The nation’s three largest funders of home mortgages – Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America – this week reported hefty declines in originations during the fourth quarter of 2013. Wells originated $50 billion in residential mortgages during the fourth quarter, a stunning 60 percent decline from the same period a year earlier. The last time this perennial market leader had fundings this low was in the fourth quarter of 2008 when financial markets were reeling worldwide and the U.S. housing market was in the throes of an historic collapse. But Wells’ closest competitors fared...[Includes one data chart]

The latest risk-sharing transaction from Fannie Mae references a $29.31 billion pool of mortgages.

Talk about red hot! Sales of Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights soared in fiscal 2013, Inside Mortgage Finance has learned.

It may be time for the mortgage industry to take a chill-pill: applications are on the rise again, rates have stabilized and some firms are actually hiring loan officers.

Meanwhile, Ginnie Mae securities posted a pocket-sized increase within the Federal Home Loan Bank system during the period ending Sept. 30, 2013.

Waiting for a revival in jumbo MBS issuance is like waiting for Godot.

The GSEs' largesse is gaining new attention in Washington with the news that the two helped the U.S. government post a budget surplus of $53 billion in December.

The megabanks no longer have a total "lock" on the MBS issuance market. But is this trend short-lived?

MSR sales, in general, are expected to be brisk in the first quarter as lenders sell receivables to make up for declining originations.

However, the greatest earnings impact could fall on such mid-sized mortgage firms as PHH Corp., Redwood Trust, and PennyMac Financial Services.