{"id":73517,"date":"2009-12-09T18:00:54","date_gmt":"2009-12-09T23:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mortgagenewsclips.com\/2009\/12\/09\/the-garrett-watts-report-its-been-snowing-in-the-bay-area\/"},"modified":"2009-12-09T18:00:54","modified_gmt":"2009-12-09T23:00:54","slug":"the-garrett-watts-report-it%e2%80%99s-been-snowing-in-the-bay-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/73517","title":{"rendered":"The Garrett, Watts Report (It\u2019s been snowing in the Bay Area!)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/garrettwatts.com\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px\" src=\"http:\/\/mortgagenewsclips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/garrett-watts14.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"garrett-watts1\" width=\"357\" height=\"77\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends,\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We think that the paperless office is clearly the future for mortgage banking, but for everyone doing it successfully, we see someone for whom it just doesn\u2019t seem to help speed up the process. We\u2019d love to hear of your real success stories out there. Or any real disappointments.<\/li>\n<li>A pretty high rating in the Dumb Bank Names Hall of Fame goes to a California bank with the improbable name <em>Bank on It<\/em>.\u00a0 The stock in this small bank trades, under the symbol BKOT.<\/li>\n<li>The always curious Chris Brown analyzed the big banks last week, and here are the Texas Ratios for the five biggest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table class=\"MsoTableGrid\" style=\"border-bottom-style: none; border-right-style: none; background-color: #ffff99; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-style: none; margin-left: 1.45in; border-left-style: none; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" bgcolor=\"#ffff99\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 99pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; border: windowtext 1pt solid;\" width=\"132\" valign=\"top\">\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\">Wells Fargo<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-left-style: none; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; 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\">66.7%<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 99pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"132\" valign=\"top\">\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\">U.S. Bank<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; 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\">55.8%<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 99pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"132\" valign=\"top\">\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\">JP Morgan Chase<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; 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\">45.4%<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 99pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"132\" valign=\"top\">\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\">Bank of America<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; 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\">39.1%<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 99pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"132\" valign=\"top\">\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\">Citibank<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; 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\">36.9%<\/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\">Isn\u2019t it interesting that the two banks that most investors are worried about, BofA and Citi, have the lowest (i.e. best) ratios?\u00a0 For those new to this, a Texas Ratio of 36% means, at its most basic, that for every $100 of capital and loan loss reserves, the bank has $36 of bad loans. Bad loans are defined as non-accruals, REO, plus loans 30 days or more delinquent.\u00a0 We prefer using 90 days and would settle for 60. A number over 100 is supposed to be a very good predictor of the bank failing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When the Texas ratio gets too high, it\u2019s also a predictor of the Bank\u2019s obvious need to raise new capital.\u00a0 From the bank\u2019s perspective, it\u2019s a simple issue:\u00a0 Do they raise capital and stay alive, or do they not raise capital and fail.\u00a0 From the shareholders perspective, the possibilities are (1) Does the bank not raise capital and fail, and (2) if it does raise capital, does the bank survive but with my interest as a shareholder being wiped out.\u00a0\u00a0 This refers to highly dilutive capital raises, and we\u2019d love to see the dilution numbers for the typical deal the past year or so. Temecula Valley Bank almost did a deal to raise new capital which would have saved the bank. Unfortunately for the shareholders, it would have been 95% dilutive. Deals like this remind us of the line uttered during the Vietnam War, that \u2018We had to destroy the village to save it.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Hey, we have an idea. An analyst at Oppenheimer was the guy during the S&amp;L crisis twenty years ago who coined the term <em>Texas Ratio, <\/em>so we\u2019ll claim authorship of a new phrase, the <em>Vietnam Strategy<\/em>.\u00a0 This will refer to a strategy of raising dilutive capital that saves the bank but destroys the shareholders.\u00a0 If you\u2019re at a Board meeting and your investment banker tells you \u201cWe have good news\u2026. we can raise capital for you\u201d, ask him about the bad news.\u00a0 Ask him if it involves a Vietnam Strategy.<\/li>\n<li>We just re-read Upton Sinclair\u2019s <em>The Jungle<\/em>, the story of a Lithuanian immigrant family that comes to America and goes through truly horrible struggles. The most devastating mistake was the decision to use all their money for the down payment on a house that was way beyond their means. All the nightmares that follow start with the father losing his house to the bank.