It’s been a roller coaster ride for Finance of America and its shareholders. Rising rates have hammered its business lines and it’s anticipated the company will exit the MSR arena. FoA went public just over 18 months ago.

UWM’s CEO, a former college basketball player, is contemplating making a bid on the NFL Commanders franchise. Will it come to pass? Meanwhile, one large non-QM shop is ready to make retail cuts.

It had to happen eventually: The sale of bulk MSR portfolios has lessened noticeably in the fourth quarter, with some buyers actively low-balling their bids. And if rates fall to 5.5% next year, as some predict, the days of asset markups will be in the rearview.

Some of the nation's largest direct-to-consumer lenders are taking a peek at FoA’s retail network to see if they can pick up some ancillary locations. FoA is in the midst of a massive and costly restructuring brought on by the production downturn.

After years of court maneuvers, the most prominent of the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac shareholder lawsuits finally went to trial. Now it’s in the hands of a jury.

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who is likely to chair the House Financial Services Committee if Republicans win control of the House, is a frequent critic of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Not a total surprise, but the central bank hiked short-term rates by 75 basis points this week. Mortgage rates hardly budged but residential finance professionals are worried about the quarters ahead. Meanwhile, more lenders are heading for the exits.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will eliminate certain upfront loan-level price adjustments while implementing “targeted” increases for most cash-out refinance transactions. The agency also approved two new credit scoring models for Fannie and Freddie.

With all the layoffs this year, it stands to reason that finding loan officer talent would be an easy task. But that’s not necessarily the case. Overall, the LO landscape remains competitive.

As bad as originations were this year, 2023 is projected to be worse. Purchase-mortgage business is expected to decline even as mortgage rates come down and home prices level off.