Wells Fargo Names Most of California Severely Distressed

Big hat tip to reader Don for sending this along.  Wells Fargo has named nearly every California county a "Severely Distressed Market" which requires LTV reductions of 5% for any conforming loan over 75% LTV and also eliminates financing over 75% LTV for any non-conforming loan.  The Wells Fargo Mortgage Express product (which is Wells Fargo's stated income/stated asset program) is also not permitted in "Severely Distressed Market" areas. Look for the rest of the market leaders to quickly follow suit.  This immediately puts a huge swath of the state with increasingly limited refinance options.  A huge portion of California loans are of the non-conforming variety and well over the 75% LTV mark (especially factoring in the major price drops over the last 16 months).