\u00a0 The book was published in 1906, but it sure seems relevant to 2009.<br \/>\nTo fellow libertarians, now that you\u2019ve read <em>Atlas Shrugged<\/em>, please read <em>The<\/em> <em>Jungle<\/em>. It will convince you that Ayn Rand\u2019s cold-hearted philosophy needs to be tempered with a good dose of compassion.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Be careful about the clich\u00e9s you use. What if you have a Texas Ratio of 200%, a C&amp;D <em>and<\/em> a Prompt Corrective Action letter, but you tell your Board that you\u2019ll be okay, that\u00a0 \u201cNo way the FDIC seizes the bank.\u00a0 That\u2019ll happen the day it snows in San Francisco \u201d knowing that it never snows here.\u00a0 Um, a few days ago it snowed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Kevin Tam answered our question about <em>General Motors<\/em>, noting that GM&#8217;s market capitalization, which was once more than $40 billion, is now about $372 million. He\u00a0 contrasts that to <em>Peet\u2019s Coffee<\/em> with a market cap of $400 million.\u00a0 GM once epitomized the industrial might of America .\u00a0 Have <em>Starbucks<\/em> and <em>Peet\u2019s<\/em> now replaced the once iconic GM as epitomes of American business?<\/li>\n<li>Is the demise of General Motors as an American icon a sad thing, or is it just a reflection of the times? In terms of symbolizing America and our great strengths, wouldn\u2019t we prefer that the world see <em>Microsoft<\/em>, <em>Apple<\/em>, and even <em>Google<\/em> as symbols of American business rather than an auto maker?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Remember our mentioning the song \u201cGet an ugly girl to marry you\u201d?\u00a0 A very senior officer at a multi-billion dollar bank (we\u2019re not naming names) sent in the second line, completing the opening \u201cIf you want to be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife, <em>so for my personal point of view, get an ugly girl to marry you.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 This song was truly a phenomenon at parties. Everyone would sing along loudly, but when it came to the last part \u2013 \u201cGet an ugly girl to marry you\u201d \u2013 people would stop dancing, look up at the ceiling, and shout those last words at the top of their lungs.\u00a0 They\u2019d then laugh hysterically, as if it were the first time they\u2019d heard the song.<\/li>\n<li>Good news:\u00a0 A secondary marketing person wrote us that they sang the \u201cUgly Woman Song\u201d at parties when she was in college around 8-9 years ago. It still lives!\u00a0 Long after you\u2019ve graduated from college and completely forgotten the point of <em>Beowulf<\/em>, you\u2019ll still remember that song, and isn\u2019t that precisely what college is all about?\u00a0 And speaking of <em>Beowulf<\/em>,\u00a0 wasn\u2019t that about the worst book you ever read?\u00a0 Even the Cliff Notes were incomprehensible.<\/li>\n<li>In a few weeks it will be 2010, so let\u2019s look back fifty years to 1960. Financial historian Barbara Campbell tells us that the total national debt was $286 billion, a first class stamp was $.04, a gallon of gas was $0.25, a brand new Chevrolet was $2,600, and the average salary was $4,743.\u00a0 The nostalgia for that decade implies that it was the best time imaginable, which like most generalizations, is only partly true.<\/li>\n<li>So before we get too nostalgic for the 60\u2019s, remember that 55,000 American boys were killed in Vietnam, 10,000 Soviet missiles were aimed at us, blacks couldn&#8217;t vote, eat in most restaurants, or sleep in a hotel in the South, tens of millions of Americans lived in crushing poverty, and woman couldn&#8217;t get hired for most jobs other than as secretaries and teachers. If a woman got pregnant against her wishes, she had to go to back alley for an abortion, our air and water were horribly polluted, many men died of heart attacks in their 40&#8217;s and 50&#8217;s, and very few women survived breast cancer.\u00a0 It was a fun decade in many ways, but it was also scarred with horrible assassinations, a draining war, and all the upheaval that accompanies change.<\/li>\n<li>We asked, tongue in check, what a Mojo was, and we got 30-35 responses, among them: \u201cMojo is when everything is working for you, and our Mojo has been <em>working<\/em>, with a 100% increase in volume this year.\u201d\u00a0 Or from a woman in Sacramento \u201cI\u2019ve always considered Mojo the same as<em>swagger<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 And\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMojo is a proper noun! You either have it or you don&#8217;t!\u201d\u00a0 From Kelly in Phoenix \u201cIt\u2019s a presence.\u201d\u00a0 And from Illinois \u201cGreenspan does not have it. Brett Favre does.\u201d\u00a0 Or this one \u201dIt\u2019s as simple as&#8230;. 20 kids in a room and you can clearly see who has Mojo and who does not!\u201d\u00a0 Here\u2019s one that\u2019s a good guess but is wrong \u201cIt\u2019s the same as a Soul Patch.\u201d Here\u2019s another wrong answer:\u00a0 \u201cJim Morrison sang about it in <em>L.A. Woman<\/em> when he sings \u201cThere\u2019s a Mojo rising\u201d.\u00a0 Most likely, he was referring to the sun or moon.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 And about 20 people sent us the definition right from the dictionary.<\/li>\n<li>For your viewing pleasure, here are the bank holding companies with the biggest credit card portfolios.