pmuolo@imfpubs.com 

The great mergers-and-acquisitions wave that was supposed to swamp the industry in this year of corrections has yet to appear, at least when it comes to “franchise” transactions.

As for the “asset sale” side of the equation — there have been plenty of those, with close to $1.0 trillion worth of mortgage servicing rights changing hands and hundreds, if not thousands, of branch locations finding themselves under new ownership.

The score so far: Buyers have paid premiums for MSRs — at least up until May — while sellers of branch locations have basically turned over the keys with little in the way of a profit.

Still, there’s a belief among dealmakers, consultants and market watchers that one of these days a top-10 lender might change hands. Maybe.

“There’s been a lot of conversations going on,” said Chuck Klein, managing partner of Mortgage Banking Solutions, Austin, TX. 

For more on the story, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Finance, now available online.