2023

Ever been to Noma in Denmark? Me neither, although I did some solo bicycling there, which is so much more reliable than flying domestically this morning with the FAA’s system shut down. Apparently I have only two years to go, as the “best restaurant in the world” surprisingly announced it is closing in the winter of 2024. Cynics would say that is a publicity stunt, proponents will tell you that it is time for a change and the numbers probably don’t make sense. (Speaking of numbers, this month’s STRATMOR blog is titled, “Productivity: More Important than Ever” and discusses how important it is to manage to the numbers, and not be surprised.) The U.S. Supreme Court rejecting investor suits over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac didn’t surprise anyone. Wells Fargo certainly surprised everyone, including its own correspondent sales team and management, in announcing it is shutting down. (More on this below.) Wells isn’t the first to shutter things, nor will it be the last based on the numbers. According to Curinos, December 2022 funded mortgage volume decreased 67% YoY and 3% MoM. In the Retail channel, funded volume was down 71% YoY and 3% MoM. Average 30-year conforming retail rates dipped slightly from November but are 319bps higher than the same month last year. (Curinos sources a statistically significant data set directly from lenders to produce these benchmark figures and here is a closer look at the data.) Today’s podcast is sponsored by SimpleNexus, an nCino company and award-winning developer of mobile-first technology for the modern mortgage lender. Today’s has an interview with SimpleNexus’ Lori Brewer on the advances of APIs and native integrations.