As a group, banks and thrifts reported net earnings of $4.76 billion on their mortgage-banking activity during the third quarter, a 42 percent drop from the second quarter.

In letters to two government agencies, a group of 10 Democrat lawmakers said the FHFA should continue to provide access to government-sponsored enterprise MBS guaranties and the Department of Housing and Urban Development should allow FHA mortgage insurance in such communities.

Residential originators have altered their processes and interactions with brokers to reduce potential underwriting and appraisal defects.

Some sellers of residential servicing rights are selling bulk, but are also entering into "flow" components.

The IG's office of the Federal Housing Finance Agency is working with various U.S. Attorneys on reviews of lenders’ loan origination practices to determine their compliance with enterprise requirements.

The civil action entails the alleged taking from WJB of some 5,000 loan files. It should be noted that these aren’t just any LOs – the group in question ranks among the top producers in the nation.

Some 33 mortgage lenders contributed loans to the new jumbo MBS led by Guaranteed Rate with a 9.3 percent share.

Nancy Handal, managing director of insurance conglomerate MetLife, oversees a $70 billion fixed-income portfolio and a $6 billion “high-yield” residential MBS opportunity fund – but has bought into just one jumbo MBS deal over the past few years. And she’s not shy about the reasons why: it’s all about disclosures. Handal is not happy about what non-agency issuers disclose and in particular she’s dismayed that MBS investors are essentially frozen out of the due-diligence process. Speaking at a housing forum sponsored by the Urban Institute and CoreLogic this week, the MetLife executive expressed...

In just a matter of days, JPMorgan Chase agreed to two separate settlements totaling $17.5 billion to resolve federal and state civil claims as well as representation and warranty and servicing claims involving residential MBS. On Nov. 19, the Department of Justice, along with other federal and state agencies, announced a $13 billion settlement with JPMorgan, which acknowledged making misrepresentations about billions of dollars in MBS sold to investors prior to Jan. 1, 2009. The settlement is said to be the largest combination of damages and civil fines for a single entity in U.S. history. Most of the damage was inflicted...

At a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, criticized FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco for his plan to reduce both the conforming loan limit and the high-cost limit.