Clayton noted 907 compliance findings from its review. However, Fitch said the findings were deemed to be out of scope and waived by Fannie due to the limited scope of its post-close review for compliance.

The low profile of the FHLBs, which has served the system so well in the past, has become a “sizable policy risk” as the relatively few people who will be directing housing finance reform know what the system does.

The secondary market for mortgage servicing rights is red hot and shows no signs of slowing, even with the government partially closed.

Mortgage banking officials tracking the issue believe that if the agency is going to lower Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan limits for 2014 it will need to codify those changes by mid- to late October to give lenders time to update their technology systems.

Correspondents are an especially good source of purchase mortgages. During the third quarter, purchase mortgages accounted for over half (50.5 percent) of correspondent-originated loans securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

KBRA pointed out that one jumbo MBS issuer said it will accept mortgages where lenders have implemented procedures to either close the loans with an exception or review IRS transcripts post-closing.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may have to dial back the multifamily spigot if they’re going to meet the targets their regulator wants them to as it seeks to shrink the GSEs’ presence in the space. It looks like it might require a bigger turn of the dial for Freddie than for Fannie. As part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s 2013 Conservatorship Scorecard, FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco has called for a 10 percent reduction target in GSE multifamily business volume this year compared to 2012.

Declining refinance volume contributed to a marked decline in the GSEs’ overall business during September compared to the previous month, with Fannie Mae seeing a rise volume to the detriment of Freddie Mac, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis.Fannie and Freddie issued $78.6 billion in single-family mortgage-backed securities during the third quarter, a 20.0 percent decline from August but a 9.0 percent rise for the first nine months of 2013. [Includes one data chart.]

The mix of single-family mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the third quarter of 2013 continued to shift toward purchase mortgages, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of the government-sponsored enterprise market. Purchase mortgages accounted for 36.7 percent of Fannie/Freddie business during the third quarter, up from 23.9 percent during the previous period. It was the highest purchase-mortgage share of GSE business since the market collapse ... [Includes two data charts]

The most important take away from this week’s loan limit reduction news: Congress warning DeMarco that he’d better defer to them on loan limits. His reply: radio silence. Meanwhile, Wells tosses Freddie overboard, sort of.