The mortgage servicing market continued to grow in the fourth quarter of 2018, with most of the gains coming in the agency market, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. [Includes two data charts.]

A roundup of the week's developing news.

Joseph Otting’s dual role as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency puts him in a position to push hard for changes that will help create a “healthy” non-agency mortgage market, according to the Structured Finance Industry Group.

President Trump earlier this week unleashed his fiscal year 2020 budget on Washington, chockful of implications for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

At a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Kathy Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, assured lawmakers that she will not disrupt the mortgage industry by abruptly terminating the so-called GSE patch.

JPMorgan Chase is apparently warming up to the idea of financing non-qualified loan originators, according to at least two industry officials who claim to have knowledge of the matter.

In just over two weeks, the first quarter will come to an end with many conventional lenders closing the books on what likely was a trying three months — one shaped by lower originations, tight profit margins and worries about the future.

Home-equity lending weakened in late 2018 but remained a relatively bright spot in the mortgage business, according to an exclusive Inside Mortgage Finance market analysis. [Includes three data charts.]

A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows a dramatic shift by servicemembers who are first-time homebuyers from conventional to government-backed loans, particularly VA loans, during and after the financial crisis.

As policymakers evaluate systemic risk in the housing-finance market and act to avert the next crisis, they should avoid taking measures that would force market share away from nonbanks, the Mortgage Bankers Association cautioned.