With no blockbuster mergers and a relatively subdued secondary market in mortgage servicing rights, glacial momentum continued to reshape the mortgage servicing business during the third quarter of 2016, according to new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. The two forces that have had the biggest impact over the past few years are the growth of nonbanks and the gradual deconsolidation of the servicing market. The combined portfolio of the 23 nonbanks that ranked among the top 50 servicers as of the end of the third quarter jumped 6.9 percent in just three months. The nonbank share of the $7.389 trillion serviced by the top 50 players in the market rose...[Includes two data tables]

During his career, Cotton has worked for Freddie Mac, Bank of America and Sterling Savings Bank, among others.

Will we finally see a 2.0 percent fixed-rate GSE loan then? Black swans, black swans...

Through the first nine months of 2016, Freddie Mac earned $2.97 billion. It lost $354 million in 1Q and then turned around and posted a $993 million profit in the second quarter.

According to the offering circular, 82 percent of the underlying mortgages were sourced through loan brokers...

The research firm also cites what it calls a “lack of transparency regarding fundamental business and accounting drivers”…

In an interview with IMFnews, Freddie CEO Don Layton defended the GSE’s move toward automated appraisals…

Pingora Loan Servicing, Matrix Financial Services and Arvest Bank were the top acquirers of GSE servicing through co-issuance over the first nine months of the year.

The Cato Institute said the former Freddie executive Anthony “Buddy” Piszel consistently received exemplary performance reviews and was cleared of any wrongdoing…

Are nonbanks 'shadow' institutions, and if so, is that a bad thing?