MBA cites competition from GSEs' new low downpayment programs, Senators point to improvements in the FHA's Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.

The increase in the number of mortgage loan originators with state licenses was attributed to increased access to warehouse credit and less exposure to regulation than big banks.

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

On the supply side, there were $5.63 trillion of single-family MBS guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae outstanding at the end of September.

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

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.

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.

A mid-sized nonbank based in Texas saw two of its top officers resign last week, industry sources confirmed to IMFnews.

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