“Rather than earning on the front end, they’re increasing margins on the secondary sale," said mortgage analyst Ken Richey.

How much capital should nonbank mortgage servicers be required to have? The question is getting louder and louder.

Mortgage REITs found a cheap source of funding in the Federal Home Loan Bank system. But will the FHFA permanently block their access or just restrict it?

When in doubt, hire an outside QM/ATR consultant to assure compliance.

Will an increase in non-QM lending arrive in time to bolster the mortgage industry?

Jumbos for borrowers with strong credit profiles present banks with limited risks – particularly adjustable-rate mortgages – and the loans offer lucrative opportunities to cross-sell other products.

On Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages with private mortgage insurance, average closing times declined to 42.5 days from 46.0 days.

Every buyer has a different definition of "reperforming," but generally the loan must be current for at least 12 months.

Several top-tier commercial banks increased their holdings of first-lien mortgages during the first quarter of 2014, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The growing portfolios were largely due to jumbo mortgages along with some conforming loans. Banks and thrifts held $1.74 trillion in first-lien mortgages in portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2014, down 0.7 percent from the previous quarter ... [Includes one data chart]

SunTrust Mortgage’s recent settlement of a dispute with the federal government and 49 state attorneys general over defective FHA loans and Wells Fargo’s losing bid to quash a similar lawsuit are raising concerns about doing business with the FHA. Industry attorneys say the lesson for lenders in these recent industry debacles is that it is “extraordinarily dangerous” to do FHA loans these days given the outcome of the two cases. It is also getting harder to trust mortgage settlement agreements with the government, they added. “The scariest part in all these is the combination of government forces involved in these claims – state AGs, Department of Justice, Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” said an attorney, who worked on both cases. “When they want to get you, they can get you.” Others believe these developments could have a ...