{"id":394808,"date":"2010-03-05T21:38:16","date_gmt":"2010-03-06T02:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mortgagenewsclips.com\/2010\/03\/05\/the-garrett-watts-report-march-5-2010\/"},"modified":"2010-03-05T21:38:16","modified_gmt":"2010-03-06T02:38:16","slug":"the-garrett-watts-report-march-5-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/394808","title":{"rendered":"The Garrett, Watts Report (March 5, 2010)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/garrettwatts.com\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px\" title=\"garrettwatts\" src=\"http:\/\/mortgagenewsclips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/garrettwatts1.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"garrettwatts\" width=\"452\" height=\"71\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends<strong>,<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We commented last week how a lot of people didn\u2019t know what HSBC stood for.\u00a0 If you go back to when they bought a bank in Buffalo , New York to get established in the U.S.\u00a0\u00a0 The joke was that HSBC stood for &#8220;Holy ____,\u00a0 Buffalo &#8217;s Cold.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>City National Bank ( Los Angeles ) was in the news for paying off all its TARP money the other day, but the real story is how they became L.A. \u2019s prestige bank in the first place.\u00a0 Frank Sinatra\u2019s son was kidnapped on a Friday in 1963, and the singer called up Bank of America, Security Pacific and a few other big banks asking for $240,000 to pay the ransom money.\u00a0 The big banks told him to come in Monday morning and fill out a loan application. When he called City National, Chairman Bram Goldsmith told him \u201cCome down to the bank as fast as you can and we\u2019ll have your cash ready.\u201d\u00a0 Sinatra was so impressed that he told all his Hollywood friends to bank there, and it soon became the bank for the rich and famous of Hollywood and Beverly Hills .\u00a0\u00a0 Even today, it\u2019s considered a prestigious thing to do your banking with them.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/mortgagenewsclips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/j21.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px\" title=\"j2\" src=\"http:\/\/mortgagenewsclips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/j2_thumb1.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"j2\" width=\"244\" height=\"164\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>We&#8217;re conducting a search for a credit manager for large warehouse lending organizations in Dallas and Central New Jersey .\u00a0 Duties would include structuring, underwriting, and managing warehouse relationships and monitoring collateral positions.\u00a0 If you or somebody you know has experience as a credit manager, please send your resume to Mike McAuley at <a href=\"mailto:mmcauley@garrettwatts.com\">mmcauley@garrettwatts.com<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>From Henry Wells of Wells Fargo: \u201cThere is one very powerful business rule.\u00a0 It is concentrated in the word <em>courtesy<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 He said this in 1864, and isn\u2019t it still true?\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>If you like to follow community bank stocks, there\u2019s no better reading than <em>The<\/em> <em>Vulture\u2019s Roost<\/em> (call <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vulturesroost.com\/\">615-383-2654<\/a>).\u00a0 His disclaimer last month was that \u201cAnybody who is still investing in banks doesn\u2019t need a disclaimer. They need a shrink.\u00a0 Besides, we have no credentials, no license and no accreditation of any kind.\u00a0 We aren\u2019t brokers and we front run. So believe nothing you read here. Believe only what you research yourself, and if you come up with any good ideas, please call.\u201d\u00a0 His analysis is actually quite good, and he covers small banks that no one else follows.\u00a0\u00a0<br \/>\n<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<li>We liked a one sentence review he gave of a Michigan bank.\u00a0 \u201cThe bank is north of Detroit , but not north enough.\u201d<br \/>\n<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<li>We were reading a Keefe Bruyette analyst\u2019s report, and at the end was a set of disclaimers. We did a word count, and it came to 2,029 words.\u00a0 At about 350 words per typewritten page, that\u2019s a 5.8 page disclaimer.\u00a0 The disclaimer was longer than the actual report.<br \/>\n<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>Speaking of disclaimers, here\u2019s what should have accompanied every prospectus for subprime mortgage securities:\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI, the undersigned, have no clue as to how this security works.\u00a0 I know it is backed by loans to people who are known dead-beats and chronic liars. The underwriter does not understand how the borrowers will possibly afford payments when the rates adjust, and I suspect that Moody\u2019s gave it an AA rating because a software program told them to do so.\u00a0 Please also note that the undersigned is 23 years old and a recent college graduate with a degree in 17<sup>th<\/sup> century poetry with a minor in PE.\u00a0 Please also note that when the authorities investigate this security, I am 100% willing to rat out my boss in return for immunity.\u201d<br \/>\n<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>And how about little Security California Bank?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t anyone tell them there\u2019s a banking crisis going on, especially in Southern California ? A Texas Ratio of only 11%, no brokered deposits, 11% capital, and 32% of their deposits are non-interest bearing.\u00a0 You can even buy their stock, symbol SCAF. What\u2019s even more\u00a0 remarkable is that the bank is in Riverside , which is kind of Ground Zero for the SoCal housing and real estate meltdown.\u00a0 Last we checked, the stock traded below book value.<br \/>\n<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>We spoke to a mortgage company in the Southwest that is owned by a commercial bank that\u2019s in a lot of trouble.\u00a0 Here are a few of the issues we pointed out: (1) If your parent is seized, your new owner will be the FDIC, or (2) The FDIC may flip you to a buyer of the failed bank.\u00a0 In either case, you end up being owned by people and institutions you don\u2019t know and may not enjoy working for.\u00a0 Therefore, we strongly suggested that these guys needed a Contingency Plan which looked at all possibilities and tried to address them in advance of any possible failure and seizure of their parent.<br \/>\nA few that they need to look at: (1) Do a buy-out and take ownership of their company (2) Start looking for warehouse lines should their bank be unable to provide funding and\/or if they do a buy-out, (3) Plan to deal with all services they currently obtain from their parent. This particular company gets I.T. and H.R. support from their parent, so they need to plan to take those in-house.