Speculation continues to grow concerning which nonbanks have looked at buying PHH Mortgage. Our sources caution that “looking” doesn’t mean a deal is close. PHH is based in Cherry Hill, NJ, not too far from Philadelphia. One advisor suggested we look at who has been flying in from points south.

The extended time on market for short sales does not appear to be due to a lack of demand, as short sales completed in February averaged 3.1 offers, based on a three-month moving average.

In a recent interview with IMFnews, Carrington Executive Vice President Ray Brousseau stressed that the privately held nonbank will carefully and manually underwrite the loans, which will be sourced through loan brokers.

Addressing CFPB officials at the American Bankers Association’s government relations conference in Washington, one community banker from Oklahoma reported survey findings that one-third of respondents in the state are no longer offering residential mortgages.

Fannie and Freddie issued $44.6 billion of single-family MBS in February, a 5.1 percent decline from January and a stunning 62.0 percent drop for the first two months of 2014 when compared to the same period in 2013.

The government’s plan to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is wrongheaded and would result in lower housing prices, economic harm and higher unemployment. So says well-regarded bank analyst Richard Bove of Rafferty Capital Markets.

CFPB watchers say the bureau’s broad examination authority and a database of more than 300,000 consumer complaints will provide a fertile pipeline for enforcement actions going forward.

One executive familiar with PHH Mortgage said he anticipates that other senior officers may leave shortly. The firm's departing CAO was with the lender for just over a year.

Little else is known about Commerce. The press statement notes that the lender has a “vision of moving forward with a reviving market by offering products backed by a team of professionals with the upmost integrity and knowledge of the industry.”

According to exclusive figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, almost 85 different lenders made FHA mortgages in 2013 that had FICOs of less than 550.