Mortgage banking units owned by banks and thrifts generated $1.55 trillion in loan sales during 2012, a 36.9 percent jump from the previous year.

Historically, many banks have deducted expenses associated with REO, but all that may soon change thanks to a new IRS ruling.

Citibank continues to finance PennyMac and its affiliates. The bank recently increased a repo line it had with the publicly traded REIT.

Nine Attorneys General, unhappy with the pace of loan modifications, are calling for the immediate dismissal of acting FHFA director Edward DeMarco.

Fannie Mae could be in line to book $60 billion in assets, money that could be counted as net worth and change its immediate financial outlook.

Several members that recently bolted from the American Securitization Forum are forming a new trade group.

Improving loan quality is sparking a major shake-out in the due diligence sector. Can jumbo production and MBS save the day? Meanwhile, the supply of MBS expanded slightly in the fourth quarter.

Although it expects to report “significant net income” for both the final three months and the full year 2012, Fannie Mae announced late this week that it will delay its earnings release while the GSE’s accountants continue to crunch numbers to determine if the company should take a lucrative but complex tax deduction. In a form 12b-25 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Fannie requested a filing extension beyond its March 18 deadline because it needs more time to analyze its deferred tax assets, which are unused credits and deductions that can be used to cover future tax bills.“The release of the valuation allowance would have a material impact on the company’s 2012 financial statements and result in a significant dividend payment to the U.S. Treasury,” noted Fannie in its SEC filing.

Nearly all banks and thrifts gradually increased the fair market value they calculated for their mortgage servicing rights during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call report data. At the end of the year, banks and thrifts serviced a total of $5.323 trillion in home mortgages for other investors and they valued these MSRs at $41.43 billion. The ratio of fair market value of the MSRs to unpaid principal balance of loans serviced for others was ... [Includes one data chart]

Not only was the jumbo market on a roll last year but the GSEs were major players, according to new figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance.