The wholesale-broker channel was the only mortgage production arena to see increased volume in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. Brokers originated an estimated $34 billion in new home loans during the final three months of 2014, a gain of 6.3 percent from the previous quarter. The wholesale-broker channel gradually recovered from a disastrous first quarter, when brokers saw their market share slide to just 9.0 percent. By the end of the year, it was up to 10.0 percent. The broker channel generated...[Includes four data charts]

Although Walter Investment Management lost a ton of dough in 2014, it sees brighter days ahead...

Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro defended a key provision in the administration’s FY 2016 budget proposal that would allow the FHA to assess lenders an administrative fee to fund improvements in the loan origination and servicing processes. At a HUD budget hearing this week before the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation, HUD and Related Agencies, Castro said the proposed fee would be used for risk management and technological improvements and in establishing quality-assurance policies to help lenders originate more FHA loans without fear of regulatory action or litigation. Castro responded...

Last year, House appropriators turned down a request that would have allowed the FHA to charge a fee of 2 to 4 basis points to lenders prospectively...

PennyMac Loan Services, the only nonbank to rank among the top five, had one of the strongest growth rates with 56.7 percent.

Fed chief Janet Yellen also signaled a continuation of the status quo for interest rates...

Total points and fees may not exceed 3 percent of the total loan amount for loans of $100,000 or more.

The sale and transfer must first be approved by Freddie and its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Almost 71 percent of residential loans originated last year were funneled into mortgage securities. In 2013 the securitization rate was 78.5 percent.

In 2018, the GSE capital buffer falls to zero dollars. Zilch. Nada. Hopefully by then, President Bush or President Clinton will have worked out a GSE reform deal with Congress…