Rising prices for mortgage servicing rights in the second quarter of 2013 helped lure sellers to a market that continues to see a decline in available product and improving fundamentals. The Federal Reserve this week reported that the long, steady decline in home mortgage debt outstanding – a streak that has now run six and a half years – continued through the midway point in 2013. As of the end of June, home mortgage debt outstanding was down to $9.833 trillion, a 0.4 percent drop from March and a hefty 12.9 percent decline from the all-time high ($11.287 trillion) set back in March 2008. A new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis reveals...[Includes two data charts]

David Akre of Five Oaks projects that in a few years, issuance of non-agency jumbo MBS could reach $300 billion annually.

The MBS lawsuits target Barclays, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Residential Funding Securities, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and Wachovia.

Citadel Servicing CEO Dan Perl said "the phones are ringing like a son-of-a-gun" at his nonprime lending shop.

The jumbo features that Moody's worries about include super senior support bonds, exchangeable securities, principal-only bonds, and pool interest-only bonds.

The talk has prompted speculation that the FHFA could lower the conforming loan limit to $400,000 or, as conservator of the GSEs, direct them to reduce high-cost loan limits.

Loan officers, so far, have been spared the layoff carnage, but that may change depending on where volumes wind up.

PHH saw its share price spike late last week after rumors spread that it may sell a large block of mortgage servicing rights.

Bank holdings of home-equity loans continue to decline, with mixed performance trends. Regulators warn that home-equity lines of credit originated before the financial crisis are a particular concern as the loans are set to reach their amortization periods. Banks and thrifts held $1.05 trillion in HELOCs, HELOC commitments and closed-end seconds as of the end of the second quarter of 2013, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance Bank Mortgage Database. The holdings declined by 1.9 percent ... [Includes one data chart]

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago has announced a partnership with Ginnie Mae to issue securities guaranteed by the secondary market agency and backed by home loans originated by member financial institutions. The new conduit product, “MPF Government Mortgage-Backed Securities,” provides another secondary mortgage market outlet for lenders originating mortgages insured by the FHA or guaranteed by the VA or the Rural Housing Service. Low-volume lenders that currently lack direct access to the secondary market are expected to benefit from the new FHLBank program. MPF GMBS would allow lenders to ... [1 chart]