Fannie Mae seller/servicers also can dodge the maintenance fee if they have $25 million in Fannie servicing or paid $5,000 in technology fees.

Besides Citi, a handful of large depositories are in the midst of wrapping up sizable MSR auctions this week, including offerings from Wells Fargo and Flagstar Bancorp.

A new audit of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund is due in October and speculation about its cash reserves is not good.

Citadel Servicing CEO Dan Perl said "the phones are ringing like a son-of-a-gun" at his nonprime lending shop.

The jumbo features that Moody's worries about include super senior support bonds, exchangeable securities, principal-only bonds, and pool interest-only bonds.

The talk has prompted speculation that the FHFA could lower the conforming loan limit to $400,000 or, as conservator of the GSEs, direct them to reduce high-cost loan limits.

The bloodletting in Citigroup's mortgage division may just be starting.

Over the past two years, upwards of $1 billion has been raised by private-equity funds seeking to buy servicing rights in the secondary market.

Art Ringwald, who helped put Bank of America on the mortgage map before departing in 2001, is looking to do "roll-ups," among other things.

Loan officers, so far, have been spared the layoff carnage, but that may change depending on where volumes wind up.