Fannie Mae seller/servicers also can dodge the maintenance fee if they have $25 million in Fannie servicing or paid $5,000 in technology fees.

Besides Citi, a handful of large depositories are in the midst of wrapping up sizable MSR auctions this week, including offerings from Wells Fargo and Flagstar Bancorp.

A new audit of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund is due in October and speculation about its cash reserves is not good.

Citadel Servicing CEO Dan Perl said "the phones are ringing like a son-of-a-gun" at his nonprime lending shop.

The bloodletting in Citigroup's mortgage division may just be starting.

Over the past two years, upwards of $1 billion has been raised by private-equity funds seeking to buy servicing rights in the secondary market.

Art Ringwald, who helped put Bank of America on the mortgage map before departing in 2001, is looking to do "roll-ups," among other things.

Loan officers, so far, have been spared the layoff carnage, but that may change depending on where volumes wind up.

Banking regulators believe delinquency rates on HELOCs soon may rise sharply upward as a significant number of second liens reach the end of their draw period.

The secondary market for mortgage servicing rights continues to spit out new offerings, especially in the bulk arena.