Wall Street believes that housing/GSE reform legislation should provide for the creation of a single agency MBS.

There are signs that residential lenders are willing to accept slightly more credit risk, said one mortgage vendor.

Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Flagstar are all working on large servicing deals, but as sellers. Meanwhile, HUD is worried about lower GSE loan limits.

Fannie Mae is starting to market a risk-sharing mortgage-backed security that would require investors to bear some of the financial risk if mortgages default. The company, which is reportedly getting ready to launch a “road show” to debut its new risk-sharing mortgage bond within the next two weeks, is following up on Freddie Mac’s $500 million Structured Agency Credit Risk bond, which the GSE priced in July. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Strategic Plan calls for both Freddie and Fannie to establish loss-sharing arrangements, in which private investors bear some or all of the credit risk.

Banks and savings institutions in the second quarter of 2013 reported the lowest volume of mortgage repurchases and indemnifications since the buyback blight really bit into the industry four years ago, according to a new call report analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. Banks and thrifts reported $2.671 billion in mortgage repurchases and indemnifications during the second quarter, the industry’s lowest since the second quarter of 2009, when buybacks totaled $2.059 billion ... [Includes one data chart]

Large parts of the Bay Area and Southern California qualify for the top high-cost limit, while other California markets such as San Diego ($546,250) and Sacramento ($474,950) have intermediate high-cost limits.

Five Oaks Investment, a publicly traded REIT, plans to acquire mortgages from jumbo lenders on a flow and bulk basis.

The letter to members of Congress is notable for which trade groups didn't sign on, including the American Bankers Association and Mortgage Bankers Association.

Loan standards are not loosening on conventional mortgages, but in the jumbo space the story is entirely different.

The secondary market for mortgage servicing rights is starting to look a bit frothy, so much so that many bulk offerings today garner upwards of 12 bidders per auction. A year ago just a handful of investors showed up. But that isn’t deterring Michael Lau, CEO of Pingora Asset Management, who earlier this year raised $500 million to buy MSRs. Lau said Pingora is plowing ahead with its acquisition plans, careful not to overpay while concentrating on “flow” deals on new originations. “We’re actively doing...