us."

In Project Finance, J.P. Morgan Chase joined “The Equator Principles” and lowered loan application thresholds to $10 million, as it broadened the scope to include "all loans, debt and equity underwriting, financial advisories and project-linked derivative transactions" on mining, forestry and oil and gas industries. J.P. Morgan Chase also placed environmental risk management into the due diligence process for its private equity divisions.

JPMorgan Chase said it would encourage clients to develop carbon mitigation plans that include measurement and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions as well as plans to reduce or offset them. The bank plans to factor the financial cost of greenhouse gas emissions into its analysis as power sector projects internalize carbon pollution.

Last year, RAN targeted Bank of America as to its contribution for Earth Day. Bank of America responded  with an announcement of new environmental policies.

Bank of America’s policy included due diligence measures to assure that borrowers did not use lending proceeds to finance commercial projects or operations that resulted in resource extraction from, or the clearing of primary tropical moist forests and primary forests in moderate climates or northern regions that were not managed with “sustainable forestry practices” as verified from a third party audit. “In all cases the borrower must remain in compliance with applicable laws and regulations governing timber harvesting,” Bank of America said.

In January 2004, Citigroup announced its financing initiatives that included a new standard for ecological investment to prohibit investment in any extractive industry, such as oil and gas, mining and logging in primary tropical forests, and place severe restrictions on “destructive investment” in all endangered ecosystems worldwide.

The environmental policies had little effect on overall industrial volume. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Quarterly Data Book shows loan and dollar volume increased for industrial properties in 2004. Loan volume for industrial property jumped 6.8 percent to more than $9.2 billion, up from nearly $7.3 billion in 2003. Loan numbers also rose 10.1 percent from 1,313 in 2003 to 1,512 in 2004. 

On Sunday, JPMorgan Chase said it would encourage its clients to develop carbon mitigation plans to include measurement and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions as well as plans to reduce or offset them. It will internalize carbon pollution for power sector projects by factoring costs of greenhouse gas emissions into its analysis.

Rainforest Action Network said the J.P. Morgan Chase policy set new best practices on the environment in carbon mitigation and reduction, endangered forest protection, independently certified sustainable forestry as well as land and consultation rights of native communities everywhere. JPMorgan Chase agreed to arrange cooperative meetings with other financial institutions to advocate for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and "focus on specific projects to alter the emissions trajectory of the US economy." address the challenges of global warming and deforestation.

"Over the past several years, a coalition of some institutional shareholders of J.P. Morgan Chase have asked the bank to consider the environmental risks of projects it finances," said Steve Lippman, vice president of social research at Trillium Asset Management. "We'll stay in touch with the bank to ensure the strong and effective implementation of these new risk management policies."
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AON Corp.’s 2005 Terrorism Risk Map shows that terrorism remains a “very real threat.” The Weekly Spotlight explores the implications of AON’s findings, and the Mortgage Bankers Association focuses on insurance at MBA’s Commercial Real Estate Asset Administration and Technology Conference in Chicago.

Plus, an e-mortgage explanation, meeting reports and Dealmakers of the Week round out MBA Commercial/Multifamily NewsLink for the week of Thursday, April 27.
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Singer and McSharry received the award for financing $155 million (103 percent of the purchase price) or 96 percent of the projected total acquisition financing and predevelopment costs (without closing costs) on a 40 percent vacant, Class B office building with substantially declining cash flow during the loan.

Despite challenges that occurred for seven to eight months, the team arranged complex financing consisting of a first mortgage, senior mezzanine and junior mezzanine loans and a mezzanine credit enhancement for a Liberty Bond project that was under construction by the principals across the street from 20 Exchange Place at 63 Wall Street.

HSBC provided credit enhancement on the liberty bond financing of $145 million at 63 Wall Street for the borrowers of 20 Exchange Place, who invested $38 million as collateral on the liberty bonds. However, the borrowers needed to take out $20 million to take title on 63 Wall Street. Fleet Trisale, now Bank of America, provided a replacement for the liberty bond enhancement of $20 million for the borrowers to close.

“The transaction involved highly complicated senior and mezzanine debt, and all of the separate pieces needed to close simultaneously,” Singer said.

The 20 Exchange Place deal closed in June. Singer and McSharry were recognized by REBNY in 2000 for arranging a $205 million group of loans on four major New York City office buildings known as the Kaufman Portfolio.
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"These latest results show that not only are minority small business owners driving growth, but they are also increasingly confident about the future," said Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, executive vice president and small business segment manager for Wells Fargo.

Sixty-five percent of survey respondents said their personal financial situation has improved over the last 12 months, while eight in 10 expect to be financially better off next year. Sixty-three percent said their company's current financial situation is good, and another 78 percent expect their future financial situation to be positive as well. Forty-three percent said their company has increased its overall productivity over the past 12 months while only 19 percent said it decreased.

"The confidence shown by minority business owners is already translating into personal and business success, which bodes well for the future of minority business owners and the overall small business segment," said Macieira-Kaufmann.

Survey respondents revealed confidence in expectations for their company's future growth on three key success factors including revenues, cash flow and job hiring. Expectations for growth over the next 12 months exceed the performance from the previous 12 months on all three points.

Additional findings include 63 percent of minority owners said they are in a good position for retirement. In addition, 85 percent of minority business owners say they would do become a business owner again.

The findings are based on a Gallup survey conducted from August 2003 to December 2004 of nearly 1,000 minority business owners nationwide. The companies surveyed were at least 50 percent or more minority-owned.
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