The supply of “conforming-jumbo” mortgage originations flowing into agency mortgage-backed securities programs contracted sharply in the fourth quarter of 2015, but overall jumbo lending still held up better than the overall market, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. During the final three months of 2015, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae securitized $24.69 billion of mortgages with loan amounts that exceeded the baseline conforming loan limit, $417,000… [Includes three charts]

“I think that criticism is badly misplaced,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray during a speech before the Consumer Bankers Association in Phoenix.

PHH has retained Credit Suisse Securities and J.P. Morgan as financial advisors and Jones Day as legal advisor “to assist in the process.”

Refinance activity was heavy in the first half of 2015, and jumbo borrowers typically have more to gain by pulling the refi trigger.

Among the top 10 non-agency jumbo mortgage producers in 2015 just two are nonbanks: PHH Mortgage and Redwood Trust.

In dollars and cents, additional spending at Fannie totaled $726 million over the four-year period, while at Freddie the reading was a more benign $376 million.

Roughly 88 percent of lenders said they expect to grow their mortgage origination business in 2016...

D’Urso is the second top executive to leave Clayton over the past six months. Another key departure came this past fall when Tom Donatacci left...

Zais said a strategic review of the REIT will continue, including exploration of a possible sale or even a liquidation of the company’s assets.

PHH has been losing money and so far this year its stock price has been hammered.