But there was some good news: BofA reported $4.05 billion of second lien production in the first quarter, a 13.7 percent improvement from the prior period.

In 2016, Movement Mortgage added 201 branches in five states. It now has 662 locations in 47 states.

Of course the bigger question is this: what role, if any, will the Fed play in deciding the future of Fannie and Freddie?

Even though PennyMac fared slightly worse than the total market, its first-quarter downturn was less severe than Wells Fargo’s.

There is a new boss in the Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities market. PennyMac Financial rose to the top of the issuer ranking in the first quarter of 2017 despite a sharp decline in volume, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside FHA/VA Lending. PennyMac issued $10.78 billion of single-family Ginnie securities during the first three months of the year. The figures in this analysis are based on Ginnie loan-level disclosures, which truncate loan amounts to $1,000 increments. PennyMac’s first-quarter production was off 27.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016, a slightly bigger decline than the 24.8 percent drop in overall Ginnie issuance. Even though the firm fared slightly worse than the total market, its first-quarter downturn was less severe than Wells Fargo’s. Wells has been the top Ginnie producer for a long time, as well as the top player in most segments of the ... [ Charts ]

December 2016 represented the 56th straight month of annual home price appreciation, with values rising 5.5 percent over the course of the year…

The agency has acknowledged the need for a commissioned examiner program to provide classroom and on-the-job training…

For Wells, the bigger question might be: did its “account fabrication” scandal of 2016 (which is still reverberating at the company) affect its mortgage business?

Home equity lending at First Republic totaled $414.3 million in the quarter, off 8 percent from the prior period.

Then again, compared to the same period a year ago, Wells' production is just about flat...