With more than two years left to go in the Home Affordable Refinance Program, it remains to be seen how many HARP-eligible loans will ultimately be refinanced as borrower education and lender participation in the program continue to be major challenges, according to a recent report by the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s official watchdog. In its “mid-program assessment,” the FHFA’s Office of Inspector General report noted that since HARP was launched in March 2009 through March 2013, 2.4 million HARP refis have been completed. The HARP 2.0 modifications rolled out in late 2011 and subsequent changes made throughout 2012 and 2013 have “substantially increased” the program’s refi volume, particularly for loans with loan-to-value ratios greater than 105 percent, said the OIG.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities remained the preferred investment choice of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks during the second quarter of 2013, with a negligible increase from the previous quarter, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside The GSEs based on data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Meanwhile, Ginnie Mae securities posted a modest but noticeable decline within the FHLBank system during the period ending June 30, 2013. GSE MBS accounted for 73.9 percent of combined FHLBank MBS portfolios, up 1.9 percent from the first quarter. The Finance Agency’s data do not separately break out Fannie and Freddie volume or share.

Commercial banks are earning a ton of dough on residential servicing fees, but nonbanks are seeing an erosion in profits.

Some warehouse lenders are offering significant concessions and price breaks to keep their nonbank customers happy.

Paul Rozo, CEO of Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, said his company’s application volume is down roughly 20 percent since rates jumped a few months back, but some of his competitors are seeing declines of up to 50 percent.

FHFA blames part of the GSEs’ significant losses on subprime MBS, which JPMorgan and 16 other financial institutions sold to Fannie and Freddie.

FHFA has been analyzing approaches for reducing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits across the country, "and any such change would be announced with adequate advance notice for implementation on January 1, 2014" the regulator said.

In May, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-FL, flagged the disturbing consumer credit reporting practice of lumping a short sale within the same industry code as a foreclosure in consumer credit reports.

The collateral backing the new Redwood bond is exclusively 30-year fixed-rate loans without interest-only terms.

Just one nonbank, PHH Mortgage, ranked among the top ten originators of jumbo loans in the first-half. Guaranteed Rate ranked 12th and Quicken 16th.