Federal regulators this week re-proposed risk-retention requirements with an option to align the definition of qualified residential mortgages with the definition of qualified mortgages. The regulators said the alignment will help increase mortgage availability and reduce compliance costs. “The agencies are concerned about the prospect of imposing further constraints on mortgage credit availability at this time, especially as such constraints might disproportionately affect groups that have ...

Mortgage income reported in bank call reports includes earnings from production, loan sales and net servicing results, so industry profits are not tied exclusively to new lending.

A title insurance firm is taking a close look at due diligence provider Allonhill. Meanwhile, mergers and acquisitions in the residential finance industry could explode.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities remained the preferred investment choice of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks during the second quarter of 2013, with a negligible increase from the previous quarter, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside The GSEs based on data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Meanwhile, Ginnie Mae securities posted a modest but noticeable decline within the FHLBank system during the period ending June 30, 2013. GSE MBS accounted for 73.9 percent of combined FHLBank MBS portfolios, up 1.9 percent from the first quarter. The Finance Agency’s data do not separately break out Fannie and Freddie volume or share.

The the most powerful consumer regulator in the nation raised concerns about aligning the definitions of 'qualified residential mortgage' and 'qualified mortgage.'

The NCUA has filed lawsuits against several investment bankers, including Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Securities and UBS Securities alleging securities law violations in the sale of MBS.

Warehouse lending executives say they are seeing their nonbank clients earn less money this summer, but noted that profits are still strong by historical levels.

Commercial banks are earning a ton of dough on residential servicing fees, but nonbanks are seeing an erosion in profits.

With improving loan quality and mortgage repurchase reviews declining, due diligence firms have been under stress the past year.

Some warehouse lenders are offering significant concessions and price breaks to keep their nonbank customers happy.