Mortgage companies waiting for the market to improve; some high marks on MSRs; Ishbia ready to dedicate more time to UWM; Equifax offers expanded credit reports; House approves bill to set minimum federal standards for remote online notarization; Better launches mortgage product for Amazon employees.

The seven nonbank mortgage companies tracked by Fitch Ratings don’t have any unsecured debt set to mature this year, and only Freedom Mortgage has a relatively small amount of unsecured debt that will mature in 2024.

The industry goliaths reported huge declines in earnings from their mortgage banking operations in the fourth quarter, driving the sector to its weakest profits in more than a decade. (Includes data chart.)

NYCB closes Flagstar’s non-bank branches; FHA offers new incentives for servicers; home prices decline again in November; MBA writes to FHFA on the cost of doing business with the GSEs; new products aimed at newly-constructed homes; MISMO offers loan limit tool.

Officials at the bank suggest Wells won’t take much of a hit from the loss of correspondent production. And profitability on the servicing side is expected to improve as the portfolio shrinks.

Both Moody’s and Fitch expect a recession in 2023. But, unless conditions change markedly, they predict the impact on the housing market will be limited on a national basis.

Thanks to rising interest rates and stunted production volume, banks and thrifts posted their lowest earnings for mortgage banking since the last quarter of 2008. (Includes data chart.)

The fintech expects cost savings tied to the workforce reductions to materialize starting in the first quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, KBW upgraded the company’s stock to market perform.

Publicly held banks reported a 20% decline in mortgage banking income from the second to the third quarter as more firms shift away from the originate-to-sell model. Servicing generally helped offset faltering profits on production and secondary marketing. (Includes data chart.)

Mortgage servicing right markups have allowed several companies to report net profits this year when, absent these non-cash entries, they’d be in the red. But advisors suggest some MSR holders might be pushing the envelope on their valuations.