Parent’s like to think that their son or daughter might go into the same profession in which they work. I got my son’s report card in the mail on Saturday, and three teachers had written comments about him. They were, “Since my last report, your child has reached rock bottom and has started to dig.” “Your son sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them.” And, “If your son were any slower, he’d have to be watered twice a week.” Yep – destined for mortgage banking!

For any agent, or anyone in the business for that matter, who would like to know where the Fed thinks mortgage origination is heading, along with a brief history, they must visit this page at St. Louis Fed website.  The gist of it is the quote, “There is no realistic prospect that the private-label MBS model will return to life in the near future. The most likely future for the U.S. mortgage market is a return to its past—namely, the bulk of mortgage funds will be provided by insured depository institutions and the GSEs. What is still unclear is whether, and to what extent, the federal government will intervene to create entirely new regulations and institutions that could usher in another era in the evolution of the mortgage market.”

Although the business channels will continue on “as is”, is today the last official day of “Countrywide”? Love them or hate them, one must admit that in 1969 up sprang an innovative and entrepreneurial mortgage banking firm – arguably one of the most entrepreneurial in our business in history. They, and their chairman, have “taken it on their chin” in the last few years, but the headlines don’t remind us of the millions of home loans that were good. In a related story, Bank of America on Thursday said it expects to eliminate about 7,500 jobs over the next two years after it completes its acquisition of Countrywide, or about 3 percent of the combined companies’ work forces. Bank of America said it ended March with about 209,100 employees while Countrywide said it employed about 50,400 at the time. The cuts will occur nationwide and