On Thursday morning, Fairholme chief Bruce Berkowitz said, "We’re talking to everyone about this plan,” then added: “We’d love to talk to Treasury.”

The STACR deal was structured so that Freddie Mac will take the first 30 basis points of losses on the transaction, followed by private investors, which bought debt notes on the following 300 basis points of potential losses.

Are mortgage bankers so diabolical that they attempt to find a way around new regulations? Industry consultant Joe Garrett of Garrett, McAuley & Co. thinks so.

One trade group official told Inside Mortgage Finance that despite efforts by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to create g-fee parity for lenders of different sizes, there has been little in the way of progress.

Cash-out refis are at all-time lows compared to the peak in 2006 when $84 billion in equity was withdrawn by consumers.

Pete Carroll's mortgage credentials include a stint at Overture Technologies, a mortgage technology firm based in the Washington, DC, area.

The CFPB expects the vast majority of institutions to be in substantial compliance with its new mortgage rules by the January deadlines.

Paul Rozo, who runs PRMG, told us that he is not a big fan of call centers and that every LO in his organization is a “hunter,” a sales person “who relies on referral business and/or handling their own marketing."

Can Ellie Mae get a deal done with residential originations expected to slow in 2014?

The frothy prices being offered for MSRs are beginning to cool somewhat. “There’s definitely a tighter range on bids lately,” said Matt Maurer, managing director of MountainView Servicing Group.