Commercial banks and savings institutions coughed up $1.998 billion in mortgage repurchases and indemnifications during the third quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data. It was the lowest quarterly repurchase total for the industry since the third quarter of 2008, when the buyback storm was just beginning to gather force. The third quarter 2013 total also reflected a 25.2 percent drop from the second quarter. For the first nine months of 2013 ... [Includes one data chart]

When it comes to the new QM rule lenders are operating from a position of fear. You can bet that mortgage attorneys in the Washington DC area have racked up the billable hours, holding their clients’ hands and supplying legal advice as the clock strikes midnight.

When it comes to doing business with Fannie Mae, Wells Fargo's volume is almost three-times that of its closest competitor, Chase Home Finance, IMF found.

One big way “that we think would help resolve some of that [QM] anxiety is [having] a right to cure,” said Pete Mills of MBA.

In a letter sent to new agency Director Mel Watt, GOP Congressmen Scott Garrett, Randy Neugebauer and John Campbell note that the 10 basis point increase proposed by Watt’s predecessor is not the only fee adjustment up for grabs.

This time around, Congress is considering tapping Fannie/Freddie g-fees as lawmakers look toward an extension of unemployment benefits, which expired on December 31.

“Transactions submitted with consumer-paid compensation more than 50 bps below [the] broker’s lender-paid tier will be rejected permanently and will not be eligible for re-submission,” Fifth Third Bank is warning.

MGIC's stock is trading near a 52-week high of $8.82 a share. The company, like the rest of the sector, is anxiously waiting on new capital-to-risk standards from FHFA.

When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was working on the definition for qualified mortgages, some warned the regulator that only QMs would be available after the standards took effect. However, with the QM era set to begin Friday, a number of lenders will offer non-QMs even though such originations will come with increased liability. While interest-only mortgages don’t meet QM criteria, the loans will continue to be offered by lenders large and small. The government-sponsored enterprises won’t buy them, so the originations will be left to portfolio lenders and those with non-agency sales outlets. “We will continue making...

With a handful of pivotal mortgage lending and servicing rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau going live at the end of this week, industry representatives have been readying themselves to cross the threshold while not quite certain about how complete compliance is going to be or how much access to mortgage credit might be crimped. Of the four rules that kick in on Jan. 10 – those dealing with ability-to-repay/qualified mortgages, loan originator compensation, mortgage servicing, and high-cost mortgages – clearly the ATR rule continues to consume most of the oxygen in the room. One of the biggest points of uncertainty has to do...