The top five servicers still accounted for over half (53.3 percent) of the total for the top 50 servicers, but that was down from 57.0 percent a year ago.

After a large 3Q loss, it was a bloodbath for Walter's share price...

The company, whose share price was hammered this past summer after disappointing 2Q results, promised investors that it will be break even in 2016 or “modestly profitable.”

It remains to be seen whether the mortgage servicing market actually grew in the third quarter of 2015, but it’s clear that distribution within the industry continued to shift. The top 50 mortgage servicers had a combined portfolio of $7.300 trillion, including whole loans in portfolio and mortgage servicing rights, at the end of September, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. That was down 0.2 percent from total servicing held by the top 50 companies at the end of the second quarter. The final word on mortgage debt outstanding comes...[Includes two data tables]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported a combined $1.485 billion in net income for the third quarter of 2015, a hefty 83.1 percent decline from the previous period. While Fannie reported its 15th consecutive profitable quarter ($1.96 billion in net income), Freddie posted its first loss ($475 million) in four years. Don Layton, Freddie’s CEO, said that earnings volatility “stems from our usage of derivatives to hedge interest rate risks and accounting mismatches associated with the activity. This quarter showed a continuation of that volatility as the accounting mismatch produced a negative $1.5 billion [generally accepted accounting principles] earnings, which was enough to tip us into the comprehensive income loss of about $500 million for the quarter. “Utilizing a derivatives hedging strategy can result...

Meanwhile, loan originations at the company inched up to $4.9 billion in 3Q from $4.8 billion in the second quarter.

The remaining principal balance of securitized VA loans was $426.8 billion, up 5.1 percent from the prior quarter.

Discussing the new integrated disclosure rule known as TRID, Ishbia noted that loan brokers “adapted wonderfully and we are closing a lot of TRID loans.”

The Federal Reserve’s zero interest rate policy lives to die another day, as the Fed’s Open Market Committee opted this week to hold the line on a rate increase, as it has since December 2008, leaving investors and other market participants to try to read the tea leaves as best they can. “To support continued progress toward maximum employment and price stability, the committee today reaffirmed its view that the current 0 to 0.25 percent target range for the federal funds rate remains appropriate,” the FOMC said in its much-anticipated statement, issued mid-week. In making its decision about whether to raise the target range at its next meeting, scheduled for mid-December, the Fed said...

The unpaid principal balance on VA loans securitized in 3Q15 Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities totaled $426.9 billion, up 5.1 percent from the previous quarter and 17.3 percent more year-over-year. Wells Fargo serviced $114.4 billion of VA collateral at Sept. 30, 2.0 percent up from the prior quarter. It was good enough for a commanding 26.8 percent of the market. The only other megabank among the top five servicers in this segment was fifth-place Chase Home Finance, which closed the quarter with $16.8 billion and a 3.9 percent market share. It saw portfolio declines on both quarterly and year-over-year bases. USAA Federal Savings Bank, in third place, accounted for $24.1 billion, or 5.6 percent of the VA-backed MBS servicing market. Nonbanks PennyMac, in second place, and fourth-ranked Freedom Mortgage combined for 11.0 percent of the ... [ 1 chart ]