The Federal Housing Finance Agency has withdrawn the controversial fee the GSEs planned to charge based on a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio.

With volumes at lows not seen since before the Great Financial Crisis, Fannie and Freddie continue to turn in steady profits.

Disagreements about the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s new pricing grids for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac highlight differences between Democrats and Republicans.

Last year was a trying year for most lenders. Among publicly traded shops, Rocket’s Jay Farner was one of the highest paid CEOs in the land, topping Mat Ishbia at United Wholesale Mortgage.

A combination of internal mismanagement and lax regulation led to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, according to reviews by the Fed and the FDIC. The regulators plan to tighten regulation of banks, including a focus on interest rate risk.

PennyMac and a handful of other lenders appeared to benefit from the retreat of Wells Fargo from the correspondent market. (Includes two data charts.)

FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said critics of the new schedule of upfront fees for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac misunderstand the nature and purpose of the price changes.

First Republic Bank has set its sights on cleaning up its balance sheet and originating loans for sale to the secondary market, which may be easier said than done.

CFPB raises concerns about algorithms in the mortgage industry; share of borrowers buying points increased in 2022; recession coming, though home prices won’t go down as much as initially expected.

U.S. Bank surpassed JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo in terms of mortgage originations in the first quarter of 2023. Profit margins also seem to be improving.