Meanwhile, JPM marked down the asset value of its residential servicing portfolio to $7.436 billion at Dec. 31, 2014, a 10 percent reduction from 3Q14.

One servicing advisor raised an interesting scenario Tuesday: Maybe Bill Erbey will swoop in and buy all of Ocwen’s shares and take the whole thing private.

Sources believe that Ocwen eventually will work out a settlement with the state.

Meanwhile, new revelations about regulatory problems in California are likely to make Ocwen’s disposal of servicing rights problematic.

For short sellers, Ocwen Financial is the gift that keeps on giving.

“I only saw about 5 percent of my buyers face-to-face last year,” said one Texas-based loan officer.

S&P believes the gap in execution between whole-loan sales and securitization has started to narrow.

However, the VA loan program does not require a downpayment, which is a major attraction for some borrowers.

Since early September, at least 14 mortgage company acquisitions have been announced publicly, according to a database of deals compiled by Inside Mortgage Trends.

The proposed inter-agency rule covers only flood-insurance premium escrows and detached structures.