The civil action entails the alleged taking from WJB of some 5,000 loan files. It should be noted that these aren’t just any LOs – the group in question ranks among the top producers in the nation.

Some 33 mortgage lenders contributed loans to the new jumbo MBS led by Guaranteed Rate with a 9.3 percent share.

At a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, criticized FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco for his plan to reduce both the conforming loan limit and the high-cost limit.

Lobbyists and analysts who track the market are unanimous on one key issue: GSE loan limits. From what we’re told, Watt will shelve any thought of lowering the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage limit in 2014.

Many of the big brand names in the mortgage industry have backpedaled from the correspondent and broker market, but a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of loan-level Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac data reveals a very deep and diverse group of loan aggregators still remains in the market. During the first nine months of 2013, there were 512 different companies that sold mortgages to the government-sponsored enterprises that had been originated by loan correspondents of mortgage brokers. Some 324 of ... [Includes data chart]

Retail mortgage-production units accounted for 63.0 percent of new originations during the third quarter of 2013, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. That was up slightly from a 62.8 percent retail share of new production during the second quarter, and it represented one of the highest levels of retail-channel dominance ever. The share of retail originations has soared over the past few years as many major lenders have scaled back their broker and correspondent operations. But all three production channels showed...[Includes four data charts]

Mortgage brokers accounted for 9.6 percent of all loans originated in the the third quarter, one of the lowest readings ever, according to exclusive survey figures from Inside Mortgage Finance.

Tom Popik, research director of Campbell Surveys, said buyers have a number of incentives to pay with cash. “You get about a 10 percent discount on the purchase price,” he noted.

A publicly traded real estate investment trust is the buyer of Fannie Mae MSRs offered by CashCall, investment banking sources said.

Mortgage industry officials note that the size and complexity of the disclosure rules and other regulations taking effect in January will cause huge operational and system challenges.