Mortgage bankers continue to talk about declining refi applications but purchase money firms remain mostly optimistic about their prospects.

Implementation of state-specific servicing standards like California’s would impose "divergent and conflicting standards" that will add costs to future home buyers and create confusion, said one MBA official.

Stan Middleman, founder and CEO of Freedom Mortgage, will buy $20 million worth of stock in the new REIT, which (of course) has ties to Freedom.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, responding to input from the mortgage lending community, this week issued a number of proposed clarifications and revisions to its controversial new rule on loan originators, as well as other mortgage rules set to take effect in January 2014. Separately, CFPB Director Richard Cordray made clear that the agency will not delay implementation of the new rules, which include determining a borrower’s ability to repay and massive changes in mortgage servicing requirements. In a speech late last week, he promised to work with the industry to ensure as smooth an implementation process as possible. “We would make...

For the past two years, Bank of America has been the poster child of legacy servicing sales, but it may soon have some company. According to industry advisors who specialize in the mortgage servicing rights market, JPMorgan Chase and a few other large banks with seasoned portfolios are developing “deal teams” to explore their options. Chase’s name has surfaced from time to time as a select seller of legacy product. But it also has been a selective buyer of servicing, including the purchase last fall of $70 billion in rights from MetLife, which was closing out its interest in the mortgage business. A spokeswoman for Chase declined...

Rep. Watt’s slightly more than two-pages of prepared testimony was long on biographical detail but lacking on mortgage-finance specifics.

Servicers appear to have won a battle with consumer advocates regarding state adoption of servicing requirements that exceed those established by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Council of State Governments this weekend decided against recommending California’s “Homeowner’s Bill of Rights” as model legislation for states, according to a spokesman for the CSG. The Mortgage Bankers Association had warned that piecemeal adoption of California’s bill would increase costs and create confusion. California’s Homeowner’s Bill of Rights included...

The secondary market for residential servicing rights remains robust.

JPM is losing certain staffers to Freedom Mortgage. Meanwhile, is Art Ringwald contemplating a return to mortgage banking?

The new Bachus bill could be a sign that House Republicans are making a fresh push to force a compromise with the Obama administration over the structure of the CFPB.