MSR sales, in general, are expected to be brisk in the first quarter as lenders sell receivables to make up for declining originations.

Paul Hindman, a mortgage recruiter, told IMFnews that he believes when it comes to hiring, “I believe we’re headed into a relatively flat period,” unless rates swing one way or another.

However, the greatest earnings impact could fall on such mid-sized mortgage firms as PHH Corp., Redwood Trust, and PennyMac Financial Services.

We continue to hear reports that Walter Investment Management is talking to a fairly large nonbank about a possible acquisition.

It is not a matter of “if” or even “when” but rather “how” the remaining defendants settle lawsuits filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency over billions in non-agency MBS sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the years leading up to the housing crisis. Last week, the FHFA announced it recovered $7.88 billion in civil settlements in 2013 from seven of the 18 defendants the agency took to court in 2011. Eleven firms have yet to settle, with Bank of America facing the largest exposure because of its ownership of Countrywide Financial Corp. and Merrill Lynch, two of the largest issuers in the now-defunct subprime MBS market. In its original claim, the conservator of Fannie and Freddie accused...[Includes one data chart]

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt ended his first week on his new job by announcing four special advisors “to provide counsel on policy and strategic decisions” at the FHFA. Megan Moore will join the Finance Agency as Special Advisor – Intergovernmental.

New business activity at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2014, but the top tier of mortgage sellers took more than their share of the decline, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of mortgage-backed securities data. Total single-family MBS production by the two government-sponsored enterprises declined by 36.1 percent from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2013. But the top five GSE sellers posted a combined 45.9 percent ... [Includes two data charts]

Expect the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of Inspector General and its investigators to continue to seek out an “increasingly active role” alongside federal and state prosecutors in the pursuit of financial fraud cases – whether or not there is a GSE connection, according to an industry attorney. Industry lawyer and one-time federal prosecutor Andrew Schilling of BuckleySandler noted in a recent opinion piece what the FHFA’s official watchdog itself recently boasted – that the OIG seeks to expand its investigative presence in 2014.

Over the past year, home values – including distressed sales – have risen by almost 12 percent, which can only mean good things for sellers of nonperforming mortgages. Investors and auction companies that play in the non-performing loan space are expecting a banner year for sales, but also are quick to caution that every real estate (and loan) market is different. “We auctioned off roughly $11 billion in NPLs in 2013,” said J. Kingsley Greenland, president and CEO of The Debt Exchange, which operates ...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it recovered $7.88 billion in civil settlements in 2013 from less than half of the 18 defendants it is suing over billions of dollars in losses from toxic non-agency mortgage-backed securities sold to the GSEs before the housing crisis. Seven of the big banks made deals with Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s conservator to get out from under the massive MBS litigation effort launched by the FHFA in 2011.