And since RBS is essentially owned by the British government, any settlement money will indirectly come from U.K. taxpayers. Who knows, maybe Adele, Paul McCartney and Elton John can chip in…

Potential MSR sellers abound, but what price will they accept?

Mortgage originators reported a sharp increase in home-equity lending during the second quarter of 2016, although it wasn’t as robust a gain as the 34.2 percent surge in first-lien originations. Lenders generated an estimated $53.5 billion in home-equity business during the second quarter, an increase of 18.9 percent from the first three months of the year. It was the strongest quarterly production number for the HEL market since the financial crisis. Halfway through 2016, home-equity lending was up 15.9 percent from last year and tracking toward $200 billion in annual production. Although home-equity lending has strengthened over the past few years as house prices have recovered to pre-crisis levels, the outstanding supply of home-equity debt continues...[Includes three data tables]

The CHOICE Act also would make changes to the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, including replacing the single directorship with a five-member board or commission.

Ocwen gets an upgrade, but there are doubters...

“Are there bargain hunters out there?” asked one servicing executive. “To some extent, yes.”

It’s not clear how many of the consumers with unauthorized accounts had mortgages with Wells, though the megabank and its peers have put an emphasis on cross-selling financial products to jumbo customers.

The GSE conundrum in perspective: "The mortgage finance system is working so consumers are somnambulant; media occasionally write about it, but don’t get fired up; courts don’t seem to be upset over unprecedented Treasury bullying and revenue abuse..."

Meanwhile, many mortgage companies that specialize in production are posting strong profits…

Another reason for the cut in fees: rural housing delinquencies and foreclosures are at record lows.