Wells Fargo once again ranked first among issuers with a market share of 29.6 percent, followed by Chase Home Finance (12.1 percent), and U.S. Bank (3.8 percent).

Analysts commenting on the settlement note that while JPM did not admit any violations of law, it acknowledged in a “statement of facts” section that employees did not comply with company underwriting guidelines and representations.

Fannie Mae estimated that it incurred losses from short sales of the 10,310 non-owner occupied properties for 2012 totaling some $953.5 million.

Freddie Mac projects that interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will hit 5.00 percent by the end of 2014, with little impact on affordability.

The decline in the use of proprietary loan mods also has outpaced a decline in foreclosure sales. Some 166,809 foreclosures were completed in the third quarter of 2013, down 2 percent from the first quarter of 2013.

The man heading the MSR sales effort for Wells Fargo is Brian Kunar, who carries the title of senior vice president of servicing sales.

Ocwen Financial, the nation’s top-ranked subprime servicer, was the only firm among the major servicers that increased its subprime servicing portfolio (excluding subservicing) in the third quarter of 2013.

The settlement offer – which does not cover claims on trusts issued by Washington Mutual – will remain open until Jan. 15, 2014, but may be extended.

One lender that operates in the Irvine area noted that his firm has received several resumes from former Rushmore workers.

Under the new guidance, lenders must report to FHA all findings of fraud and material misrepresentations concerning the origination, underwriting or servicing of a loan that the lender is unable to mitigate or resolve.