Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $17 billion in new home-equity loans during the second quarter of 2014, a 30.8 percent increase from the previous period, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. But the volume of outstanding home-equity lines of credit and closed-end second mortgages held in portfolio by depository institutions – the biggest players in the HEL market – continued to dwindle. Banks, thrifts and credit unions reported a total of $540.4 billion of HELOCs on their books at the end of June, down 0.9 percent from March, along with a 1.5 percent drop in closed-end seconds. It continued...[Includes three data charts]

The GSEs securitized $100.30 billion of purchase mortgages during the third quarter, a 28.3 percent sequential gain.

Banks, thrifts and credit unions reported $540.4 billion of HELOCs on their books at the end of June, down 0.9 percent from March.

Mutual of Omaha bank said it remains "committed" to the mortgage business, even though it's closing the retail channel.

In response, EverBank questioned the accuracy of the IG report.

In the second quarter, Altisource Residential agreed to buy 4,374 nonperforming mortgages that carry an underlying collateral value of $1.23 billion.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitized a total of $183.17 billion of single-family mortgages during the third quarter of 2014, continuing the improving momentum during the previous period, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. Combined mortgage-backed securities issuance for the two government-sponsored enterprises rose 29.1 percent from the second quarter, marking the second straight increase from the record-low levels set during the first three months of 2014. On a year-to-date basis, GSE volume was down 53.6 percent from the first nine months of 2013. Although purchase mortgages continued to provide most of the ammunition for Fannie/Freddie business, the GSEs securitized...[Includes three data charts]

Several large nonbank lenders have banded together to form what they call a “working group” to address key regulatory issues that they say are stifling their growth and future prospects for success in a rapidly changing mortgage industry. The group’s members – including Ocwen Financial – will initially strive to educate and inform regulators about nonbanks, but will not lobby Congress. Members of the group stress that the nonbank collective is not a trade organization and does not seek that status. For now, Ocwen is...

Ginnie Mae is taking a closer look at change-of-control applications from issuers and servicers, according to investment banking advisors who work in mortgage industry mergers and acquisitions. “Ginnie is toughening up the change-of-control process to keep folks who got their tickets – and don’t use them – from trying to increase the value of their company in an M&A situation,” said one advisor who represents clients before the agency. He noted...

In a surprise ruling this week, a federal judge in Washington, DC, dismissed claims by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders challenging the Treasury Department’s 2012 “net-worth sweep” of nearly all the profits generated by the government-sponsored enterprises. Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency are empowered by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 to execute the “third amendment” of the preferred stock purchase agreement. The dismissal includes...