At an investor conference in New York this week, officials from Wells Fargo predicted that residential originations at the bank will fall 30 percent this quarter on a sequential basis.

Over the years, HUD has seen a steady decline in its staffing level – perhaps to its lowest level ever, in fact – while at the same time being called upon to administer an increasing number of programs.

The program is intended to provide smaller mortgage lenders that lack direct access to the secondary mortgage market with another option for their home buying customers.

Not only is Stonegate Mortgage going public, but it plans to issue jumbo MBS as well.

The Mortgage Bankers Association recently warned the CFPB that a move by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to lower loan limits for the government-sponsored enterprises could negatively affect qualified mortgage status and borrower access to credit. “Given that we are in the early, fragile stages of a housing recovery, we urge the bureau to consider additional refinements to the QM requirements to mitigate the combined impact of the rule and the FHFA’s action on loan limits,” the MBA said. The trade group noted that the QM rule...

Some folks in the mortgage broker community have been suggesting that operating as a mini-correspondent will help brokers avoid points-and-fees complications with the qualified mortgage definition under the CFPB’s ability-to-repay final rule. As it stands now under the CFPB’s rule, lender- paid compensation will have to be counted in the 3 percent compensation limitation for qualified mortgages. “The broker segment continues to mull over the final ‘final’ rule from the CFPB regarding compensation,” said mortgage broker Rob Chrisman in...

Federal regulators issued a revised credit risk retention/qualified residential mortgage proposed rule late last month, one that tilts heavily in the direction of the qualified mortgage provisions established in the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule – and that close proximity concerns the bureau’s director, Richard Cordray. “The proposal released Aug. 28 we see as another key step in obtaining further certainty for the mortgage market going forward,” said Cordray, who as one of the four members of the Federal Deposit...

Congress is back in town and several new mortgage-related hearings are set for this week.

Nonbanks are making progress in picking up market share, but it's uncertain how much more turf commercial banks might cede.

Nonbanks are stepping up to the plate on agency MBS. Meanwhile, a handful of large "term" loans are being put together, allowing investors to finance MSRs.