Mortgage banking profits have been squeezed as refinance activity continues to fall off, and some think the industry is ripe for turmoil from rapidly shifting new technologies. But a panel of senior mortgage banking officials at this week’s secondary market conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association uniformly boosted the industry’s prospects.

Many industry observers are bracing for significant change in the roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as Congress has failed again to tackle the problem. But some analysts believe the Trump administration will steer away from policy changes that would rile major business constituencies and slow down a major component of the economy.

All three loan-production channels saw sharp declines in volume during the first quarter, but correspondent activity held up slightly better than the other platforms. [Includes four data charts.]

Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN, said passing legislation this year “evidently is not going to happen” and his sense is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will stay in conservatorship “for some time.”

PeerStreet was founded in 2014, reached a cumulative $500.0 million in originations this past September and recently surpassed $1.0 billion in originations.

The correspondent channel accounted for 32.9 percent of total first-lien originations, up from a 32.4 percent share the previous quarter.

Home prices increased by 1.7 percent in the first quarter of 2018, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Montgomery should “right size” the FHA.

Mike Crapo, R-ID, chairman of the committee, said housing finance reform is one of his top priorities.

Chase is the top contributor to the MBS with a 45.0 percent share, followed by United Shore Financial Services at 16.5 percent and Caliber Home Mortgage at 5.2 percent.