So what’s stressing the mortgage industry out? Regulations, more regulations – and litigation and the threat thereof.

Fitch Ratings said the spike was an aberration, caused by a servicing transfer, not sudden poor performance by pristine jumbo borrowers.

At March 31, PIMCO did not even rank among the top institutional holders of PHH Corp. As one analyst quipped: "Maybe they like the valuation."

It remains unclear why Rick Thompson departed Envoy Mortgage as its CEO.

How much stock to insiders at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac actually own?

Organizations representing different segments of the mortgage lending industry generally strongly support the overall thrust of the CFPB’s proposed amendments to its 2013 mortgage rules that would enable a limited “right to cure” a “qualified mortgage” that inadvertently falls outside the points-and-fees cap. The 120-day cure period would only be available if the creditor originated the loan as a QM loan in good faith, the loan otherwise meets the QM requirements, and the creditor or assignee maintains and follows policies and procedures for post-consummation review and refunding of overages. “The proposed cure period for points and fees overages would be...

Among the 12 questions that the FHFA asks the public to consider is this: “If the enterprises [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] continue to raise g-fees, will overall loan originations decrease?”

One last thought on Mel Watt, FHFA and expanding the credit box: Members of the GOP who were big boosters of the recently departed Ed DeMarco will probably read the g-fee comment notice and have a fit…

Wells Fargo received some attention this week when officials at the bank reiterated that Wells doesn’t offer interest-only home-equity lines of credit to borrowers with less than $1.0 million in assets. While the bank first announced the change in November and has suggested that other lenders should follow suit, plenty of other banks still offer IO HELOCs despite concerns about borrowers’ ability to repay the loans. IO HELOCs are particularly desirable for borrowers as they offer lower payments and more flexibility than HELOCs that require payment of principal and interest or closed-end second liens. Banks have taken a closer look at HELOC originations in recent years as IO HELOCs originated before the financial crisis are set to turn 10-years old, hitting their end-of-draw periods. At that time, HELOC borrowers are required to make principal payments significantly higher than the monthly IO payment previously owed on the loan. Officials at Wells said...

The Independent Community Bankers of America announced this week that its ICBA Mortgage Solutions added jumbo products to its correspondent offerings. ICBA Mortgage supports community banks’ access to the secondary market for servicing-released programs; the correspondent offerings are provided by LenderLive. The new program includes loan balances of up to $2.0 million. ICBA said the program allows for in-house underwriting and has a no-cross-sell guarantee. “We are pleased to offer a product that will meet jumbo customers’ needs while protecting these valuable relationships,” said Robert Kallio, senior vice president of ICBA Mortgage Solutions. He stressed...[Includes two data charts]