The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week sought comment on a proposal that would bar servicers from participating in lender-placed insurance through reinsurance or from receiving any commission or fee for placing or maintaining such type of insurance on mortgages.

Most Freddie Mac servicers are not complying with reporting requirements that seek to catch servicing fraud and regulatory violations, a mandate that falls under the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Servicing Alignment Initiative, according to a new audit. The FHFA Inspector General separately slammed the regulator for failing to “thoroughly oversee” how the two government-sponsored enterprises monitor their seller/servicers’ compliance with contractual agreements.

Bank and thrift holdings of first-lien mortgages increased in 2012 even as major banks sold sig-nificant amounts of troubled loans. The growth was driven by Wells Fargo and a number of mid-sized banks, holding certain conforming loans in portfolio along with non-agency originations.

Try as they might, the government cannot keep a good MI program down. FHA endorsements rose almost 19 percent in January.

The credit union industry has appealed to the U.S. Senate for relief on rules and regulations coming out of the CFPB.

Sterling Partners of Chicago is one of many private equity firms eying servicing rights as an investment. But so far, it has yet to win any bids.

Severely delinquent Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac borrowers may get a shot at a streamlined refi under a new program unveiled Wednesday.

Residential loan production for 2013 may turn out to be better than originally projected, thanks to a vastly improved purchase-money business.

Urban legend: mortgage lenders are beginning to loosen loan standards. Well, maybe only for "rich" clients.

Interest-only lending picked up steam in 2012 despite new regulations that make the loans less attractive from a 'qualified mortgage' point of view.