Mortgage origination volume was up in all three major production channels during the second quarter of 2014, with a slight shift in market share toward the retail channel as well as to brokers, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to pay some $5.6 billion to taxpayers based on “normal” second-quarter earnings that were not bloated by big-ticket tax breaks or large litigation settlements, the two government-sponsored enterprises announced this week. Once the two GSEs have made the latest Treasury payment in September, Fannie and Freddie will have returned about $218 billion to taxpayers for the approximately $188 billion in financial support the two firms received after being placed in government conservatorship in September 2008. Under the revised conservatorship agreement announced two years ago this month by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department, any GSE net worth exceeding $3.0 billion is impounded...

Freddie Mac late last week revealed that it sold a $659 million package of what it calls “deeply” delinquent loans from its investment portfolio – a first for the government-sponsored enterprise. Co-advisers on the competitive bid auction include Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse Securities. Freddie noted that the sale was conducted at the end of July “and executed indirectly through Bank of America affiliates.” However, the GSE declined to identify the buyer or provide any pricing information. “The transaction was...

Mortgage trustees are still awaiting state court approval of a $4.5 billion settlement with JPMorgan Chase in relation to faulty residential MBS issued by the bank and the now-defunct Bear Stearns between 2005 and 2008. If approved by the New York State Supreme Court, the agreement would resolve representation and warranty claims as well as servicing claims related to loans in 330 mortgage securitization trusts, as well as claims over document delivery. In addition, the bank agreed to change its servicing procedures with respect to mortgage loans in the trusts. The proposed settlement does not resolve...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to whittle down their caseload of unresolved mortgage repurchase requests during the first quarter of 2014, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of disclosures by the government-sponsored enterprises. Fannie and Freddie had $3.23 billion of pending and disputed buyback demands outstanding at the end of March, down 30.3 percent from the previous quarter. Although both GSEs ... [Includes two data charts]

A ranking of the top 50 lenders in terms of third-party originations, based on agency mortgage-backed securities issued in the first half of 2014. Includes break-outs by lender for Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, correspondent and broker.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle jointly announced that they have entered into merger discussions, but don’t expect a rash of FHLBank consolidations regardless of the outcome, says an expert. The two institutions “entered into an exclusivity arrangement regarding a potential merger,” the two FHLBanks announced last week. The proposed merger of the FHLBank of Des Moines and the smaller, troubled FHLBank of Seattle would create an institution with more than 1,500 member financial institutions in 13 states and three U.S. territories in the Pacific Ocean.

In keeping with its strategy to reduce its holdings of less-liquid assets, Freddie Mac announced last week the GSE’s first sale of what it calls “deeply” delinquent loans. It remains to be seen if the sale of the $659 million package of distressed single-family mortgages from its portfolio is a one-off or the first of more to come. Asked whether more non-performing loan auctions might be ahead, a company spokesman declined to comment.

A federal judge in Manhattan last week ordered Bank of America to pay a $1.27 billion penalty for losses suffered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from Countrywide Financial’s “Hustle” program for pumping dubious Alt A loans to the GSEs. The bank also is reportedly nearing a settlement with the Justice Department over other charges. Last October, the DOJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission successfully proved in court that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lost some $850 million from thousands of loans acquired through Countrywide’s “high-speed swim lane” program – known as HSSL or “Hustle.”

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt so far is holding the line on Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s blanket prohibition on principal reduction, but mounting pressure from progressives in and out of Congress have industry observers predicting a policy shift soon. Since taking office as the FHFA’s head in January, former Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, has so far been a disappointment to his former Democrat colleagues and advocates who believed he would reverse the agency’s principal reduction stance set by former Acting Director Edward DeMarco.