Through three quarters this year, retail originations fell 20.2 percent while brokers saw a 10.3 percent production drop and correspondent lending declined by only 1.8 percent.

The federal regulator released a check digit tool and a rate-spread calculator.

Some lenders said they’re loosening underwriting standards in in an effort to compete for volume.

“While this flexible approach is generally beneficial for lenders and consumers, it does produce some uncertainty over what will be considered ‘good faith’ or ‘material,’” according to attorneys at the law firm of Buckley Sandler.

An estimated 69.5 percent of third-quarter mortgage originations were funneled into securities, according to affiliated publication Inside MBS & ABS.

Certain temporary modifications have been made to allow lenders to submit demographic information if the currently available fields in the system match the data submitted. Otherwise, just leave the fields blank, according to the FHA.

Correspondents, which account for a large percentage of government-insured lending, saw their share grow in 2017 even as retail went through a production slump, according to an analysis by Inside FHA/ VA Lending.

Ginnie Mae’s latest efforts to rein in serial VA refinancing and rapid prepayments in mortgage-backed securities pools augur additional changes to pooling and refi requirements at Ginnie and the Department of Veterans Affairs, analysts said.

The Department of Housing and Urban Affairs plans to act on two new rules in 2018 relating to allowable fees and charges on VA loans as well as the type of loans that are “qualified mortgages.”