The retail share of new residential originations declined slightly, to 60 percent, in the fourth quarter after climbing steadily during the first nine months of the year.

Commenting on Fairholme's court victory, one GSE observer quipped: “Game on.”

The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance this week suggested a change to proposed Reg AB2 disclosure requirements in an effort to protect the privacy of borrowers whose loans are included in MBS and ABS.

In a heavily redacted draft memo released to the public, the Inspector General of FHFA found that while the agency had reviewed and examined the GSEs’ executive compensation, it did not keep close tabs on "non-executive senior professional compensation practices."

Of course, Ocwen is hardly alone when it comes to having a large overseas mortgage workforce. Wells Fargo and Nationstar, we’re told, also have decent sized back office operations in India…

Residential funders that relied heavily on refis, such as CashCall, have either shuttered operations or scaled back their significantly.

Fear and loathing when it comes to mortgage servicing sales? Maybe now, but not in 2013.

For Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities issued in January 2013, the average reported credit score was 701 and the average DTI ratio was 38.0. By December, the average FHA credit score was down to 680, while the average DTI ratio was up to 40.3.

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

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