Citigroup marked up the asset value of its MSRs by 5 percent, on a sequential basis, to $2.718 billion. Compared to 4Q12, its MSRs are now worth 40 percent more - even though its overall portfolio has been shrinking in size.

Certain members of Congress want the Fair Isaac "lock" on GSE credit scores to be broken.

It’s likely that little in the way of money is changing hands on the deal. By selling the MSRs to Fannie, Citi is also settling the payment of “compensatory” fee claims the GSE is owed by the bank.

The FHFA IG audit estimates that some 9.5 percent of claims for pre-foreclosure property inspections in 2011 and 2012 resulted in $5 million of overpayments by Fannie Mae.

The latest risk-sharing transaction from Fannie Mae references a $29.31 billion pool of mortgages.

According to the bank’s fourth quarter earnings statement, 68 percent of its originations were refis – the mirror image of Wells Fargo, which had 68 percent of its production in purchase-money loans.

Talk about red hot! Sales of Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights soared in fiscal 2013, Inside Mortgage Finance has learned.

The GSEs' largesse is gaining new attention in Washington with the news that the two helped the U.S. government post a budget surplus of $53 billion in December.

On a sequential basis, the origination results look slightly better: a 38 percent decline compared to the third quarter of 2013 for Wells and a 42 percent downdraft for JPM. Both have laid off thousands of mortgage workers over the few quarters.

Meanwhile, Ginnie Mae securities posted a pocket-sized increase within the Federal Home Loan Bank system during the period ending Sept. 30, 2013.