According to exclusive figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, once Fifth Third departs, there will be just two depositories in the top 10: Flagstar and U.S. Bank.

Mortgage repurchases peaked in 2009 at $34.276 billion, fell to $31.811 billion in 2010 and $20.943 billion in 2011, and then dropped to just $12.966 billion in 2012.

According to exclusive survey figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, loan brokers accounted for 9.8 percent of all originations in the fourth quarter, a slight improvement from the 9.6 percent market share reading in the third quarter.

The new version incorporates lessons learned from the financial crisis of 2008 along with contemporary concerns about mortgage originations and servicing.

Another bank bites the dust in wholesale: Fifth Third Bank, which ranks second among depositories in the channel, according to Inside Mortgage Finance.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last year wrapped up most of the massive amount of repurchase demands they made on legacy loans originated before 2008, but the government-sponsored enterprises are looking more closely at new production and, increasingly, servicer performance. Together, Fannie and Freddie reported a total of $37.87 billion in mortgage repurchases and other settlements of buyback claims, which typically means ... [Includes one data chart]

A federal judge last week granted discovery to attorneys for a hedge fund representing one group of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders as it seeks to challenge the government’s August 2012 “net worth sweep” that effectively confiscates both GSEs’ profits. Fairholme Capital Management, founded by Wall Street veteran Bruce Berkowitz, controls roughly $2.4 billion (face value) of Fannie and Freddie "junior" preferred. Thanks to the September 2008 government takeover of the two firms, the U.S. Treasury controls the senior preferred and is effectively the owner of the two GSEs.

The effort to develop a common mortgage-backed security platform has a budget estimated at up to $300 million, funded by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the GSEs’ conservator is saying little about its progress. In the nearly six months since the FHFA filed articles of incorporation for the entity creating the common securitization platform, the agency remains silent on key issues related to the project, including the size of its operating budget.

First Horizon National Corp. announced last week it entered into a “definitive resolution agreement” with Freddie Mac regarding loan repurchase issues. The agreement settles all representation and warranty claims related to loans sold by First Horizon to Freddie Mac from 2000 to 2008. First Horizon CEO Bryan Jordan said in a statement the agreement with the GSE is “a big step forward” in the company’s ongoing efforts to unwind from the mortgage business the firm sold in 2008.

Higher guaranty fees and improving housing markets propelled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to banner profits during the fourth quarter of 2013 and for the year as whole. The two GSEs reported a combined 2013 net income of $133 billion, helped by significant nonrecurring items related to deferred tax allowance valuation reversals, private-label residential mortgage-backed security lawsuit settlements, increased representation and warranty settlements, and sizeable decreases in loan-loss reserves.