\u00a0<br \/>\n<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>Did you read the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> article on <em>Oasis of the Seas<\/em>, the giant cruise ship that carries 6,000 people?<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/mortgagenewsclips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/j11.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px\" title=\"j1\" src=\"http:\/\/mortgagenewsclips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/j1_thumb1.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"j1\" width=\"270\" height=\"172\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nThe ship has its own jail, its own Intensive Care Unit, 24 different restaurants, and it\u2019s the length of four football fields.\u00a0 Most people love cruises, but we think there\u2019s something slightly creepy about them. With global competition with India and China , we just don\u2019t see the Indians or Chinese sitting around on a floating hotel all week eating five meals a day.\u00a0 Why not spend a week at a <em>Four Seasons<\/em> or <em>Ritz<\/em>&#8211;<em>Carlton<\/em> resort where at least the rooms are bigger than a closet.\u00a0 This video clip from the Marx Brothers\u2019 <em>Night at the Opera<\/em> shows how truly crowded a cruise ship can be.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8ZvugebaT6Q\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8ZvugebaT6Q<\/a>\u00a0 By the way, the ship goes through 20 gallons a week of maraschino cherries, and <em>that<\/em> is weird.\u00a0 Does that bright red color actually exist in nature? Do they exist for the sole purpose of sitting on top of hot fudge sundaes?<br \/>\n<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>We just noticed that Viewpoint Bank earned 1.02% on assets last quarter on a pre-tax pre-provision basis, and that\u2019s very good in the current environment!\u00a0 <em>Very<\/em> good.<br \/>\n<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>We just watched <em>Carried Away<\/em>, featuring Dennis Hopper as an insecure teacher facing a mid-life crisis.\u00a0 The movie was very slow moving and just this side of boring when, out of nowhere, they go and show Dennis Hopper in full frontal nudity. People, this was scarier than <em>Saw<\/em> or <em>Texas Chainsaw Massacre, <\/em>and what made it truly gross was that rather than a quick flash (\u201cHey, was he just nude, or what?\u201d) he kept hanging around, full-on bare-assed naked for a good 2-3 minutes.\u00a0 We went to see <em>The Bad Lieutenant<\/em> with Rob Chrisman a million years ago, and the director pulled that same stunt, showing Harvey Keitel\u2019s private parts all over the big screen. We both just about barfed all over our popcorn. Message to Hollywood : You can show nude scenes with Angelina Jolie or Beyonce all day long, but please do <em>not<\/em> show us nude scenes of middle-aged guys with pot bellies.<br \/>\n<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>And while you\u2019re at it, you can also show us nude scenes of Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra, and Scarlett Johansson.\u00a0 And while you\u2019re up, can you throw in some Keira Knightley as well?<br \/>\n<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>Regulators don\u2019t like brokered deposits, but what if your cost of funds is 1.5% and you can get brokered CD\u2019s for 0.75%?\u00a0 This\u00a0 is the situation for many banks, but despite the lower costs, we talk to many bank Presidents who won\u2019t accept these deposits for fear of the regulators.<\/li>\n<li>We know of a mortgage banker and specialty servicer who is looking for an equity partner.\u00a0 The originator is a call center operation and has been successful for many years.\u00a0 The specialty servicer focuses on servicing and restructuring distressed mortgages, with a current portfolio of $350 million.\u00a0 Contact any of us for further information. Oh, it\u2019s in the Portland , Oregon area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>People in Washington are debating the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and while we watch with interest, we don\u2019t have strong opinions on this but do remember all the changes these entities brought about. One such change was the end of regional pricing. Newspapers used to regularly show what mortgage rates were in each area of the nation.\u00a0 They typically looked something like this:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table class=\"MsoTableGrid\" style=\"border-bottom-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-style: none; margin-left: 0.95in; border-left-style: none\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffcc99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 45pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: windowtext 1pt solid;\" width=\"60\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffcc99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">West<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffcc99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 63pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-left-style: none; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"84\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffcc99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">Southwest<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffcc99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 0.75in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-left-style: none; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"72\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffcc99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">Midwest<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffcc99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 63pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-left-style: none; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"84\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffcc99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">Northeast<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffcc99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 0.75in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-left-style: none; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"72\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffcc99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">Mid-Atlantic<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffcc99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 0.75in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-left-style: none; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"72\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffcc99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">South<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffff99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 45pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"60\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffff99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">9.0%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffff99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 63pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"84\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffff99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">8.75%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffff99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 0.75in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"72\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffff99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">9.125%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffff99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 63pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"84\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffff99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">9.0%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffff99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 0.75in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"72\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffff99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">8.875%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: #ffff99; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 0.75in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\" width=\"72\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffff99\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt\">9.25%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"widows: 2; text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; border-collapse: separate; font: medium 'Times New Roman'; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; letter-spacing: normal; color: #000000; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px\">There was no national market, and rates were lower in those areas with lots of bank deposits, limited population growth, and limited loan demand. Secondary marketing involved personal relationships and the moving of capital from region to region. California was a rapidly growing state with younger families and less deposits. Parts of the Northeast had older populations, lots of deposits, and limited loan demand.\u00a0 As a result, secondary marketing involved a mortgage banker in California developing a relationship with a Savings &amp; Loan from a Northeast state, say, Connecticut . California had too many loans and not enough deposits, and Connecticut would have too many deposits and not enough loans.<br \/>\nWhen the California mortgage banker sold loans to a Connecticut bank or thrift, it was always servicing retained.\u00a0 \u201cWe don&#8217;t know California , so we need you to service these loans for us.\u201d This meant that almost every mortgage banker had a servicing portfolio. Smaller companies might service only $25 million, and they\u2019d have just 1-2 people carrying out that function.\u00a0 Next issue we\u2019ll cover a few other ways in which things have changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<br \/>\n<em><\/em><\/p>\n<p>We were reading one of those college brochures that pretends to update you on things happening at your college but which is really just an attempt to get you to donate money.\u00a0 Anyway, this Cal piece casually mentioned that Berkeley received its 5<sup>th<\/sup> Nobel Prize in economics the past year, and then it mentioned that the guy who got the prize for molecular biology this year got it for research he did when he taught at Cal awhile back.\u00a0 Cal didn\u2019t take credit for it, but they did mention it. We\u2019d contrast this with Stanford.\u00a0 Stanford always bragged about how Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman was at Stanford, and that was true when he was older, but he got the prize for work he did at the University of<em> Chicago<\/em> ! Isn\u2019t that exactly the kind of sneakiness you\u2019d expect from Stanford?<br \/>\nAnyway, we do criticize Stanford occasionally, but when it comes to summer camps, they really do excel.\u00a0 We\u2019ve gone to Cal \u2019s <em>Lair of the Bear <\/em>summer camp for alumni, and it\u2019s like every summer camp you went to as a kid.\u00a0 Inedible food, lumpy mattresses, cold showers, and dirt and dust everywhere.\u00a0 Just a few miles away is the Stanford summer camp, and get this:\u00a0 They have manicured lawns, a perfect golf course, cabins that look like they were designed by Ritz-Carlton, and celebrity chefs preparing the meals.\u00a0 Oh, and cocktails on the veranda at six.\u00a0 How cool is that.<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<br \/>\nAlso, if you didn\u2019t watch the video clip of <em>Night at the Opera<\/em> above, you need to slow down, relax, and learn to stop being so intense.\u00a0 Go back and watch it.\u00a0 It will add 20-25 bps to your profits and five years to your life.<\/p>\n<p><em><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/garrettwatts.com\/\">Garrett, Watts &amp; Co.<\/a>\u00a0<br \/>\n<em>Helping <\/em><em>lenders increase revenues, control costs, and better manage risk.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mike McAuley\u00a0\u00a0 ( <a href=\"mailto:MMcAuley@GarrettWatts.com\">MMcAuley@GarrettWatts.com<\/a> )<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>Corky Watts\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (<a href=\"mailto:CWatts@GarrettWatts.com\">CWatts@GarrettWatts.com<\/a>)\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Joe Garrett\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ( <a href=\"mailto:JGarrett@GarrettWatts.com\">JGarrett@GarrettWatts.com<\/a> )<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?a=c68pA57qhLc:aGdiGYNCiAw:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?a=c68pA57qhLc:aGdiGYNCiAw:D7DqB2pKExk\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?i=c68pA57qhLc:aGdiGYNCiAw:D7DqB2pKExk\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?a=c68pA57qhLc:aGdiGYNCiAw:F7zBnMyn0Lo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?i=c68pA57qhLc:aGdiGYNCiAw:F7zBnMyn0Lo\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?a=c68pA57qhLc:aGdiGYNCiAw:V_sGLiPBpWU\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?i=c68pA57qhLc:aGdiGYNCiAw:V_sGLiPBpWU\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe\/~4\/c68pA57qhLc\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends, We commented last week how a lot of people didn\u2019t know what HSBC stood for.\u00a0 If you go back to when they bought a bank in Buffalo , New York to get established in the U.S.\u00a0\u00a0 The joke was that HSBC stood for &#8220;Holy ____,\u00a0 Buffalo &#8217;s Cold.\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-394808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394808\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}