After rates plunged earlier in the year, servicing auctions slowed somewhat, but are once again hitting the market.

Stevens said there has been “a lot of back and forth” on the topic with the regulator…

February’s new issuance was also the lowest monthly total for the GSEs since May 2014...

Fitch didn’t adjust its loss expectations due to TRID compliance issues, noting that the risk for investors was “immaterial...”

Ellington is also investing in lenders that originate the loans.

Wall Street veteran Greg Parseghian has informed the board of PHH Corp. that he will retire as director of the publicly traded nonbank.

The decline was largely based on a seasonal slump in purchase-mortgage activity. Looking forward, primary-market indicators point to a solid increase in consumer demand.

Agency issuance of single-family MBS declined by 9.5 percent from January to February, largely based on a seasonal slump in purchase-mortgage activity, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae produced a total of $80.49 billion of single-family MBS in February, their lowest combined monthly output since November 2014. The biggest decline was in purchase-mortgage activity, which fell 14.9 percent for the month. The refinance sector held up...[Includes two data tables]

A working group led by potential investors in new non-agency MBS detailed principles for the role of a deal agent this week, signifying some progress in reform efforts. However, a revival of the non-agency MBS market looks a ways off as other industry participants consider how a deal agent will actually function. “We are now at a transition point for non-agency MBS reform efforts, where some market participants can start moving from a principles-level discussion to contractual negotiations,” Monique Rollins, deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury Department, said at the ABS Vegas conference produced by Information Management Network and the Structured Finance Industry Group. The Treasury helped facilitate...

The U.S. Department of Justice will reportedly decide within the next few months whether or not to bring the hammer down on Moody’s Corp. for allegedly overstating its ratings on MBS transactions in the run-up to the financial crisis, Bloomberg reported last week, citing “people familiar with the matter.” According to the news account, the Justice Department is scrutinizing credit ratings that Moody’s assigned during the housing boom and trying to determine if the firm massaged its criteria to earn business from Wall Street banks that were bundling residential mortgages into securities. A proposed settlement has apparently been...[Includes one data table]