Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities accounted for 74 percent of combined FHLB MBS portfolios in the second quarter, up 2 percent from 1Q13.

No one in the mortgage industry expects that subprime lending will revive much unless it’s the subprime of yesteryear where equity was a key factor in determining whether a borrower should get a loan. The handful of subprime (“hard money,” call it what you will) lenders active today require hefty down payments in the range of 30 percent. The most successful subprime lender in terms of money raised is Citadel Loan Servicing of Irvine, CA, the brainchild of Dan Perl, which raised ... [Includes three briefs]

The the most powerful consumer regulator in the nation raised concerns about aligning the definitions of 'qualified residential mortgage' and 'qualified mortgage.'

The NCUA has filed lawsuits against several investment bankers, including Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Securities and UBS Securities alleging securities law violations in the sale of MBS.

FHFA blames part of the GSEs’ significant losses on subprime MBS, which JPMorgan and 16 other financial institutions sold to Fannie and Freddie.

FHFA has been analyzing approaches for reducing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits across the country, "and any such change would be announced with adequate advance notice for implementation on January 1, 2014" the regulator said.

Thomas Hoenig, vice chairman of the FDIC, said he is particularly interested in exploring the downpayment issue further. Securities investors are also likely to push for downpayment requirements for QRMs.

The collateral backing the new Redwood bond is exclusively 30-year fixed-rate loans without interest-only terms.

Just one nonbank, PHH Mortgage, ranked among the top ten originators of jumbo loans in the first-half. Guaranteed Rate ranked 12th and Quicken 16th.

A housing lobbyist added that, “Right now it’s a matter of timing. Will in come in October or a little later than that?”