A revised-areas map that meets the new definition of “rural area” for U.S. Department of Agriculture housing programs is now available to USDA lenders and borrowers seeking affordable rural-home financing. The map was posted on the USDA Income and Property Eligibility Site on May 6 and users may access it by selecting “single family housing” under the Property Eligibility menu. More details about the changes will be available soon in frequently asked questions guidance, the agency said. The new definition of rural area is contained in the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill), which was enacted on Feb. 7 and made changes to federal rural development programs. Among other things, the bill redefined rural areas as those with populations up to 35,000 that are “rural in character” for eligibility in the USDA housing programs. The previous population requirement was less than 20,000 people. The area must be ...

With $1.811 trillion of mortgage servicing rights on its books at the end of the first quarter, it would take an earthquake to knock Wells Fargo into the humble 12-figure universe.

Despite regulatory "noise," Walter Investment noted that it received approvals to complete servicing transfers during the first quarter of 2014.

At the end of March, Two Harbors affiliate TH Insurance had $464.5 million of outstanding secured advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.

It seems that GSE officials, to some degree, are trying to manage future expectations, but one thing is certain: guaranty fee income remains very strong.

PennyMac had 271 approved correspondent sellers at March 31, up from 229 at the end of the fourth quarter.

Fannie Mae reported nice guaranty fee income in first quarter, but as one former GSE executive told us: “Their expenses are out of control.”

Although the pace of blockbuster servicing deals appears to have slowed, the giants of the mortgage-servicing business continued to leak market share in early 2014. Significantly, there is now just one lender with more than $1 trillion in mortgage servicing. Back in the third quarter of 2005, Countrywide Financial became the first company to amass over $1 trillion in mortgage servicing, and Wells Fargo joined the club by the end of that year. Chase Home Finance became a $1 trillion servicer in the fourth quarter of 2008, shortly after Bank of America took over Countrywide and became the first $2 trillion servicer. But BofA dumped...[Includes two data charts]

FHFA chief Mel Watt said he would not “elaborate on these issues today,” but promised “you will certainly be hearing more about this as we move forward.”

Radian will be finance the purchase through the issuance of debt. In 2013, Clayton had annual revenue of $135 million and net income of $9.1 million.