In the fourth quarter of 2013, Redwood issued one jumbo MBS totaling $325 million and completed whole loan sales of $648 million. Officials at the real estate investment trust said Redwood plans to issue a jumbo MBS in March or April.

Then again, acquirers also may find that companies that need to sell might have a hard time admitting as much. “I’m seeing a ton of interest on the buy-side these days,” said Larry Charbonneau, a principal in Charbonneau & Associates.

Under the terms of the credit facility, PennyMac can sell RBS “newly originated mortgage loans that it purchases from correspondent lenders.”

The Consumer Financial Freedom and Washington Accountability Act, sponsored by House Financial Services Committee member Rep. Sean Duffy, R-WI, would, among other things, replace the single CFPB director with a five-member commission appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

So, mortgage firms are reducing “overlays” and expanding credit to borrowers in need. Right? Not necessarily.

Overall, the group reported a 5.8 percent increase in total mortgage banking income – which for some firms includes activity not captured in either production or servicing – during the fourth quarter.

Among those buying into MI stocks is Paulson & Co., the legendary hedge fund that made $15 billion by shorting publicly traded subprime firms via the ABX Index in the run-up to the housing bust.

In an interview with IMFnews, Millon said CMC now owns roughly $5 billion in MSRs, compared to just $1.5 billion a year earlier. “We’re buying rights from the members of our cooperative,” Million said.

A spokesman for Ocwen said the company did not like the way the IMFnews story was being “interpreted.” After the story was published early Friday afternoon, Ocwen’s share price began to rise and continued to increase Monday.

Banks and thrifts earned a hefty $5.292 billion on their mortgage-banking activities during the fourth quarter of 2013, boosting the year to one of the industry’s best in recent memory. Mortgage banking income reported by banks and thrifts rose 12.7 percent from the third to the fourth quarter of last year, according to a new analysis of call-report data by Inside Mortgage Trends. The fourth-quarter surge brought annual earnings from mortgage banking to $25.857 billion in 2013 ... [Includes one data chart]