Fannie and Freddie: They keep earning money but in the eyes of the FHFA, large risks still remain.

Spot loans are currently prohibited, but the agency is said to be reevaluating the product because of reports of first-time homebuyers having difficulty in obtaining FHA financing for condo unit purchases and seniors seeking reverse mortgages to tap the equity in their units.

Can James Furash, another former top Countrywide executive, pull a Stan Kurland, and turn AmeriHome into a mortgage juggernaut?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued $44.8 billion in single-family mortgage-backed securities during the month of May, a slight 1.3 percent dip from April, but it reversed the brief rebound following a year-long streak of declines, according to an Inside The GSEs analysis. However, May’s MBS issuance was down a much steeper 62.4 percent from the same period a year ago. Top-ranked Wells Fargo’s Fannie and Freddie securitization, at $5.97 billion, dropped by 4.9 percent on a monthly basis and by 73.6 percent year-to-date.

Specifically, the mortgages will be above the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan limit of $625,500. But before Redwood can buy its first jumbo loan, the Federal Housing Finance Agency must sign off on the effort.

“DOJ may not have the evidence to try this as a fraud case,” Judge Max Cogburn said.

It was also the lowest three-month volume since the fourth quarter of 2008, not long after dramatically higher “emergency” loan limits were put in place by the agencies.

Correspondent sellers fret that some of the largest players might shut the door on them for a different reason: they can’t deliver enough volume in an origination-challenged market.

The “legacy” bulk market for MSRs has been spooked, to some degree, by regulatory scrutiny, though offerings of newly originated product have been plentiful.

Production of “agency jumbo” mortgages fell sharply in the first quarter of 2014 and is likely to drop even more as new FHA loan limits show up in endorsement data. According to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA saw $10.5 billion in single-family business with loan amounts exceeding the traditional agency limit of $417,000 during the first quarter of 2014. That was down 30.6 percent from the fourth quarter. It was also the lowest three-month volume since the fourth quarter of 2008, not long after dramatically higher “emergency” loan limits were put in place by the agencies. In comparison, originations of non-agency jumbo loans fell...[Includes three data charts]