Nationstar and PennyMac led the ongoing charge of non-banks into the mortgage servicing business during the third quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking. The two companies reported increases in their servicing portfolios of 17.9 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively, from the end of the second quarter. The other stand-out big gain was a 14.2 percent increase in servicing reported by EverBank. Non-bank servicers accounted...[Includes one data chart]

While the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed definition of a “qualified mortgage” is superior to the treatment FHA-insured mortgage loans would receive under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s QM rule, it would add significant regulatory burden and costs and increase litigation risks, warned mortgage lenders. HUD’s proposed distinction between safe harbor and rebuttable presumption loans is unnecessary for FHA loans because they already meet QM requirements, according to industry trade groups. Rebuttable presumption would only impose more costs and reduce credit availability for borrowers who need FHA credit the most and likely create more confusion, lenders said. The inclusion of the FHA annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) in the annual percentage calculation under the CFPB rule would cause...

“At the end of the day, we’re still dealing with a one-sided contract with a significant termination option,” said Jonathan Jaffe, an attorney who works on GSE buyback issues.

The REIT is just starting to purchase MSRs. At the end of September it had $15.7 million of mortgage servicing rights on its balance sheet, but that figure should rapidly change in the quarters ahead.

FHA lenders originated $10.8 billion of new jumbo loans in the first half of 2013, down 2.7 percent from the same period last year.

According to Bill Dallas, his young firm hopes to table fund as much as $20 million in November, its first full month of operation

An active mortgage wholesaler in California is letting account executives go. Stay tuned for details.

If Freddie Mac "pays back" the U.S. Treasury by year-end will it change the debate on the future of the GSEs?

Rep. Maxine Waters, the ranking Democrat on the panel, is promising that GSE "stakeholders" will have input on her housing reform bill.

The loans in the new Redwood deal have the strong characteristics associated with jumbos, including an average credit score of 766 and a combined loan-to-value ratio of almost 71 percent.