The first quarter hasn’t exactly been a barn-burner for MSR sales and the recent bank liquidity crisis hasn’t helped. However, some buyers might take advantage of the fears of others.

The guilty plea by Sterling Bank includes $27.2 million in restitution. The DOJ said any higher amount would have put the bank out of business.

HUD’s decision to reinstate its 2013 “discriminatory effects standard” could revive an old lawsuit brought against the agency by two trade groups.

Special-purpose credit programs aim to close the racial wealth gap but panelists at a conference said the programs could disappear if underused.

There are plenty of fix-and-flip home sales but profitability is starting to slip. Meanwhile, in his new book, Calabria takes a poke at nonbanks.

The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have put much of the banking system on shaky ground. Lenders with similar balance sheets that are more heavily involved in the mortgage market are under scrutiny.

With a bank liquidity crisis taking seed, some nonbank CEOs started asking a basic question: Are our escrows safe? What about our corporate deposits? Needless to say, it’s been an interesting week.

Some banks hike their use of FHLBank advances when a run on their deposits and the inability to sell their MBS holdings cut into liquidity. This strategy doesn’t seem to work for all banks.

Rates are headed lower, at least for now, causing sellers of MSRs to pause. However, “whole” company deals could pick up a head of steam. One hungry buyer: Guild Mortgage of San Diego.

The bipartisan Middle-Class Mortgage Insurance Premium Act was reintroduced in the House last week by Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-FL, and Jimmy Panetta, D-CA.