Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitized $285 billion of single-family mortgages during the third quarter, an almost 16 percent drop from the previous three-month period. As for the outlook for the fourth quarter, the industry is nervous.

Over the past year, some lenders have complained privately about the presence of enforcement attorneys during examinations, telling Inside Mortgage Finance that it can be intimidating to staff.

With most of FHA's staff on furlough, the private mortgage insurance sector sees an opportunity to gain business.

A company owned by Lone Star appears to have won the bid on Flagstar MSRs. Meanwhile, MountainView hits the market with a new deal.

Members of the House believe FHFA does not have the legal authority under HERA to reduce GSE loan limits.

Despite continuing growth in purchase-mortgage production, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw a marked decline in their overall business during the third quarter of 2013, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. The two government-sponsored enterprises securitized $284.9 billion of single-family mortgages during the third quarter, a 15.6 percent drop from the previous three-month period. It marked the lowest quarterly production for the GSEs since the second quarter of last year and it was attributable to a sharp drop in refinance activity. Fannie and Freddie securitized...[Includes three data charts]

Large lenders appear to be coping better with the partial federal government shutdown, but that doesn’t mean the megabanks aren’t worried about the situation. According to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance, lenders big and small are adjusting the way they conduct business in the primary and secondary markets in the wake of the government shutdown, now in its second week. Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, the largest correspondent buyers of mortgages, are waiving...

Capitalizing on the uncertainty of a government shutdown, private mortgage insurers are stepping up to provide conventional mortgage insurance on any loan with FHA documentation that could not close on time due to delays at the undermanned agency. Private MIs say they are “ready to help with FHA uncertainty,” urging lenders to consider switching to conventional mortgage insurance if they have any government-insured or guaranteed loan that is at risk of not closing due to the shutdown. United Guaranty said...

It's not looking pretty for gain-on-sale margins this quarter. However, interest rates will remain low.

Residential lenders realize that eventually the industry will face lower loan limits for Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgages, but they now hope the day of reckoning won’t come until sometime in the second quarter of 2014. “[The Federal Housing Finance Agency] is still trying to figure out what to do,” said one industry lobbyist who spoke under condition his name not be published. “They never thought they’d face this much resistance.” Industry groups and members of Congress have been besieging the agency with challenges to its authority to lower the limits for the government-sponsored enterprises and pleas to defer any such changes. As reported in the Oct. 4 issue of Inside Mortgage Finance, 13 Senators – including two Republicans – recently wrote...