Jack Guttentag

Contributor

He is Jack M. Guttentag, now Professor of Finance Emeritus, formerly Jacob Safra Professor of International Banking, at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Earlier he was Chief of the Domestic Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on the senior staff of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and managing editor of both the Journal of Finance (1974-77) and the Housing Finance Review (1983-89). Professor Guttentag has been a student of the home loan market for many years, and his bibliography of scholarly articles, books and monographs is large and diverse. He has also been an active practitioner, serving as a consultant to many government agencies and private financial institutions, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USAID, Freddie Mac, Citicorp, Dominion Bancshares, the World Bank, J.P. Morgan Securities, the New Zealand Bankers Association, and many others. In addition, he has been a director of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, Guild Mortgage Investments, and First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Rochester. Throughout his career, Professor Guttentag has been concerned with the difficulties faced by consumers in the home loan market. In 1985 he joined with a colleague at Wharton to found GHR Systems, Inc. which has developed a nationwide electronic network that lenders can use to deliver complex mortgage information quickly to loan-officer employees, to mortgage brokers, and to consumers using the internet. The company also provides easy-to-use tools that enable loan officers to act as consultants to borrowers during the origination process, while speeding up the process. Some clients of GHR Systems are Washington Mutual, Charter One Mortgage, Homecomings Financial, Radian Guaranty, Cendant Mortgage and others. In 1997 Professor Guttentag began to phase out his teaching at Wharton in order to focus his efforts more fully toward helping consumers navigate the home loan market effectively. He began a weekly column on mortgages that is nationally syndicated, and began the development of his web site, www.mtgprofessor.com. The major purpose of both is to help consumers make better decisions. In 2000, Professor Guttentag in collaboration with several mortgage brokers developed Upfront Mortgage Brokers (UMBs). Brokers who agree to do business in accordance with UMB principles, and who display these principles prominently on their web sites, are listed on his site for easy access by consumers. In 2006, Guttentag teamed up with Amerisave, an Upfront Mortgage Lender, to provide disclosure of the lender's wholesale mortgage prices and its markup to borrowers who access Amerisave through www.mtgprofessor.com. Guttentag monitors the site and guarantees the markup for consumers.

Saving banks without breaking the bank

Helping borrowers first will cost government less

Feb 16

Pros, cons of a no-cost refi

In today's market, paying points may be wiser

Feb 9

Housing fixes fall short

New focus should be on write-downs, negative equity

Feb 2

Why banks hoard bailout money

The lesser of two evils: no capital or no loans?

Jan 26

Mortgage shopping is all about technique

7 tips to getting best deal on loan, title insurance

Jan 19

Paying points wise in today's market

A look at smart mortgage moves

Jan 12

Some loan mods better than others

Why interest rate is more likely than loan balance to be reduced

Jan 6

Should seniors pay off mortgage?

Return on repayment weighed against other investments

Dec 29

FDIC loan mod plan flawed

Negative equity, repayment among key worries

Dec 22

Jumbo loans, where art thou?

Time is running out on $729,750 limit

Dec 15

Goodbye piggybacks, risky loans

A look at product phaseout

Dec 8

Financing closing costs may be unwise

If loan amount crosses 'pricing notch point,' buyer beware

Dec 1

Prospects brighten for hard-money lenders

Some borrowers have nowhere else to turn

Nov 24

Breaking the financial crisis

A proposal for 'mortgage payment insurance'

Nov 21

The good and bad about Mortgage Marvel

Review finds borrowers helpless against lender, title overcharges

Nov 17

Loan modifications hard to come by

Despite difficulties, homeowners finding relief with HOPE NOW program

Nov 10

Mortgage fright spreads like wildfire

Why homeowners who needn't worry are running scared

Nov 3

Regulation couldn't prevent mortgage crisis

Adjustable loans, default risk a recipe for trouble

Oct 27

Will Treasury's purchase plan work?

Potential for waste, favoritism, fraud 'enormous'

Oct 20

New title insurer undercuts competitors

But rate discounts difficult in some states

Oct 13

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