The law firm that pursued a nearly decade-long class-action fraud lawsuit on behalf of investors against Fannie Mae and their former auditor, KPMG LLP, until its settlement in May say they are entitled to a piece of the $153 million payout, plus expenses. In papers recently filed with the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, the firm of Markovits, Stock & DeMarco of Cincinnati is seeking attorneys’ fees in the amount of $29.1 million or 22 percent of the settlement amount, plus $15.3 million in “out of pocket” expenses incurred in the nine years of pursuing the class action.

The incredibly shrinking refinance market helped continue the shift in the mix of single-family mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the month of September, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis. Fannie and Freddie issued $78.6 billion in single-family mortgage-backed securities in September, a 20.0 percent decline from August, but a 7.0 percent rise for the first nine months of 2013. [Includes one data chart.]

Fannie, Freddie Update Mortgage Servicing Requirements. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have released updated mortgage servicing requirements in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s servicing rule. All of the announced changes are effective for servicing activities completed on or after Jan. 10, 2014. The updated servicing requirements relate to early intervention and communication with delinquent borrowers, alternatives to foreclosure and right of appeals, foreclosure referral and foreclosure suspension, and error resolution.

Roughly 4,100 people have registered to attend the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association, which launches Sunday night in Power City USA.

Essent Group, a privately capitalized mortgage insurance firm, has announced plans to raise $286 million through the sale of 19.7 million common shares to fund the growth of its MI subsidiary. The initial public offering will be made at a price range of $13.50 to $15.50 per share, according to the company’s filing with Securities and Exchange Commission. Domiciled in Bermuda, Essent has been approved to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ESNT.” Essent Group is offering...

California was the biggest source of private MI loans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the state doesn’t dominate the GSE insured market the way it does in other measures.

U.S. prosecutors estimate that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lost almost $850 million (gross) from Countrywide's "Hustle" program. However, at the time, BofA didn't even own CFC.

As directed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this year established a three-year sunset period for most reps and warrants on loans with perfect payment histories.

A senior executive at Residential Finance Corp. confirmed that the company’s chief financial officer Nick Hahn left the lender/servicer last month, but has since been replaced.

Early indicators suggest that private mortgage insurers saw an uptick in new business during the third quarter, a time when most mortgage production indicators were losing momentum. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitized a total of $58.18 billion of single-family loans that were insured by private MIs during the third quarter, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of loan-level detail. That was up 3.7 percent from the second quarter at a time when total production by the two government-sponsored enterprises declined by 15.6 percent. Private MI-insured loans accounted...[Includes two data charts]