PrimeLending is churning through loan originators, recruiting strong candidates and letting go of “non-performers” as lenders battle for purchase mortgages. In recent months, the retail lender owned by PlainsCapital Bank hired about 250 LOs and released about 200 others, according to Alan White, chairman of PlainsCapital Bank and co-CEO and vice chairman of Hilltop Holdings, which owns the bank. “We’ve been able to upgrade our staff,” he said during Hilltop’s earnings call ...

Cash-out refinancing is on the rise again, driven by rising interest rates and strong home-price appreciation, but there is no cause for alarm, according to the Urban Institute. Using Freddie Mac’s quarterly numbers on the refi market, UI found that the share of refi loans where borrowers tapped into their home equity has reached 77 percent of total refis in the second quarter of 2018. That was the market’s highest point since 2008, just as housing valuations began to tank ...

The credit window for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac single-family mortgages opened a little wider during the third quarter of 2018 as competition intensified in the primary market. A new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of mortgage-backed securities issued by the government-sponsored enterprises during the third quarter revealed modest increases in the shares of purchase mortgages with low credit scores, although trends in loan-to-value ratios were mixed ... [Includes two data charts]

The first move expected is a possible lowering of GSE loan limits...

The CFPB and FHFA have been compiling the survey data but have never released the results.

Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie issued a combined $98.03 billion of single-family MBS last month, a 5.1 percent drop from September…

PennyMac Financial Services is turning profits, increasing originations, acquiring servicing and looking to grow market share while other lenders are faltering under increased competitive pressure.

Lenders that predominantly originate purchase mortgages might have been better prepared for the shift away from refinances but they’re not immune to the tighter margins that have accompanied increased competition for volume in recent months.

The modest decline in total first-lien mortgage originations during the third quarter affected most sectors of the market, but it hit a little harder at the prime-jumbo space, according to an exclusive new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. (Includes two data charts.)

UBS said the Department of Justice intends to file a civil complaint against the company relating to pre-crisis MBS issuance...