We’re hearing unconfirmed reports that the Federal Housing Finance Agency may not hire a chief executive and chairman for the common securitization platform project after all…

But there was some good news: Jumbos accounted for 18.7 percent of total originations in the first quarter of 2014, a level not seen since 2004.

So what’s stressing the mortgage industry out? Regulations, more regulations – and litigation and the threat thereof.

Fitch Ratings said the spike was an aberration, caused by a servicing transfer, not sudden poor performance by pristine jumbo borrowers.

At March 31, PIMCO did not even rank among the top institutional holders of PHH Corp. As one analyst quipped: "Maybe they like the valuation."

It remains unclear why Rick Thompson departed Envoy Mortgage as its CEO.

How much stock to insiders at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac actually own?

In its largest settlement under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act against a company that is not a mortgage insurer, the CFPB ordered Alabama real estate company RealtySouth to pay a $500,000 civil penalty to settle claims it gave inadequate disclosures of its relationship with an affiliated title insurance company. The practices identified by the CFPB’s investigation illegally benefited TitleSouth, an affiliated company owned by the same holding company that owns RealtySouth, according to the bureau, and left consumers unaware of their rights to choose service providers during the home-buying process. “RealtySouth’s preprinted form purchase contracts, which its agents provided to homebuyers preparing to make an offer on a home, either explicitly directed...

Rohit Chopra, the CFPB’s student loan ombudsman, appeared before the Senate Budget Committee last week and indicated the bureau remains intent on holding student loan servicers to account for their treatment of struggling borrowers. “Like many of the improper and unnecessary foreclosures experienced by many homeowners, I am concerned that inadequate servicing has contributed to America’s growing student loan default problem, now topping 7 million Americans in default on over $100 billion in balances,” Chopra said. “To ensure that we do not see a repeat of the breakdowns and chaos in the mortgage servicing market, it will be...

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, is among those leading a legislative push by House and Senate Democrats to protect college students from what they see as unfair banking practices involving campus-sponsored financial products. The legislation would extensively rely upon the CFPB to help accomplish lawmakers’ objectives in this regard. The House bill, entitled the Curbing Abusive Marketing Practices with University Student Debit Cards Act (otherwise known as the CAMPUS Debit Cards Act), would end...