Over the past year, small and medium-sized lenders have dominated the activity in the merger and acquisitions market, but all that could be changing as consolidation fever begins to gather steam and larger, struggling players consider a take-out strategy. Also, the recent announcement that the Blackstone Group would buy a majority stake in Stearns Lending – the nation’s 12th largest originator – has sparked hopes among investment bankers that potential sellers are finally lowering their expectations when it comes to price. An offering book on Stearns had been circulating for at least a year. Meanwhile, analysts who follow Stonegate Mortgage, which ranks 25th among originators, this week suggested...

Purchase-mortgage lending provided most of the oomph that drove the 23.6 percent increase in total mortgage originations during the second quarter, but refinance activity still accounted for slightly over half of total production. Lenders funded $222 billion of first-lien purchase mortgages during the second quarter, a 59.7 percent increase from the first three months of 2015, according to Inside Mortgage Finance estimates. That was just shy of the $223 billion of purchase mortgages originated back in the third quarter of 2013, a figure that included some second-mortgage production associated with purchase loans. Meanwhile, refinance lending rose...[Includes three data tables]

One possible catalyst for a MIP cut could be poor results from a forthcoming HMDA report that shows FHA as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not servicing low-income borrowers very well.

In a recent SEC filing Two Harbors noted that after the second quarter ended it bought $4.7 billion of Fannie Mae servicing rights from an undisclosed seller.

Alt A mortgages accounted for 31.3 percent of the credit losses the GSE took through two quarters in 2015.

The seller was not identified by name, though MountainView refers to the company as “well capitalized” and...

The Blackstone Group said it has acquired a “significant” stake in The PMI Group, a once-bankrupt mortgage insurer that is now in receivership.

Meanwhile, refinance lending rose just 0.9 percent from the first to the second quarter, but still accounted for just over half of new originations during the period.

The CHLA noted that almost 99 percent of depositories are exempt from exams conducted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Glass told IMFnews that he has seen a noticeable uptick in searches for what he calls “senior leadership” positions...