Some lenders are swamped with refis...

The steadily declining average loan-to-value ratio on PMI-covered refinances reflects dwindling production in the HARP program.

Meanwhile, Citigroup continues to see its servicing “for others” portfolio shrink...

In general, depositories have not been active buyers of mortgage companies, though that’s starting to change somewhat.

Is the bloom off the rose in the single-family home rental market? Some institutional investors are shedding assets.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitized $43.28 billion of single-family loans covered by private mortgage insurance during the first quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. First-quarter PMI business was down 7.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014, although overall mortgage-backed securities issuance by the two government-sponsored enterprises was up 5.9 percent over the same period. All of the increase ... [Includes two data charts]

Originations of mortgages by big banks in the first quarter of 2015 were up strongly compared with a year ago as well as the fourth quarter of 2014. Competition has increased, but mortgage banking income and gain-on-sale margins were relatively strong, according to industry analysts. Five large banks that have reported earnings generated a combined $108.5 billion in mortgage originations during the first three months of 2015. That was up 9.4 percent from ...

The House of Representatives early this week passed H.R. 685, the “Mortgage Choice Act,” bipartisan legislation which would clarify that certain affiliated title costs do not count against the “qualified mortgage” cap on points and fees under the ability-to-repay rule. H.R. 685, introduced by Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-MI, with 37 co-sponsors from both parties, excludes from the definition of points and fees all title charges, regardless of whether they are charged by ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are legally bound to poverty and to remain instruments of the federal government in perpetuity, but Treasury officials argue that the current conservatorship arrangement is better for the government-sponsored enterprises and the housing market. At a seminar in Washington, DC, this week, Treasury Counselor Michael Stegman said that the GSEs benefit from the agreement under which nearly all of their profits are siphoned off by the government ...

Credit unions reported a marked 17.0 percent drop in mortgage originations during 2014, but the industry managed to increase is footprint in the industry, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of call-report data. Credit unions originated $117.2 billion of home loans last year, or 9.45 percent of the estimated $1.240 trillion in total mortgage originations. Their aggregate lending volume was down about half as much as the overall market decline from ... [Includes two data charts]