It may be temporary, but residential mortgage debt outstanding fell in the fourth quarter. For buyers of servicers that means less product is available (in theory).

One warehouse executive, requesting anonymity, said usage rates for the fourth quarter and the first two months of 2014 “have been very low.” He gave a range of 20 percent to 50 percent.

Freddie Mac has begun reviewing servicing-related violations of its program rules, issuing notices of defect for certain violations, mostly related to the conveyance of properties to the GSE with title problems.

According to exclusive figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, once Fifth Third departs, there will be just two depositories in the top 10: Flagstar and U.S. Bank.

Another bank bites the dust in wholesale: Fifth Third Bank, which ranks second among depositories in the channel, according to Inside Mortgage Finance.

In a new report, Compass Point Research & Trading asks: “Are the special servicers bad actors?” CPR&T concludes the answer is no, but notes “there is some merit” to concerns about the rapid portfolio growth at certain firms…

The new regulations seek to streamline the reporting process and provide more timely access to data about potential fraud.

According to exclusive survey figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, loan brokers accounted for 9.8 percent of all originations in the fourth quarter, a slight improvement from the 9.6 percent market share reading in the third quarter.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last year wrapped up most of the massive amount of repurchase demands they made on legacy loans originated before 2008, but the government-sponsored enterprises are looking more closely at new production and, increasingly, servicer performance. Together, Fannie and Freddie reported a total of $37.87 billion in mortgage repurchases and other settlements of buyback claims, which typically means ... [Includes one data chart]

Loan correspondents and mortgage brokers continue to play a major role in the agency mortgage market, accounting for 42.9 percent of loans securitized by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae in 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis. Correspondents accounted for most of the third-party originations securitized by the agencies, and Wells Fargo was the top producer of these loans. Just over half of the loans sold by Wells were ... [Includes one data chart]