Mortgage banking is an ugly business right now, but lenders are hoping that the first quarter will prove to be the nadir and that better times are ahead.

Meanwhile, Ocwen’s board recently increased the maximum bonus amount for senior level executives to $3 million per year from $2 million.

Ocwen's stock has been floundering of late, but its payroll is headed north on a rocket.

The only spurt of growth in the MBS market was in the non-agency sector, where new issuance was up 36.5 percent from the fourth quarter.

“When a servicer recognizes losses on loans previously modified with forbearance, it could significantly impact cash flows across the capital stack,” writes Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Mortgage bankers have been complaining loudly about escalating compliance costs since the CFPB opened its doors in 2011. Some smaller nonbanks have cited those rising costs as one reason they might be forced to merge with better capitalized institutions.

“Watt will want to draw a line of demarcation between him and DeMarco,” said one source. “Going forward, I think we’ll see an emphasis on average credit scores funded and even servicing performance.”

One ad on the radio sounds like The 60 Plus Association is doing the Lord’s work for the pension funds of fire fighters and policemen. After all, public pensions owned GSE stock prior to the crash and lost a bundle.

Mounting opposition from both the left and the right, a month-long wait to mark-up and newly filed competing legislation in the House could doom the already tenuous effort by two senior senators to move a GSE reform bill this year, say industry observers.Given the need for speed and a closing legislative window, last week’s announcement by Sens. Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Mike Crapo, R-ID, that the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee would mark up their housing finance reform package on April 29 – well over a month after the bill’s initial March 16 rollout – is not seen as a good sign.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has sent a draft 2014 Conservatorship Scorecard to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for review, but it remains unclear how different it will be from the GSE goals the FHFA set for last year. According to industry officials who have been briefed on the matter, the scorecard will likely be released by month’s end. The scorecard was the brainchild of former FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco, who led the agency for more than four years before former Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, assumed a five-year term as the agency’s director in early January.