CMSA Europe Conference, Day 2: Not all negative

On Wednesday morning, my “happy” post-election emotion was replaced with a toxic combination of hangover and jet lag. I hit snooze a bunch of times and finally made it over to the conference for the afternoon sessions. The takeaway was not all negative. A few buyers felt pretty good about recent trades buying AAA European […]

Watching the U.S. election in London

I’m in London this week for the annual European conference of the Commercial Mortgage Securitization Association (CMSA). The media have been focused on the presidential race, but, when it looked like Obama was going to win, and we left home in Notting Hill to go join “the masses,” we found the streets mostly empty. Granted […]

CMSA Promoting European IRP Version 2

What a week to be in London! I find myself in London on this historical election night. I am attending the annual European conference of the Commercial Mortgage Securtization Association (CMSA), and the excitement around the U.S. election is intense.

NatCity was bought by PNC Today

So far during this consolidation, our enterprise software business has been coping pretty well. Bank of America buying Countrywide and RBS buying ABN AMRO were negative events in the fact that, since all four were users, four contracts became two. But, we were still left with fair multiyear maintenance contracts. Bank of America buying Merrill […]

MBA — Serious about reform — Not that depressed, but certainly humble

My takeaway from this week’s conference was the Mortgage Bankers Association is absolutely serious about enacting reform at every level. The words transparency, standards and credibility were used over and over. Because of the massive losses and the government’s long-term commitment to providing financing for homes, the pressure to standardize is greater than ever. However, […]

MBA Conference Draws Protesters

I headed into San Francisco this morning for the opening session of the 95th Annual Mortgage Bankers Association Conference and was subjected to a group of protesters objecting to the bailout, foreclosures and mortgage bankers in general.

Metallica Death Magnetic Private Show

Last night we were privileged to see Metallica play a final practice show before starting the Death Magnetic World Tour. I am friends with the band through our kids, so I was able to secure a group of passes to the show. About 1,000 people got into the Cow Palace in South San Francisco to […]

Blue Angels: Burning fuel and pulling Gs

Seeing the Blue Angels perform over San Francisco Bay makes me proud to be a taxpayer! In the world of multi-billion dollar government bailouts and endless deficits, seeing the US Military burning some fuel and pulling Gs seems to make things feel better. The market up 11 percent helps a bit too. Enjoy the pics.

The Mother of All RFPs

Politics and the CMBS industry have become sudden (and strange) bedfellows, but recent developments may help bring open transparency to both parties. The Department of the Treasury recently issued an RFP titled “Notice to Financial Institutions Interested in Providing Whole Loan Asset Management Services for a Portfolio of Troubles Mortgage-Related Assets.” This is a huge […]

What a Week to be in San Francisco

This week is one of my favorites. The Blue Angels are coming to town, and the weather is looking nice. The Blue Angels fly starting on Thursday through Sunday. We will be on the boat later this week and will post some cool pics as we get them. Speaking of cool pics, the Maltese Falcon […]