It was the strongest refi volume of the year, and it helped offset a 9.8 percent drop in purchase-mortgage securitization over the same period.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw a modest decline in production of new single-family mortgage-backed securities at the end of 2014, but a rally in refinance lending softened the thud. The two government-sponsored enterprises securitized $179.38 billion of single-family MBS during the fourth quarter of last year, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of loan-level data. That was down 2.1 percent from the third quarter of 2014. But the GSEs securitized...[Includes three data charts]

Ocwen Financial’s massive exit from the agency servicing market is expected to be a multi-year phase-out complicated by its past regulatory problems and a weak market for legacy product, according to industry advisors. If the company follows through on its promise to exit all segments of the agency market – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae – it will wind up selling a hefty $182.51 billion of residential mortgage servicing rights, based on third quarter survey numbers submitted to Inside Mortgage Finance. At Sept. 30, the nonbank serviced...

President Obama this week announced a substantial price cut in FHA mortgage insurance premiums, although agency officials aren’t sure yet when the change will take effect. The FHA will lower its annual insurance payment from 1.35 percent to 0.85 percent, according to a White House fact sheet released in advance of the president’s speech as Inside Mortgage Finance was going to press late this week. According to the administration, the price cut won’t hurt...

SunTrust Banks started off the new year reliving the pain of the last six years since the financial crisis by revealing it plans to take yet another financial hit – this time, a $145 million legal expense in its fourth quarter results tied to legacy mortgage issues. In a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission early this week, David Wisniewski, deputy general counsel, said the bank was taking the charge “to increase legal reserves and complete the final resolution of one matter. Accordingly, based on current information, the company expects its estimate of reasonably possible losses related to legal matters, in excess of reserves, to decrease by approximately this amount.” Wisniewski did not specify...

“Auctions would determine the market prices of those guarantees and allocate them to the lenders who most valued them,” the CBO said.

Of course, we’re waiting to see what Republicans on Capitol Hill think of a cut in FHA premiums…

MBA's Stevens believes that making a change in the PSPAs would not go over very well in a Republican-controlled House and Senate.

Mortgage brokers originated 21.3 percent of Golden State mortgages during the first nine months of the year...

SunTrust wouldn’t comment on the charge other than to note that the issue has been previously disclosed.