Non-cash financing was used on 72.4 percent of home purchases in November, based on a three-month moving average.

Lenders funded an estimated $20 billion of new home-equity lines of credit during the third quarter, a 17.6 percent gain from 2Q, according to IMF.

The Merrill borrowers tend to have strong equity positions: the original average combined LTV on the collateral is 54.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the FOMC indicated it will continue to reinvest principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and MBS.

A year ago, in SEC filings, Pershing Square disclosed that it owned just under 10 percent of Fannie and Freddie common.

The OCC said two banks exited the residential mortgage business in 2014 and another two plan to exit in the coming year.

A handful of other large national wholesalers offer LPMI, including United Wholesale Mortgage.

Advocates for GSE reform looking for savings in the federal budget will be disappointed...

When settlements are first reported rarely does the money change hands right away.

Plunging oil prices have led to a sell-off in stocks and a flight to quality, namely U.S. Treasuries and agency-backed MBS.