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table class=\"MsoTableGrid\" style=\"border-bottom-style: none; border-right-style: none; background-color: #ffff99; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-style: none; margin-left: 113.4pt; border-left-style: none; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" bgcolor=\"#ffff99\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; border: windowtext 1pt solid;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\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\">$74\u00a0 billion<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 1.5in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-left-style: none; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"144\" valign=\"top\">\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\">JP Morgan Chase<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\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\">$69\u00a0 billion<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 1.5in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"144\" valign=\"top\">\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\">Citigroup<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\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\">$63\u00a0 billion<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 1.5in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"144\" valign=\"top\">\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\">Bank of America<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\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\">$42\u00a0 billion<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 1.5in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"144\" valign=\"top\">\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\">HSBC No. American<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\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\">$32\u00a0 billion<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 1.5in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"144\" valign=\"top\">\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\">American Express<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\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\">$25\u00a0 billion<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 1.5in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"144\" valign=\"top\">\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\">Discover Financial<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\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\">$23\u00a0 billion<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 1.5in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"144\" valign=\"top\">\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\">Wells Fargo<\/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; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 81pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"108\" valign=\"top\">\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\">$18\u00a0 billion<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; width: 1.5in; padding-right: 5.4pt; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-top: 0in;\" width=\"144\" valign=\"top\">\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\">Capitol One<\/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\">What\u2019s interesting is how quickly the numbers drop off.\u00a0 The 15<sup>th<\/sup> biggest is Popular Bank with $1.1 billion, #21 is Bank of the West at $385 million, and #29 is First Horizon at $151 million.\u00a0 These are all from the December 1 issue of American Banker.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>And how about Richmond , California \u2019s <em>Mechanics Bank<\/em>?\u00a0 These guys just don&#8217;t believe in stock splits, so one share is $11,000.<\/li>\n<li>Next time you see the Salvation Army people, why not slip $5 into the pot instead of a quarter. It\u2019s a good organization doing good things. And next time a homeless person outside the supermarket asks for spare change, why not take him inside with you and buy him some food?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/garrettwatts.com\/\">Garrett, Watts &amp; Co.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/new.garrettwatts.com\/images\/articles\/returnoncapital.pdf\"><strong>special article:\u00a0 How to Use Return on Capital to Determine Profitiablity<\/strong><\/a><em>Helping mortgage lenders increase revenues, control costs, and better manage risk.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Joe Garrett\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (<a href=\"mailto:JGarrett@GarrettWatts.com\">JGarrett@GarrettWatts.com<\/a>)<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>Mike McAuley\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (<a href=\"mailto:MMcauley@GarrettWatts.com\">MMcauley@GarrettWatts.com<\/a>)<em><\/em><\/li>\n<li>Corky Watts\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (<a href=\"mailto:CWatts@GarrettWatts.com\">CWatts@GarrettWatts.com<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?a=SqsYmoK1JF4:iylvf2VYhP4: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=SqsYmoK1JF4:iylvf2VYhP4:D7DqB2pKExk\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?i=SqsYmoK1JF4:iylvf2VYhP4:D7DqB2pKExk\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?a=SqsYmoK1JF4:iylvf2VYhP4:F7zBnMyn0Lo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?i=SqsYmoK1JF4:iylvf2VYhP4:F7zBnMyn0Lo\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?a=SqsYmoK1JF4:iylvf2VYhP4:V_sGLiPBpWU\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe?i=SqsYmoK1JF4:iylvf2VYhP4:V_sGLiPBpWU\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/mortgagenewsclips\/qTBe\/~4\/SqsYmoK1JF4\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends,\u00a0\u00a0 We think that the paperless office is clearly the future for mortgage banking, but for everyone doing it successfully, we see someone for whom it just doesn\u2019t seem to help speed up the process. We\u2019d love to hear of your real success stories out there. Or any [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73517","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=73517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73517\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}